THE BEETLES 



I6 7 



habits. Some of them are parasitic in the nests of bees, while the 

 more common forms live on the eggs of grasshoppers, which they 

 devour in large numbers, and are quite bene- 

 ficial in spite of the bad habits which they 

 later acquire as adults. 



THE SNOUT-BEETLES (RHYNCHOPHORA) 



In this suborder the head is prolonged 

 into a long snout, giving the names "snout- 

 beetles " "bill-bugs," "weevils," and "cur- 

 culios " to many of the common forms. 

 The body is 



FIG. 248. The straw- strongly com- 

 berry weevil. (Greatly 



enlarged) P act > USUa % 



(After Riley) Well rounded 



above, and is 



more or less covered with scales. 



The antennae arise from each 



side of the snout, are bent for- 

 ward, or "elbowed," and end in 



a club. The larvae are soft, foot- 

 less, wrinkled, whitish grubs, with 



brown head, often thinly covered 



with short, bristly hair, and live 



mostly in fruits, nuts, or seeds, 



or under bark, though a few live 



on vegetation externally. All of 



the families attack plants and are 



therefore more or less injurious, some of our most troublesome 



pests being found in this series. 

 Though there are common ex- 

 (" ^ i>y\ am pl es of several other families, 

 only three families are suffi- 

 ciently numerous to warrant 

 mention. 



The curculios (Curculionidae) 



FIG. 250. Head and mouth-parts of the are the most typical as well as the 

 boll weevil larva largest family of the suborder, 



FIG. 249. The cotton-boll weevil. 

 (Enlarged) 



