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The female lays her eggs in crevices in the bark. The larvae are slender, flattened 

 white grubs with small black jaws and flat head. They feed upon the sap wood 

 until strong enough to bore into the solid timber, where they pupate. These beetles 

 cause the death of many trees young and old. 



The Bostrychidae or Augur Beetles. — These beetles are easily recognised by 

 their curious cowled or hooded thorax, which comes down over the head. The body 

 is long and adapted for burrowing. They are sometimes called Shot-hole Borers. 

 Both native and cultivated trees are attacked. An introduced species named Rhizo- 

 pertha dominica has obtained a footing in the State. It attacks stored foods, grain, 

 leather and timber. 



Plant Eating Beetles (Chrysomelidae) . — These foliage-destroying beetles have 

 a. regular thickened, more or less oval or rounded form, some of them not unlike 

 Ladybirds, for which they are often mistaken. As a rule they rarely measure 

 more than ^in. in length. The prevailing colours are red, yellow, or brown. They 

 lay their spindle-shaped yellow eggs on the foliage or twigs of their food plant 

 and when full grown the grubs crawl down and pupate in the soil beneath. 



The Lepidoptera: Moths. — Amongst the moths several boring pests are to be 

 found. These belong mostly to the family Hepialidae. The larvae of these wood- 

 boring moths are termed "bardies," and are relished as food by the natives. 



The Genus Hepialus. — These large moths are generally found clinging to the 

 tree trunks, where they are easily captured. In colour they vary from green, 

 yellow, pink, and silvering shades. The moth lays her eggs upon the tree stem. 

 The newly hatched caterpillar bores into the centre of the branch and then makes a 

 vertical shaft which may be several feet long wherein it feeds and pupates. The 

 moth develops from the pupa in the summer and escapes from the pupal case, 

 which is frequently found projecting from the hole in the trunk or root after the 

 moth has emerged. The females of some species lay thousands of tiny eggs. 



The Genus Cossidae or Goat Moths. — The caterpillars from these moths feed 

 m the steins of trees. The short, naked larvae tunnel round the bark until nearly 

 full grown, when they bore into the wood and pupate in cocoons. The moths are 

 of a delicate slate colour and finely marbled with black lines. 



The Genus (Pielus) contains some large brownish moths with very hairy legs. 

 (Pielus haylinatus) is one of our commonest species. It is of a general chocolate 

 brown' tint with an irregular silvery white stripe and dark lines running through 

 the centre of the fore wings. The hind pair are generally brown with the basal 

 portion light pinkish shade. The caterpillars feed in the roots and trunks of sev- 

 eral species of Acacias. The empty pupal cases may be seen sticking out of the 

 roots or tree trunks. 



Another group of moths which cause a lot of damage are the Cryptophaginae. 

 These slender caterpillars live in shallow chambers or short tunnels in the branches 

 of trees. They cover the entrance of their burrow with a screen of loose silken 

 web interwoven with gnawed bark and droppings. Resting during the day, they 

 come out at night, and biting off some of the leaves drag them down into the 

 burrow. When full grown they pupate in their burrows. One of these moths 

 (Cryptophaga unipunctata) (Cherry borer), has taken a fancy to cherry and plum 

 trees — the larva bores into the branch or trunk of the tree causing gumming and 

 often the death of limbs. There are many other species of Lepidoptera whose 

 larvae feed upon the foliage, bark and seeds of forest trees, but space will not 

 permit their inclusion. 



Orthoptera (Termitidae) : White Ants. — These insects are amongst the most 

 destructive of our forest pests, attacking almost all kinds of timber. They are not 

 ants, although commonly called such, having no relationship whatever with the 

 true ants. We have a great number of species, many of which have never yet been 

 described or named. Were it possible to estimate the direct and indirect loss due 



