ORYCTES RHINOCEROS. 347 

Life-History. 
his beetle is to be found onthe wing during the greater 
part of the year, It may hibernate, either as a larva or pupa or 
perhaps beetle, from November to about March. I have obtained 
living beetles towards the end of March and as late as the 
beginning of November. The adult insect spends some time in 
this state and apparently can do with little food in this stage of 
its existence, as beetles have been kept for over two weeks 
without food of any kind. 
The insect lays its eggs in dead and decaying palm trees or 
in masses of palm and other refuse situated in or near palm 
topes. The grubs on hatching out feed in the decaying trees 
or in adjacent refuse heaps, and evidently also consume the 
roots of seedling plants. Mr. C. B,. Dawson, District Forest 
Officer, Kistna, reports that the large grubs feed upon young 
Casuarina seedlings, being attracted to them owing to the 
moisture in the sand in which they are planted, These young 
seedlings are watered whilst in the nurseries and thus the 
- moist layer of sand filled with the young roots would quickly 
attract grubs of this kind. It is, I think, improbable that 
the beetles lay their eggs in the nurseries. The young larve 
on hatching out would require something softer and of a 
more decaying nature as food at first, and would only attack 
rootlets when their mandibles were stronger and more fully 
developed. 
It is not yet known how long the larva spends in this stage 
of its existence. It will certainly be several months, since the 
full-grown grub is of very large size, and it may be considerably 
over a year. This latter would seem the most probable (unless 
the insect has several generations in the year, which is unlikely) as 
from the fact that beetles are to be found almost, if not quite. 
continuously from March to November, it is evident that the 
generations overlap, 7.¢., that atany period it is possible to 
find eggs, grubs, pupe and beetles. This, of course, adds 
immensely to the insect’s capabilities of doing damage. The 
time spent in the egg and pupal stages is still unknown. 
B 2 
