390 SUBFAMILY X. CURCULIONINJE. 



XYITI. NICENTRUS Casey, 1892. (Anagram of Centrinus.) 



Small, rather narrow, oblong-oval or subcylindrical, convex 

 species, having the beak generally thick, rather short; antenna 

 inserted about its middle in female, slightly beyond in male; 

 mandibles with inner edge straight, finely toothed; front coxa? 

 narrowly separated; prosternnm unarmed in male. 



KEY TO EASTERN SPECIES OF NICENTRUS. 



a. Prosternum flat or nearly so; length less than 4 mm. 

 It. Front coxa? separated by less than half their own width; beak rather 

 stout, not tapering, never longer than head and thorax; second 

 joint of funicle not longer than the next two united. 

 c. Scales of thorax abruptly denser and conspicuous at sides. 



(1. Punctures of thorax contiguous and more or less coalescent 

 lengthwise; scales of elytra in a single even row on each in- 

 terval. 593. LINEICOIXIS. 

 (Id. Punctures of thorax rather widely separated ; scales on third 

 and fifth intervals of elytra broadly confused. 



594. INGENUUS. 

 cc. Scales of thorax evenly distributed, but slightly more dense at 



sides. 



e. Larger, 2.8 3.7 mm.; punctures and scales of inner elytral in- 

 tervals confused. 595. DECIPIENS. 

 ee. Smaller, not over 2.2 mm.; intervals each with a single row of 

 punctures and scales. 596. EFFETUS. 

 Itl). Front coxse separated by more than half their width; beak one-half 

 the length of body, more slender and almost impunctate; second 

 joint of funicle as long as the next three. 597. CONTRACTUS. 

 aa. Prosternum with a narrow and deep but scaly longitudinal groove; 

 beak very stout, especially toward base in male; larger, 3.7 5 mm. 

 /. Black or piceous, legs paler; surface rather densely clothed with 

 grayish scales. 598. CANUS. 

 //. Reddish-brown throughout; surface almost glabrous. 



599. NEGLECTUS. 



593 (8933). NICENTRUS LINEICOLLIS Boh., Schon., 1844, 221. 



Narrowly oblong, subparallel, convex. Black, rather dull; antenna?, 

 tibiae and tarsi dark reddish-brown; thorax with slender whitish scales, ar- 

 ranged transversely near the sides and along a narrow median line; 

 those of elytra disposed in a nearly even single line along each inter- 

 val; scales beneath broadly oval and dense, except towards the sides of 

 thorax. Beak as long as thorax, its sides striate and sparsely punc- 

 tured. Thorax slightly longer than wide, sides parallel from base to mid- 

 dle, then converging to apex; disc finely and densely punctate, feebly 

 constricted near apex. Elytra slightly wider at base than thorax, sides 

 parallel to apical fourth, then broadly rounded to apex; stria? deep, 

 finely punctate; intervals coarsely, rugosely punctate, each puncture 

 bearing a scale. Length 2.5 3.2 mm. 



