42 JOHN B. SMITH. 



Legs rather long and stout, thighs somewhat clavate ; hind trochanter 

 long ; tibiae truncate at tip, without spurs or spines ; tarsi dilated, first 

 joint scarcely longer, third bilobed, claws divergent, appendiculate, tooth- 

 ed or simple. 



The species have a peculiar appearance and are easily recognized by 

 their small size, usually black color, and straight antennae. They are 

 common everywhere, but are not often collected, and are entirely un- 

 named in collections generally. A large material had accumulated in the 

 collections of Drs. LeConte and Horn, of Philadelphia, which they 

 kindly allowed me to use ; Prof. Riley and Mr. Ulke, of Washington, 

 have sent me their material, and the large collections of Texan and 

 Florida species made by Mr. Schwarz, I owe to the kindness of that 

 oentleman ; my own collection contained quite a number of species, and 

 while there are undoubtedly many more species to be discovered, the 

 species named in this paper will probably cover anything now in collections. 



The larvae have not been described, but they have been found in seeds 

 of Teplirosia virginica {iiegnipes^ fide Riley) Baptiua tinctoria {rostrum, 

 fide Harris Inj. Ins. 67,) and Rohinia pseudacacia {nigrum fide Harris 

 loc cit et labels on insects coll. LeConte and Horn). Mr. Riley informs 

 me that he has found fraternum on Phaseolus pauciflora, and that the 

 larva of griaeum probably bores in potato vines ; artemisiae has been 

 bred from a gall on Artemisia tridentata, and Podapion gallicola is 

 described by Mr. Riley as a true gall maker on Pinus mops. It is prob- 

 able that a majority of the species will prove seed feeders, while not a 

 fe^ — especially those of the first groups may live in the stems or twigs 

 of plants. 



The species are divided in the synopsis by the form of the thorax, 

 the shape of the elytra, of the rostrum and of the femora. The tarsal 

 claws seemed at first to oiFer the most natural division, but while a large 

 part of the species have the claws dentate in both sexes, and a few seem 

 to have them simple in both sexes, there are some species in which the 

 % s have the claws toothed while the 9 s have them simple. Of some 

 species I did not have both sexes, so that I could not safely use this 

 character. Groups I, II and Podapion have the claws simple in one 

 sex at least, and they separate very readily by superficial characteristics ; 

 Groups III, IV and V usually have the claws dentate in both sexes. 

 In Group I, I have used the dilation of the rostrum to separate the 

 species ; in the other groups this character loses value and caiyiot be 

 relied upon. Group III is separated by the form of the rostrum which 

 is usually short, strong and punctured and tapers to the tip ; in some 



