ginate at tip; the mentum is nearly round, and the ligula and palpi are not prominent; maxillæ exposed. Antennæ inserted near the tip of the beak, geniculate, scape long, slender, slightly clavate, funicle somewhat stout, first joint long, clavate, equal to the four following; 2-7 short, outer ones a little wider, club small, oval, pubescent, annulated. Prothorax rounded at the sides and base, truncate in front, without postocular lobes; prosternum feebly emarginate beneath, front coxæ contiguous. Elytra oblong-oval, a little wider than the prothorax, humeri rounded, pygidium entirely covered; scutellum small, rounded. Mesosternum moderately wide, middle coxæ separated, side pieces diagonally divided, not ascending between the elytra and base of prothorax. Metasternum rather long, side pieces narrow; hind coxa moderately separated. Ventral segments first and second longer, separated by a slightly arcuate distinct suture; third and fourth short, separated by straight sutures; fifth as long as third and fourth united, broadly rounded behind. Legs rather short, stout; thighs thick, not clavate, sinuate beneath near the tip, not toothed; tibiæ obliquely truncate at tip, with a small hook at the inner apical angle; tarsi two-thirds as long as the tibiæ, dilated, spongy beneath, third joint broad, bilobed; fourth joint not elongate, slender, with small, approximate claws, which are slightly connate at base.

HORMOPS n. g.

The single species representing this genus and tribe in our fauna, is a small, inconspicuous black insect, thinly clothed with rather coarse yellow hair, and reminds one in general appearance of the Erirhine genus Procas (p. 162). The characters as above detailed are quite anomalous, and no further generic description is at present necessary. It is possible that it may have relations with some of the anomalous genera placed by Mr. Wollaston among the Cossonida, but as I have had no opportunity of studying them in nature, I can but timidly suggest the propriety of comparing this genus with those genera of Cossonide in which the eyes are disposed to become confluent beneath. The entire facies of this insect is so purely Curculionideous that (the sexual characters being unknown), I would be unwilling to place it in any other family.

1. H. abducens, n. sp.

Brownish black, not shining, thinly clothed with yellow pubescence, head and beak densely punctured; prothorax wider than long, rounded on the sides, feebly constricted near the tip, broadly rounded at the base; strongly but not very coarsely or densely punctured, rather shining, without distinct trace of dorsal smooth line. Elytra wider than prothorax, feebly emarginate at base; humeri rounded, sides slightly rounded, tips conjointly broadly rounded; disc somewhat flattened, striæ well impressed, slightly punctured, interspaces nearly flat, punculate. Beneath strongly and densely punctured, last ventral more finely punctured; pubescence similar to that of the upper surface. Length 4 mm.; .15 inch. Capron, Florida; April; Messrs. Hubbard and Schwarz; one specimen. PROC. AMER. PHILOS. soc. xv. 96. 20

Subfamily V. BALANINIDE.

The single genus which constitutes this subfamily has been heretofore arranged as a tribe, in the vicinity of Anthonomini. It differs, however, from that tribe, as from all other Coleoptera, known to me by the movement of the mandibles being vertical instead of horizontal;* the mandibles are short, pyramidal and acute, and the condyle is on the upper side; the teeth seen in mcst Curculionidæ are wanting; the inner edge is more convexly curved than the outer, so that in the ordinary position, the points seem slightly divergent. In general appearance, as well as by the extension of the mesothoracic epimera, so as to give an oblique outline to the elytra near the base, this subfamily seems to me to approach Centrinus more than Anthonomus; the result of this obliquity is that the tenth elytral stria commences at the margin, opposite the anterior end of the metathoracic episterna, as in all Barini. The beak attains in length and attenuation the greatest development; in the it is rarely shorter than the body; in the it is frequently twice the length, and is used to make the perforation into which the egg is subsequently introduced. The great thickness of the husks of the fruits (chestnuts, walnuts, hickory nuts, &c.), depredated on by these insects, necessitates a very long perforating instrument to reach the kernel, upon which the larva feeds.

The mouth organs are small, the gular peduncle very long and narrow. The antennæ are inserted a little before the middle (♂), or behind the middle (9) of the beak, and are very long and slender; the funicle is 7-jointed; the first joint is either longer or shorter than the second, and the outer joints are gradually a little less elongated; club elongate oval, pointed, annulated and pubescent. Eyes rather large, flat, nearly rounded, finely granulated. Prothorax rather long in front of the coxa, which are contiguous; broadly emarginate in front, without postocular lobes; pronotum rapidly narrowed in front, sides rounded, base slightly bisinuate. Scutellum distinct. Elytra narrowed behind, tips separately rounded, pygidium more or less exposed. Side pieces of mesothorax attaining widely the base of the prothorax, and truncating the humeral outline of the elytra; metathoracic episterna narrow, dilated in front. First ventral segment longer than the second, and closely united with it; the others are nearly equal in length. Middle coxæ moderately distant, hind coxæ widely distant, not attaining the elytral margin. Legs long, thighs clavate and strongly toothed in our species; tibiæ slender; truncate at tip, not mucronate; tarsi dilated, claws divergent, toothed.

BALANINUS Germ.

I have nothing to add to the excellent synopsis of our six species given by Dr. Horn, as above cited.

B. porrectus Boh., Sch. Curc. vii, 292 still remains unknown.

*Horn, Proc. Am. Phil. Soc., 1873, 457.

convex.

Family VII. BRENTHIDÆ.

Mouth organs very different, according to genus and sex; maxillæ, ligula and palpi concealed in the species of the first sub-family in our fauna by the mentum, which in the ♂ is transverse and concave, in the narrow and Mandibles in curved, flattened, pointed, more or less toothed on the inner edge; in the stout, small, pincer-shaped, toothed on the apical edge. Maxillæ exposed in Cyladidæ in both sexes, mentum oblong, and supported on a short gular peduncle, which is wanting in true Brenthida; mandibles short, pincer-shaped.

Antennæ inserted in lateral foveæ at a greater or less distance in front of the eyes, according to genus and sex; not geniculate, 11-jointed in true Brenthida, 10-jointed in Cyladida; outer joints finely pubescent and sensitive; basal joint stouter and a little longer than the second.

Head elongated, constricted behind, except in Cylas; eyes rounded; small, not granulated; labrum wanting.

Prothorax very elongate, truncate before and behind, without trace of postocular lobes; turned into a peduncle behind, with a broad basal bead; prosternum very long in front of the coxæ; prosternal sutures entirely obliterated; coxæ separate in Brenthida, conical, prominent, and contiguous in Cylas; in both the median suture behind the coxæ is very evident.

Mesosternum moderately long, side pieces diagonally divided, epimera pointed in front, not attaining the base of the prothorax; coxæ rounded, separate (Brenthida), nearly contiguous (Cylas).

Metasternum very long, episterna narrow; hind coxæ transverse oval, separated.

Elytra elongate, covering entirely the pygidium, with a fold on the inner surface close to the margin, which commences near the base, and diverges obliquely near the tip, and extends to the sutural edge in Brenthida, and nearly there in Cylas. Wings well developed.

Abdomen with five ventral segments, of which the first and second are very long, and united by an indistinct suture; third and fourth short, fifth a little longer, flat, rounded behind; sutures straight. Dorsal segments membranous, except the last, which is corneous; anal segment of rather large, rounded. The acute edge of the ventral segments and of the metathorax is prominent and fits, as usual, into the elytral groove.

Legs not slender, moderate in length; thighs clavate, front tibiæ sinuate, and obliquely grooved on the inner side in Brenthida, and armed with a hook on the outer tip, and a spine on the inner; middle and hind tibiæ truncate at tip, with two small fixed spurs. In Cylas the tibia are all slender, straight and not mucronate at tip. Tarsi spongy pubescent beneath, with the third joint bilobed. Claws large, simple and divergent, except in Cylas, where they are small and connate at base.

This highly specialized family is the last of those in which the male is provided with an additional dorsal segment. The mouth organs vary to a greater degree than they do in Curculionida, though usually the mentum is

developed to such an extent as to conceal the ligula and labial palpi. Of the genera known to me Cylas is the only one in which the maxillæ are exposed by the mentum not filling completely the buccal cavity, though other cases are mentioned by Lacordaire.

But what is most curious, is that while the mandibles of the preserve the pincer-form seen in many Curculionida, and the beak is slender, and in some species extremely long, for the purpose of performing its function as an accessory organ of generation,* in the ♂ the mandibles assume a flat, curved, and pointed form, resembling those of ordinary Coleoptera. This sexual character is exhibited even in those genera in which the beak of the is nearly as slender, and the mouth as small as in the .

The explanation of this difference in the mandibular structure is afforded by the interesting remarks of Mr. A. R. Wallace, concerning the wonderful pugnacity of the when in proximity to the 9. An excellent account of the assistance given by the to the Q when she is occupied in boring the hole in which the egg is placed, is also given by C. V. Riley,† from observations made by his correspondent W. R. Howard, of Forsyth, Missouri.

These combats, however, result in no injury to either of the parties engaged; the dense chitinous covering affords a perfect protection; the weaker male, overcome by exhaustion, eventually flees, and leaves to his more vigorous victor the honorable task of guarding and assisting the fair object of strife in her efforts to preserve the species.

The habits, therefore, of these insects, as well as their peculiarities of struc ure, deserve a closer attention than has yet been given to them.

The smooth eyes, the reticulations of which are seen only through the transparent integument, and the form of the front tibiæ, indicate a resemblance, though a remote one, to Rhyssodide, such as might perhaps exist among objects of quite different nature originating in the same period of time. The geographical distribution of the Brenthida is also favorable to the idea that they represent a tolerably ancient form of life.

The great extension of the longitudinal axis of the body exceeds in some members of this family any proportion that occurs in other Coleoptera; and it is singular to see that a character, which usually indicates feebleness of development, is here associated with densely chitinized integuments, and great complication of domestic life.

The family divides itself naturally into two subfamilies, the characters of which have been sufficiently exposed above.

Antennæ 11-jointed, last joint oval, pointed, not larger, BRENTHIDÆ. Antennæ 10-jointed; last joint very elongate, ... ... ... ... ... ..... CYLADIDÆ.

* Harris, Ins. Inj. Veg. 3d ed. 63; Wallace, Malay Archipelago (ed. Harper), p. 482; Riley, Sixth Annual Report, Ins. of Missouri, p. 115. These authors mention that the makes with her beak deep perforations in the tree, and deposits an egg in each one of them; Lec., Am. Journ. Sc. and Arts, 1867.

Sixth Annual Report on the Noxious, &c., Insects of Missouri, 1874, p. 415.

Of this family two genera belong in the faunal limits treated of in this memoir, though one of them (Brenthus), is in a political sense extra-limital, having occurred in Lower California.

These two genera represent in the arrangement of Lacordaire separate groups, but in the plan of subordination of characters herein adopted, they seem to indicate what I have called tribes, which may be distinguished by the sexual and other differences in the head, as well as by the form of the prothorax.

Beak very dissimilar in the two sexes; antennæ not very remote from the eyes, rather slender, not compressed, nor clavate; prothorax convex, not grooved..............

...

Beak slender in both sexes; antennæ far distant from the eyes, somewhat thickened and stouter externally; prothorax deeply grooved towards the base..

Tribe I. ARRHENODINI.

ARRHENODINI.

BRENTHINI.

The genus Eupsalis, represented in our fauna by a single species, differs from Arrhenodes by the brilliant lustre of the surface, and by the hind part of the head being less prominent; in view of the magnitude of the variations in the♂, which I have mentioned below, I have great doubt of the generic value of these characters; nevertheless, my opinion can only be tested by a careful study of foreign species, which would interrupt the progress of the present memoir, and is, moreover, not essential for the elucidation of our own fauna.

The distribution of Eupsalis, even as thus limited, is remarkable; one species in North America, one species in Guinea, and one in Madagascar, and perhaps one in Brazil. It is worthy of remark in this connection, that the genus Amorphocephalus, the only Brenthide found in Europe, is also represented in Australia.*

EUPSALIS Lac.

1. E. minuta Riley, 6th Mo. Report, 113; (larva correctly determined, described and figured); Curculio minutus Drury, Ins. i, 95, Tab. 42, f. 3, 7, name given in index, vol. ii, (?); Herbst, Käfer, vii, 200; Tab. 108, f. 9, (?); Oliv. Enc. Méth. ii, 192; B. maxillosus Oliv. Ins. iv, No. 84, Tab. 1, f. 1, and Tab. 2, f. 17, (♂); Gyll., Sch. Curc. i, 326.

B. septemtrionis Herbst, Käfer, vii, 183, Tab. 108, f. 5, (♂); B. brunneus Panzer, ed. Voet, iv, 44; B. distans Panzer, ibid.

B. (Arrhenodes) septemtrionis Harris, Ins. Inj. Veg. 3d ed. 68; (larva erroneously determined and described); Eupsalis maxillosus Horn, Tr. Am. Ent. Soc. iv, 127.

Abundant from Lake Superior to Texas, and from New England to Colorado; bores into the heart wood of various oaks, usually after they have been felled, though sometimes while the tree is still living; the white, the *Lacordaire, Gen. Col. vii, 423.