9G SUBFAMILY IX. OTIORHYNCHINJE. 



Subfamily IX. OTIORHYNCHIN/E. 



THE SHORT-SNOUTED WEEVILS. TPIE SCARRED SNOUT BEETLES. 



A subfamily of medium size, found in all parts of the world, 

 the principal distinguishing character of which is the presence 

 of a round or oval depression resembling a scar on the front of 

 each mandible. This is usually on the face of the mandible itself, 

 bnt is sometimes borne at the tip of a. projection of varying 

 length. It marks the point of attachment during the pupal stage 

 of a. deciduous piece, rarely preserved in freshly emerged adults, 

 which is usually elongate and slender, but sometimes short and 

 conical. (Fig. 7.) Schwarx (1885,20) says: "Specimens of Epi- 

 rirriix iiitltricatiis, abundant early in spring under stones along 

 the Potomac River, still possessed the mandibular appendages, 

 thus showing that they were freshly hatched. One specimen illus- 

 trated the process of losing these appendages. They do not break 

 off in one piece, but the basal third remains attached to the man- 

 dibles and must be lost at a later time." These pieces are prob- 

 ably used by the freshly matured insect to aid in cutting its way 

 out of the pupal case and then, being of no farther use, are lost. 

 According to Horn, the form of the mandible itself, without ref- 

 erence to the scar, indicates the occurrence of the deciduous piece. 

 In those snout beetles, comprising the great majority of Rhyn- 

 chophora, which have the mandibles acute at tip and one over- 

 lapping the other by an edge more or less acute, no deciduous 

 piece or scar will be found. But in those in which the mandibles 

 meet with a broad surface, and whose function is rather that of 

 crushing than of cutting, the scar may be expected. 



In addition to this mandibular scar the Otiorhynchids have 

 the maxilla 1 usually concealed, their palpi short, rigid, 4-jointed; 

 mandibles short, stout, pincer-like; beak short, broad, the an- 

 tennal grooves usually well defined; antenna? strongly elbowed, 

 inserted at the sides or top of the beak and always in front of its 

 middle, 11-jointed (except in Af/rapJutx and Paragraphus) , the 

 last three joints forming a compact annulated club; thorax with 

 the apex usually truncate, the front margin of the sides often 

 with ocular lobes; elytra entire, concealing the abdomen from 

 above, the epipleurjp absent; abdomen with five ventral segments, 

 the first two united, the others free; tibia? straight or slightly 

 curved; tarsal claws simple. The males have the pygidium trans- 

 versely divided so that they possess eight dorsal abdominal seg- 

 ments, while the females have but seven. 



The subfamily, as here treated, was founded as a family bv 



