THE MUSK BEETLE. 
385 
The mother beetle deposits the eggs in a row, and the young, immediately upon entering 
the world, begin to eat their way through the wood, all diverging at right angles from the 
burrow in which they were laid, and all increasing the diameter of the burrow in exact 
proportion to their own growth. Hundreds of these quondam dwellings may be seen on 
roadside fences and railings, and so numerous are they on many trees that the bark falls off 
in flakes, the course of the sap becomes arrested, and at last the tree dies from the injuries 
to which it has been subjected by these minute but terrible foes, who work in darkness, unseen 
and secure. The grubs or larvae may often be found in these tunnels. They are thick, round, 
and fat, without feet, and of a whitish color, except the horny head with its powerful jaws. , 
The destructive beetles that are embraced in the Curculio family have been more notable 
than almost any group of insects, as the small fruit trees have suffered in all parts of North 
America where such fruits are grown. The term Weevil is applied to these insects. One 
species attacks the roses, both wild and cultivated. Another is found feeding on pine trees. 
The White Pine Weevil ( Pissodes strobi ) is especially destructive to the white pines. The 
Plum Gouger (. Anthonomus prunicida ) resembles the Plum Curculio very much. The latter 
is named Conotrachelus. When the fruit is set the beetles sting them. Apples and peaches 
are also subject to the same pest. S itopMlus is the grain Weevil. 
Other species are, CentorhyncTius , the European turnip Weevil, introduced into Maine, 
where it stings the radish. 
A common pest in the Western States is the Potato-stalk Weevil ( Barideus binotatus), 
and B. 'oestitus eats the tobacco plants in the Southern States. 
The Colorado potato beetle ( DorypJiora decemlineata) is a pest sufficiently well known at 
this time, having reached as far as it can go eastward, on the farms of Maine. 
We now come to the Longicorn beetles, so called on account of the extraordinary length 
of the antennae in many of the species, an example of which will be found in the colored illus- 
tration on page 378. These insects are well represented by many species, though none have 
the antennae of such wonderful length as the Xenocerus semiluctuosus. While the length of*, 
its body is only seven-eighths of an inch, its antennae measure four inches, and often still 
more. 
As in the preceding family, the Longicorn beetles pass their larval state in wood, some- 
times boring to a considerable depth, and sometimes restricting themselves to the space 
between the bark and the wood. The grubs practically possess no limbs, the minute scaly 
legs being entirely useless for locomotion, and the movements of the grub being performed by 
alternate contraction and extension of its ringed body. In order to aid locomotion the seg- 
ments are furnished with projecting tubercles, which are pressed against the sides of the 
burrow. Those of the common wasp beetle ( Clytus arietis ) may be found at the beginning of 
summer in fir trees, or in palings and posts of that wood. 
The just-mentioned Xenocerus, so remarkable for the inordinate length of the antennae, 
is one of the finest examples of the Anthribidae, not only for the loug and thread-like antennae, 
but for the beauty of its coloring. It is a native of Amboina, where it was found by Mr. 
Wallace. The male is jetty-black diversified with small white stripes on the head and thorax. 
The elytra are boldly decorated with the same contrasting hues. The female is also white and 
black, but the former color greatly predominates, the black being reduced to marks on the 
sides of the head and thorax, the tips of the elytra,, and four black spots, two on the middle 
of the elytra and the other two on the thorax. 
The well-known Musk Beetle ( Cerambyx moschatus ) belongs to this group. The scent, 
which more resembles attar of roses than musk, is extremely powerful, and is often the means 
of betraying the presence of the insect as it lies hidden among the leaves. The larva is a 
wood-borer, and I have taken numbers out of old willow trees, which I split with wedges for 
the express purpose. 
A beetle with a large tuft of hair on each of the antennae is termed Disaulax cayennensis. 
It is a native of the country whence it takes its name, The stout bases of the elytra are 
Vol. m.— 49. 
