328 RHYNCHOPHORA. [Orobitis. 



shoulders rounded, and with rather fine, almost impunctate, striae, of 

 which the tenth is joined behind to the ninth ; interstices broad and 

 flat, smooth or almost smooth ; legs long in proportion to the body, more 

 or less pitchy, the femora being usually darker than the tibiae and tarsi ; 

 femora elongate, without teeth ; tarsal claws small and connate. 

 L. 2|- mm. 



Sandy and chalky places ; by sweeping Orobus, Viola, &c. ; often in moss during 

 winter; somewhat local, but widely distributed, and not uncommon in many 

 districts; it is however never abundant apparently in any one place; London 

 district, not uncommon, Esher, Caterham, Mickleham, Coombe Wood, Dareuth 

 Wood, Sevenoaks, Faversham, Maidstone, Chatham, Horsell, Farnham, &c. ; Great 

 Yarmouth; Ashwicken, Cambridge; Hastings; St. Leonards Forest; Arundel ; 

 Holm Bush, Brighton; New Forest ; Glanvilles Wootton ; Seaford and Exminster, 

 Devon; Bristol; Swansea; Midland counties, widely distributed; Barmouth ; 

 Cheshire; Liverpool district; Ripon ; Scarborough ; Cumberland; Northumberland 

 and Durham district, not common ; Scotland, scarce, Solway, Tweed and Forth 

 districts; Ireland, near Belfast (Haliday), Armagh (Johnson), Galway, not rare 

 (J. J. Walker), and probably general. 



CRYPTORRHYNCHINA. 



This tribe contains several European genera of which two, Acalles and 

 CryptorrhyiicTius, are found in Britain ; the species are dull, rough, 

 scabrous insects, and are characterized by having the tibiae furnished 

 with a curved hook at their apical external angle, and by the prosternum 

 being strongly grooved for the reception of the rostrum ; the legs are 

 stout and the anterior femora are longer than the others ; the pygidium 

 is completely covered by the elytra. 



I. Scutellum large and distinct ; episterna of metaster- 

 num not covered by elytra and well developed ; size 



larger CETPTOEEHTNCHUS, III. 



II. Scutellum wanting or almost invisible ; episterna of 



metasternum indistinct or concealed by the elytra . . ACALLES, Steph. 



CRYPTORRHVNCHUS, Illiger. 



This is a very large and important genus containing between two and 

 three hundred species, which are very widely distributed in the Southern 

 Hemisphere ; very few, however, occur in the Northern Hemisphere, 

 and one representative only is found in Europe ; it is a rather large, dull, 

 rough insect, of a variegated black and yellowish- white colour, and is 

 found on osiers ; it also attacks poplars and alders ; the rostrum is moder- 

 ately long and curved, and M'hen the insect is at rest it is fitted tightly 

 beneath the thorax ; the antennae are moderately long and terminate in 

 an ovate club ; the scutellum is conspicuous, and the posterior coxae 

 are transverse and almost attain the margin of the elytra ; the elytra 

 have the shoulders square and well marked and are somewhat acu- 

 minate at apex ; the legs are stout, and, as in Acalles and other allied 



