196 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



The only method of getting rid of these insects which has been sug- 

 gested, is to burn the infested wood. Fortunately it does not appear to 

 have attracted any notice in Illinois by its depredations. 



Spec. Char. Imago. — Antennee head and thorax similar to the preceding species ; 

 tarsi apparently four-jointed. Thorax sharply tuberculate in front, concealing the head 

 in the hood-like extension. Body black, eyes prominent, antennce and palpi reddish, 

 scutellum minute and round. Elytra with large dense punctures, which are more dilated 

 toward the tip ; a large reddish spot on the middle of the base ; tip retuse, with three 

 teeth at the outer corner ; -wings black ; tibiie and tarsi dusky red. Length about one- 

 fifth of an inch. 



Spec. Char. Larva, Riley. — Color yellowish. Body smooth, arched or curved, 

 and wrinkled transversely. Thoracic joints much enlarged, the first being slightly homy 

 at the anterior margin above. Six slender bristle-like legs, carried forward close to the 

 body, the first pair being bent closely under the head, the second pair longer and straight, 

 the third pair short. Head small, horny, rounded, rather darker than the body ; antennse 

 conspicuous, three-jointed ; epistoma dark brown, not as wide as the labrum ; labrum 

 dark brown, rounded, covered and fringed with stiff hairs ; mandibles stout, jet black, 

 triangular, edges entire ; maxillary palpi with two indistinct joints. Length about three- 

 tenths of an inch. 



Spec. Char. Pupa, Riley. — Yellowish and elongate, worm-like, with all the parts 

 of the future beetle distinct ; the hood-like thorax very apparent, and the head at right- 

 angles with the thorax; the last pair of legs, except the tarsi, hidden under the wing- 

 sheaths. Length three-tenths of an inch. 



Section III. Tetramera. 



Apparently four joints in all the feet ; the joints dilated and brush- 

 like on the under side, with the next to the last joint usually two-lobed. 

 This section contains a very large number of injurious species, in fact 

 more than belong to all the other sections combined. To this section 

 belong the snout-beetles or weevils, the long-horned wood-borers, the 

 short-horned wood-borers, the Chrysomelians or plant-bettles, the flea- 

 beetles, tortoise-beetles, etc. 



Family CURCULIONID.E. (Snout-weevils or Curculios.) 



This family is one of the most numerous in species of any belonging 

 to the order, all of which are more or less injurious to vegetation. Their 

 bodies are always of an oval form, never being very much elongated or 

 depressed. The front part of the head is more or less elongated into a 

 distinct snout, sometimes short and broad, but sometimes it is as long as 

 the body and almost as slender as a hair. Their feet are clothed on the 

 under side with a dense brush of stiff short hairs, and the next to the last 

 joint is distinctly divided into two lobes. Usually the antennse are bent 

 or elbowed, the first joint being much longer than the others and forming 

 an angle with them. 



The larvae are soft white grubs, destitute of feet, with minute heads, 

 and usually lying in a curved position. They usually reside in the fruits, 

 seeds or nuts of plants, or in galls formed on the stems or roots, yet there 

 is no part of the plant which is wholly exempt from their attacks. 



When the female is about to deposit her eggs, she first makes a punc- 

 ture with her snout. 



