36 
antenne, and three pairs of legs; its segments are thirteen in number, 
and partially clothed with scattered rigid hairs. In this state it is a 
voracious feeder, and lives on the delicate fibrils of the roots of 
grasses and other plants. As its voracity continues unimpaired for 
ten or eleven months at least, it is obvious that its ravages must be of 
a serious character. 
The time during which the insect remains in the pupa-stage, 
although liable to considerable variation, is very short, often not 
exceeding a fortnight. Further observation, however, is required with 
regard to this point, as the duration of the pupa-stage is likely to be 
affected by the food-supply. 
In many instances the insect remains in the larval condition for 
two years, and there is good reason to believe that it may occasionally 
remain three years in this state. Whenever its larval existence is 
thus protracted the grub is found at a greater depth than usual, and 
is of slightly larger dimensions. 
Although the grub is never hatched before the middle of 
December, the effects of its ravages may be observed about the third 
week in January. The injured grass presents a flaccid appearance, at 
first confined to single roots or small patches, which increase in number 
and extent daily. The herbage turns black, shrivels, and dies away, 80 
that by the close of February the once-flourishing pasture is disfigured 
by a series of unsightly barren patches, often connected to a greater 
or less extent. 
Lawns suffer severely from its ravages, the grass being killed for 
spaces extending over many square yards, and the surface more or less 
broken up. : 
In the Te Anau District I found a compact sward of mixed native 
and European grasses, the roots of which had been completely 
destroyed, but owing to the dense growth the culms had become so 
matted that large sheets were blown about by the wind, leaving the 
ground quite bare. The destruction was more complete than if it had 
been effected by rabbits. 
When the roots of trees are affected by the grub the leaves turn 
brown or yellow, the tips of the branches droop, and ultimately fall 
away. Young plants die from exhaustion ; older plants are better able 
to endure the attack, and after a longer or shorter period'of prostra- 
tion often recover; but the season’s growth is lost, and in the case of 
fruit trees the crop is prevented from reaching maturity. 
Cryptomeria elegans seems especially liable to attack when young ; 
the strongest growing pines are not exempt, as Pinus insignis, Araucaria 
imbricata, Cupressus towrnefoltii, C. macrocarpa ; the sycamore, oak, 
ash, and other deciduous trees are subject to the attacks of this 
voracious. pest, and it is now showing an undue partiality for the roots 
of the strawberry. 
In the larval state the insects may be destroyed by watering the 
ground with a solution of caustic potash, the efficiency of which would 
doubtless be increased by the addition of sulphur. “This would per- 
haps be rather costly for general application to grass lands, but the 
