8 Mr. Kirjjt on Ilerbst's Genus Apion. 



therefore compare them with the Fabrician character of At tela- 

 bus, and point out in what particulars they vary from it*. 



With respect to the Instrumenta cibaric^ it is doubtful whether 

 Fabricius, or any other entomologist, ever saw distinctly those 

 of the insects of which I am speaking ; the rostrum, in which 

 they are hidden, is so very slender and minute, that it is scarcely 

 possible to extricate them from it, at least my endeavours to do 

 this, which have been employed upon some of the largest species 

 I know, have not as yet been successful : the maxillae (Mandibuhe y 

 Fabr.) when it accidentally happens t^a.t one is exerted, may 

 iust be discerned under a strong magnifier ; they appear to be 

 acute and incurved, and I believe there may be four palpi ; hut 

 their shape and number of joints I have not been able to ascer- 

 tain, therefore I cannot say whether they are filiform or not, or the 

 valvule (Maxillce, Fabr.) bifid. The remaining particulars (viz. 

 " Rostrum elongatum incurvum, Antenna extrorsum crassiores" if 

 we consult his Essential Character in the scale of genera, or 

 "Antenna moniliformes rostro insidentes" which is part of his Ar- 

 tificial Character at the head of the genus) we can more readily 

 compare with the characters which our insects exhibit. The 



" 1 1 Tete sans retrecissement posterieur, s'enfoncant plus ou moins dans le corselet, 

 qui est presque carre ou trapezoide. Ex. Att. curculionoides, Linn. 



<« ** Jambes anterieures sans epine remarquable a leur extremite. 



" f Trompe elargie au bout. Autennes inserees plus en dessus qu'en dessous. Ab- 

 domen carre. Ex. Cure. Bacchus, Linn. 



"ft Trompe plus etroite au bout, ou n'etant pas plus large qu'ailleurs. Antennes 

 inserees plus en dessous qu'en dessus. Abdomen presque globuleux. Ex. Attel. 

 Craccce, Jlavipes, frurnentarins, F." 



Hist. Nat. gen. et part, des Crustacfs et des Insectes, torn. iii. p. 196, 197. 



* Char. Essent. Rostrum elongatum, incurvum. Maxilla bifida. Antennte ex- 

 trorsum crassiores. Syst. Eleuth. i. xi. 

 Char. Arti?i£. Palpi filiformes. Maxilla bifid?. Antennae moniliformes, 



rostro insidentes. 



^ terms 



