Family I.

RHINOMACERIDE.

Mentum transverse, small, emarginate in front, supported on a very broad gular peduncle; ligula and palpi small.

Maxillæ exposed, lobes short, ciliate at tip, inner one very short; palpi 4-jointed, cylindrical, well developed. Mandibles flat, curved, acute, toothed on the inner side.

Antennæ inserted at the side of the beak near the end, 11-jointed, straight, first joint a little stouter than the second, but not longer, joints 2—6 nearly equal, 7 and 8 a little shorter and broader, 9-11 forming an elongate loose club, the last joint oval, pointed, divided transversely near the tip. All the joints are sparsely pilose, and those of the club are covered with sensitive surface.

Head prominent not deflexed, eyes convex, prominent, rounded, not very finely granulated; beak as long as the prothorax, rather flat, narrowest about the middle, wider at base and tip; without antennal grooves. Labrum distinct.

Prothorax truncate before and behind, sides convex, prosternal sutures distinct, widely separated, parallel in front, then curving inwards, and attaining the coxal cavity about the middle of its outer margin; coxal cavities rounded, confluent.

Mesosternum flat, pointed behind at the middle, coxal cavities rounded, confluent; trochantin large; epimera transverse, oblique, attaining the trochantin.

Metasternum rather long, side pieces narrow, slightly dilated externally in front.

Elytra covering the pygidium, rounded at tip, without epipleuræ, and without fold on the inner surface near the side.

Abdomen with five free ventral segments nearly equal in length, separated by straight sutures, intercoxal process acute; dorsal segments coriaceous, nearly equal in length, the last more corneous, articulating with the last ventral; anal segment of convex, not very prominent; side margin of abdomen acute, but not fitting into an elytral groove.

Anterior coxæ prominent, contiguous; middle coxæ rounded, contiguous; hind coxæ transverse, slightly separated by the acute intercoxal process, and extending to the side of the abdomen.

Legs slender, not elongated, tibiæ truncate at tip, middle and hind pair with small terminal spurs; tarsi brush-like beneath, 4-jointed, third joint broad deeply bilobed, claws divergent, simple or slightly broader at base (in our species).

This family contains a few species inhabiting the northern temperate zone, and depredating on the male flowers of coniferous trees; in which the eggs are deposited. As I have observed on a former occasion, this family is a synthetic or undifferentiated type in which the Rhynchophora make the nearest approach to the lower Heteromera; it is therefore interPROC. AMER. PHILOS. Soc. xv. 96. A

esting to see that it clings to a very ancient and synthetic type of vegetation

3. comptus.

Pubescence short and fine...... The differs from the by the front tibiæ being longer and slightly curved inwards, and the beak longer, more slender, and less dilated, at the tip. The tufts of hair at the middle of the third and fourth ventral seg. ments of the are also present in our species.

The anal segment characteristic of the of the second series of Rhynchophora also exists in Rhinomacer, but is not prominent, and is almost concealed by the last dorsal segment, which is rounded at tip.

1. R. pilosus, n. sp.

Brown or blackish; antennæ and legs paler; pubescence long and coarse. Beak punctured and substriate, head densely punctured. Prothorax as wide as long, densely and strongly punctured, sides rounded. Elytra convex, parallel, elongate, coarsely punctured. Length 3.6 mm's; .15 inch. Lake Superior, Virginia, California; four specimens.

2. R. elongatus, n. sp.

Blackish with a slight brassy tinge; antennæ and legs brown; pubescence pale brown, long and coarse. Beak with the outer half pale; sculptured as in the preceding. Prothorax a little longer than wide, very densely punctured, sides very slightly rounded. Elytra rather narrower than in the preceding. Length 3.6 mm's, .15 inch.

Pennsylvania four specimens. Two are dark colored; one dark with pale elytra, and one entirely pale brown.

One from Canada, with pale brown elytra has the form and sculpture of the other four, except that the prothorax is scarcely at all rounded on the sides, and is less densely punctured, and the elytra still more elongated. It may indicate another species, but I am unwilling to designate it as such without more specimens.

3. R. comptus, n. sp.

Form and size of R. pilosus; blackish with a distinct brassy tint, clothed with short whitish hair. Head and beak as in the other species. Prothorax as wide as long, rounded on the sides, more finely and densely punctured. Elytra more densely and rugosely punctured. Stem of antennæ pale brown. Length 3.6 mm's; 15 inch.

One, Lake Tahoe, California; Mr. Crotch. Quite distinct by the shorter pubescence and finer and denser punctuation.

Family II. RHYNCHITIDÆ.

Mentum small, subquadrate, supported upon a long narrow gular peduncle; ligula prominent, small, palpi short.

Maxillæ exposed, palpi short, rigid, as in Curculionidæ, 4-jointed.

Mandibles toothed on the outer and inner side; capable of great lateral extension; in repose the outer apical tooth on each projects forwards, so that two small acute teeth seem to project from the mouth.

Antennæ inserted at the sides of the beak, in position varying according to the genus; 11-jointed straight, first joint not elongated, and scarcely stouter, 2-8 slender, 9-11 broader, forming a loose club, and covered with sensitive surface.

Head prominent, not deflexed, eyes rounded finely granulated; beak slender, varying somewhat in form according to the genus.

Prothorax truncate before and behind, convex, prosternal sutures not visible, coxal cavities rounded, somewhat transverse, with a distinct fissure at the outer side margin : distant in Pterocolus, confluent in other genera. Mesosternum flat, acute behind in all but Pterocolus, and with the side pieces normal in form and diagonally divided; in that genus they are transverse, prominent, apparently undivided, and ascend between the prothorax and humeral angle of the elytra, suddenly declivous and excavated in front for the protection of the legs; coxal cavities approximate, except in Pterocolus.

Metasternum rather long, with narrow side pieces; shorter with wide side pieces in Pterocolus.

Elytra separately rounded behind, exposing the pygidium in some genera ; conjointly rounded, and covering the pygidium in others, epipleuræ distinct; submarginal fold on inner face short and straight.

Abdomen with five free ventral segments, nearly equal in length, separated by straight sutures, intercoxal process acute except in Pterocolus ;

without additional anal segment, pygidium in both sexes triangular, deflexed; sides of segments not forming an acute edge, and not fitting into a lateral groove of the elytra.

Anterior coxæ usually conical, contiguous, and prominent; smaller, rounded and separated in Pterocolus.

Middle coxæ similar to the front ones.

Hind coxæ transverse, reaching to the margin of the elytra, or nearly so.. Legs slender, rather long, tibiæ truncate at tip, with small terminal spurs; tarsi brush-like beneath, 4-jointed, third joint broad deeply bilobed; claws bifid, or acutely toothed.

Though nearly related to the preceding family, these species are readily distinguished by the absence of labrum, and the peculiar form of mandible, which recurs again only in Desmoris, an Erirhine genus of Curculionidæ.

While in Rhinomacerida a relationship to normal Coleoptera is seen in the presence of a labrum, and better development of maxillary palpi, a

similar tendency is evinced in the Rhynchitidæ by the distinct epipleuræ. In the anomalous genus Pterocolus moreover, the prothorax is distinctly and acutely margined at the sides, and excavated beneath, so as to form a large cavity for the reception of the front and middle legs. This character is seen in no other Rhynchophorous insect, and would almost warrant its reception as a distinct family. For the present however, I prefer placing it as a sub-family.

Sub-family I. RHYNCHITIDÆ.

The distinctive characters of this sub-family have been pointed out, but may be briefly resumed as follows:

Body rather elongate, or pyriform, front and middle coxæ contiguous, conical, prominent. Prothorax without side margin, not excavated beneath. Mesothorax with side pieces diagonally divided, epimera not ascending. Metathorax with narrow parallel side pieces.

Our genera are as follows:

Pygidium covered by elytra.

Elytra punctured irregularly...

Elytra striate.....

Pygidium exposed, elytra with striæ of punctures,

AULETES Sch.

Three species are known to me:

Antennæ inserted at the middle of the beak. Black coarsely punctured, thinly pubescent. Antennæ inserted near the base of the beak. Bluish black, densely punctured, thinly pubescent. Very small, brown, irregularly pubescent....

1. A. ater, n sp.

Robust, black, thinly clothed with very fine gray pubescence, which is easily rubbed off. Beak longer than the head and prothorax, nearly straight, slightly flattened above, coarsely punctured and slightly striate towards the base; head strongly punctured, eyes small, very convex. Prothorax as long as wide, slightly narrowed in front, very little rounded on the sides, strongly punctured, with a faint smooth dorsal line. Elytra twice as wide as the prothorax, very convex, deeply and coarsely punctured. Antennæ inserted about the middle of the beak. Length 3.6 mm's; .15 inch.

Illinois and Maryland; three specimens.

2. A. subcoeruleus, n. sp.

Less robust, blue black, thinly clothed with short suberect pubescence. Beak slender, as long as the head and prothorax, coarsely punctured, channeled towards the base; antenne inserted near the base, head coarsely punctured, eyes larger less prominent. Prothorax a little wider than long, rounded on the sides, strongly punctured. Elytra one-half wider than the

prothorax, convex, less coarsely and more densely punctured. Length 3.3 mm's; .13 inch.

Nebraska; three specimens kindly given me by Mr. Ulke.

3. A. cassandræ, n. sp.

Very small, less robust, yellowish brown, varied sometimes with fuscous. irregularly clothed with rather coarse pale pubescence. Beak as long as the head and prothorax, coarsely punctured; head and eyes as in A. subcoeruleus; antennæ inserted near the base of the beak. Prothorax longer than wide, rounded on the sides, densely punctured, with a faint smooth dorsal line. Elytra one-half wider than the prothorax, coarsely punctured, punctures arranged in rows near the base. Length 2 mm's; .08 incl. Detroit, Michigan, and Capron, Florida; collected by Messrs. H. G. Hubbard and E. A. Schwarz, on Cassandra calyculata.

EUGNAMPTUS Sch.

The species of this genus are more slender in form than the other members of the family, and the legs are longer and more feeble. According to the punctuation of the head, prothorax and elytra, the species may be readily recognized:

more strongly punctured, antennæ stouter...

Front distinctly channeled...

1. Eu. striatus, n. sp.

1. striatus.

2. angustatus. 3. collaris.

4. puncticeps. 5. sulcifrons.

Elongate, black, clothed with erect black hairs, head and prothorax reddish yellow. Beak black, coarsely punctured, distinctly carinate behind the antennæ, which are inserted about the middle and are long and slender; front sparsely punctured, obsoletely channeled. Prothorax longer than wide, sparsely coarsely punctured; dorsal line deep, abbreviated at each end. Elytra with striæ composed of deep transverse punctures closely placed; interspaces narrow, each with a row of distant but distinct punctures. Length 4.7 mm's; .19 inch.

Haulover, Florida; Messrs. Hubbard and Schwarz.

I have seen three; the eyes are large, and the front rather broad and convex, as in the next species.

2. Eu. angustatus Gyll., Sch. Curc. v, 342; Rhynchites ang. Herbst, Käfer, vii, 140, Tab. 105, f. 4; Anthribus nigripennis Fabr., Syst. El. ii, 410; Rhinosimus nigr. Latr., Gen. Cr. et Ins. ii, 233; Hist. Nat. Cr. et Ins. xi, 27: Rhynchites nigr. Oliv., Ins. 81, 87, tab. 2, f. 39.

eyes larger, front narrower, head gradually narrowed behind; middle tibiæ longer and slightly bent inwards near the tip; external apical tooth of mandibles not prominent.