186 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



RuTKLin.E. (The Vine-chafers.) 



Somewhat closely allied to the May-bettles are certain species of 

 beetles which have a similar habit, in the perfect state, of eating the 

 leaves of woody plants, especially those of the grape-vine, often doing 

 much injury to the cultivated varieties. Like those of the last-mentioned 

 family i^Melolonthidce) they possess short antennce with a club at the end, 

 composed of leaves or plates which open like the leaves of a book ; but 

 they are chiefly distinguished by having one claw on each foot thicker 

 and stouter than the other, and the wing-cases more or less grooved 

 lengthwise. The larvae of but {t\N species are known ; but, as they are 

 injurious to the horticulturist only in the perfect or beetle state, no further 

 mention of these will be made than what will suffice to indicate their 

 general character. 



Anoniala variatis, Fabr. The Variable Vine-chafer. 



This species, which is scarcely one-third of an inch long, is of a 

 broad, oval shape ; one of the claws on the anterior and middle tarsi 

 or feet is cleft. Tlie wing-cases are faintly grooved and punctured in the 

 grooves ; the thorax is plain and nearly or quite hairless. The head and 

 thorax, especially of the male, is a dark olive or greenish black, piargined 

 with yellow, and thickly punctured. The wing-cases usually dull yellow, 

 but occasionally variegated with brownish or black, so as to form two 

 imperfect bands. 



Anomala lucicola, Fabr. The Light-loving Vine-chafer. 



This species belongs to the same genus as the preceding, has the 

 same general characters, and resembles it so closely that it is difificult to 

 distinguish one from the other — if, in fact, they are distinct. It usually 

 has the top of the head and thorax black, and Dr. LeBaron states that 

 specimens of both species occur entirely black. The wing-cases are 

 rather more distinctly and deeply punctured than in the former, and are 

 not usually marked with the blackish spots or bands. Size same as the 

 preceding. 



Anomala binotata, Gyll. The Two-spotted Vine-chafer. 



General characters as to form, claws, antennae, etc., as in the two last 

 species. The head is black and thickly punctured, front margin rounded 

 and slightly turned up. Thorax greenish black, slightly punctured, and 

 smoother than the head ; scutellum dark brown. Wing-cases dull yellow, 

 with indistinct furrows and lines of punctures, and an irregular, rather 

 large, blackish spot on each side, a little in advance of the middle ; each 

 case (elytron) is margined all around with a narrow black border. Size 

 same as the preceding. 



We are unacquainted with the preparatory states of these species, but 

 the larvae are doubtless six-footed grubs, somewhat similar to the white 

 grub, or grub of the "May-beetle," but as a matter of course much 

 smaller. 



