ENTOMOLOGICAL CABINET. 



XYPHYDRIA DROiMEDARIUS. 



Black : head large, deeply punctured in front, glob- 

 ular, but truncated behind : eyes moderately large, 

 the hexagons very minute : stemmata three, placed 

 in a triangle between the eyes: above the eyes the 

 head is smooth, shining, with two white crescent- 

 shaped markings : antennae short and filiform : neck 

 long and curved upwards, thorax elevated with 

 coarse and deep punctures, and two minute white 

 dots behind : body black, the third, fourth and fifth 

 joints red, the eighth with a yellowish white oblong 

 spot on each side : in the female the oviduct is ex- 

 erted, the under part resembles in colour the upper, 

 except the three joints, which are red above : be- 

 neath a chesnut brown ; the legs are of a pale red : 

 the tibia and tarsi at the base are of a pale yellow. 



Length of the $ , 4f to 5 lines, ^ > 5£ to 9 lines. 



Inhabit, in the larva state, the wood of the willow 

 and poplar ; — the perfect insect is found in June and 

 July, on the trunks of trees. 



The Xiphydriidce and Uroceridcs are both in the 

 larvae state wood-feeders; and as we have before 

 observed, with respect to such insects, are invariably 

 subject to a vast difference in size, in the mature in- 

 sect of the same species ; as the state of decay or 

 disease of the wood appears to have a great influence 

 on the growth of the caterpillars, the hard dry and 

 knotty parts are generally rejected by them, and we 

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