72 BRITISH INSECTS 



localities in Scotland. It is conspicuous for the 

 enormous length of the antennae, especially in the male. 

 The series Rhynchophora comprises the beetles that 

 are known popularly as weevils. They differ from all 

 other Coleoptera in having four-jointed tarsi ; or, 

 rather, the tarsi appear to be four-jointed, though in 

 reality a minute additional (or fifth) joint is present at 

 the extreme base of the fourth. The head is elongated 

 in front to form a beak or rostrum sometimes short 

 and thick, sometimes long, thin, and arched which 

 carries the mouth-parts at its apex. The larva is a 

 legless grub, and usually forms a cocoon before 

 changing to the pupa. Weevils feed exclusively on 

 vegetable substances, and it has been said that there 

 is no part of any plant, or its products, that their 

 larvae do not attack. 



Most British weevils belong to the great family 

 Cuvculionidce. Their antennae, which spring from the 

 rostrum, are usually elbowed i.e., with a long, basal 

 oint, to which the other joints are attached, like the 

 thong of a whip. The nut- weevil 1 is notable for its 

 immensely long and slender rostrum, by means of 

 which the female bores holes in green nuts when they 

 are very young, afterwards depositing an egg in each\ 

 The apple-blossom weevil 2 treats the flower-buds of 

 the apple in a similar manner, and its larva feeds on 

 the essential parts of the bloom, with the result that 

 no apple is produced. The corn and rice weevils 3 

 are even more destructive in another sphere. They 

 infest wheat, barley, rice, etc., have spread with com- 

 merce to all parts of the world, and have sometimes 

 rendered almost valueless whole cargoes of grain which 



1 Balaninus nucum. 2 A nthonomus pomorum. 



3 Calandra granaria and C. oryzce. 



