THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



97 



well together, and that the latter have 

 nothing serious to dread from the birds." 



The LucanidcB (or stag-beetles) are not 

 injurious, as they only attack dead or 

 dying wood ; and they are at any rate pro- 

 tected by their size and solidity when 

 mature, and by their situation in the lar- 

 val state. 



Of the BuprestidcB, many attack plants 

 of no value, or live in dead wood, — but 

 some give the finishing stroke to trees 

 which are merely unhealthy. 



The females lay their eggs in crevices of 

 the bark, on very hot days. At this sea- 

 son of the year only three kinds of birds 

 search the bark of trees for food during 

 the hotter part of the day, — creepers, nut- 

 hatchers and woodpeckers. But these are 

 scarce, and besides, are not at hand just 

 at the proper time to defend the invalid 

 tree, since they find an abundance of food 

 everywhere. During the winter, the wood- 

 peckers and titmice eat a great many of 

 the Buprestid larvae which work beneath 

 the bark, but nothing can reach those 

 which penetrate the wood. These are, 

 indeed, the most useful of birds, — but they 

 require no protection, because no one 

 hunts them. 



The Anobii, although often very destruc- 

 tive, are domestic beetles, and consequently 

 not exposed to birds. 



The great snout-beetle family, although 

 it includes an immense number of species 

 and countless individuals, contains com- 

 paratively few enemies to man. A Rhyn- 

 chites causes the destruction of a few grape 

 leaves, but does no appreciable harm. An- 

 other girdles young shoots of pears and 

 quinces in whose tips it has laid its eggs 

 and may thus do some injury, although it 

 usually merely helps to prune the trees. 

 These insects have a very hard crust, and, 

 lost among the leaves, can seldom be found 

 by birds, while their larvae are not molested 

 at all. 



Another weevil, called the Grisette {Feri- 

 telus griseus), much commoner and more 

 noxious, destroys the buds of fruit trees ; 

 but the birds cannot affect it, because it is 

 of nocturnal habit, and spends the day 



underground, or hidden among the leaves 

 and. lichens. 



Species of Polydrosus and Fhyllobius, in- 

 jurious to young buds of the pear and 

 apple, hide in the foliage, and are con- 

 cealed by their small size, their color and 

 their immobility. The same is true of 

 Balaninus (nut-weevils), whose larvae live in 

 nuts and acorns. The birds discover a few 

 of them, but the larvae are completely pro- 

 tected, — especially as the birds distinguish 

 and reject wormy acorns. 



Two species of Anthonomus blight many 

 blossoms of pears and apples, but prob- 

 ably do more good than harm by thus 

 lightening the burdens of the trees, — only 

 anticipating the labors of the gardener. 

 At any rate, as they have the color of bark, 

 and remain hidden and inactive during the 

 day, they do not attract the attention of 

 the birds, and their larvae are wholly out 

 of sight. 



Hylobius and Pissodes are destructive of 

 conifers, and a few are probably caught 

 among the leaves ; but they spend most of 

 their time on the bark whose color they 

 simulate. During the winter, one often 

 finds dead trees riddled with the holes made 

 by titmice {Mesanges) and woodpeckers in 

 relieving them of a part of the larvae which 

 have destroyed them : — after death, the 

 doctor ! 



Species of Ceutorhyiichus and Baridiits 

 are destructive of cabbages, turnips, etc.,. 

 liiit are too minute to be taken by birds, 

 while their larvae are hidden within the 

 j-ilant. The destructive grain-weevil, Sito- 

 philus granarius, found in stores of grain, 

 is of course unmolested by birds. No 

 ornithophile has yet ventured to suggest 

 that the sparrows, which enter the granary 

 whenever they can, are attracted there by 

 the search for weevils. 



Other weevils, attracting only dead wood, 

 too minute for notice, nocturnal in their 

 habits, and, as larvae, out of the reach of 

 birds, need not be further specified. 



The author here gives a condensed ac- 

 count of the habits of the Scolytidce (bark- 

 bol-ers), whose ravages are a very serious 

 matter in Europe. The most dangerous 



