BEETLES. 



341 



Flu. 381. — Balantnus nitcutn. 



The lar\;i of _B. villosiis, another European 



larv«, or grubs, of Ji. caryatripes. They reach full growth when the chestnut rijjens, 

 and then gnaw their way out of the nut in order to jjupate in the ground. Some of 

 the beetles appear the same autumn, and 

 hibernate as imagos ; others, ju'obably the 

 larger number, ajipear the succeeding 

 spring. The beetle itself is dark brown, 

 densely covered with yellow compressed 

 hairs, which -aw somewhat irregularly 

 distributed in spots upon the elytra. Its 

 length is about 0.8 of an inch. I>. nas- 

 icHS lives in liickoiy nuts, and 1>. rectus 

 in acorns; both species have a close re- 

 semblance to JJ. curijatripes, and also to 

 -B. tmctim, the Eurojjean species figured, 

 which attacks both acorns and hazel nuts, 

 species, feeds upon the inner portions of tlie apple-formed galls of Ci/nips temiinalis, 

 on oak. 



TrichuJiari.-i t/'i/nitata, a black weevil about U.2 of an inch long, receives its specific 

 name from three impressed, shining black spots near the base of tiie ])rothorax. It is 

 connuon in the middle and western United States, where its larva is a serious potato- 

 pest. The female weevil oviposits in oblong slits which she bores in the stems of 

 the pcjtato, and tlie larva', upon hatching, penetrate downward toward tlu." root of the 

 plant, causing its death. The larva is a legless white grub. It pupates in the stem 

 of the potato, the beetle emerging about the l)eginning of September. 



A small weevil that causes considerable injuiy to gra])es is Craponlus iituqualis. 

 This insect is only abt)ut 0.1 of an inch long, of broad, almost circular, outline, grayish 

 black, the elytra striate with large punctures; the legs reddish. In ,Iune and July 

 this species lays its eggs in grapes, causing a change of color of the berry near the 

 point of puncture. In August the larva' dro]i ti) the ground, in which they pupate, 

 the beetle emerging the next month.' 



Analcis fnigarin' is about 0.15 of an iuch long, of a deeji chestnut brown, with 

 the elytra slightly lighter colored; the thorax is deeply punctured. The female 

 oviposits in the crown of strawberry jilants, and the larva' bore down into the straw- 

 berry root. A. fiM-eohitiiin, a black species with vellowish spot.s, is abundant upon 

 the evening-primrose ((Eiiothvra hiennlit). 



Probably the wi'cvil m<.)st injurious to agricultural in- 

 terests in America is the so-called jilum-weevil, or ]iluni- 

 curculio, Coiiotntchdiis: iicmiphar. This lieetle is oblong- 

 oval, about 0.1S (if .■111 inch long; dark brown, s|)otted in 

 jilaces with black, yellow, and white. The head is small, 

 and when at rest is drawn back so that tlie eyes are iiearl}- 

 hidden by the forw.-u'd edge of the jirolhorax, and the 

 proboscis is reeeiveil into a groove on the chest. The 

 elytra bear interrujited ridges, and cover th(> entire ab- 

 domen. Beneath, the sutures arc curved, the coxie are contiguous, the thighs 

 bideiitate, and the claws divergent and toothed. This species is distributed through- 

 out the Atlantic slope of North America. It hil)ernates as imago, and when the 

 plums, cherries, and other stone-fruit Ijegin to ilevelop in the spring, the female 



Fig. 'ifl. — ('(in<tlravkiUis 

 utnitjtiiai: 



