CLEO'NUS, a gehus of Coleopterous Insects of the section Rhyncophora and family Curculionithe. It has the following cha racters :—Antennae rather short, the scape not touching the eyes; basal joint of the funiculus nearly obconic, and rather longer than the remaining joints ; the joints from the second to the sixth short and coarctate, the seventh stouter, and closely applied to the club, which is oblong-ovate or nearly so; rostrum short and thick, having generally a channel above ; eyes oblong and depressed ; thorax sub conic, slightly constricted anteriorly; elytra elongate, generally furnished with a protuberance near the apex, which is rounded ; legs nearly equal; femora unarmed; tibim with the apex slightly thickened, and furnished with a short spine.
Of the genus Cleonus about 100 species are known ; they inhabit Europe, Asia, and Africa. The ground-colour of their body is almost always black, but this is for the most part hidden by the denseness of the little scales with which they are covered. These scales are generally of an ash-like colour, gray, white, or pale-brown, and small patches of two or more of these tints form clouded markings. Dark markings are often produced by the want of these scales on certain parts, the ground-colour of the body then showing itself.
C. sulcirostris may be taken as the type of this genus. It is about two-thirds of an inch in length, of an elongate oval form, and of an ashy or white colour ; the rostrum is thick, nearly as long as the thorax, and furnished with three deep longitudinal furrows ; the thorax is almost as wide as the elytra at the base, and tapers towards the head ; there is a longitudinal pale line in the centre, which is bordered by two broad dark-brown patches; the rest of the thorax is pale, with the exception of a small brown patch on each side; the elytra are of an ashy colour, and have two oblique V-shaped fasciae near the middle.
This insect is common in various parts of England, and seems more particularly to frequent chalky and sandy situations ; it is sometimes found on nettles and thistles, and often on barren sand-hills near the sea-side. Three or four other species are also found in this country. C. nebutosus is very common in some parts of Ilampshire, and nearly resembles the one above described, but may be at once distinguished by the absence of the sulci on the snout or rostrum : the scales in- this species are not unfre quently red.