538 AN INTRODUCTION TO ENTOMOLOGY 



The most common member of the family is Rhynchltes hicolor 



(Fig. 659). This is red above except the snout, and black below; 



the body, not including the snout, is about 6 mm. long, 



^^»^ the snout is half that length. The adults are often abun- 



..^^^^ dant on wild roses, and less frequently on cultivated roses. 



' ' The larvae infest the hips of roses. 



Fig. 659. 



The subfamily Attelabin^, or leaf-rolling weevils, is 

 composed of beetles which have neither an elytral fold nor a labrum, 

 and in which the mandibles are fiat, pincer-shaped.and toothed on the 

 inner side. The elytra do not entirely cover the abdomen, and each is 

 separately rounded at the tip. Only five species are known from this 

 country; all of these belong to ihegernxsAttelabiis. The females pro- 

 vide for their young in a very remarkable way. They make 

 compact thimble-shaped rolls from the leaves of trees 

 (Fig. 660), and lay a single egg in each. The larvee feed 

 on the inner parts of these rolls, and when full-grown enter 

 the ground to transform. Sometimes these rolls are found 

 hanging by a narrow piece to the leaf from which they 

 were made, and sometimes they are found lying on the Fig. 660. 

 ground separated from the leaf. 



The subfamily Cyladin^ is represented in Florida, Louisiana, and 

 Texas by a single species, the sweet-potato root-borer, Cylas formicd- 

 rius. This beetle is somewhat ant-like in form ; this fact suggested 

 the specific name. It is about 6 mm. long; the color of the eltyra, 

 head, and snout is bluish black, that of the pro thorax reddish brown. 

 Both larvae and adults bore into the stems and tubers of the sweet 

 potato, and sometimes do very serious damage. This species was 

 formerly included in the Brentidae. 



The subfamily Otiorhynchin^, or scarred snout-beetles, is one 

 of the larger of the subfamilies of the Curculionidae ; it is repre- 

 sented in our fauna by more than two hundred species. The most 

 distinctive characteristic of these insects is the presence in the pupa 

 state, and sometimes also in recently matured adults, of an ap- 

 pendage on each mandible, and in the adult state of a scar indicating 

 the place from which the appendage has fallen. This scar is on the 

 anterior face of the mandible, and frequently at the tip of a slight 

 process. Many species of this family are beautifully 

 ornamented with scales which resemble in a striking 

 manner the scales on the wings of butterflies. Among 

 J f the more important species are the following. 



W^^ The imbricated snout -beetle, Epiccsrus imhri- 



jfif^ cdtus, is usually a dull, silvery white beetle with 



^^K^ brown markings; but the species is quite variable 



J[^HHL\ in color. It is represented, somewhat enlarged, in 



WSPv Figure 661. It is omnivorous, gnawing holes in va- 



/ ^^^ rious garden vegetables, strawberry plants, and other 



p. , fruits. The greater part of the insect is clothed with 



^^' ■ imbricated scales, which suggested the specific name. 



