“—.. 
265 
CRYPHALUS MORINDA, MS. ' 
THE SPRUCE CRYPHALUS, 
Plate XVI, fig. 6. 
Reference :—Provisionally named as Cryphalus morinda, MS. new to the 
British Museum, 
Classification:—Order, COLEOPTERA. Family, Scolytide. Sub- 
Family, Tomicini. 
Tree attacked :—Picea Morinda (Spruce). 
Lescrtpttion. 
Beetle.—About the same size as Cryphalus boswelliz. 
Really black in colour but so thickly set with a dense close 
golden pubescence as to have that colour. The upper three 
quarters of the prothorax slopes rather abruptly in front and is 
thickly studded here with prominent tubercular spikes. Poste- 
rior quarter is finely pitted. Elytra finely pitted. Antenne and 
legs yellow-brown. Underside of insect black, set with long 
white hairs. The ordinacy characteristics of a Cryphalus as 
given under C. boswellie are present. Length 74th inck, 
Plate XVI, fig. 6, shows this insect. 
Life History. 
The flight time of this beetle is from about the middle to 
the third week in June. The tree attacked is the spruce, 
the insect boring into the twigs. The needles on the branches 
attacked were noticed to be quite dry, but the bark itself was 
still green, though dying. The beetle commences work by 
boring in through the bark till it reaches the cambium layer, 
In this it then bores a small chamber which also goes slightly 
into the sapwood. Whilst this is being prepared, another beetle 
joins the first, and in the narrow small elliptical chamber two 
beetles will generally be found at work as soon as the boring is 
sufficiently large to hold both. In this elliptical chamber the 
eggs are laid. This is at present all that is known about the 
life history of this minute insect. It is of importance to note 
T 2 
