Bboun. — On the Habits of Prionoplus reticularis. 2l8? 



kauri tree, with cracked or damaged bark, or one tliat lias been recently 

 felled, and, by means of her ovipositor, inserted a certain number of eggs 

 which have been duly hatched. On looking at the decumbent log some time 

 afterwards, we simply notice its weather-beaten aspect, but if we examine it 

 more closely we will perceive some small round holes indicating to an expe- 

 rienced eye either the presence or escape of insects. Wishing to ascertain 

 the actual state of affairs we use our axe, or tomahawk, and, owing to the 

 hard external crust, perhaps imagine the log to be quite sound and merely 

 marked superficially, but by dint of a little exertion and perseverance the 

 log is at length cut open, and I venture to assert that the sight which will 

 then meet the eye of the beholder, if not a naturalist, or one accustomed 

 to the ravages of insects, will convince him of the importance of the small 

 animals whose existence, probably, had been altogether ignored. I shall 

 endeavour to describe the condition of such a log, one that I cut open at 

 Parua, near Whangarei harbour. Its external appearance was such as 

 has been indicated, but a little below the surface there were many large 

 cavities about the size of a man's finger, occupied by specimens of the 

 beetle itself more or less mature, all in positions best calculated to facihtate 

 their escape ; a little deeper in, I found pupte and larvfe indiscriminately 

 intermingled in a substance more nearly resembling closely-packed, moist 

 sawdust than anything else, but not at all Hke the fine timber we would 

 expect to see in a kauri log ; on cutting still deeper, or right through, the 

 same scene prevailed, varied only by the absence of the beetle and pupa ; 

 here and there might be noticed pieces of what might be termed wood, but 

 with the larvse assiduously engaged in devouring it ; I could almost have 

 kicked the whole to pieces. That log, a settler informed me, had been on 

 the ground some eighteen months, but the eggs must have been deposited, 

 I suspect, about two years previously. Many, no doubt, will exclaim that 

 this is an exceptional case ; the sceptic, however, need only do what I have 

 often done, go into the forest and examine a log for himself, and he will 

 return, to use an oft-quoted phrase, " a sadder and a wiser man." It must 

 not be supposed that the ligniperdous proclivities of PrionojAus reticularis 

 are confined to the Dammara australis, or that its ravages are unmixed evil ; 

 I have seen its larv^ at work in rimu and kahihatea logs, and, in a semi- 

 tropical country, wherein the people, apparently, can afford to allow large 

 quantities of valuable timber to go to ruin, the insect, conjointly with others, 

 devours what would otherwise decay and, during the process, engender 

 serious diseases. 



Before leaving this subject, it might not be out of place to direct atten- 

 tion to certain facts showing the wonderful sagacity displayed by the insect. 

 First of aU in the deposition of the eggs ; then, for the purpose of effectual 



