130 



THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA^ 



' Family LVII. BRENTHID^. 



This, like the preceding family, might be regarded, more properly 

 perhaps, as one of the sub-families of the Carculionidne. It agrees with 

 them in the important characters of the elongated snout, the undevel- 

 oped labrum and palpi, and the spongy and usually bilobed tarsi. It 

 l^^s- ^^■'^ differs from the great majority of them 



in its non-elbowed antennae, and the 

 uniform absence of the minute terminal 

 joint, which forms a twelfth or super- 

 numerary joint in the antennae of many 

 of the Curculionidaj ; and also in the 

 greatly elongated form of the body, 

 especially in some of the foreign spe- 

 cies. The family is considerably nu- 

 merous, upwards of six hundred species 

 being known to exist in cabinets, most 



EUPSAMS MIN'UTA :— a, larva ; h, pupa ; «, le- « , • , n j • i. • ^ 



male beetle; d, head of male do.; /-I, leg and Of whlch are fOUnd lU tropiCal TCglOUS. 

 bead parts of laiva ; w, end of body of pupa, t n j i • i • • i 



dorsal view-after Kiley. ludccd OUly a Single SpCClCS IS kuOWU 



to inhabit the continent of Europe, and but three species are found in 

 North America, north of Mexico, and of these only one inhabits the 

 more northern parts of the United States. This is the species com- 

 monly known as the Northern Breuthian, which is figured in all its stages 

 in the accompanying cuts. Much interest has become attached to this 

 species from its being the only one of the Breuthian family whose lar- 

 val history has been traced, and also from the uncertainty in which this 

 history has been involved. In a Eeport upon the Insects of Massachu- 

 setts, published in 1838, Dr. T. W. Harris gave a history of the habits 

 of this insect, together with a description of certain larvje found in com- 

 pany with the perfect insects, and communicated to him by the Eev. L. 

 W. Leonard of Dublin, New Hampshire. As these larvre were likewise 

 accompanied by pupte having the characteristic snout of the Breuthian, 

 bent down between the forelegs, it seemed to be almost demonstrated 

 that the insect in all its stages was here exhibited. But as these larvae 

 departed widely from the Curculionide type, in having well developed legs, 

 and an anal proleg, subsequent authors have generally held the opinion 

 that some mistake must have occurred in the'matter. These doubts have 

 recently been cleared up in Mr. Eiley's Sixth Annual Eeport upon the 

 Insects of Missouri. It therein appears, from specimens communicated 

 to the author by Mr. Wm. E. Howard, of Forsyth, Missouri, that the 

 larva} of Brenthus do not differ essentially from other Curculionide 

 larvae. Mr. Eiley concludes that the larvae sent to Dr. Harris by Mr. 

 Leonard, must have appertained to some one of the Tenebrionidae ; sim- 



