-XYLEBORUS sp. prox. PERFORANS, WOLLASTON. 407 

about a couple of inches, and then the beetle again changes the 
direction and bores down to the heart-wood. The insect does 
not appear to require fresh bark or wood for its operations, but 
at the same time it is not found in very dry wood. In the latter 
old galleries of previous years were discoverable, but no new 
ones or beetles. From this it would seem to be possible that 
these wood-borers—and the same has been noted in several other 
instances—confine their attacks to a certain condition of the wood 
during its seasoning process. When the wood has reached a 
certain degree of dryness they will no longer attack it. The 
beetles when discovered on the 24th April were egg-laying, 
these eggs being in all probability those of the first generation 
of the year. I have no further record at present of the other 
stages in the life-history nor as to how many generations of the 
pest are passed through in the year. 
Locality from where reported. 
This beetle was found by the writer in the Kalesar Sal 
Forest of the Simla Division, Punjab, towards the end of April 
1902. This piece of forest is in the plains at the foot of the 
Hills on the west bank of the Jumna River. 
Felations to the Forest. 
This Xy/edorus is another addition to the lengthening list of 
the Sal wood-borers. It was found in a wood depét attacking logs 
which had been felled in the cold weather of 1900-01. Further 
observations are required on its life-history before it will be 
possible to estimate the damage it is capable of committing to 
stores of wood. 
It has been noted above that the beetle is very near, and may 
be identical with, X. perforans, Wollaston. The discovery of 
this insect boring into Sal wood, a wood which is spread fairly 
widely throughout India, is therefore of some importance. This 
Xyleborus has acquired a world-wide reputation. It has 
been know for over 30 years as a destructive beer-cask borer 
in India and occasionally causes considerable loss by riddling 
the staves, thus causing a leakage of the beer’. About 1892 it 
1 Vide Injus. Ins. Ind. Forests, p. 65. 
