THE ELEPHANT BEETLE OF THE ORANGE. 83 



CHAPTER LXXX. 



THE ELEPHANT BEETLE OF THE ORANGE. 



( Orthorrhinus cylindrirostris, Fabr. ) 



Order: Coleoptera. 



Belonging to the great family of the Curculionidee, or 

 u Weevils," this destructive- pest has only recently made 

 its appearance here as a pest of the fruit-grower, although 

 in New South Wales and in Queensland it has been 

 long known as one of the most noxious of the indigenous 

 insects. 



Mr. Froggatt, whom I quote, gives some interesting 

 facts regarding the habits of this beetle, and which 

 greatly adds to the disrepute of the insect in question. 

 Mr. Froggatt says : "In their native state they show a 

 marked preference for freshly-fallen timber when the 

 bark is just beginning to wither, and I have often found 

 them on a freshly-ciit rail or log before it has been 

 barked ; if there are any about the neighbourhood, they 

 seem to find them very quickly. Some specimens kept 

 in a building-case gnawed most of the bark off a branch 

 placed in with them ; and upon the 8th of January one 

 was observed to be clasping the twig with the middle 

 and hind legs, with the long forelegs and head hanging 

 downwards, moving the tip of the abdomen, which was 

 closely pressed against the bark. When examined next 

 day, a small circular pinhole about half a line in depth 

 was found, at the bottom of which was a single yellow 

 rounded egg." 



