_ 
62 Mr. F. P. Pascoe on the genus Hilipus, 
do not come within the prescribed conditions. In 
addition to the ordinary characters of its subfamily 
(Hylobiine), 7. e., the rectilinear and oblique scrobes 
terminating beneath the rostrum, the transverse eyes, 
and the metasternum more or less elongate, I would 
exclude from the genus Hilipus forms which have not all 
the femora clavate and armed with well-marked teeth 
beneath, tibia terminating in a free curved mucro, and 
two unconnected claws. Generally also there are ocular 
lobes, but this character, and indeed all others, must be 
taken with some reserve. There is a gradation in all of 
them in many species that defies limitation. And, if 
the group is ever monographed, it will have to be broken 
up into a number of genera, or so-called genera, most of 
which will probably contain only a single species. 
The absence of one or more of the characters 
mentioned above has, however, obliged me to propose 
eight or nine genera for certain species that have either 
been described, or are found in our cabinets under 
catalogue-names, or that most probably would be 
referred to Hilipus by anyone inclined to let it remain 
within its old lines. Beyond these I have not found any 
character that can be relied on as being anything more 
than of specific value. To say what separates Hilipus 
from Hylobius would be difficult; the difference between 
the club of the antenne, distinctly marked off from the 
funicle in the former and its close connection in the 
latter genus, is a character that would be far from 
satisfactory in many instances.  Pissodes is separated 
from both by the non-contiguity of its anterior coxe. 
It is difficult to believe that all the minute yet definite 
variations that go to differentiate a species from its 
congeners can be of any special benefit in the struggle 
for life, or that the possession of any one character— 
such, for instance, as the comparative length of an 
antenna-joint—can be an advantage or a disadvantage. 
The conditions under which the Hilipoda exist cannot 
vary to any great extent; with the exception of four or 
five mostly Chilian species,* they are all tropical, and in 
the larval state probably lignivorous. It requires a 
* Mannerheim gives one species from California (H. scrobi- 
culatus), but this is the female of Plinthus carinatus, Boh., 
according to Leconte. H. sqwamosus, Boh. (Pissodes, Lec. olim), 
is a rare species of Georgia and Florida. 
