C17ECULIONIDJ3, 



L95 



the rostrum is so short as to be almost absent. In the vast 

 majority of species the palpi are very remarkable for their minute- 

 ness and rigidity ; this is due to their position at the apex of the 

 rostrum, a point often overlooked by the ordinary student ; but 

 in JVemonyc/ms and a few other genera they are more or less 

 flexible. 



The life-history of many members of the group is well known. 

 They are entirely vegetable feeders and the larvae are legless 

 maggots ; occasionally they do enormous damage to crops of 

 various kinds, and no part of the plants, from the root to the 

 flower, is free from attack. Their habits are very varied ; certain 



Fig. 01. — Trotocerius grandis (natural size). 



species form galls, others form cocoons resembling galls ; a large 

 number undergo their transformations in the capsules of various 

 plants, while others in the larval state mine the parenchyma of 

 the leaves. Species of Attelabus and Rhynchites lay their eggs 

 simply on the leaves, attaching them to their surface by a viscous 

 substance, and then roll the leaves over them so as to form a nest 

 or shelter. In other cases the female deposits her eggs in the 

 freshly set fruits of Pomaces or Amygdalaceoe, or in fresh shoots 



