42 First Report on Economic Zoology. 



chiefly during the pairing season, and is produced by the beetles 

 striking their heads upon the wood on which they are standing so as 

 to attract their mates, who make a similar noise in reply. This noise 

 is made during the day as well as at night, but is not so noticeable at 

 that time. Several species make this ticking noise, but those most 

 often heard in houses are A. domesticum and X. tessellatum. It is 

 said that the larva also can produce this sound, but it is not 

 definitely known to do so. 



The larvae make quite long galleries into the wood, and when 

 matiu"e pupate in little chambers from which the beetles escape by 

 eating their way out. 



Treatment. 



Where furniture or woodwork is attacked by these beetles and 

 their larvae, steps should be taken at once to destroy them, as they 

 return generation after generation to lay their eggs on the same object 

 until it crumbles right away. Amongst the best ways of treating 

 attacked furniture are the following : — 



(a) Painting with a brush with corrosive sublimate ; this poison 

 kills the beetles as they make their exit. 



(h) Fumigating with hydrocyanic acid gas ; where small objects, 

 such as chairs, are invaded they may be put in some closed cupboard 

 and left in the fumes for some days. (This gas, one must remember, 

 is a deadly poison, as well as the cyanide of potassium used in its 

 manufacture.) 



(c) Benzine may also be applied to polished furniture, but it is 

 best used mixed with carbolic acid ; furniture so treated has, of course, 

 the polish taken off and will require repolishing. 



(d) Rooms in which these pests are present should be fumigated 

 every week during July, either with sulphur or hydrocyanic acid gas, 

 and then well washed down with carbolic. Of course, during fumi- 

 gation all windows should have the crevices, etc. papered up and the 

 doors tightly closed If hydrocyanic gas is used it must be used 

 with care, and should only be employed in certain cases ; it could 

 not be used in high attics, as the windows should be opened from 

 the outside so as to allow the fumes to escape from the room before 

 anyone enters. In the case of attics, where windows cannot be opened 

 from the outside, sulphur had best be used. In the hands of an 

 "■Xpert a w^^le house may be treated with the gas. 



