202 HYLASTES SP. 

galleries at right angles to the previous one are eaten out and 
the eggs laid in them [see PI. X, fig. 2, b (2)]. 
I have not yet found the larve. 
The beetle is to be found egg-laying from the second week 
in May to the middle of June, this being probably the first 
generation of the year. Observation is still required to find out 
whether there are any subsequent generations in the year. 
The male and female pair during the above period, and they 
perform this act within the tree in the tunnel. I am unable at 
present to say which of the two bores the tunnel, but the first 
portion of it as far as the pairing place is the work of one beetle 
only. The subsequent boring is the work of the ¢. 
The ¢ climbs on to the back of the 2 to fertilize her. 
Locality from where reported. 
This insect was found in the blue pine and spruce forests 
of the Jaunsar Division, North-West Himalayas, at elevations of 
between 5,500 and 7,500 feet. 
Relations to the Forest. 
Present observation of the habits of this beetle has only 
shown it to be a wood-borer, and the wood is apparently only 
infested when the tree is nearly or quite dead. The insect 
has at present always been found associated with the Ryncho- 
jus sp. in spruce and blue pine, but it is by no means so 
numerous. It bores farther into the wood than the latter, 
reaching the heart of the tree. Its life history requires to be 
more fully worked out before its full relations to the trees it 
attacks can be ascertained. 
Points in the life history requiring further observation. 
1. How the larvae feed, and length of time spent in this ~ 
stage. 
2. Length of time spent in the pupal sta ze. 
3- What becomes of the mother beetle after laying her 
eggs. 
4, The number of generations Pad through by the 
insect in the year. 
5. Does the beetle attack green ent and does it infest 
other trees besides the blue pine and spruce, 
