418 NATURAL HISTORY OF HAWAII. 



more than sixty species of that famil.v alone. The list of species inchides some 

 of the most highly-colored as well as striking forms of Hawaiian beetles. As 

 these are all wood-boring beetles in their larval state, many of the species 

 most commonly seen have been introduced, but in the group including the 

 three genera Chjfaiius. ValUt.Iimysus and Plagitltmysus we have several species 

 that are peculiar to single islands and some that apparently occur only on 

 certain kinds of trees. Such habits indicate the long establisliiiicnt of the 

 famil}- in the group. 



The division of the beetle tribe embracing the darkling-beetles,^* which 

 includes among other common species the red-rust flour beetle ;*'^ the oede- 

 merids,*** with one species, and the anthieids,*i with two coast and salt marsh 

 species, is made up of representatives of introduced families, except in the case 

 of the cistelid family,^- a family including ten species belonging to two genera 

 that are regarded by entomologists as certainly indigenous. 



The family CioidcB is of doubtful position, but is represented in Hawaii 

 by forty-two species, twenty-nine of which belong to the genus Cis, the remain- 

 ing fourteen to Apterocis. A few of the species are found on the large fungi 

 conunon on koa trees, but the majority occur attached to dead limbs or under 

 dead bark. As the very largest species does not exceed two and a half milli- 

 meters in length, they nmy easily escape detection. 



The family Aiiohihhi, with the introduced cigarette beetle^-' and the 

 book-worm, ^^ has upwards of 134: species occurring in Hawaii. One genus ■'^ 

 has at least fifty species in the Hawaiian fauna. Another genus ■"' has at least 

 seventy Hawaiian species. Most of the species in the family are black or 

 fuscous and none exceed five millimeters in length. The family Lyctidce 

 inchides two, and the Bostrychida several, common introduced species. The 

 bamboo beetle ■•' belongs to the latter family and is rare ; but a similar beetle "'* 

 is fairly abundant. 



The division of the Coleoptera known as snout-beetles *'•' is one in which 

 the head is prolonged into a beak. The largest and most important family of 

 this division is the curculios,-''" or weevils, of which there are about one 

 hundred and fifty species. The great majority of them are peculiar to the 

 islands. The antennre are placed at or beyond the middle of the snout, and are 

 curiously elbowed, each terminating in a solid club. All parts of plants are 

 subject to the attacks of the maggot-like larva", and in many instances, espe- 

 cially in the case of the introduced species, they do considerable damage. The 

 snout-beetle,"! foiuid on rubber trees, sisal, etc. ; the bean weevil,"- rice 

 weevil, s^ the sweet-potato weevil,"^ all are excellent examples of the family, but 

 a native genus''" has several larger but rare species, the largest being fourteen 

 millimeters in length. The large genus Oodcinas has upward of forty-five 

 species, all of which are rare. The family Aiitliribkhi' and the engraver 



