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group of the Coleoptcra, and the remainder of the Phytophaga, or 

 Phytophaga proper, fail fairly naturally into four groups, which are 

 however, as before remarked, hard to differentiate by fixed characters ; 

 the Bruchidse may be distinguished from all the other members of the 

 scries by having the mentum supported by a peduncle, and the head 

 produced into a very short flat rostrum, and omitting this family as 

 somewhat provisionally placed in its present position, we may separate the 

 remaining divisions as follows : 



I. Front not or only slightly indexed ; mouth anterior. 



i. Head constricted into a neck behind eyes ; thorax with 

 the sides not margined, usually narrower than elytra ; 



form elongate E CFODA. 



ii. Head not constricted into a neck behind eyes ; thorax 



with the sides nearly always margined, usually as broad 



as elytra ; abdomen with the two last segments connate ; 



form cylindrical or short cylindrical CAMPTOSO* ATA. 



iii. Head without or with a very short neck ; thorax with 



the sides nearly always margined, usually as broad as 



elytra ; abdomen with the segments free ; form usually 



ovate or subglobose, very rarely elongate-oblong . . . CTCIICA. 



II. Front strongly indexed ; mouth inferior CBYPTOSTOMATA. 



In dealing with the Phytophaga, I have made considerable use of the 

 work of Herr Weise in the Naturgesichte der Insecten Deutschlands, 

 vol. vi., and beg here to express the obligations that I am under to his 

 writings on the group. 



BHUCHIDJE 



(Mylalridce, Heyden, Keitter, and Weise, Cat, p. 179.) 



The position of this family has given rise to much dispute ; by most 

 authors it has been placed either in or near to the Rhynchophora, in 

 close proximity to the Anthribidae ; thus Fabricius places it between 

 Hylesinus and Anthribus, Gyllenhal between Antliribus and Attelabus 

 (Apoderus), while Thomson assigns it a position at the commencement 

 of his series Rhynchophori, immediately succeeding the Hetcromera ; 

 externally the members of the tribe certainly appear to be closely allied 

 to the Anthribidae, but their real affinities appear to be rather towards 

 the Phytophaga; Dr. Horn defines the Bruchidae as " Chrysoiuolid;e 

 with the submentum distinctly pedunculate " (Classification of the 

 Coleoptera of North America, p. 357) ; and points out how Lacordaire 

 (Genera, vii. p. 598), while following the usual arrangement, admits 

 that the characters are rather those of the Chrysomolidae, and that the 

 two families are so closely related that he is unable sharply to separate 

 them ; M. Bedel (Faune des Col&>pteres du bassin de la Seine, Rhyncho- 

 phora, p. 4), in dealing with the Urodontidaa, says, " This little group 

 forms a transition between the Rhynchophora and thr Phytophaga by its 



Viil.. IV. 8 



