56 BETEKOMEIiA \_RMnOfilllU8 



what dilated at apex ; antenna; inserted at al>ont middle of rostrum 

 pitchy with base red ; thorax rather feebly cordiform, deeply and not 

 very closely punctured ; elytra with distinct rows of punctures, alter- 

 nate interstices with rows of punctures placed rather widely apart ; legs 

 reddish-testaceous ; under-side red, pitchy red or pitchy. L. 2-3 mm. 



Uuder bark, in dead twigs, moss, &c. ; often by sweeping and beating ; common 

 and generally distributed throughout England and Wales ; Scotland, Solway, Forth, 

 T:iy, and probably all or nearly all the districts; Ireland, Dublin, Armagh, Belfast, 

 and probably general. 



MYCTERINA. 



This is a small tribe, whose composition is uncertain ; several authors 

 include under it the genus Lacconotus, which differs from Mycterus in 

 not having the head prolonged into a rostrum ; the latter genus forms a 

 very strong connecting link between the Heteromera and the 

 Rhynchophora ; anyone who was not acquainted with the structural dif- 

 ferences would at once regard M.curculionoides as a weevil very near the 

 genus Larinus, which it further resembles in having the upper surface 

 covered with a yellowish pollen- like pubescence ; the tribe has been 

 variously assigned to the Pythidae, (Edemeridae, and Melandryidaj. I have 

 here placed it provisionally under the former ; the point is not im- 

 portant as far as the British fauna is concerned, as our single species is 

 doubtfully indigenous. 



MYCTERUS, Clairvillc. 



This genu^ contains seven or eight species, of which four are found in 

 Europe, and the remainder in Xorth and Central America ; it is, as 

 before stated, as far as outward appearance goes, extremely closely re- 

 lated to the Curculionidaa, with which it is further connected by the 

 form of the intermediate coxae and scutellum ; it is however separated, 

 of course, from them by the heteromerous tarsi, and. further, to a less 

 extent, by the filiform antennae and the buccal organs ; the Iarva3 pro- 

 bably live in the roots and stems of the Garduaceie and Umbelliferce, on 

 which the perfect insects are found. 



M. curculionoides, F. Elongate oval, convex, black, covered 

 with close greyish, yellowish or reddish pubescence, and besides with a 

 yellowish fugitive pollen-like pubescence, which is renewable during 

 life ; head pi educed into a strong broad rostrum, eyes moderate, 

 slightly projecting, antennae 11-jointed, inserted at some distance in 

 front of eyes, third joint elongate, last joint apparently divided into 

 two ; thorax transverse with sides subparallel behind, and rounded and 

 narrowed in front, broadly bisinuate at base where it is broadest ; the 

 upper surface is closely, distinctly, and shallowly punctured, and there 

 is a trace of a central furrow at all events at base; scutellum large; 



