THE JOINTED ANIMALS 



in a number of subfamilies, but it is impossible in a limited space to describe the 

 various modifications of structure on which these divisions are based, and we must 

 content ourselves here with a brief reference to some of the typical and more 



interesting forms. In the genus Sitones, we have ex- 

 amples of those weevils in which the snout is short and 

 comparatively broad. ,5. lineatus is a well-known species 

 which lives on papilionaceous plants, and frequently 

 does much mischief by devouring the young leaves of 

 peas and beans. It is a little yellowish-gray or drab- 

 colored beetle with three pale lines along the thorax, 

 and a number of rows of punctures along the elytra. 

 Its color is due to a thick covering of scales, some of 

 which, \yhen looked at closely, are seen to have a golden 

 tint. 



Weevils are, as a rule, most destructive during the 

 larval state, the adult insects doing a comparatively 

 small amount of injury to vegetation; but as regards 

 Hylobius abietis, known as " the large pine weevil," one 

 of the .worst enemies of young conifers, the injury done 

 to the trees is altogether the work of the beetles, while 

 PINE WEEVII,, WITH LARVA the grubs are quite harmless. The genus Apion com- 

 AND PUPA. prises a large number of little, long-snouted weevils, 



liaving in general the form shown in our figure of A. apricans. Though the 

 British species are numerous and some of them common everywhere .on clover, 

 trefoil, and other leguminous plants, they are 

 seldom noticed owing to their small size. In 

 Apoderus, Attelabus, and Rhynchites we have a 

 group of genera which are interesting on account 

 of the leaf-rolling habits of the females, and 

 remarkable also, in the case of the first genus, for 

 the great length of neck displayed by some of 

 the species. The females deposit a single egg, or 

 in some cases two or even three eggs in each of 

 the little rolled-up leaf packages, which serve 

 afterward both as a shelter and food supply for the larvae. Three or four species 

 of these leaf -rolling weevils are found in Britain. Our figure of A. longicollis, 

 a Javan species, shows what an extraordinary length the neck may attain in 

 the males of some of the tropical representatives of the genus, although in this 

 species it is not nearly so long in proportion as in an allied form (A. tenuissimus} 

 found in the Philippine islands. The nut weevil (Balaninus nucum) affords a 

 strong contrast in the shape of its head to the species just mentioned. It will 

 be noticed that in this weevil the head is very short behind the eyes, whereas 

 the beak is greatly elongated, with the antennae inserted near the middle of its 

 length. The female lays her eggs in hazel nuts while the latter are still in a half- 

 developed condition; she first pierces a hole in the soft shell of the nut, and then 



Apion apricans. 

 (Natural size and much enlarged.) 



