Coleopterous Sub-Family Byrsopince {Curculionidce). 61 



Museum, who kindly lent me all the material collected by 

 Delagorgue in South Africa ; and to Prof. E. B. Poulton, of Oxford, 

 to whom I am indebted for the loan of many useful specimens, 

 including the type of B. hopei, Boh. Finally I must mention the 

 fine series of Byrsopinse in the British Museum, comprising all 

 Pascoe's types and many rare species collected by Sir Andrew 

 Smith in the less-known parts of Cape Colony ; this collection now 

 contains exponents of every species of Hoplitotrachelus and Byj^sops 

 here defined, except B. msincera, Boh. 



The genus Byrsops is entirely confined to the Cape Colony, and 

 finds its headquarters in the extreme South-West, the region of 

 winter rains. It appears to be extremely rare in the Eastern 

 Province, for in many years' collecting near Uitenhage Father 

 O'Neil tells me he took but a single example, which I refer to 

 glaucescens, Pasc. ; and it is probable that Port Elizabeth represents 

 approximately the eastern limit of the genus ; while to the North it 

 is not yet known from beyond the Orange Eiver. I have never seen 

 these insects alive, but from what Mr. Peringuey tells me, they are 

 purely terrestrial in their habits ; and he and Mr. F. Purcell obtained 

 them in some numbers by digging long trap-trenches. They appear 

 to be most prevalent during the winter rains, as the dated specimens 

 range from June to November. 



The following forms have been erroneously attributed to this 

 genus by Schonherr : — 



{B. deprimatus, Boh.), which is a Brotheus and synonymous with 

 B. porcatus, Marsham (1802). 



B. troglodytes, Gyl., which is a Hypocolobus, the type being at 

 Oxford. 



B. pusio, Wied., which, from the description, is evidently a 

 Brotheus. 



B. planus, Thb., which is a Brotheus. 



B. prcemorsus, Thb. — Prof. Aurivillius has very kindly examined 

 the type (at Upsala) for me, and informs me that the head and 

 thorax are missing, but that the species is evidently a Brotheus, and 

 perhaps synonymous with deprimatus, Boh. {supra). 



The great structural variability which exists in many of the 

 species renders the preparation of an adequate key especially 

 difficult ; but by giving, where necessary, several alternative 

 characters, it is hoped that the difficulties of identification may 

 be to some extent simplified. It must be borne in mind, however, 

 that occasionally aberrant individuals may occur which do not 

 agree exactly with perhaps one or other of the several characters 

 given. 



