INDIAN FOREST RECORDS 
Vol. VII ] 1919 t P»« V. 
Notes on the Larvae and Life Histories of Prionine Beetles. 
Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Prionini. 
By 
C. F. C. BEESON, M.A., I.F.S., 
Forest Zoologist at the Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun. 
INTRODUCTION 
T WO factors have influenced the preparation of this record, which 
is the first of a series containing similar subject matter. 
1. In the course of sanctioned investigations in the ethology and 
economic status of the insect fauna of certain Indian timber trees infor¬ 
mation is constantly accumulated that is not directly on the main lines 
of research. Beyond recording the data and material incidentally 
encountered, it is generally undesirable and frequently impossible to 
pursue the enquiry further. The question then arises as to the ultimate 
disposal of fragmentary and disconnected records of this nature. Should 
they be at once published in their incomplete condition, or should they 
remain buried in the archives of the Research Institute until some 
approximation to finality is attained ? 
Neither of the criteria cited appears satisfactory to the writer; an 
arbitrary time limit to the period of obscurement is therefore adopted. 
After the lapse of five years, i.e., within two triennial revisions of the 
programme of research, the more nearly related fragments are assembled 
in Record form. 
2. In the volume on Indian Forest Coleoptera published in 1914 and 
in the departmental literature previous to that date, there is not found a 
single description or illustration by which the early stages of a species of 
beetle may be accurately identified. Until recent years this was also 
true of much of the European and North American literature on forest 
insects. Since it is in the early stages, particularly the larval stage, that 
a timber borer is chiefly met, the need for technical specific descriptions 
of larvae is obvious. The present record attempts technical descriptions 
of prionine larvae. 
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