RHYNCHOPIIORA. 271 



medullai y canal of Scirjmx lai'ustris, above the- \vator level ; the other 

 species appear to have much the same habits ; the males may be dis- 

 tinguished from the females by having the rostrum duller, the two first 

 ventral segments marked with a strong impression, and the anal segment 

 truncate at apex ; the three species are extremely closely allied to one 

 another, and it is very difficult to find satisfactory characters on which 

 to distinguish them ; those given by Bedel are perhaps as good as any, 

 but the difference in the clothing of the elytra, and the relative length 

 of the joints of the funiculus of the antennaa is not very evident in, at 

 all events, some specimens ; nor again are the characters proposed by 

 Thomson and others, which depend upon the smoothness or striation of 

 the rostrum, the relative length of the joints of the tarsi, etc., or the 

 differences .drawn from the presence or absence of a spot behind the 

 middle of elytra, at all reliable. 



I. Clothing of elytra consisting entirely of scales ; elytra 



with the strite on disc less strong. 



i. Rostrum longer, punctured and striate (more strongly 

 in male than in female) ; second joint of funiculus of 

 antenna} as long as the first, third joint longer than 



broad ; size larger T. FESTUC.K, 77Vr'-f. 



ii. Rostrum shorter, nearly smooth (at all events in 



female) ; second joint of funiculus of antennae shorter 



than the first, third and following joints moniliform or 



transverse; size smaller T. NEREIS, Payk. 



II. Clothing of elytra chiefly pilose ; suture with a band of 

 scales; rostrum very distinctly striated; elytra with the 



stria) on disc stronger T. SCIBEHOSITS, Gyll. 



T. festucae, Herbst. Elongate, fuscous, thickly clothed with ashy 

 scales ; head minutely punctured ; rostrum very long, slender and curved, 

 ferruginous, rather dull, rugosely punctured, finely cariuate at base ; 

 antennae ferruginous ; thorax dull fuscous-brown, very closely sculptured, 

 Avith the sides and under surface clothed with minute ashy-white scales, 

 almost as long as broad, with the sides very slightly rounded ; scutellum 

 whitish ; elytra long, parallel-sided, with deep and rather obsoletely 

 punctured striae, interstices coriaceous ; the suture, a small spot in 

 middle of base and a patch behind centre are more thickly covered with 

 whitish scales ; legs ferruginous or rufo-testaceous. L. 4|-5|- mm. 



Marshy places ; especially about the banks of rivers ; on Scirpus, Carex, &c. ; 

 occasionally in flood refuse ; very local, and, as a rule, scarce ; London district, Kent 

 and Surrey, not uncommon; Gravesend, Whitstable, Barnes, Walton, Horsell, Colney 

 Hatch (Champion, Power and others) ; Pangbourne, banks of Thames, once 

 abundantly on Fescue grass (S. Stevens) ; Hastings ; Leamington and Salford 

 Priors (Blatch). 



T. Nereis, Payk. (palustris, Gyll.). Very closely allied to the pre- 

 ceding, but, on an average, considerably smaller, with the antennas and 

 rostrum shorter, the latter more shining, almost smooth in the female, 

 and the joints of the former shorter, rather stouter, and somewhat 



