110 ORDER COLEOPTERA. 



Genus ITHYCERUS (Schu^nherr). 



Ithtcerus novebobacensis (Schcenherr). ( Plate xxxiii, fig. 1 .) 



CoRcoLio NovEBouACENsis (Forstcr) ; 

 RnvNcniTEs curctlionides (Hcrbst) ; 

 Pachyrhynchus sch<enhehri (Kirby). 

 According to Kirby, this species belongs to the Family PACHYRHYNCHiDiE : its charac- 

 ters, as given by this distinguished entomologist, are : 



' I>abrura subemai^inate ; mandibles armed with two teeth at the apex ; labium nearly 

 square ; palpi coniail ; antennai short, inserted into a roundish lateral cavity near 

 the apex of the rostrum ; joints eleven, scape short, etc. Body oblong pear-shaped. 

 Rostrum nearly as wide as the head, subcylindrical, a little wider at the tip, ridged 

 between the eyes and antenna; : eyes round, prominent ; prothorax subcylindrical, 

 rather narrowest anteriorly ; antepectus not emarginate, nor lobcd. Cokoptera oblong, 

 depressed at the apex : thighs clubbed, unarmed; tibiae unarmed ; penultimate joint 

 of the tarsi bipartite. Its antenna? are straight, or only curved, not elliowed. 

 • Color gray, covered with a whitish jile ; ground black : knob of the antenna brown. 

 Rostrum rather thick, widened anteriorly, having three ridges between the eyes and 

 termination : two divergent, from an impressed angular line between the eyes ; and 

 the other proceeding directly from that line upon its middle, and wliich terminates 

 anteriorly in a short fork, or near the emargination of the labrum, though it is sepa- 

 rated from this fork by a slight interception, which is just beyond two hyphen-like 

 lines by its sides. Anterior part of the rostrum naked, and impressed with ccalescent 

 dots. Eyes brown. Thorax subcylindrical, marked with three rather obscure whitish 

 longitudinal bands : punctures coarse and coalcscent. Elytra have nine rows of 

 punctures, and at the base a part of a tenth roAV. The alternate spaces between the 

 dotted lines have small black quadrate spots : on the sutural space, or ridge, they 

 are smaller and more obscure than upon the others. These quadrate black spots are 

 placed upon the four whitish longitudinal stripes, which are quite obscure. Beneath 

 gray : legs gray. Length of the female, iive-eighths of an inch ; of the male, half 

 an inch.' 

 This CuRcuMo has thehiibitof many of the species of this family. It devours the tender 

 \f^ves and blossoms of fruit trees, and hns been known to do great injury to the apple 

 and pear. It sometimes attacks the base of a young shoot, and eats it to the pith : at other 

 times, it feeds upon the leaves of the cherry and plum. Its strong notched mandible fits it 

 admirably for work of this kind. 



The only way to rid a tree infested with this insect, is to shake it suddenly in the 

 morning or evening while the insects are stiff and cold, and collect them upon sheets spread 

 beneath : the insects, and the fruit that fall, should be put into boiling water. 



