282 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



been clearly perceived, the attempts to define these important 

 forms have failed in a greater or less degree, on account of 

 the want of proper subordination in the characters made use 

 of: all of them natural, all of them important, though in a 

 less degree than supposed by the expounder of each 

 particular system. 



To supplement the memoirs above referred to, there came, 

 in more recent times, the beginning of a systematic study of 

 our species of Curculionidse, by Dr. George H. Horn, a 

 careful and conscientious study of the Calandridaj and 

 Cossonida?, and of some Mecorhynch genera of the United 

 States.* In the introductory remarks he observes : — " One 

 character is mentioned in the following pages that appears to 

 have escaped notice. In most, if not all, of the genera of 

 Mecorhynques, the males have eight, and the females seven 

 dorsal abdominal segments. The Calandrides and Cosso- 

 nides appear not to possess this character, as also all the 

 Brachyrhynques which I have had time to examine." 



The value of this original observation of Dr. Horn is very 

 great, but the limitation which he has placed upon it, though 

 correct as regards the Calaudride and Cossonide types, is 

 erroneous as regards the Brachyrhyncs, which have the 

 abdominal sexual characters precisely as in the genera in 

 which he first observed them. So, too, have the Brenthidae, 

 and all the anomalous sub-families of Curculionidae in the 

 Jekelian system. It appears, therefore, that this peculiarity 

 of structure is of much more importance than was supposed 

 by Dr. Horn, and, that it must in reality be the defining 

 character for the division of the Rhynchophora into primary 

 series, of more than family value. 1 therefore prepared a 

 series of dissections of each of the well-recognized Rhyncho- 

 phorous types within my reach, and have come to the 

 conclusion that they may be arranged in three sets, each of 

 which has a corresponding value to the individual series of 

 normal Coleoptera {e.g. Adephaga, Clavicornia, Lamelli- 

 cornia, &c.) ; and upon subordinate characters (some of 

 which have been already em])loyed in the classifications 

 above mentioned, though in an empirical manner) into 

 families, as follows. 



* " Contributions to a Knowledge of the CurculionidDe of the United 

 States." (Proc. Am. Philosophical Soc. 1873, 407.) 



