INSECT INTRUDERS. 



per female, according to the species, are 

 laid in this gallery. The eggs hatch out 

 into grubs which feed upon the woody 

 fibres and structure of the bamboo or 

 wood, reducing them to powder and thus 

 undermining the strength of the article 

 attacked. When full fed, the grubs 

 pupate inside their tunnels in the powdery 

 mass in the interior and here gradually 

 change to mature beetles. These latter 

 bore their way out of the bamboo and 

 either seek out another to tunnel into to 

 lay their eggs in their turn, or, if space 

 and good wood is still available, they 

 tunnel into the same bamboo or timber 

 in which they themselves were reared, 

 selecting a suitable hard spot. From five 

 to seven such generations or life cycles 

 may be passed through in one year. 



This brief glance at the life histories 

 of these beetles will at once explain how 

 it is that our bamboo furniture gradually 

 becomes pitted with an ever-increasing 

 number of small shot holes from which 

 5 2 



