NO. 1988. 8TUDIE8 OF NORTH AMERICAN WEEVILS— PIERCE. 415 



Length 7.5-9 mm., width 3-4 mm. Form elongate, oval, robust in 

 female, slender in male. Body black, moderately 'densely clothed 

 with oval, flat scales of a grayish color with no color pattern. Beak a 

 little longer than head, longer than wide, not separated from front 

 by a depression; nasal plate very broad, ogival, basally angulately 

 emarginate, smooth, rimmed; fovea deep and round, median Hne 

 impressed from a short distance in front of fovea to tip, the impres- 

 sion broadened in front; lateral impressions deep, short; surface of 

 head and beak closely punctate, especiall}^ toward apex of beak, 

 vestiture moderately dense except on a triangular, strongly punctate, 

 impressed area surrounding the nasal plate; setse sparser. Scrobes 

 deep; scape reaching beyond middle of eyes; funicle with third to 

 sixth joints about as wide as long, others longer. Prothorax a little 

 wider than long, deeply and broadly impressed on median line, finely 

 punctate with few large impressions; vestiture not very dense. 

 Elytral strial punctures round, small, setigerous; intervals wide, the 

 alternate intervals somewhat more convex at base; vestiture moder- 

 ately densely squamose with sparse decumbent setse. Undersides 

 squamose and more densely setose. 



Type.— C&t. No. 14647, U.S.Nat.Mus. 



EPICiERUS BENJAMINI, new species. 



This very interesting species differs from all other species m the 

 United States by the shape of its scutellum. 



Length 11 mm., width 5.2 mm. Form robust. Black, densely 

 clothed with white and coppery brown scales of various shades 

 arranged in definite patterns. Beak as long as head, as wide as long, 

 not separated from the front by a depression; nasal plate broad, 

 ogival, deeply arcuately emarginate, smooth, concave, rimmed; fovea 

 small, round; median area very broadly and shallowly impressed; 

 lateral impression short and deep; surface of head and beak irregu- 

 larly punctate, closely squamose, sparsely setose; funicular joints a 

 little longer than wide. Eyes evenly and broadly, but not strongly, 

 convex. Prothorax finely punctate, coarsely foveate; densely squa- 

 mose, with white median and lateral fasciae; median line famtly 

 impressed. Elytral strial punctures round, separated, almost filled 

 with scales; intervals wide. Vestiture of elytra dense, cupreous 

 brown with unconnected whitish spots representing the usual bands, 

 and with the sides white. 



Type.— C&t. No. 14648, U.S.Nat.Mus. 



Described from a single specimen from Texas, and named in honor 

 of Dr. Marcus Benjamin, in acknowledgment of many courtesies. 



In form of scutellum this species presents an approach to Cleis- 

 tolophus, which has been included in the foregoing table of genera 

 for purposes of comparison. A study of typical specimens shows 

 that this species does not share the essential characters of Cleistolophus. 



