59 2 THE STUDY OF INSECTS. 



(Thec-e-ster'nus hu-mer-a'lis), of the central portion of the 

 United States. It usually lives near the surface of the 

 ground, but has been found attacking grape-vines and hick- 

 ory. It is a grayish beetle, one third to one half inch in 

 length, and with its wing-covers roughened by rows of tu- 

 bercles, Its distinctive structural characters are given in 

 the table of families. 



Family OTIORHYNCHID.E (O-ti-o-rhyn'chi-dae). 



The Scarred Snout-beetles. 



This is one of the larger of the families of snout-beetles, 

 including more than one hundred North American species. 

 The most distinctive characteristic of these insects is the 

 presence in the pupa state, and sometimes also in recently 

 matured adults, of an appendage on each mandible, and in 

 the adult state of a scar indicating the place from which the 

 appendage has fallen. This scar is on the anterior face of 

 the mandible, and frequently at the tip of a slight process. 

 Many species of this family are beautifully ornamented with 

 scales which resemble in a striking manner the scales on 

 the wings of butterflies. Among the more important species 

 are the following : 



Fuller's Rose-beetle, A ramigus fuller i (A-ram'i-gus ful'le- 

 ri). — This is an oval, black snout-beetle, lightly covered with 

 dark-brown scales, and about one fourth inch in 

 |< A length. It is very destructive to roses ; the 



Wfl^ larvae feed upon the roots, and the adults de- 

 Wl stroy the leaves, flowers, and buds. In Cali- 



fm £\ f° rn i a ^ i s sometimes a pest in orange-groves. 

 j/WHfJV The Imbricated Snout-beetle, Epiccerus im- 



/ ^ bricatus (Ep-i-cae'rus im-bri-ca'tus) is usually a 

 Fig. 723. dull, silvery-white beetle with brown markings ; 

 but the species is quite variable in color. It is represented 

 somewhat enlarged by Figure 723. It is omnivorous, gnaw- 

 ing holes in various garden vegetables and fruits, and in the 

 bark of trees and shrubs. 



