INSECT ENEMIES OF EASTERN FORESTS 2038 
abdominal tergum. It is found boring in hardwoods, feeding prin- 
cipally on Xylobiops, but on other woodborers as well. It is found 
in the eastern part of the United States. 
Tarsostenus univittatus is small and slender, and shining black, 
except for a transverse white bar across the elytra at the middle of 
their length. The larva is very elongate and slender, of a light 
violet color with sclerotized parts of brown or yellow. It has four 
ocelli, the sixth and seventh abdominal segments are ampullate, and 
the ninth bears two recurved hooks. The larva is adapted to boring, 
following in the burrows of Zyctus and Xylobiops or other borers in 
dry, seasoned wood. It is a widely distributed and important preda- 
tor of these powder-post beetles. 
Neichnea laticornis is a small, slender species with the antennae 
terminated by three long segments. It is black except for the sides 
of the thorax and a spot on the head, which are golden yellow. The 
larva is an elongate, white, delicate form, having five ocelli and 
no armature. It is found in egg galleries of various bark beetles 
infesting twigs. It is an important predator on several species of 
scolytids occurring in twigs and branches, chiefly those of Phloeosinus, 
Scolytus, and Phloeophthorus. The clerid egg is laid in the entrance 
hole of the bark beetle, and the larva feeds on the adult bark beetle 
in the gallery, as well as on the eggs and young larvae. It is found 
in the Middle Atlantic States. 
Placoptera thoracicus (Ovil.), Phyllobaenus dislocatus (Say), and 
Orthopleura damicornis (F.) bore in the twigs of deciduous trees, 
where they feed on the larvae of various wood borers and bark beetles. 
Priocera castanea Newm. is a predator on bark beetles in coniferous 
trees. Hydnocera wnifasciata (Say) and H. verticolis (Say) feed on 
cerambycid larvae in small twigs. Galeruclerus oculatus (Say) feeds 
on a variety of small cerambycids and scolytids in hardwood and 
coniferous twigs. 
Famity DERMESTIDAE 
The Skin Beetles 
The skin beetles are small, compact, oval to convex forms, and dark, 
but a few are attractively patterned with spots of gray, brown, or 
orange hairs, which easily rub off. The head is small and deflexed, 
the antennae 9- to 11-jointed, with the last 1, 2, or 3 joints forming a 
club, which often fits into a pit on the under side of the prothorax. 
The legs are short and the tarsi 5-jointed. The larvae (fig. 42) are 
cylindrical, very hairy, the hairs often forming distinctive patterns. 
They may be quite soft or rather hard shelled and are extremely active 
and difficult to pick up. The head is globular and deflexed, the labrum 
distinct, and the mouth parts somewhat retracted. The lacinia bears 
one to several distinct spurs, the mandible is without a molar structure, 
ocelli are usually present, and the legs are well developed. 
These insects are normally found feeding on skins, carcasses, dried 
meats, furs, carpets, and under the bark of trees where they devour 
insect remains. Some species are troublesome pests in collections of 
insects or stuffed animals. Only occasionally are they of interest to 
the forester or lumberman, as in cases of damage to valuable cargoes 
of lumber in shipholds that had previously held hides on which the 
