228 
Pachykhynchus. INSECTS.- 
•Elytrurus. 
cylinder having at one end the mid-rib, whose spirals 
then resemble those of the mainspring of a watch, and 
at the other, which is of a less regular shape, the serra- 
tures of the leaf, so pushed in by means of her trunk 
and fore legs as to retain the whole in its cylindrical 
form. The larva proceeding from the egg thus 
deposited towards the end of May is hatched early in 
June, and never quits the habitation which its provi- 
dent and truly laborious mother (for each egg requires 
its separate leaf and the long process above described) 
has prepared for it, eating in succession the different 
rolls of its cylinder, till it has attained its full growth.” 
So far for Messrs. Kirby and Spence, 
Section II.— GONATOCEKATA {Weevils). 
The great division CurculioniDjE or Gonatoce- 
KATA, have the first joint of the antennse generally 
longer than the others, and geniculated or elbowed. It 
is divided into many groups. There are the Bracliy- 
deridce, with thirty- five British species — some very 
pretty, as in the genus Polydrosus ; they have all a 
short thorax and a short beak. 
There are a noble set of Curculionidge in South 
America, of which one is figured on Plate 4, fig. 9— 
the Cyplius Hancoclci; its fine, soft, green scales and 
bronzy gold patches are very beautiful. But most 
Fig. 121. 
of the species of Cyplius are fine objects for the 
microscope. Near it is the genus Entimus, contain- 
ing the well-known Diamond Beetles. The Pachy- 
rhyncld are from the Philippine islands, and are perfect 
gems ; one species in particular, with a rich ruby 
back-ground and round patches on that ground, com- 
posed of lovely green, gold, and prismatically coloured 
scales. Fig 121 shows Pacliyrhynchus orbifet'. 
The species of NaujMctus and Diaprepes are often 
covered with beautiful scales. 
Of the group Cleonidoi there are thirty-five recorded 
British species placed in thirteen genera. The typical 
genus Cleonus abounds in species. 
Molytes is a small genus of black, fat-looking beetles, 
while Phytonomus is a large genus of smallish-sized 
weevils, many of them very destructive to plants. 
The various species of Hylohivs are, where they 
abound, very injurious in forests of the pine tribe, as 
they often quite destroy the young trees. The larch, 
now so extensively planted for its useful timber, is at 
times much destroyed by the Hyldbius abietis. Mr. 
Elliott of AVolfelee lately communicated to the Ento- 
mological Society some interesting remarks on the 
ravages of this beetle in Scotland. Mr. Janson has 
also published in the Proceedings of the same society 
(October, 1860) a nice account of this insect, chiefly 
derived from the valuable work of Eatzeburg, This 
beetle seems to prefer in Germany the Pinus sylvatica 
and P. abies, although it attacks all the firs indiscrimi- 
nately. It is the perfect beetle which is directly inju- 
rious. It gnaws the young shoots, thus causing them 
to wither. “ The extremities of a tree thus attacked 
(the most vigorous and healthy trees are invariably 
selected by the beetle) several years in succession, 
sickness and death inevitably ensue, in dry sea.sons 
especially ; the mischief this beetle occasions in woods 
where it abounds is almost incredible.” 
The beetles come out from May to October. The 
females deposit their eggs, and the larvae live, either in 
the stems of sickly, dead standing, or felled trees. 
They deposit their eggs also in stumps and roots. 
The forester should therefore grub up all stumps, and 
clear out all sickly and dead trees, in order to restrain 
the multiplication of this beetle. The timber should he 
barked as soon as practicable after it is felled, as the 
females only deposit their eggs in the bark. 
Among the plans mentioned by Eatzeburg for de- 
stroying these beetles the most successful seem to be 
the following ; the digging of pits and trenches with 
perpendicular sides at short intervals round the plan- 
tations and along the sides of the paths. Into these 
the beetles fall or fly, and, being unable to escape, they 
are taken and destroyed. In Germany they also lay 
hunches of young fir boughs about the plantations or 
in the pits. By shaking these daily over cloths, the 
beetles are collected and destroyed. Eatzeburg says, 
that as many as two thousand five hundred beetles 
have been taken daily from one hundred of these 
hunches. It is necessary to replace these boughs when 
dry with fresh ones, as they no longer attract beetles 
in this state. Another method is to strew strips of 
fresh fir bark about the plantations, with the inner 
surface downwards. On lifting these, great numbers 
of beetles are found to have congregated upon and 
beneath them. 
The Byrsopsidce form a curious group, very feebly 
represented in Britain, where but one species is met 
with — the Gronops lunatus. In South Africa there 
are many striking species. 
In the group Otiorhynchidce, there are thirty- nine 
British species belonging to the genera Phyllobius, 
Trachyphlceus, Omias, Otiorhynclius, &c. 
The genus Elytnirus is found in the islands to the 
north of New Zealand. It has singularly elongated 
elytra. Fig. 122 represents the Elytrurus atratus. 
We may briefly refer to the habits of some of the 
species of Otiorhynchus, a very extensive genus. Some 
of the most destructive of the weevil tribe belong to 
the genua Otiorhynclius. Among these the 0. suica- 
