t08 ORDCR COUBOPTKIU. 



ticfva PISSODES (Uuut.) 

 Antrnnir •litiintiNl n little in nJvimco <>r thi* middle uf the njHtrum 



I'litMUUks IITHOBI. 



Bix*wii, Hitli two liojiry ]>utrht>$ on thi> {H>stcrior extrt-uiity of the elytn and UfioD tbr 

 middle uf thi< thigh^i ; Somewhat huarj bcueath. 



Tlie Riirxcor»io»A,a>» they are termed, condtitutf a very exttnalve group of coleopterous 

 llWort!' ; st>me of which, ait already <e«n, have aojuiriHl the |M>iiuIar name of irrfriV. Many 

 gpeeies are di'Strurtlve to gniiu and the se<tlsof leguminous I'lants. The lar^•a of the large 

 Sphtnophnrus palmarum of the tn>pirs lives in the tnink of palm tree« ; and the palmetto 

 ^CHatnaropi palmrtto) of otir Southern Stntes is inhabited liy on allied 5pe<W*s,the Spheno- 

 p^rus zimmrrmtmni of Schchmiciui, which is the largest UiemU-r of the Cuiilly kliuwn lo 

 Inhabit the UnittHl States. 



Ilylobius pules is a common member of a genus which destroys pine trees, by burrowing 

 beneath and liH.soning the l)ark. In April and May, it may lx> seen in considerable num- 

 bers uiK)U woo«len fences : it is bri>wn, markctl irregularly with small whitish si>ots. 

 Towards the south, this spt>cies and Ilylobius pidvorus, which is larger and more robust, 

 destn>y pine fon«sts entirely, leaving the dead standing or fallen trees as monuments of 

 the mischief which a small insect can commit when sufliciently multiplied. 



The female of Pisfi^lrs nrmorenris of Gkkmar, according to Dr. Harris, pierces the 

 leadins shoot of the wliite i»ine fltr the purpose of depositing its eggs ; and although a i>ine 

 trw" may recover by sending up a lateral branch in the vertical direction, it will re«juire 

 three or f >ur years to pass through this process, and the growth in consequence l>e retarded. 

 This insect is named Pissodts strain by Dr. Harris, on the strength of a name given to it 

 by a Mr. Pixk in an agricultural journal ; which of course can have no weight, U-cause 

 auch publications are luiknown or inaccessible to naturalists who are not farmers, and 

 seldom circulate beyond the Niundaries of the district in wliich they are printed. It is too 

 much to exjK-ct an entomologist in Ix)ndon, Calcutta, Berlin. Paris, or the city of New- 

 York, to purchas«> an extensive series "f exjx'nsive volumes to enable him to find descrip- 

 tiorus of half a dozen insects said to be contained in them, and which should have been 

 Bade known through some other channel. 



Gt-M-s ilALAM.MS (Glr.m.). Circvlio ( Lin.). 

 ' Rostrum nearly a.s long as the body, which is subtriangular : anterior tibiie minutelj 

 ' hooke<l : antennie Inserte*! l>ehind the rostrum' ( Stepueks). 



