Archodontes melanopus (L.) breeds in the roots of live oaks 
and possibly hackberry and pecan from Virginia to Florida and 
westward along the Gulf Coast. The adult is broad, rather flat, 
dark brown, and from about 438 to 56 mm. long. The head is dis- 
tinct and rather large, and the edges of the prothorax are finely 
toothed. Full-grown larvae are almost 90 mm. long and are about 
as thick as one’s finger. 
Eggs are deposited at the base of young trees, just below the 
ground line. The larvae bore into the roots and excavate large, 
flattened galleries in the wood. Huge galls form on infested roots 
and interfere with the growth of the tree. Heavily infested trees 
may die and be replaced by clumps of bush-like suckers. It has 
been suggested that this species was largely responsible for the 
creation of large areas of comparatively barren areas of scrub 
oak in parts of southern Georgia and Florida. 
Stenocorus inquisitor lineatus (Oliv.), the ribbed pine borer, 
occurs throughout the United States and in southern Canada, and 
it breeds in the inner bark of various species of dying conifers. 
The adult is black except for mottlings of reddish-brown or gray 
and is about 12 to 16 mm. long. The thorax is slender and bears a 
Spine on each side. The larvae are distinguished by their very 
thin, flat heads. Eggs are deposited in early spring in crevices of 
the bark of trees that died or were cut during the preceding 
winter. Trees dead for only a short time and containing consider- 
able amounts of moisture are preferred by the larvae. They feed 
entirely beneath the bark, excavating irregular galleries and pack- 
ing them with fibrous frass. When they become full-grown they con- 
struct oval, fibrous-edged cells in which they pupate and spend 
the winter as adults. 
The old-house borer, Hylotrupes bajulus (L.), a European 
species introduced into North America more than a century ago, 
is now known to occur in the Atlantic Coastal States from Massa- 
chusetts to Florida. Adults have also been collected in the Gulf 
Coast States of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. It breeds in 
dry, seasoned, coniferous sapwood. Pine and spruce wood appear 
to be preferred, but hemlock, true fir, and Douglas-fir wood are 
also attacked. The adult (fig. 73 A) is a slightly flattened, brown- 
ish-black beetle from 12 to 18 mm. long. The head and forward 
part of the body are clothed with gray hairs; the thorax has 
several small tubercles at the side and a black line and two black 
spots on the disk; and each wing cover bears patches of gray 
which fuse to form two cross bands or two whitish spots. Full- 
grown larvae are wedge-shaped, deeply segmented, and up to 30 
mm. long. 
Eggs are deposited in fan-shaped clusters, or in rows and 
layers in holes or tight crevices. Stacked lumber and cracks and 
natural checks in the wood of houses are especially subject to 
attack. Young larvae feed near the surface of the wood; older ones 
bore into the sapwood and seriously damage it with their frass- 
packed tunnels. The larvae seldom break through the surface of 
the wood. Thus, timbers so severely damaged as to be near col- 
lapse may appear from the outside to be perfectly sound. The 
length of the life cycle is not exactly known. In the Southern 
States, from 3 to 5 years may be required. In the northern parts 
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