30 REPORT ON INJURIOUS INSECTS FOR 1904. 



LIFE-HISTORY. 



The eggs of this moth are deposited about July in cracks and 

 crevices in the bark and generally near to the ground, in nearly all 

 the cases I have seen, the eggs have been between one foot and 

 four feet from the surface. They are stated by certain observers 

 to number as many as a thousand, though females kept in con- 

 finement only deposited about three hundred and fifty each. 

 The caterpillar at first is a fleshy pink colour, later changing 

 to a yellow-ochre with a blackish head and two blackish-brown 



FIG. XV. LOWER PORTION OF THE SAME TREE (enlarged). 



markings on the first segment ; the centre of the back is a deep 

 mahogany red. They remain in the larval condition for three 

 years, measuring three to three and a half inches in length when 

 full grown. During this period they gradually make their way 

 from the bark into the solid wood, perforating it in all directions 

 with their tunnels. At times they leave the tree, and in May 

 are often found straying about. Pupation takes place in 

 the spring of the third year. The silken cocoons are 

 covered with bits of wood and lie just within the entrance of 

 the tunnels. The moth emerges about a month after pupation. 



