1899] PEAR-SHAPED WEEVILS. 23 



a great degree by characteristic differences from A. opricans or A.fm/i 

 that they may be distinguished, it has seemed desirable to give one 

 authoritative description of this species verbatim, and this I accordingly 

 quote from Canon Fowler's work on British beetles referred to below.* 



The full description of the beetle of A. apricans is : — " Black, 

 glabrous, rather shining ; forehead rugosely punctured, rostrum long 

 and slender, slightly curved ; antennae black, with base reddish ; 

 forehead rugosely punctured ; thorax oblong, oval-cylindrical, rather 

 closely and distinctly and regularly punctured, with a central channel 

 behind ; elytra obovate, with strong punctured striae, interstices rather 

 broad ; legs black, with all the femora and the anterior tibife reddish 

 testaceous. Length 2-2|- mm. 



" Female with the rostrum longer than in male, and the elytra 

 deflexed and callose behind." 



The usually received differences of assimile from apricans are stated 

 by the same writer to be as given by Walton (in Ann. and Mag. Nat. 

 Hist. 1844, p. 87), that A. assimile has the rostrum in both sexes 

 distinctly more curved, and, in the male, attenuated in front ; also it 

 has the basal joints of the antennae dull piceons, and the thorax closely 

 punctuated, with the punctures confluent; also A. assimile is smaller than 

 A, apncans. 



Apiofi trifolii, it is stated, may be distinguished from A. apricans 

 by having the anterior trochanters pitchy, and the four posterior tro- 

 chanters black, whereas in apricans they are all rufous ; the antenna 

 are relatively shorter, and are entirely black ; the rostrum is very little 

 curved, and the general form shorter ; the average size also smaller. 

 Length l|-2 mm. (See ' Coleoptera of British Islands,' vol. v. p. 149.) 



Apio7i trifolii. — Towards the end of June in the past season I 

 received, per favour of the editor of the ' Farmer and Stockbreeder,' f 

 some specimens of Clover-heads from near Ampthill, which were in- 

 fested by small maggots ; the attack, so far as could be judged in its 

 then condition, being of Apion apricans, or one of its near allies (see 

 preceding descriptions) ; and shortly after some more Clover-heads 

 were forwarded me from the same locality containing some of the 

 developed weevils. These proved on investigation to be of Apion 

 trifolii, Linn., and though this is often found with the two above- 

 named kinds, on this occasion all the eleven specimens sent proved to 

 be trifolii. I 



The only other occasion on which I have had specimens sent me 

 which were certainly of this species was in the beginning of September 



* ' Coleoptera of the British Islands,' vol. v. p. 148, by the Eev. Canon Fowler, 

 t See number for June 26th, 1899, p. 954, col. 2. 



J As I wished to be perfectly certain of the kind, I availed myself of the 

 courtesy of Mr. 0. E. Janson, F.E.S., for specific investigation. 



