Cleonus.'] EHTNCHOPHORA. 239 



oblong or subquadrate and bisinuate at base ; the prosternum is deeply 

 emarginate at apex ; the elytra are long and somewhat depressed at 

 base ; the legs are moderately long and the femora are not armed with 

 teeth. 



The genus is a very extensive one and, if we include the subgenera into 

 which it has been divided, contains upwards of three hundred species, 

 which are mostly found in Europe and Northern and Central Asia ; a 

 few, however, have been described from Africa (Algeria and Cape of 

 Good Hope), India, &c. ; they are found in sandy places at the roots of 

 various plants ; the larvae feed in the roots and undergo their transfor- 

 mations in a sort of cocoon, always beneath the earth. 



"When .we consider that more than a hundred species are found in 

 Europe, it must be admitted that the genus is very poorly represented in 

 Biitain by four, one of which is almost doubtfully indigenous, and 

 another extremely rare ; they may be distinguished as follows : 



I. Second joint of posterior tarsi short, scarcely longer 

 than broad; third joint of tarsi with spongy pubescence 



beneath. 



1. First joint of funicnlns of antennae at least as long 



as second ; length 1Q-15 rarn C. suiCtROSTKrs, L. 



2. First joint of funiculus of antennae very short, 



much shorter than second C. ALBIDUS, F. 



(fasciatus, Mull.) 



II. Second joint of posterior tarsi elongate, plainly 

 longer than broad ; tarsi with joints 1-3 furnished 



with lateral setse and without pubescence beneath. 



1. Underside of thorax with a tubercular promi- 

 nence before each coxa ; vertex of head distinctly 



ridged ; elytra longer in proportion to thorax . . C. NEBTJLOSUS, L. 



2, Underside of thorax without distinct tubercular 

 prominences before coxae ; vertex of head scarcely 



ridged; elytra shorter in proportion to thorax . . C. GLAUCtrs, F. 



(turbatus, Fahrs.) 



C. sulcirostris, L. (piger, Scop.; scutellatus, Boh.). Black, thickly 

 clothed with greyish pubescence ; vertex of head thickly pubescent ; 

 rostrum with three deep almost equal, furrows ; thorax about as long 

 as broad, with large scattered bare granulations, disc with two broad 

 dark denuded longitudinal bands, separated by a narrow light band, 

 which is usually continued on vertex ; elytra with fine punctured striae, 

 pubescence more or less thick, with two oblique dark denuded fasciae on 

 each, directed towards apex and meeting or nearly meeting at suture ; a 

 callose spot towards apex is also denuded; these markings are very 

 variable and depend in great measure on the freshness of the insect ; in 

 newly-emerged specimens the elytra are sometimes almost of a uniform 

 grey colour. L. 10-15 mm. 



Male with the base of the abdomen impressed in middle and the last 

 segment very slightly emarginate at apex. 



On various species of thistles; local but often common wlit'ie found; it appears to be 



