THE APIONS, OR PEAH WEEVILS. 167 



a pear. They have also been compared to peg-tops ; and, if 

 the peg were curved instead of straight, the resemblance would 

 be almost complete. We will call them Pear Weevils. 



The genus Apion is an admirable test of an entomologist's 

 zeal. If he can set, examine, and determine the Apions which 

 he will catch in an hour's walk with the sweep-net, there is no 

 doubt about his zeal for entomology, a zeal which the genus 

 Apion is admirably calculated to quench. They are all so tiny 

 that a tolerably high power is required for their proper exami- 

 nation, and the pocket-lens must be laid aside in favour of a 

 microscope ; and in many instances the colour of the trochanter 

 forms one of the principal characteristics. Then, their bodies 

 are so boldly rounded tliat only a small portion can come into 

 focus at the same time. The necessity for a high power 

 is seen by the fact that without it the antennas appear only to 

 have eleven joints, whereas they have in reality twelve, the 

 twelfth being an extremely minute one at the very end of the 

 club. None of this genus possess wings, and the elytra com- 

 pletely cover the abdomen. Along the side of the beak are 

 seen two deep grooves, in which the basal joints of the antennae 

 can lie ; and it is to be noted that m death the antennae of 

 these Beetles are directed backwards, lying partly in the grooves, 

 so that the tip of the antenna comes close to the junction of 

 the head with the thorax. 



In spite of the difficulties which attend the examination of 

 these insects, the entomologist will find his time well bestowed 

 upon them. Independently of other sources of interest, these 

 tiny Beetles are marvellously beautiful. Their colours are ex- 

 ceedingly various, and the richness and perfection of the 

 sculpture which adorns their tiny bodies must be seen to be 

 appreciated. It is as if the very exuberance of creative power 

 had sported with these little creatures, a thousand of which 

 could be contained in a lady's thimble, and yet which bear 

 upon every portion of their bodies a limitless profusion of 

 highly-elaborated ornament. The head and thorax are covered 

 with a multitude of deep impressions, at first seeming as if 

 scattered at random, but in reality disposed with most con- 

 summate art ; while the elytra baffle all attempts to describe 

 their varied beauty. Agreeing in one point — namely, the bold 

 ridges which run longitudinally along them — they are of 



