20 



FA M ILY I. BRENTHIDJE. 



I. EUPSALIS Lac., I860. (Gr., "well" + "a pair of shears.") 



Elongate, brown, shining species having the head broad, its 

 hind angles obsolete; month parts concealed by the mentnm ; 

 mandibles of male curved, flattened, pointed, toothed on inner 

 edge; of female small, pincer-shaped; middle coxre rounded, sep- 

 arate; femora slender, cylindrical at base, front tibite sinuate 

 and obliquely grooved on inner side, armed with a hook on outer 

 and. a spur on inner side of tip; tarsal claws large, simple, di- 

 vergent. 



1 (8967). EUPSALIS MINUTA DRURY, 1770. 95. 



Elongate, slender, subcylindrical. Dark reddish-brown to piceous, 

 elytra with narrow elongate yellowish spots, often united to form two or 

 three nearly complete cross-bars. Thorax longer than broad, widest be- 

 hind the middle, base constricted, sides curved to middle, then strongly 

 converging to apex; disc highly polished, minutely and very sparsely punc- 

 tate. Elytra not wider than thorax, more than twice as long as wide; 

 strise deep, those on sides coarsely punctate; intervals smooth, convex. 

 Abdomen of male with first two ventral segments deeply grooved at mid- 

 dle, of female feebly impressed. Length, male. 7.2 17mm.; female, 6.5 14 

 mm. (Fig. 23, male; Fig. 24, female.) 



Frequent throughout Indiana, more so in the southern 

 t-onnties; April 9 July 2(5. Occurs beneath 

 bark of recently felled or dying oak, poplar 

 and beech trees. Throughout New Jersey on 

 chestnut, oak and maple. Ranges from New 

 England and Canada to Nebraska, south to 

 Florida and Texas. The eggs are deposited 

 in May and June and the larva 1 bore in all di- 

 rections through the heart wood, often caus- 

 ing serious injury to white-oak stave bolts. 



The insect varies much in size and three 

 forms have been recognized, based mainly on 

 the shape of beak of male, which is very vari- 

 able. These are 



minuta Drury, described above and having that 

 portion of the beak of male in front of the antennae 

 wider than long, the mandibles as long as that part 

 of the beak and strongly cusped. 



lecontei Power (1878), thorax more strongly 

 punctate, beak of males elongate and narrow, the 

 mandibles shorter with weaker cusps. 



sallei Power (1878), outer five joints of antennte cylindrical instead 

 of ovate, beak of males as in lecontei, thorax punctate as in minuta. 



Fig. 24. X 4- 

 (After Felt.) 



