550 



FAMILY SCOLYTIDAE 



very fine punctures ; declivity shining, the sututal striae most strongly impressed in upper part, 

 the punctures smaller, becoming very fine and scattered apically ; pubescence long, spiny, 

 denser on declivity. Under-surface dark brown, punctate. Legs red-brown, pubescent ; 

 funiculus and club of antenna yellow. Length, 3.8 mm. to 4 mm. 



At the end of September 1906 I found a generation of this insect 



tunnelling into spruce saplings. Only beetles were 



Life History. present. The insect is polygamous, and in one case 



I took five beetles together. All the five were in an 



irregular-shaped depression in the cambium and sapwood in the main stem 

 near its juncture with a branch. This cavity had the appearance of being 

 a large pairing-chamber, from which arms (the egg-galleries) radiated as 

 shown in fig. 353. Five of the arms were occupied by the beetles ; the 

 remaining two, the upper two on the left, being empty. I could find no 

 eggs. A little higher up in the same tree two other beetles were tunnelling 

 into the stem ; they had just reached the bast layer. The beetles were 

 engaged in lengthening the galleries when discovered. 



In the middle of the following November I revisited the infested trees, 

 and found some more beetles in them. No further progress had, however, 

 been made with the egg-galleries, none of which appeared to be complete. 

 It appeared that the beetles were hibernating in the galleries till the 

 following spring. As the elevation at which the insect was found was 

 close on nine thousand feet, this is a probable assumption. I took one 



larva which may have hatched out from 

 an egg laid by the beetles I took the 

 previous September. The beetles taken 

 in November were very lethargic. 



Relations to the 

 Forest 



F IG - 353- Dryocoetes indicus, sp. nov 

 Pairing-chamber and egg-galleries on the 

 inner surface of spruce bark. North- 

 West Himalaya. (E. P. S.) 



This beetle infests young green 

 spruce saplings. I 

 first discovered the 

 insect at work in a 

 small clump of young green spruce on 

 28 September 1906. The tree most 

 severely attacked had a considerable 

 part of the bast layer riddled all round 

 in several places, and was nearly dead. 

 In November a further inspection showed 

 another tree nearly dead (the needles 

 were dropping off) and a third with the 

 needles turning yellow. The insect con- 

 sequently must be looked upon as a 

 serious pest of young spruce. 



As to its abundance I am unable to 

 speak. I have only met with it on the 

 two occasions mentioned. 



