SPINED LOG BEETLE. 127 



CHAPTER CXXX. 



SPINED LOG BEETLE. 



(Xenocnema spinipes, Wall.; variety Australia, Lea.) 

 Order : Coleoptera. Family : Curculionidce. 



^ This is a small brownish-black beetle determined by 

 Mr. Lea as a new variety of a well-known weevil, described 

 long since by Wallach. It is found plentifully under the 

 bark of Kauri and Silky Oak logs from Queensland. The 

 beetles bore through the bark into the solid wood, and 

 under some pieces of bark the beetles may be found in 

 large numbers; upon removal of the bark they com- 

 mence boring at a rapid rate, and soon have the wood 

 riddled with holes. Fig. II. shows the holes, and Fig. I. 

 the tunnels with the larvae at work inside. 



This is another instance, if such were required, of the 

 necessity of being constantly on the look-out for these 

 dangerous insect introductions ; more especially as they 

 increase with great rapidity, and, if once established 

 here, it would be almost a hopeless task to attempt to per- 

 manently eradicate them. Numbers of these small weevils 

 which, by the way, are legion comprise some of the very 

 worst of our timber borers, and, although so small in size, 

 they appear to be able to bore through all timbers, no matter 

 how hard the latter may be. It is a singular fact in the 

 economy of Nature that the tiniest insect frequently does 

 the most damage, as witness the ravages of Phylloxera 

 and other minute insects. 



We have shown the beetles in their natural size and also 

 enlarged, but at the time the plate was drawn the pupa 

 could not be obtained. It will, however, be somewhat like 

 the larva in colour, with the mummy -like appearance of 

 the beetle before the latter assumes the perfect shape. 



