THE AGKICULTUKAL PESTS OF INDIA. 117 



Polistes, Polybia. An Indian hornet (Vespa crabroni- 

 formis) builds a nest of great size. One of India's boldest 

 birds, the myna, flees before the hornet's threatened 

 attacks. The Formica smaragdina, an ant of all India, is 

 said to drive off the wasps. 



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Wasp. See Vespidas. 

 Weevil. See Curculionida?. 

 White Ants. See Termites. 

 Wood-borer. See Borer. 



Xylocopa, or carpenter bees, bore tunnels in timber, 

 where they collect honey and the farina of flowers, 

 leaving a lump of the compound in a divided cell for 

 the nourishment of the young larva when it is hatched. 

 Each cell has, with the egg, a separate supply of food. 

 The larvse are sub - cylindrical, whitish worms. They 

 undergo the pupa state within their respective cells, 

 and come out the perfect bee after a brief period. 

 The largest species is X. purpurea, the bhoura; it is a 

 strong-flighted, active insect, very destructive to the wood 

 of buildings, and also to the dead wood of forest trees. 

 One of them, at the Kurnool hospital, was seen to strike 

 a sparrow dead. 



Xylophagi. A group of Ehynchophorus Coleoptera, 

 containing a large number of wood-boring species. The 

 principal genera are Tomicus, Hylesinus, Scolytus, and 

 Platypus. 



