132 



XYLOPHAGI, OB WOOD-EATING BEETLES. 



FIG. 353. 1, 2, TOMICUS TYPOGRAPHIC ; 3, 4, 5, ( 

 HVLURGUS PJNIPKRDA (natural size and magnified). 



a small round orifice. To this tribe belongs one of the most 

 splendid of all Beetles, theCurculio 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 magnified under a good light. 



656. The second family of the Tetramerous Coleoptera has 

 received the name of 

 XYLOPHAGI (or wood- 

 eaters)^ on account of 

 the peculiar habits of 

 the Beetles composing 

 it. They usually live 

 in wood, which their 

 larvae pierce in every 

 direction ; and, when 

 abundant in forests, 

 especially those of pines 



and firs, they destroy large numbers of trees in a few years. 

 They are destitute of the prolonged muzzle of the last order, and 

 have short antennae, thickened towards the tips (Fig. 353). One of 

 the most destructive species is the Bostrickus typographus^ or the 



Typographer beetle 

 (so named from the 

 figure of its burrows), 

 which has at different 

 times ravaged the 

 forests of Germany. 

 It devours, both in 

 the larva and perfect 

 states, the soft wood 

 beneath the bark, 

 which is most essen- 

 tial to the vegetative 

 processes ; and thus 

 causes the death of 

 the tree. It was reckoned that a million and a half of pines 



Fro. 35 '.Track of Typographer Beetle. 



