150 Mr. D. Sharp on a new Genus and 



selves possess, and upon such an absurd assumption build up 

 a theory, we shall hopelessly grope for real light on the 

 problems of Nature. 



XVIII. — Description of a new Genus and Species of 

 Rhynchoplwrous Coleoptera. By D. Sharp. 



In the summer of 1890, 1 received from Mr. Bartlett-Calvert, 

 of Santiago, some specimens of a handsome weevil that he 

 and Dr. Philippi thought would probably be new. It was 

 accompanied by the following information : — " The weevils 

 were found by me last year on the Pichi Nitrou Cordillera of 

 Araucania, living on the Araucaria imbricata. The weevil 

 lives in the body of the Araucaria, which it appears to mine 

 in all directions, the pupa being buried in the rotten debris 

 and frass ; it lives at the height of 2300 metres, and I found 

 it on nearly all the old trees, but never more than four or six 

 specimens on each, and always in pairs, these being embedded 

 in the crevices formed by the scab-like bark of the tree; 

 some were feeding on the odorous resin which exudes from 

 the lacerated trunk. The imago was found in the months of 

 January and February." The larva and pupa were also 

 found by Mr. Bartlett-Calvert and transmitted to me, but 

 arrived in a state of complete disintegration. 



On examining the insect thus alluded to, I was much in- 

 terested to find that it is very closely allied to our genus 

 Bylobius ; a genus attached, so far as I know, exclusively to 

 Coniferse, and extending throughout the northern hemisphere, 

 but apparently most numerous in species in E. Siberia, 

 N. China, and Japan. Mr. Calvert's genus, which I propose 

 to call Calvertius, is almost equally closely allied to the genus 

 Heilipus, which in Tropical America is extremely numerous 

 in species, some hundreds having been already described. 

 Lacordaire considers Heilipus to be a composite genus, and 

 it is therefore, without a knowledge of all its species, not 

 quite legitimate to infer that some of them may not prove to 

 be congeneric with Calvertius ; but, so far as I can ascertain, 

 this is not the case, and Mr. Pascoe, who has given more 

 attention than any other entomologist to the big S. American 

 genus, has been kind enough to inform me that he does not 

 know any species of it to which Calvertius is specially allied. 



