1839. HOUSE— No. 72. ' 83 



which have the rostrum or snout as long as the body, very slender, 

 and curved ; the antennae are also long and slender, and are inserted 

 rather beyond the middle of the rostrum. The name of this sub- 

 genus is Balaninus^ which signifies inhabiting a nut, (/3aXavos, a 

 nut, and gvsijai, I am in,) and the insects are called nut-weevils. 

 The European Balaninus nucum inhabits the hazel-nut. The fe- 

 male, with her long rostrum, pierces the nut when young and soft, 

 and then deposits in the hole an egg, from whence is hatched a small 

 maggot that preys upon the kernel. The nut, not apparently injured 

 by the slight perforation, continues to increase in size, and thus fur- 

 nishes an abundant supply for its inhabitant. When this has finished 

 eating, it forms in the shell with its teeth a regular, circular orifice, 

 through which to make its exit. The fruit itself, as if aware of the 

 necessities of the insect, now falls to the earth ; the grub quits " the 

 dark chambers of the caverned nut," enters the soil, is transformed 

 to a pupa, and remains at rest till the succeeding summer, when it 

 emerges from its case to provide for the continuation of its species. 

 Our most common nut-weevil, Balaninus rectus, is found from July 

 to October. I have one specimen which was captured in a chestnut 

 grove; but I have usually found this species in the vicinity of hazel- 

 bushes, and believe that it inhabits the nut of that shrub, though I 

 have never witnessed its metamorphoses. 



The most pernicious of the weevil tribes are those insects which 

 belong to the genus Calandra. The antennae are inserted at the 

 base of the rostrun), are geniculaied, apparently eight-jointed, the 

 last or eighth joint forms the club, and contains at its apex a minute, 

 spongy, retractile mass which really constitutes another joint ; the 

 body is oblong, plane or flat above, and the tip is naked or not cov- 

 ered by the elytra. By these characters it is easy to recognize these 

 insects. 



With the exception of a few large species, the genus Calandra is 

 appropriated to the farinaceous grains, such as wheat, maize, rice, 

 and various other cereal productions. There are several insects 

 called weevils, some of which do not belong to the order Coleoptera, 

 but the CalandrcB are the only true corn or grain weevils of scien- 

 t.fi. writers. 



Calandra oryzcz, the rice weevil, is very injurious to this useful 

 grain, consuming its nutritious parts, and materially lessening its 



