INSECTS AFFECTING PARK AND WOODLAND TREES 263 



arouiul tlu'in ; L;arnislu'd on the insick; with a close row of stiff hairs and on 

 the outsitle witii two stouter iiairs ; labium larijj^e, oboval, the |)alpi [)laced in 

 front and 2 jointed. 



Pupj. Average length .40 inch, with the antennae curled buck over 

 the thorax, the seven or eight terminal joints each with a more or less dis- 

 tinct, forwardly directed, brown thorn ; the snout lying on the breast and 

 varying according to sex; abdominal joints with a more or less distinct row 

 of small thorns on the posterior dorsal edge, the last joint with a more 

 prominent thorn directed backwards in a line with the bod\-. 



Life history. The eggs, according to Dr Riley, are laid during the 



months of Wax and June. The female bores a cylindric hole in the bark 



with her slender snout and pushes an i^'g'g to the bottom. The o[)eration 



has been described by Dr Howard, as follows : 



It requires about a day to make a puncture and deposit the ^^'g. 

 During the time the puncture is being made, the male stands guard, occa- 

 sionallv assisting the female in extracting her beak ; this he does by 

 stationing himself at a right angle with her body, and by pressing his 

 heavy prosternum against the tip of her abdomen ; her stout forelegs serv- 

 ing as a fulcrum and her long body as a lever. When the beak is extracted, 

 the female uses her antennae for freeing the pincers or jaws of bits of wood 

 or dust, the antennae being furnished with stiff hairs and forming an excel- 

 lent brush. Should a strange male approach, a heavy contest at once 

 ensues, and continues until one or the other is thrown from the tree. The 

 successful party then takes his station as guard. 



Dr Riley is of the opinion that the larva lives but a single year, though 

 larvae of different sizes occur in midwinter with the beetles. 



Food plants. This insect evidently attacks recently dead and dying 

 trees, preferably oak, though it has been recorded by Dr Hopkins from 

 chestnut, beech, elm, cypress and most other species of deciduous forest 

 trees. He states that the larvae excavate extensive galleries in the solid 

 wood. 



Distribution. This species probably has an extended distribution in 

 the northeastern United States, having been recorded by various writers, 

 from New York, New Jersey, District of Columbia and Minnesota. 



