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ious, but in widely different situations, some boring into the branches 

 of our fruit trees', others into wooden furniture, or penetrating our 

 books, while others enter the larder and ruin our nice bacon hams 

 which we have preserved with so much care ; while others enter the 

 museum and cabinet and feed upon the specimens carefully pinned 

 and arranged, and others even attack our clothes. 



The head is small and often deeply immersed in the thorax, and 

 in some species the thorax is bent down so as to cover the head when 

 seen from above. Few of the species exceed a quarter of an inch in 

 length, while most are much less, some being less than half that 

 length. They are usually of a cinnamon-brown color, sometimes 

 black, and sometimes ornamented with light or whitish scales. 



Ptinus fur — Linn. 



The genus is known by having the head and thorax much narrower 

 than the elytra; the antennae are about as long as the body, filiform, 

 not enlarged or branched. This species, which is about one-sixth of 

 an inch long> may be known from the rest of the genus by its dusky 

 color, but its clothing of down gives it a light brown appearance ; the 

 head is reddish-brown ; eves black. There are four transverse tuber- 

 cles on the thorax. Wing-cases with two whitish bands across them. 



The larva resembles in form, the grub of the chafers heretofore 

 described, having the head small and the posterior end of the body 

 somewhat enlarged, the last segment being larger than the others ; 

 the back is wrinkled. It usually assumes the curved position of those 

 grubs, has six feet, two on each of the first three segments. Length 

 from one-fifth to one-fourth of an inch ; thickness about one-fourth 

 the length ; of a whitish or creamy color, and sparsely covered with 

 minute hairs. 



These larvae attack museums, and have been known to attack 

 clothes. The larvae of other species of the same genus are fre- 

 quently found boring into the wood of out-houses, frame houses and 

 furniture. 



Spec. char. Imago.— Antennae filiform ; about as long as the 

 body ; head and thorax much narrower than the elytra, the thorax 

 much narrower behind than in front; elytra obovate, being narrower 

 in front than near the posterior portion. Fuscous, clothed with an 

 ashy down; head furruginous ; eyes black; thorax with four trans- 

 verse fasciae, the back channeled. Scutellum gray or ashy. Llytra 

 rather dusky, with two interrupted whitish bands, one a little bent 

 toward or nearest the base, the other near the apex ; the disk crenate- 

 striate. Legs rusty-brown or reddish; thighs elongate-clavate ; an- 

 tennae reddish or rusty, longer in the males than in the females. 

 Length one-eighth to one-sixth of an inch. 



