THE ATTKLABIANS. 65 



the beetles in the spring ; and the Baltimore oriole or hang- 

 bird splits open the green pods for the sake of the grubs con- 

 tained in the peas, thereby contributing greatly to prevent 

 the increase of these noxious insects. The instinct that en- 

 ables this beautiful bird to detect the lurking grub, concealed, 

 as the latter is, within the pod and the hull of the pea, is 

 worthy our highest admiration ; and the goodness of Provi- 

 dence, which has endowed it with this faculty, is still further 

 shown in the economy of the insects also, which, through 

 His prospective care, are not only limited in the season of 

 their depredations, but are instinctively taught to spare the 

 germs of the peas, thereby securing a succession of crops 

 for our benefit and that of their own progeny. 



The Attelabians (Attelabid^e) are distinguished from the 

 Bruchians by the form and greater length of the head, which 

 is a little inclined, and ends with a snout, sometimes short 

 and thick, and sometimes long, slender, and curved. The 

 eyes also are round and entire, and the antennae are usually 

 implanted near the middle of the snout. The larva? re- 

 semble those of most of the snout-beetles, being short, thick, 

 whitish grubs, with horny heads, the rings of the body very 

 much hunched, and deprived of legs, the place of which is 

 supplied by fleshy warts along the under-side of the body. 

 Some of the European insects of this family are known to be 

 very injurious to the leaves, fruits, and seeds of plants. 



The different lands of Attelabus are said to roll up the 

 edges of leaves, thereby forming little nests, of the shape and 

 size of thimbles, to contain their eggs, and to shelter their 

 young, which afterwards devour the leaves. Fig. 32. 



The larvse and habits of our native species 

 are unknown to me. The most common one 

 here is the Attelabus analis of Weber (Fig. 

 32), or the red-tailed Attelabus. It is one 

 quarter of an inch long from the tip of the 

 thick snout to the end of the body. The 

 head, which is nearly cylindrical, the antennae, legs, and 



