134 



XYLOPHAGA, OR WOOD-EATING BEETLES. 



comes forth from the egg, feeds upon the kernel in which it is 

 imbedded ; and when full grown, it bores through the shell, and 

 escapes, leaving a small round orifice. It then falls to the ground, 

 in which it buries itself to a sufficient depth to afford it a protec- 

 tion against the frosts of winter. In the spring it undergoes its 

 change to the pupa state, and soon after emerges from its con- 

 cealment in its mature form. To this tribe belongs one of the 

 most splendid of all Beetles, the Curculio imperialis, well known 

 as the Diamond-beetle, which is a native of South America, and 

 very abundant in some parts of that country. There are small 

 species belonging to our own island, however, which are scarcely 

 less brilliant when mag- 

 nified under a good 

 light. 



716. Nearly allied 

 to the Weevils, is a 

 small group of Tetra- 

 merous Coleoptera, 

 which has received the 

 name of XYLOPHAGA 



/ 7 \ FIG. 453. 1, 2, TOMICUS TYPOGRAPHIC; 3,4, 5, 6, HYLTJKGUS 



(Or WOOd-eaterS), On PINIPF.RDA (natural size and magnified). 



account of the peculiar 



habits of the Beetles composing it. They usually live in wood, 



which their larvse 

 pierce in every di- 

 rection ; and, when 

 abundant in forests, 

 especially those of 

 pines and firs, they de- 

 stroy large numbers of 

 trees in a few years. 

 They are destitute of 

 the prolonged muzzle 

 of the last order, and 

 have short antennae, 



F IG . 4. 5 4. Trac* of Typographer Beetle. thickened towards the 



tips (Fig. 453). One of the most destructive species is the 



