184 



beetles bury themselves by day in the earth, close to 

 the foundation of the wall to which the trees are 

 trained, likewise round the stems of the trees, and 

 most probably in chinks of the bricks, and other dark 

 hiding-places. ^^Tien recently hatched this insect is 

 clothed with a delicate yellow pubescence, forming little 

 irregular spots upon the elytra ; but they soon wear off 

 and disappear, when it becomes of a shining black, 

 inclining to a pitch colour. The larree of these 

 otiorhynci being as destructive as the perfect beetles, 

 the main object ought to be to destroy the former, if 

 possible, in the autumn, which probably would be 

 most readily effected by stirring the earth all along 

 the base of the wall and round the stems of the fruit- 

 trees, and then sprinkling salt pretty thickly over the 

 broken surface ; or salt and water, or, perhaps, liquid 

 manure, might be equally beneficial — if hot, the 

 better ; for it seems evident, from the peculiar spots 

 in which they generate, or rather undergo their trans- 

 formations, that situations sheltered in a great mea- 

 sure from the wet are most congenial to their habits. 

 The beetles can only be arrested by hand-picking, 

 with a candle and lantern, and afterwards pouring 

 boiling water upon them, as their shells resist mode- 

 rate heat. {Gard. Chron, 1842, 316.) 



Oiiorhy7iciis {Ctirculio) oblongus. — The Oblong 

 Weevil. — This is of a reddish brown colour. It ap- 



