476 THE LONGICORN BEETLES. 



the interior, and then, gnawing its way through the shell, becomes transformed in 

 process of time into its perfect shape, which is that of a little long-beaked Weevil of 

 dull red color, which, however, under the microscope, is singularly beautiful. 



Many species belonging to this destructive genus are equally plentiful all over the 

 world, and equally injurious. There seems, indeed, to be no vegetable substance that 

 is not eaten by the Weevils, which appear to have a peculiar liking for those that are 

 used for human food. Almost every article has its peculiar Weevil. There is the RICE 

 WEEVIL, for example (Calandra oryzce), known from the previous species by the four 

 red spots on the elytra, which is nearly as destructive towards rice and Indian corn as 

 the Corn Weevil towards wheat. 



One of the largest species is a native of the West Indies, and is known by the name 

 of the PALM WEEVIL (Calandra palmaruni). This huge Weevil sometimes attains the 

 length of two inches, and its color is a dull, velvet-like black. The larva of this large 

 beetle is a great fat white grub, called gru-gru by the negroes, and considered by them 

 to be a great dainty. The more educated inhabitants know this grub by the name of 

 Ver palmiste. This grub is especially fond of the newly planted canes, and is some- 

 times so terribly destructive among them that a fresh planting "becomes necessary. 

 When this creature is about to attain its pupal condition, it weaves for itself a kind of 

 cocoon formed from the fibres of the plant in which it lives. 



BEFORE noticing the long-horned insects, we must briefly mention a terribly destruc- 

 tive family of beetles, that are certainly allied to the \Veevils, but whose precise degree 

 of relationship does not seem to be very accurately understood. 



To this family belongs the far-famed Scolytus destructor, a little dull colored insect, 

 insignificant in appearance, but able to lay low the loftiest elm that ever reared its leafy 

 head. Hundreds of our finest trees have fallen victims to the devouring teeth of this 

 tiny beetle, a creature hardly the sixth of an inch in length. These insects not only 

 burrow into the trees for the purpose of obtaining food, but therein they deposit their 

 eggs, and therein are the young larvae hatched. 



The mother beetle deposits the eggs in a row, and the young, immediately upon 

 entering the world, begin to eat their way through the wood, all diverging at right 

 angles from the burrow in which they were laid, and all increasing the diameter of the 

 burrow in exact proportion to their own growth. Hundreds of these quondam dwell- 

 ings may be seen on roadside fences and railings, and so numerous are they on many 

 trees that the bark falls off in flakes, the course of the sap becomes arrested, and at 

 last the tree dies from the injuries to which it has been subjected by these minute but 

 terrible foes, who work in darkness, unseen and secure. The grubs or larvae may often 

 be found in these tunnels. They are thick, round, and fat, without feet, and of a 

 whitish color except the horny head with its powerful jaws. 



WE now come to the Longicorn beetles, so called on account of the extraordinary 

 length of the antennae in many of the species. These insects are well represented in 

 England by many species, though none have the antennae of such wonderful length as 

 are shown in the illustration on page 475. 



As in the preceding family, the Longicorn beetles pass their larval state in wood, 

 sometimes boring to a considerable depth, and sometimes restricting themselves to the 

 space between the bark and the wood. The grubs practically possess no limbs, the 

 minute scaly legs being entirely useless for locomotion, and the movements of the grub 

 being performed by alternate contraction and extension of its ringed body. In order 

 to aid in locomotion the segments are furnished with projecting tubercles, which are 

 pressed against the sides of the burrow. Those of the common wasp beetle (Clytus 

 arietis) may be found at the beginning of summer in fir trees, or in palings and posts 

 of that wood. 



The XENOCERUS, so remarkable for the inordinate length of the antennae, is one of the 

 finest examples of the Anthribidas, not only for the long and thread-like antennae, but 

 for the beauty of its coloring. It is a native of Amboina, where it was found by 

 Mr. Wallace. The male is jetty black diversified with small white stripes on the head 



