.SNOUT-BEETLES OE WEEVILS. 129 



[ *'>«• .'■.'J. ] {Bahia^ Saxinis and Coscinoptcra,) resemble 



them iu these characters, thus showing the 

 close relationship between the two families. 

 The present family contains the well known 

 pea and bean weevils, which are often very 

 seriously injurious to these crops. The pea- 

 bugs make their ap]iearance and dei)Osit 

 their eggs iu the early part of tlie summer, 

 and as they have but one brood in a sea- 



BiaiCIIl'8 nsl, Linn.:— a, bcolle on- i ■ • ■• n , , . 



larjied, the small onlline .sliowinji SOU, WC CaU ObtaiU SOUUd SeCd OJ plautHlg 

 natnral size ; /). a iM'a tVoni \\ hiili the , i ii i ,■ -r 



beetle has oscaiH'tl— alt. r Kiley. pCas aS late US tllC farst Ot JUUC. 



The family contains but a few genera, and all our injurious species 

 belong to the genus Jinichus, Linn.* 



The most notorious species are the pea- weevil {Briichm pisij Linn.); 

 the bean- weevil {B. ohsolettis, Say), and the grain -bruchus {B. granarius, 

 Linn.) The latter is a I'uropean species which has been imported in 

 small numbers into this country. 



Family LVI. ANTHRIBIDJE.. 



This and the following family are really only subdivisions of the great 

 Curculio family, from which it is distinguished by the presence of an 

 upper lip aud palj)!, and the straight antenme. The larv;e inhabit the 

 seeds and stems of plants, and some have short but well developed feet. 

 The larvu' of the genus Brachytarsus, which is composed of very small 

 species, are fouiul under the scales of bark-lice, and are supposed to be 

 parasitic, thus presenting a remarkable anomaly in this tribe of beetles. 

 The species are much more numerous than the Bruchida', but none of 

 them have proved injurious to cultivated crops. The name is derived 

 from the Greek antJios — a floicer, and tribo — to destroy. 



The following are the four principal genera : 



A. Thorax witb a transverse riilgc in front of the posteiior margin Tuoi'Idekkb, 2 s|i. 



A A. Thorax without trauaverac ridgo. 

 B. Body oblong oval ; rostrum with parallel sides. 



C. Anterior coxib rather widely separated ; eyes small and tinely granulated Anthkimu8, 2. 



C C. Anterior coxa' but slightly separated ; eyes large and coarsely granulated. . .Ckatopaius, 3. 

 B B. Body short; size small; rostrum cut obliquely Brachvtahsub, 5. 



*In Mr. Crotch's Check list the generic name Mylabri-g, of Geoflfroy, is substituted for Bruclmg, Linn. 

 The fonuer tenn. d»>rived from the Greek mu-le — a grain-mill, was applied by the Greeks to some kind 

 of insect found in mills and baking houses, and supposed by some lo have been a species of Blatla, or 

 cockroach, and by otiiers, the cominou meal-worm or larva of the 7en<;6no moUtor : but was applied by 

 Geoflroy to the beetles of the present family. A few years later, LinmiMis, having overlooked the 

 name given by Geotfroy, re-described these insects under the name ot Bruchwi, also an ancient Greek 

 name of some kind of insect, supposed to have been a species of locust, but which cannot now be deter- 

 mined with certainty. As these iusect,s feed upon grain and other seeds, the name given by Geotln)y 

 has the claim of appropriateness, :is well as of priority, but the term Bniehujt has become established 

 by universal adoption and Fong continued usage, so that, like many other words, it may be said to 

 have acquired a meaning of its own, independent of its origin. 



—17 



