FAMILY MELOLONTHIU.E. 77 



may prove injurii)us to the vine : still their nuruljers are rarely such as to render them a 

 foriiiidaljle foe. The only mode of destroying them, which is recommended, is to pick thcni 

 oil" and crush them under the foot. The larv» are scarcely injurious, inasmuch as they 

 live in rotten wood, as stumps of trees, and such trunks as are decaying upon the ground : 

 they ui-.iy l)e regarded ratlier as beneficial, liy aiding tlie entire destruction of that which 

 only cumbers the ground. 



The perfect insect prevails during the mouths of July and August. 



P. MAciTi.ATA, an allied species or variety, has the h-gs and extremity ol' the al)doraen of 

 the Sc'imc cnlor as the upper parts. ' These lieelles (ly by day, but may also be seen at the 

 .sanle time on the leaves of the grape, which are their only food : they sometimes prove 

 very injurious to the \ ine. Tlie only method of destroying them, is to pick them off by 

 hand, and crush them under foot. The larvse live in rotten wood, such as the stumps and 

 roots of dead trees, and do not diifer essentially from those of other scai-abfcans' ( Harris, 

 p. 2:i). Ill the variety which Dr. Mklsheimer has designated itnpuncfafa, the spots are 

 absent. 



Ge.vxs CREMASTOCIIEILUS (Knoch). 

 Thorax <juadrangular, anterior angles prolonged; first joint of the antennae dilated : 

 mandibles terminating in a strong curved or scythe-like tooth, and furnished with 

 small spines in place of the internal lobe ; last articu]a(i(jn of the palpi long and 

 cylindrical : meiitiuu a reversed hcai-t in form ; upj^er angles rounded, without 

 emargination {Reg7ic Aninuil). 



CnE.MASTocui'.ii.i s uKNTzii. ( PLitc xxvi, fig. 2.) 



Color black ; form (juadrate, sides parallel ; upi)er surface punctured : elytra ridged and 

 coarsely punctured. The whole surface is clothed with jnocumbent hairs ; bt neath. 

 they are stiff, or somewht spinous. Length one-half of an inch. 



Os.MODi-.KMA scABEu. Gymiiolus s. (Kirby); Trie/tins s. ( Palisot dc Bcauv.). 



( Plate xii, fig. ft ; and plate xxv, fig. 5.) 

 Color black, or very dark bmwn and brassy. Body ovate, flattened ; tliorax round, dilated 

 transversely, jiurplish, stmngly punctured, and marked by two rounded ridges befi)re ; 

 el} Ira deflexed at the shoulders and behind ; surface sculptured, and rather rough 

 than punclurtd ; .>-cut< Hum very acute : beneath dark brown, smooth and glossy ; 

 legs long, purplish ; tibiai trispinous upon their outer edges. 

 The female is larg( r than (he male, and measures an inch in length ; the male, about 

 eight-tenths of an inch. The name Osmodenna, given by the French naturalists, is indica- 

 tive of the odor the insect imparts to the hands when handled. They fly by night, and an 

 common in New-England and X( w-York in the month of July. 



