138 COMMON BRITISH INSECTS. 



there are no wings, and the body is egg-shaped and 

 convex. In this genus the ear-like lobes projecting 

 at the tip of the beak, sometimes termed winglets, 

 are very well developed, and can be easily seen 

 with the aid of a magnifier. By these projections 

 there is a deep groove in which the antenna are set ; 

 and in many of the species the head has a most 

 curious resemblance to that of a moose when viewed 

 sideways, the resemblance being increased by the 

 hairs with which the muzzle, if we may so call it, is 

 thickly set. 



The insects of this genus are very destructive to 

 plants and fruit-trees, some species attaching them- 

 selves more particularly to definite plants, but the 

 generality being in no wise particular as to the sort of 

 plant, tree, or flower on which they feed. The present 

 species is very plentiful, and prefers young leaves to 

 every other kind of food. This fact shows that it is 

 one of the insects that are found in the spring time, 

 and, by beating whitethorn hedges about April and 

 May, any number can be procured. Although not 

 brightly coloured, it is rather a pretty Beetle. Its 

 colour is chestnut-brown, and the elytra are covered 

 with a thick coating of scales, through which a few 

 stiff and shining bristles project. They are boldly 

 striated, each stria being composed of a series of 

 circular impressions, and between the striae is a row 

 of elevated, smooth, blackish tubercles. The thorax 

 is very globular and thickly granulated. 



NEXT comes the family of the Erirhinidae. This 

 name is compounded from two Greek words, which 



