pAiiT I.] Stebbing : Insect Pests of the Himalayan Oaks. 25 
actual hole or tunnel in the wood made by these small Scolytid wood 
borers is of small diameter and therefore in itself of no great consequence. 
When, however, the insect appears in numbers, the timber is so riddled as 
to be quite useless for timber purposes. Its value as firewood is also 
greatly lessened owing to the great loss of weight the attack results in. 
It is one of these wood borers which occasionally causes great loss of beer 
from beer casks in India, and since the Hill Breweries in N.-W. India 
make use of oak timber to a great extent it becomes of the first importance 
to have a working acquaintance with the wood borers of the tree. 
Points in the Life Histories requiring further observations. 
VN e know nothing about the life histories of these wood borers save 
that the first generation of the beetles lays eggs in the trees some time in 
May. 
(2) We require to know how long the larvie spend in this stage of 
their existence. 
(3) When the second generation of beetles appears. 
(4) Whether there are more than two generations in a year. 
(5) Also in what stage the insects pass through the winter, and 
whether the beetles are abundant in the oak forests of the Western 
I ! imalaya. 
