462 ON THE USE OF THE MAXILLiE 



piceous, covered with rufous hairs, those of the second and 

 third pair with shorter and thinner hairs of the same colour. 



Observations. — This insect is one of the last to appear, and 

 that in profusion, about the same time with Lytta atrata, till 

 repeated frosts deprive it of food. The black spot on the 

 thorax varies much ; it is usually subquadrate, but is some- 

 times transverse, and sometimes longitudinal, but most com- 

 monly indented at base as represented in Fig. II. I observed 

 this insect about ten years ago in the month of August ; it 

 was found on the blossom of thistles, where I had an oppor- 

 tunity to see it protrude its maxillary appendage as the an- 

 tliae of Lepidopterous insects. In this insect, as well as in 

 the preceding, the abdomen extends at least three segments 

 beyond the elytra, during life. 



The next insects in which I have observed a peculiar for- 

 mation of the maxillae, all belong to the family Mordellonse, 

 namely llhipiphorus dimidiatus, R. limbatus, and R. tristis. 

 The remarkable elongation of the upper lobe of the maxillae, 

 which is greater than at least in one species of Ncmognatha, 

 and other considerations have induced me to propose the es- 

 tablishment of the following genus, taking R. dimidiates for 

 its type, and adding to it the two other species just men- 

 tioned. 



FAMILY MORDELLONjE. 



Genus Macro siagon. 



llhipiphorus, Bosc. Fab. &c. 



Tarsi with all their joints simple ; palpi subfiliform ; an- 

 tennae pectinated ; maxillae with the upper lobe filiform, lon- 

 ger than the palpi; scutellum not apparent; abdomen abruptly 

 truncated ; elytra dehiscent, longer than the abdomen. See 

 Fig. III. a, b, c, d. 



