108 RHYKCHOPHOHA. 



The larvse of the Rhyncbophora do not call for any particular remark : their chief 

 characters are given by Erichson (Archives de Wiegman 1842, I. p. 373) and 

 Chsipuis et Candeze (Cat. des Larves des Coleopteres, p. 195), and may be summed 

 up as follows : Head corneous, rounded, with the mouth directed interiorly ; ocelli 

 wanting or present in small number on each side ; antennae very short, usually quite 

 rudimentary ; labrum distinct ; mandibles strong and bard, often obtusely toothed at 

 apex ; muxillee and maxillary palpi variable ; thoracic segments often somewhat 

 more developed than the following ; abdominal segments nine in number, usually 

 furnished with trans verse folds, often narrowed towards apex; anal segment not project- 

 ing and hardly ever furnished with traces of appendages j legs, as a rule, absent, some- 

 times represented by tubercles, and occasionally somewhat developed ; these larvae are 

 usually more or less curved but are rarely straight, as in the case of those that mine 

 leaves (as Or chest es) ; the general colour is whitish or yellowish with the head dark, 

 but some larvse are more or less variegated ; they are all, as far as is known, vegetable 

 feeders, with the exception of the larvas of Brachytarsus, which are parasitic on 

 species of Coccus as will be hereafter noticed ; occasionally certain species do great 

 damage to various plants and trees. 



In all measurements given for the Rhy-nchophora it must be remem- 

 bered that the rostrum is not included, and that the length is taken 

 from the head at the base of the rostrum to the apex of the elytra or 

 pygidium. 



FLATYRRHINIDJE (Antlm'lulee). 



The members of this family are usually regarded as connecting the 

 Rhynchophora and the Longicornia through Macrocephalus (Anthribus) 

 and Lamia; they are very variable in size and general appearance, and 

 may be distinguished from all the other Khynchophora with the exception 

 of the Rhinomaceridae by having the maxillary palpi normal and flexible, 

 and also by having the labrum distinct and at the same time the legs 

 non-fossorial ; the antennae are straight and are terminated by a three- 

 jointed club, which is usually, but not always, abrupt ; sometimes they 

 are very long, especially in the males ; the rostrum is very short and 

 broad and scarcely produced, and is furnished with short transverse 

 scrobes ; the mandibles are flattened, and are curved, pointed or ernar- 

 ginate at apex ; the pygidium is exposed and the epipleuraB of the elytra 

 are distinct ; the anterior coxae are globose, slightly exserted and 

 separated, and the posterior coxae are contiguous or slightly distant ; 

 the tarsi have the third joint almost concealed within the second, 

 except in the Urodontidse, which are not represented in Britain, 

 although Urodon rufipes has been erroneously admitted to a place 

 in our lists ; the family contains more than a hundred genera and 

 between four and five hundred species, of which ten genera and about 

 fifty species have been found in Europe ; of these five genera, repre- 

 sented by only eight species, occur in Britain, and several of these are 

 very rare insects. 



The Brenthidse, a large and important tropical family of the Rhyn- 

 chophora, which are represented in Europe by only two species, neither 

 of which occur in Britain, are usually placed near the present family : 

 they are chiefly remarkable for their very long narrow body, and slender, 



