44 



Fig. 12. 



No. 2. Osmoderma eremicola (Knock) is a large, broad beetle, an 

 inch in length, of a very dark mahogany brown colour. The thorax 

 is nearly square, but is slightly rounded on the sides and narrowed 

 in front ; that of the male has a deep pit just before the middle. 

 The thorax beneath and also the abdomen above are covered with 

 fine, silky brownish hairs. The elytra (wing-covers) are not large 

 enough to fully cover the abdomen, and a ring of the pubescence is 

 exposed around them. The beetle is very smooth and shining, 

 differing greatly in this respect from O. scahra (Beauv.) (Figure 12) 

 which is frequently found on old apple and beech trees. These 

 beetles when alive have a very strong and not unpleasant odour, 

 which has been compared to that of Russian leather, and from 

 which the name of the genus is derived — Osmoderma meaning 

 "scented-skin." The name of the present species, eremicola, signi- 

 fies a " wilderness-inhabitant." Its larvae are large, white, fleshy 

 grubs, very similar in shape to those of the May-bug, and are found in decaying portions 

 of living trees. The beetles obtained by me from hickory were found in the pupa state (at 

 which time they are inclosed in oval cocoons made from particles of the wood), in a 

 small hollow where decay had commenced from the breaking off of a limb. They had 

 fed upon the sappy, partly-decayed wood, enlarging the wound and causing further 

 decay, and thus injuriously affecting the tree. 



The next seven species belong to the Buprestidse, a family containing 

 species clad in armour often of metallic lustre, and almost metallic hard- 

 ness, or varied with most brilliant colours. Their larvae are flattened 

 footless grubs, having the second segment behind the head very much 

 enlarged and widened, while the following ones being very much narrower, 

 give to them in some species a regular tadpole appearance, as in Figure 

 13. They bore chiefly in the stems and branches of trees and shrubs, 

 but a few species are leaf-miners. Among well-known species of this 

 family are the red-necked raspberry-borer, Agrilus riijicollis (Fab.), and 

 flat apple-tree-borer, Chrysobothris femorata Lec. 



No. 3. Dicerca lurida (Fab.) is very similar in shape to the species next to be men- 

 tioned, but the tips of the wing-covers do not diverge, and each ends in two minute 

 spines. The colour is also a darker and more lurid bronze, whence its name. It 

 varies in length from one-half of an inch to three-quarters of an inch. The larvae are 

 yellowish white, with a small head nearly buried in the first segment of the body, but 

 armed with powerful jaws adapted for cutting through the wood. When young they 

 bore along under the bark, forming shallow burrows in the surface layers of the wood ; 

 going deeper as they gain in size and strength. The length of time passed in this stage 

 has not been ascertained, but is variously stated as two, three or more years. The 

 beetles are found in summer sunning themselves on the trunks of the trees, or crawling 

 up and down in search for their mates. They prefer trees in a weak and diseased con- 

 dition to those in vigorous health, nor do they appear to attack any other kind of tree. 



No. 4. Dicerca divaricata (Say), is the common Buprestid found during 

 the summer and autumn on so many garden and forest trees. Its appear- 

 ance and habits are so well known that they need not be again described. 

 It is easily distinguished from the preceding species by the divergent tips of 

 the elytra, (Figure 14) and is a somewhat larger and broader species, 

 measuring from six-tenths to eight-tenths of an inch in length. It infests 

 more especially beech and maple, but I have taken specimens on hickory as 

 well as on various other trees. 



Chrysobothris femorata Lec. the obnoxious apple-tree-borer, has also been 

 found by me very abundantly on dead hickories from June to September, and the fact 

 that the larvae live upon this tree was established by finding a beetle in its burrow 

 under the bark. The beetle. Figure 15 d, (slightly enlarged) — varies in length from 

 one-third to one-half of an inch, and is nearly half as wide. The colour is greenish- 



Fig, 13. 



Fig. 14. 

 No. 5. 



