SUBFAMILY XIII. CALANDRINJE. 



503 



ss. Coating thin, velvety, covering most of the body; lower 

 surface coarsely punctate; length 9 10 mm. 



892. VESTITUS. 



rr. Thoracic vittae usually feebly developed; color reddish, the 



surface coating moderately dense, gray or red, thin 



or velvety; length 7.5 9.5 mm. 893. KETICULATICOLLIS. 



&&. Beak not curved, strongly compressed; front tibise strongly angulate 



at middle, armed with two spurs, the sub-apical one rather long. 



894. GERMAKI. 

 aa. Elytral intervals 1, 3 and 5 either wholly or in part elevated above 



the others. 



t. Vitt0e of thorax distinctly elevated, narrow, polished black ; beak 

 with front face of apex flat, the posterior face suddenly bent 

 forward; elytral intervals 1, 3 and 5 feebly elevated in basal half 

 or more; length 9 11 mm. 895. INCONGRUUS. 



tt. Vittas of thorax feebly elevated, rather coarsely and densely punctate; 

 front face of apex of beak concave, its posterior face obtuse; 

 elytral interval 1 strongly elevated, 3 and sometimes 5 feebly ele- 

 vated and black near apex; length 1011.5 mm. 89G. ROBUSTIOR. 



876 (9000). SPHENOPHORUS PARVULUS Gyll., Schon., 1838, 961. 



Elongate- 



oval. Black with ash-gray clayey coating; antennae, except 

 the club and tarsi reddish-brown. Beak three- 

 fourths as long as thorax, coarsely and 

 sparsely punctate, its base thickened and above 

 rather deeply grooved. Thorax about as long as 

 wide, at middle slightly wider than elytra, 

 sides strongly curved in front of middle, apex 

 strongly constricted; disc sculptured as given 

 in key. Elytra finely striate, strise with rather 

 distant very coarse punctures; alternate intervals 

 slightly wider and somewhat elevated, the first 

 and third with two, the others with a single row 

 of rather coarse punctures. Length 5 6.5 mm. 

 (Fig. 123.) 



Lake, Putnam and Vigo counties, Ind., 

 scarce; May 25 Oct. 20. Numerous local- 

 ities near New York City ; April Septem- 

 ber. Throughout New Jersey; May July. 

 Ranges from New England to Michigan and Nebraska, south to 

 Florida and Texas. Breeds in roots of blue-grass, Poa pratensis 

 L. and timothy, Plilcum pratense L., and known as the "blue- 

 grass bill-bug." Occurs as adult in Illinois from March 18 to 

 October, and is essentially an upland species ; sometimes abund- 

 ant in city lawns, doing much damage to timothy meadows and 

 also to corn planted in old meadows. Hibernating as imago, the 

 eggs are deposited in May, the larva? appearing in June, pupating 

 in late July, the adults emerging iu August and September. 



Fig. 123. X 5- 

 (After Forbes.) 



