204 SUBFAMILY X. CURCULIONINJE. 



thickly clothed with pale scales. Beak stout, longer than head and thorax, 

 densely scaly, finely striate, rugose-punctate, and with two tufts of scales 

 at base. Thorax globose, widest at middle, sides strongly rounded, disc 

 densely and finely punctate. Elytra at base slightly wider than thorax 

 at middle, humeri prominent, sides broadly rounded and gradually con- 

 verging to a rounded apex; strise deep, distinctly punctate; intervals flat, 

 each with a row of minute, suberect setae. Length 2.2 2.7 mm. 



Putnam County, Ind., scarce; June 5. Various localities near 

 New York City, July September. Ranges from New York to 

 Lake Superior and Dakota, south to the District of Columbia and 

 Texas. Occurs on dodder (Ulke) ; ragweed (Hamilton} ; sneeze- 

 weed and horsemint (Pierce}. Confused in collections with S mi- 

 crony x squalidus and tessellatus but the thorax is much wider 

 than in either, and its discal stripes always distinct from base 

 to middle. 



Till. DESMORIS Lee., 1876. (Gr., "chain.") 



Small robust species having the beak of males stout, nearly 

 straight, punctured and opaque; of females, much longer, very 

 slender, filiform, usually polished throughout as in Balaiiinus; 

 eyes large, trauverse, widely separated beneath ; antennae long 

 and slender, the second joint of fuuicle longer than the third, 

 club small, pubescent, or with the basal joint glabrous; elytra 

 wider than thorax, stria? deep, slightly punctured ; tarsi slender, 

 third joint broadly bilobed. Five of the 12 species recognized by 

 Dietz occur in our territory. 



KEY TO EASTERN SPECIES OF DESMORIS. 



a. Larger, 4.2 5 mm.; scales grayish-yellow, elytra faintly mottled with 



paler brown; antennae inserted one-third from apex, male, or about 



the middle, female. 279. SCAPALIS. 



aa. Smaller, not over 3.7 mm.; antennae inserted just before the middle, 



male, one-third from base, female. 



fr. First and second joints of funicle slender, subequal in length; scales 

 uniform grayish-white; length 2.8 3.4 mm. 280. PERVISUS. 



bl). First joint of funicle distinctly longer than second. 



c. Scales of elytra mottled with brown; thorax not constricted at 



apex; form robust. 281. FLORIDAXUS. 



cc. Scales uniform gray or grayish-white; thorax constricted behind 



the apex. 



d. Larger, 3.5 3.7 mm.; thorax densely punctate; first joint of fun- 

 icle one-third longer than second. 282. COXSTRICTUS. 

 f7f7. Smaller, less than 3.5 mm.; thorax more finely and sparsely 

 punctate; first joint of funicle three-fifths longer than sec- 

 ond. 283. SORDIDUS. 



