The Beetles of the Downs 



long, usually of a brownish-yellow colour, but rather 

 variable, being sometimes blotched or spotted with 

 black, but there is always a narrow black central 

 line, and the elytra are marked with rows of deep 

 and strong punctures, which are also black. 



The other species of Cryptocephalus are all more or 

 less rare and we are not likely to find them unless we 

 go and search for them in their special localities. 



But we may discover something new if we gently 

 shake over the net these tall plants of mullein with 

 their grey velvet leaves and spire of yellow flowers. 

 There is a genus of Rhynchophora or Weevils of rather 

 singular aspect, the whole of whose members and we 

 have six in this country feed either on species of 

 Verbascum, that is mullein, or on Scrophularia, which 

 is sometimes known as figwort. This genus is called 

 Cionus, and two of them we shall probably find in the 

 net shaken from the mullein the first and larger, 

 Cionus hortulanus (the garden Cionus, not a specially 

 appropriate name), Fig. 14, Plate IV., is from 4 to 5 mm. 

 long, the body very convex short oblong, with a 

 conical thorax which looks disproportionately small 

 and a long thin rostrum. It will lie motionless in the 

 net for some time with its legs and rostrum folded 

 in so that one would mistake it for some kind of seed 

 but when it does unroll we may see that it is generally 

 of a grey-brown colour, with two very distinct velvety 

 black spots on the median line of the elytra, one 

 quite at the apex and one a little above the middle. 

 Examined more minutely with the glass both 



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