58 



FAMILY in. CURCULIOXID.T:. 



53 (8210). RHYXCHITES BICOLOR Fab.,* 1798, I, 388. 



Robust, convex, pyriform. Elytra, thorax and head behind eyes, bright 



red; under surface, femora and beak 

 black; tibiae, tarsi and antennae pi- 

 ceous-black. Beak as long as head 

 and thorax, rather sparsely marked 

 with elongate punctures; antennae 

 inserted at its middle, their grooves 

 distinct. Thorax cylindrical, as 

 long as wide, rather densely and 

 finely punctate. Elytral striae in- 

 distinct, their punctures but little 

 coarser than those of intervals, 

 which are very dense. Beak of fe- 



Fig. 3J. a, Female; b, claw; c, side view 

 of female. (After Chittenden.) 



male shorter and stouter than in 

 male. Length 5 6.5 mm. (Fig. 32.) 



Koscinsko and Marion counties, Indiana, scarce; June 2 

 July 5. Occurs on the blossoms and foliage of cultivated and 

 wild roses, probably throughout the northern half of the State. 

 Common near New York City on roses, June 13 August, the 

 larvre in the hips. Ranges from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but 

 principally northward in the Transition Life Zone. Known as 

 the "rose curculio" and recorded by Chittenden (1901, 98) as 

 occasionally doing much damage to cultivated roses, especially 

 Rosa rugosa hedges, by puncturing the flower buds, and also to 

 ripe blackberries and raspberries by puncturing the fruit with its 

 beak and causing it to decay. Remedies, hand picking and jarring 

 into vessels. When the insects occur on other plants than canes 

 bearing berries or on roses soon to blossom, spray with paris 

 green at the rate of a pound to 150 gallons of water. 



54 (8211). RHYXCHITES ^EXEUS Boh., 1829, 22. 



Form of bicolor. Either wholly black with a slight bronzed tinge, 

 or with the elytra a dull brownish-yellow. Beak slender, longer than head 

 and thorax, sparsely and coarsely punctate in front of antennae, which are 

 inserted slightly behind the middle; front of head striate, coarsely and shal- 

 lowly punctate. Thorax short, bell-shaped, finely and rather densely punc- 

 tate. Punctures of elytral striae fine, less distinct than those of the inter- 

 vals, which are in irregular rows. Length 5 6.5 mm. 



Lake, Lawrence and Posey counties. Indiana, scarce; June 

 3 j^y 14. Bear Swamp, N. J., July 23. Fort Montgomery, X. 

 Y.. July 2G. Ranges from New York, Wisconsin and Michigan 



*Sharp (1889) founded a new genus, Mcrhytichitcs, for this and an European 

 species, based upon the presence in them of a minute centrosternal piece of the pros- 

 ternum which "separates the apices of the proepimera," this being absent in our other 

 Kliynchitfs. We prefer to retain the species under the older name. 



