232 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



had bred this beetle from a larva found in decay- 

 ing- pine wood, and which resembled in every 

 respect, so far as our description went, the one 

 sent by Mr. Lummis. "We have lately bred to 

 the perfect state three of these Grape-root bor- 

 ing larvie, and one which was found in an 

 Apple-root, and they all four of them prove to 

 belong- to a differ- 

 ent though a very 

 closely allied spe- 

 cies to the one we 

 suggested by in- 

 ference. The bee- 

 tle we have bred 

 from these larvas 

 is the Bi-oad-iieck- 

 ed Prionus (Prio- 

 nus laticoUis, Dru- 

 ry), of which we 

 herewith present a 

 likeness(Fig. 171.) 

 It is usually of a 

 darker color than 

 oior-Maiio-anj-brown, verging ^^e Cylindrical Or- 



ou black. ^, , 



thosoraa, and as 

 may be seen upon comparing the figures, it differs 

 materially from that species by its larger size and 

 broader form. Our figure represents the female, 

 which differs from the male in having shorter 

 and narrower antennas, though her body is usu- 

 ally larger. 



There is auother species, the Tile-horned Pri 

 onus {Prionus imbricornis, Linn.,) so called 

 from the joints of the male antenuse lapping ovei 

 one auother like the tiles or shingles of a root — 

 which very closely resembles the Broad-necked 

 Prionus, and in Illinois is much commoner. It 

 may be distinguished at once from this last b\ 

 the autennie of the male being about 19-jointed 

 and those of the female about Ki-jointed; 

 whereas both sexes of the Itroatl-ncTked Prio 

 luis luive 12-joiuted antenn;!-. In ciilicr lespects 

 these two beetles are almost cxuc-lly alike, so 

 that, if the autennie happeu to be broken, it i 

 not very easy to tell one from another. So fai 

 as we are aware, it is not known upon what 

 kiud of tree the Tile-horned Prionus feeds; and 

 from the very great similarity of these two 

 bcetk-., then laivi ^vdl piohibh Kscmbh each 

 othei vei> clo-ich 



The Pnonus Itnnh to \\\\\c\\ ill tlu^c in 



sects belong is distinguished from the more ex- 

 tensive Cerumbyx family of the Long-horned 

 beetles, by sundry peculiarities, but principally 

 by the broad flat thorax and the large robust jaws, 

 and by tlie upper lip being nearly or quite obso- 

 lete. It has generally been supposed that their 

 larvae were equally well characterized by having 

 the first segment of the body smaller than the sec- 

 ond, but although RiJsel described and figured 

 the larva of an European species (P. coriariiis) 

 with the first segment smaller than the second,* 

 Mon. E. Perris has figured the larva of another 

 European species (P. obscurus, Oliv.), which 

 has the first and not the second segment largest,! 

 while the two N, A. representatives of the 

 family which we have herewith figured likewise 

 have the first segment largest in the larva state. 

 Above at Figure 169 we have represented, of 

 the natural size, one of the immense Grape-root 

 boring larvre of this Broad-necked Prionus, 

 and belowt will be found a technical descrip- 

 tion of it drawn up from several living speci- 

 mens. Though uoacconnt of this insect's injuries 

 to the Grape-vine had been published up to the 

 summer of 1868, we find that its work has been 

 known for several years amongst the practical 

 vineyardists of the Western, or to speak more cor- 

 rectly, of the Middle States, and Mr. George Hus- 

 mann, of Bluff'ton, Mo., has known it since 1850. 

 Last summer, while visiting certain orchards 

 and vineyards in company with the ud interim 

 c — ^"-;**"cs "*■ t'^c I"'"ro" a"d i*!:-"— j-i S'atc 

 II )iti(.ultui il Societies -ne disco\eicd it in the 



/if '4"^ 



itb lal al pil| I loint 



ci th(- teimiiiil tliei 



limentarj 2 j i 1 wn at 



1 \oi tei t ibuck 1 1 k 1 tiileicle 



leciUlj piom iicnto egme ts b S md 9 wlei 



cillpiolegs lhc>oiiglu\i lillcisonh ii lacking 



St colored mark ( 



