1889.] | Rhynchites betuleti and Chaetocnema basalis. 337 
at the approach of danger. In the spring the beetles may be 
seen in numbers leaving their holes and hurrying to the nearest 
vine, up which they swarm, until they reach the youngest shoots 
at the end of the branches. These they proceed to cut off with 
their powerful mandibles, and then descending to the ground 
drag the succulent shoot backwards towards their holes. The 
shoots are left exposed to the sun for a short time, until they 
begin to dry up, and this is always the case after rain; when the 
leaves are sufficiently dried they are dragged into the holes, 
where Taschenberg supposes they serve as food, not so much 
for the beetles as for their larvae. During the heat of the day 
these beetles apparently rest, their visits to the vines being 
usually paid between 9 and 11 in the morning, and from 3 o’clock 
in the afternoon until sunset. 
In the absence of vines, the beetle attacks and carries off 
to its hole the leaves of grass, dandelions and other plants. 
They prefer a sandy soil, and often appear near the sea-shore 
and spread inland. They have been known for some time as a 
pest in the Hungarian vineyards, but their presence in Bulgaria 
dates from last year. The damage is usually very local, and the 
vines attacked are not permanently injured, but recover the 
following spring. As the beetles show a marked aversion to 
wet weather, during which they do not leave their holes, it has 
been suggested that copious watering might rid a district of the 
pest. 
II. Rhynchites betuletn. 
I am also indebted to Mr Brophy of Varna for specimens of a 
very beautiful little Weevil, known as Rhynchites betuleti, which 
has recently caused much trouble amongst the vineyards in Bul- 
aria. 
: The family Rhynchitidae to which this beetle belongs is cha- 
racterized by the antennae being straight and not elbowed (fig. 2a), 
and inserted into the middle of the proboscis, and not at the base. 
There is no groove on the side of the proboscis for the protection 
of the shaft of the antennae, and the beetles seldom exceed one- 
fourth of an inch in length. 
Rhynchites betuleti (fig. 2) is 3 mm. broad at the base of 
the abdomen and 6 mm. in length from the origin of the head 
to the posterior extremity. It has a very metallic colour, usually 
green or blue, but sometimes reddish. The prothorax passes 
gradually into the head, no constriction or neck marking the 
division of these two parts. The proboscis thickens a little in 
front of the insertion of the antennae. 
The tarsus is four-jointed, the third joint is expanded into 
two lappets. The elytra are thickly punctate. The male is 
WO, Wik, Bu Wat, 25 
