108 . RHYNCHOPHORA, 
The larve of the Rbynchophora do not call for any particular remark ; their chief 
characters are given by Erichson (Archives de Wiegman 1842, I. p. 573) and 
Chapuis et Candeze (Cat. des Larves des Coléoptéres, p. 195), and may be summed 
up as follows:—Head corneous, rounded, with the mouth directed inferiorly ; ocelli 
wanting or present in small number on each side; antenne very short, usually quite 
rudimentary ; labrum distinct ; mandibles strong and hard, often obtusely toothed at 
apex; maxille and maxillary palpi variable; thoracic segments often somewhat 
more developed than the following; abdominal segments nine in number, usually 
furnished with transverse folds, often narrowed towards apex; anal segment not project- 
ing and hardly ever furnished with traces of appendages ; legs, asa rule, absent, some- 
times represented by tubercles, and occasionally somewhat developed ; these Jarvze are 
usually more or less curved but are rarely straight, as in the case of those that mine 
leaves (as Orchestes); the general colour is whitish or yellowish with the head dark, 
but some larve are more or less variegated ; they are all, as far as is known, vegetable 
feeders, with the exception of the larve of Brachytarsus, which are parasitic on 
species of Coccus as will be hereafter noticed; occasionally certain species do great 
damage to various plants and trees. 
In all measurements given for the Rhynchophora it must be remem- 
bered that the rostrum is not included, and that the length is taken 
from the head at the base of the rostrum to the apex of the elytra or 
pygidium. 
PLATYRRHINIDE (Anthrilide). 
The members of this family are usually regarded as connecting the 
Rhynchophora and the Longicornia through Macrocephalus (Anthribus) 
and Lamia; they are very variable in size and general appearance, and ° 
may be distinguished from all the other Rhynchophora with the exception 
of the Rhinomaceride by having the maxillary palpi normal and flexible, 
and also by having the labrum distinct and at the same time the legs 
non-fossorial ; the antenne are straight and are terminated by a three- 
jointed club, which is usually, but not always, abrupt; sometimes they 
are very long, especially in the males; the rostrum is very short and 
broad and scarcely produced, and is furnished with short transverse 
scrobes ; the mandibles are flattened, and are curved, pointed or emar- 
ginate at apex ; the pygidium is exposed and the epipleure of the elytra 
are distinct ; the anterior cox are globose, slightly exserted and 
separated, and the posterior cox are contiguous or slightly distant ; 
the tarsi have the third joint almost concealed within the second, 
except in the Urodontide, which are not represented in Britain, 
although Urodon rufipes has been erroneously admitted to a place 
in our lists; the family contains more than a hundred genera and 
between four and five hundred species, of which ten genera and about 
fifty species have been found in Hurope; of these five genera, repre- 
sented by only eight species, occur in Britain, and several of these are 
very rare insects. 
The. Brenthide, a large and important tropical family of the Rhyn- 
chophora, which are represented in Europe by only two species, neither 
of which occur in Britain, are usually placed near the present family : 
they are chiefly remarkable for their very long narrow body, and slender, 
