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DIAPUS (?) HERITIERA, US. 42 

the Ranger was able to make some further observations on its 
habits in the beginning of April. The following is a summary 
of his valuable investigations. He found two beetles of 
different sizes in the pieces. of wood (probably ¢@ and ?). 
His study of the habits led him to conclude that the adults 
bore through the wood into the sapwood and lay their eggs. 
They probably do not go into the heart-wood at this stage as 
he found that in all the newly attacked wood the heart-wood 
was left untouched ; it was only after some period that the 
galleries were found in the heart-wood. Only a few eggs are 
laid in each tunnel; the number, however, has not been 
observed. The larve did not appear to bore galleries in the 
wood but were to be found at the bottom of the parent’s tunnel. 
This latter may branch (or curve ?) when it has been carried right 
down into the wood. The larvae pupate at the ends of the 
galleries and the adults on maturing make fresh borings into 
‘the timber as long as it is sufficiently fresh for their purpose. 
The galleries are verv small, (about 7’; inch in diameter) and the 
adult beetles continually move up and down the tunnels. This 
insect is another of the so called ‘‘ ambrosia ”’ beetles, and the reason 
for the non-discovery of larval tunnels is due to the fact that the 
larve probably live upon a fungus growth which develops on the 
walls of the tunnel of the parent beetle. Since the mature 
insect is found in April and again in June there are evidently 
two generations in the year and probably several. These beetles 
attack sundrvi wood as soon as it has been felled, and as 
long as itis fresh. They will not touch dry wood. Their old 
galleries can be seen in this latter, but no living beetles are ever 
found in them. They only attack the swmdrz in this locality. 
Qther kinds of wood, green and half dry, are left untouched. 
Locality from where reported. 
This insect was found by Ranger B. C. Sen Gupta at Wazir- 
pur, in the Backergan} District in Bengal. The wood in which 
the beetles were found was, however, brought in boats from the 
Sundarbans, the latter place probably being the true habitat of 
the insect. 
