yee = ghee te ATEN tee nets oe = pam MED ETT aia ener arinte IOP gO REP git har mvrwit i Be = ‘age reer ee) Oe venom gees igs portage 49 " detec rs regtetets eerie oye 89 Ho) uu iy SNORE { pray lat PAN Al may) aha | 41 vat i ANieaN Poi DS spy abedper aia Alone” NeWid! 2a cher ———— C.AlLe Sueur del. OR ee = \ AMNBRICAN ENTOMOLOGY, OR Descriptions Li Way Arms 30,1940 OF THE INSECTS OF NORTH fae heey ILLUSTRATED BY COLOURED FIGURES FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS EXECUTED FROM NATURE. BY THOMAS SAY, Curator of the American Philosophical Society, and of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia; Correspondent of the Philomathique Society of Paris; and Professor of Natural History in the University of Pennsylvania, and of Zoology in the Philadelphia Museum, “ Each moss, Each shell, each crawling insect, holds a rank Important in the plan of Him who fram’d This scale of beings.” STILLINGFLEET. Philadelphia Museum: PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL AUGUSTUS MITCHELL. FOR SALE BY ANTHONY FINLEY, CORNER OF FOURTH AND CHESNUT ST. William Brown, Printer. 1824. + SPLEID AT. o ALAS Tae 1 4 Pe TOO RUS A | Aoi ame a HY LA SOPS i] —T 1p tallewet ey a tebe will , pio letvie# wht le .itieg Tai dere vllvniiieR en tee * 2 é : . ’ bene Livg ah het git: A VER ¥ Jc im S. BARBER COLLECTION &. National wey TO WILLIAM MACLURE, PRESIDENT OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA, AND OF THE AMERICAN GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, &e. &e. Distinguished as a successful cultivator, and munificent patron, of the Natural Sciences, this Work is respectfully inscribed, By his much obliged, and most obedient servant, THE AUTHOR. “ As there is no part of nature too mean for the Divine Pre- sence; so there is no kind of subject, having its foundation in nature, that is below the dignity of a philosophical inquiry.” Harris. Beelace. Tue author’s design, in the present work, is to exemplify the genera and species of the in- sects of the United States, by means of coloured engravings. He enters upon the task without any expectation of pecuniary remuneration, and fully aware of the many obstacles by which he must inevitably be opposed. The graphic execution of the work will ex- hibit the present state of the arts in this country, as applied to this particular department of natural science, as no attention will be wanting, in this respect, to render the work worthy of the encou- ragement of the few who have devoted a portion of their attention to animated nature. To such persons, as well as to those whose information is sufficiently comprehensive to en- vi PREFACE. able them duly to appreciate the various depart- ments of human knowledge, this book is more especially addressed; and the author would hap- pily profit by their friendly co-operation in the correction of any errors that may appear, in the enunciation of new facts in the manners and economy of insects, or in the addition of species and localities. It is not possible, in the present state of our collections, to publish all the species in regular systematic succession; and the Entomologist will therefore observe, that although the specimens are somewhat indiscriminately described and figured, yet care has been taken that species of different genera be not represented in the same plate. The pages are not numbered, and the enumeration of the plates, which is on the in- ferior margin of the impression, is referred to beneath the text. This arrangement will admit of the work being bound up, when completed, agreeably to systematic order in the succession PREFACE. vii of genera, without any apparent confusion of numerals. In order that the descriptions may be under- stood by those who are not conversant with the science, we subjoin an explanation of the tech- nical terms used in Entomology, illustrated by elementary plates. Six plates of the present volume, together with their accompanying text, were printed off in the year 1817, but as they were never pro- perly published, it has been thought advisable to include them in the present work. With these preliminary notices, the first vo- lume of the American Entomology is submitted to the patrons of science; and whatever may be its merits or its defects, we must observe, that it is the first attempt of its kind in this country. It is an enterprise that may be compared to that of a pioneer or early settler in a strange land, whose office it is to become acquainted with the various productions exhibited to his view, in Vill PREFACE. order to select such as may be beneficial, either as regards his physical gratification, or his moral improvement, and in order to counteract the effects of others that may have a tendency to limit his prosperity. From the novelty of the surrounding objects, or the imperfection of his implements, it is vain to suppose that his selec- tion would be unerring, or his system of culture invariably judicious. But unabating industry and zeal remove obstacles that for ever bar the ad- vance of indolence or timidity; and if our utmost exertions can perform only a part of a projected task, they may, at the same time, claim the praise due to the adventurous pioneer, of remov- . ing the difficulties in favour of our successors. Ware PAPILIO. GENERIC CHARACTER. Antenne terminating in a conic-ovate or elon- -gate-ovate, somewhat arquated club; palpi pressed. closely to the front, hardly reaching the clypeus, the terminal joint obsolete or very minute; feet all formed for walking, armed with simple claws at tip; superior wings somewhat falcate; inferior wings often tailed at tip, and on the inner mar- gin excised or folded to admit of the free motion of the abdomen. OBSERVATIONS. The Caterpillars in this genus are destitute of a hairy or spiny armature; but, when disturbed, they suddenly project from the anterior and su- perior part of the neck a soft bifid appendage, which diffuses a strong odour. This singular organ, although somewhat formidable in appear- ance, is yet perfectly harmless; it may, however, serve the purpose of repelling the enemies of the PLATE I. B larva, rather, perhaps, by the odour it emits, than by its menacing aspect. The pupe or chrysalids are, for the most part, of an angulated form, with two processes or lobes before; they are secured in an upright position by a silken thread, which passes transversely around the body. The perfect insects are considered by many observers as the most beautiful part of the crea- tion. PAPILIO PHILENOR. Fuabr. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Wings tailed, green-black ; posterior pair green, polished, with seven fulvous subocellar spots be- neath. SYNONYMS. Papitio Astinous. Drury, vol. i. tab. 11, fig. 1.4. Cramer, Ins. tab. 208, fig. A. B. P. Parmenor. Fabricius, and of Smith and Ab- bot’s Insects of Georgia. PLATE I. DESCRIPTION. Head black; eyes red-brown, posterior orbits yellow; palpi yellowish before; a white dot be- hind the base of each antenna; neck with two dots before, and a band of four dots behind. Thorax black, immaculate: breast dotted with yellow; feet black, anterior trochanters with an obsolete yellow dot; superior wings dark green, sometimes blackish, with whitish crene; four or five white spots on the margin, more conspicuous beneath, often obsolete above; inferior wings highly polished, green; six pearl-white spots be- fore the margin; crene white; beneath with a yellow spot at base, brownish, with a very broad polished green border, upon which are seven large fulvous spots, each surrounded by a black ring, and marked by a lateral white spot; on the mner edge about six small white dots. 4bdomen green, a little brassy above; a lateral double row of whitish dots; first segment with a single larger spot conspicuous above. Femae larger, colour of the wings brown, with cupreous reflections. The Philenor is one of the most beautiful ee PLATE I. our butterflies, and is, at the same time, very common. The plate represents the male in two posi- tions. PLATE I. Pyar Aine ks Prawn by LR Peale 2 Engraved by Clie STIZUS. GENERIC CHARACTER. Thorax with the first segment transverse linear: feet short or moderately long: labrum entirely exserted, short, semicircular: palpi fili- form, maxillary ones longer, six-jointed; labial palpi four-jointed: ocelli very distinct: superior wings not folded longitudinally: radial cellule one, elongated; cubital cellules three, the second narrowed before, and receiving the two recurrent nervures; the third not attaining to the end of the wing. OBSERVATIONS. Latreille formed this genus for the reception of many species of the tribe Bempecipes, distin- guished by the above recited characters. These species had previously been placed in the genus Bempex by Fabricius and Olivier, in that of Crapro by Rossi and Fabricius, in Larra by illiger and Fabricius, in Spuex by Villers, in Meuiimvs by Panzer, in Liris and Scour. by PLATE II. Fabricius, and by Latreille, in his earlier works, in MonepuLa. | Of all the genera which form the order Hy- MENOPTERA, the present genus is the most closely allied to those of Monepuna and Bempex, in the general appearance of the insects of which it is composed, as well as in the distribution of the nervures of their wings. This affinity is so striking in many species of these groups, that it becomes necessary to inspect the form of the labrum, in order to decide upon their respective appropriate genus. A very remarkable difference is observable in this organ, which, in those genera, is much elongated and triangular, but in Srizus it is short and semiorbicular. Nearly all the species have three spines at the extremity of the abdomen, as in the genus Scoxza, but they cannot be considered as Scoliz, as their eyes are entire, and the form and number of the wing cellules are altogether different. PLATE II. STIZUS GRANDIS. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Segments of the abdomen, each with a yellow band, and lateral blackish spot. SYNONYM. Stizus Granpis. Nobis. Western Quarterly Reporter, vol. ii. p. 77. DESCRIPTION. Antenne black, the three basal joints rufous: front and labrum yellowish: thorax with a yel- Jowish spot on the anterior angle, and first seg- ment margined with yellowish: scutel ferrugi- nous: wings ferruginous, dusky at tip: feed ferruginous: fergwm ferruginous, each segment with a yellow band, and lateral, blackish, oblique, sublinear spot; venter with an obsolete margin on the second segment, and obsolete lateral triangles on the remaining segments, yellowish. Mauer. Head, thorax, base of the three or four terminal, and of the abdominal segments, PLATE II. and beneath, black; bands of the abdomen unin- terrupted ; lateral spot of the first band obsolete or wanting ; anal spines none. Length to the tip of the wings, one inch and a fifth. Femate. Ferruginous; basal band of the ab- domen, and sometimes the second and third bands, interrupted in the middle; lateral spot of the first abdominal band very oblique. Length to the tip of the wings, one inch and three- fifths. OBSERVATIONS. This remarkably fine and new species is very distinct from the spectosus of Drury, and is some- what larger than that common insect. When descending along the bank of the Arkansa river, with a detachment of Major Long’s exploring party, I had frequent opportunities of observing this species. It generally occurred upon flowers, in company with many other interesting HymEn- opTERots insects. It is highly probable, that, like the speciosus, the grandis nidificates in the earth, and feeds its larvae with the dead bodies of Cicaps. The speciosus, grandis, and a few other large species, ought to constitute a distinct division in PLATE I. this genus, distinguished by the want of spines at the tail of the male. The upper figure represents the female, and the lower left figure the male, both of the natu- ral size. STIZUS UNICINCTUS. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Black, opaque; abdomen polished, with a ru- fous band above; wings dark violaceous. SYNONYM. Stizus unicrnctus. Nobis. Western Quarterly Reporter, vol. i. p. 77. OBSERVATIONS. A broad, bright rufous band occupies the basal half of the second segment of the tergum. The wings are blackish-violaceous, and the anal spines PLATE II. c are prominent. ‘The length of the male is half an inch. This species occurred on the banks of the Arkansa river, in company with the preceding insect. The lower right figure magnified, and beneath | is an outline showing the natural size. PLATE Il. A Rae i rls si Ne a) HK i LYTTA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Tarsi entire; nails bifid; head not produced into a rostrum; elytra flexible, covering the whole abdomen, linear, semicylindric ; wings perfect; maxilla with two membranaceous laci- nie, the external one acute within, subuncinate ; antenne longer than the head and thorax, recti- linear ; first joint longest, the second transverse, very short; maxillary palpi larger at tip. OBSERVATIONS. To this group of insects belongs the celebrated “Spanish fly,” distinguished in the healing art for its vesicating virtue. The species were placed by Linné in his genus Mexoe; Geoffroy, De- geer, Olivier, Lamarck, Latreille, and Leach, distinguished them by the name of Canruanris ; and Fabricius, Marsham, and Dejean, apply the designation I have adopted. The larve live in the earth, and the perfect insect is often gregarious, feeding on leaves. PLATE III. It is highly probable that all, or nearly all, of the North American species, are endowed with the same properties that have so long rendered the L. vesicatoria almost indispensable to the practice of medicine; and it is certain that a suf- ficient quantity may be collected in the United States to supply the demand of the shops, to the complete exclusion of the foreign insect. LYTTA NUTTALLI. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Bright green, varied with golden; elytra golden purple; feet black, thighs blue, trochan- ters armed with a spine. SYNONYM. L. Nourrauur Nobis. Jour. Acad. Nat. Scei- ences, Vol. ili. p. 300. DESCRIPTION. Body glabrous: head deep greenish, varied PLATE III. with golden; front punctured, subimpressed, and with a small rufous spot; antennex robust, sur- passing the base of the thorax, black, opaque ; joints turbinate, approaching to moniliform, the margin of the tip rounded; second joint two thirds the length of the third ; terminal joints largest near the middle, and rapidly attenuated to an acute tip: eyes oblong-oval, emarginate : pal black: clypeus and labrum obscure: thorax golden-green, polished, with unequal, minute, sparse punctures; a longitudinal, dorsal, im- pressed line, and a transverse basal one; base bluish, anterior angles prominent: scutel blue. obtuse behind: elytra red, or golden-purple, somewhat rugose: two indistinct elevated lines on the disk, and a submarginal one: beneath green, polished: feet black; thighs beneath blue or purplish; trochanters armed with a conic spine near the inner base, obsolete or wanting in the female. OBSERVATIONS. This noble species, which in magnitude and splendour surpasses the far-famed vesicatoria, has, I understand, been labelled in a British cabi- net with the name which I have here adopted. PLATE III. in honour of Mr. Thomas Nuttall, who disco- vered. it. Although this insect certainly belongs to this genus, yet the proportional length of the second and third jomts of the antenne, is somewhat similar to that of the genus Zonirts, as defined by Latreille in the Regne Animal. In common with several other American species, the antenne increase a little in thickness towards the tip, but are much shorter than in Zonitis. These cha- racters, combined with the form of the terminal joint, seem to prove a close alliance with the genus Myuasris, but the antenne are not ar- quated at tip, and are of a more considerable length; the habit also differs, the form of the body being more elongated. ‘The species, then, possessing the form of antenne above noted, seem to have the habit of Lyrra, combined with a form of antenne allied to that of Mynasris. They cannot be referred to Zonrris, as the palpi are not filiform, and the habit does not agree. The nuttallii seems to be limited to the west- ern region. In company with Major Long, I observed it, for the first time, near the base of the Rocky Mountains. A very numerous flock had there taken possession of the few diminutive PLATE III. bushes that occurred within the space of a hun- dred yards, every spray of which was burdened with their numbers. After passing this limited district, not an individual was seen during the remainder of our journey. On the recent expe- dition of the same officer to the river St. Peter, I obtained but a single specimen, which was found one evening at an encampment in the North West Territory. The upper left figure, natural size. LYTTA ALBIDA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Black, covered with dense whitish hair. SYNONYM. L. Atsma. Nobis. Jour. Acad. Nat. Sciences, vol. iii. p. 305. PLATE III. DESCRIPTION. Body black, entirely covered by dense, short, prostrate greenish or yellowish-white hairs: head with a longitudinal impressed line: antennz sub- glabrous; first and second joints rufous, the latter nearly equal in length to the third joint: clypeus, labrum, and palpi pale rufous: farsi black. OBSERVATIONS. Another remarkably fine species, which I dis- covered within about a hundred miles of the Rocky Mountains, during the progress of Major Long’s expedition over that vast desert. It ap- peared to be feeding upon the scanty grass, in a situation from which the eye could not rest upon a tree, or even a humble shrub, throughout the entire range of its vision, to interrupt the unifor- mity of a far outspreading, gently undulated sur- face, that, like the ocean, presented an equal horizon in every direction. The upper right figure, natural size. LYTTA MACULATA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Black, covered with cinereous hair ; elytra spotted with black. SYNONYM. L. macunata. Nobis. Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci- ences, Vol. iil. p. 398. DESCRIPTION. Body black, invested with cinereous, prostrate hairs: head with an impressed, longitudinal line: antennx, joints cylindrical, and, with the labrum and palpi, glabrous: maxillary palpi much dilat- ed at tip; eyes elongated, retuse behind the an- tenne, and behind the insertion of the maxille : thorax subquadrate, narrower than the head, a Jongitudinal impressed line, and a_ transverse basal one: elytra with numerous, orbicular, black dots, irregularly placed, sometimes con- fluent, and are the effect of the absence in those PLATE III. D parts of the cinereous hair: tarsi, tips of the tibia and thighs, glabrous. OBSERVATIONS. This insect is much smaller than the preced- ing ones, and the spots of the elytra distinguish it in a remarkable manner. Numerous speci- mens were brought by Mr. Nuttall from Mis- souri. The lower left figure; the lie represents the natural length LYTTA SPHARICOLLIS. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Dark green, tinged with brassy; thorax round- ed, convex. SYNONYM. L. spHericotus. Nobis. Jour. Acad. Nat. Sciences, vol. iii. p. 299. PLATE III. DESCRIPTION. Body glabrous, blackish-green, slightly tinged with brassy: head punctured: antennz robust, black, hardly attaining the base of the thorax; joints short, conic, acute at the edge of the tip; second joint rufous, subglobular: eyes oval, not elongated: labrum and palpi blackish: thorax subglobular, punctured, punctures sparse, not profound: elytra green, slightly tinged with olivaceous and brassy, somewhat rugose; two, rarely three, obsolete, longitudinal lines on the disk, and another near the external margin: beneath blackish-green. Variety, a. Body green, destitute of the brassy tinge. Variety, 6. Head and thorax black; elytra bluish. OBSERVATIONS. This species is less robust than the preceding, and may be readily distinguished from others by the rounded thorax and very short antenne, the remaining characters of which latter agree with PLATE III. those of the nuftalli. Many specimens were brought from Missouri by Mr. Nuttall. In a future volume of this work, we propose to give some account of the American species of this genus, as related to medicine. The lower right figure ; the lme shows the natural length. PLATE III. ies SAE Ti i heal ivy Heit PAH IRAN AL ay AR eye ali i Petar! aU y, SCARABAUS. GENERIC CHARACTER. Antenne ten-jointed, the club composed of oblong-oval lamellae, which have an almost com- mon insertion; body ovoid, convex; mandibles with their external edge crenulated ; maxille corneous, dentated; labrum entirely concealed ; palpi filiform. OBSERVATIONS. The genus possessed of the above characters, retains the Linnean name of ScaraBzus in the system of Latreille, and corresponds with the genus Greorrupss of Fabricius; whilst the ge- nus ScaraBpzus of the latter author, is the same with Georrvures of Latreille. Although, in the small portion of the present work, printed in the year 1817, I adopted the Fabrician designation, yet as Entomologists have generally chosen La- treille’s nomenclature in this respect, I have thought it necessary to acquiesce in their de- cision. PLATE IY. This genus comprehends some of the largest insects of the order CoLEorTERA, and, amongst others, the noble species known by the name of S. Hercules, of which the truly absurd story has been related of its clasping a branch of a tree between the corneous projections of the head and thorax, and, by flymg round the limb thus in- cluded, finally succeeds in separating it from the tree; and that the insect then becoming inebriated with the fluid that exudes from the wound, falls apparently lifeless to the ground. SCARABAUS TITYUS. Linn. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Thorax three-horned, the lateral ones short, subulate, middle one bearded with yellow hair beneath, projected forwards, and bifid at tip; horn of the head recurved, subemarginate on the back near the tip. PLATE IY. SYNONYMS. Scaras. T1ITYus. Linn. Syst. Nat. Amoenit. Acad. vol. vi. p. 391.% Jablonsky Coleopt. p. 257. pl. 4. fig. 2. Oliv. Ins. vol. i. p. 9. pl. 10. fig. 31. b.¢. Palisot de Beauv. Ins. p. 137. pl. 1. ¢. fig. 4, 5. Le Scarase’ tityvus. Hncy. Meth. Ins. pl. 137. fig. 7.% Geotrures TiTyus. Labr. Syst. Eleut. vol. i. p. 10. SCARAB. HERCULES MINOR. Voet. Coleopt. p. 24. pl. 12. fig. 99. SCARAB. MARIANUS. Linn.? Fabr. in his earlier works ; omitted in his Syst. Eleut OBSERVATIONS. This insect is so extremely rare in Pennsyl- vania, that the late Rev. F. V. Melsheimer, the parent of Entomology in this country, and a very industrious collector, found but two indi- viduals in eighteen years. An instance has however occurred, in which the appearance of a considerable number of them occasioned no little PLATE IY. surprise in the neighbourhood where they were discovered. A mile or two southward of Phila- delphia, and near the river Delaware, an old cherry-tree was blown down by a violent cur- rent of wind, and my informant saw the remains of numerous individuals, in and about a cavity of the tree, laid open by the shock of its fall. That there might be no mistake as to the spe- cies, he exhibited the thorax of a male he had chosen from the mutilated fragments. I think it highly probable the ¢ityus is more especially a native of the southern states, as my friend, Mr. J. Gilliams, presented me with seve- ral specimens in high perfection, collected by himself in Maryland; and from these, the draw- ings for the annexed plate were made. The length of the male, exclusive of the horns, is two inches, and the greatest breadth one inch. In colour it resembles the S. Her- cules, being glaucous with brown spots, or brown with glaucous spots. These spots vary consider- ably in size, figure, position and number, being sometimes confluent, and exhibiting a clouded appearance. ‘The elytra of one specimen in my collection are entirely chesnut-brown, immacu- late, and the larger thoracic horn frequently occurs simple, or undivided at tip, as exhibited PLATE IV. in the figures given by Jablousky and Olivier ; to the latter author we are indebed for a know- ledge of the specific identity of the fityus and marianus. The female is generally somewhat smaller than the male, and unarmed, excepting a small tubercle on the head. Tiryus, in the heathen mythology, was a gigantic son of Jupiter and Elara, whom Apollo _ killed for offering violence to his mother Latona. The upper figure of the plate represents the male, and the lower the female. PLATE IY. paotetll . * 4 + 2 rox 1 se Ag ‘e ry f fe Ny ith 7 Aiag set n hy rity y Engravi by G. y) Drawn by TRFeale 2 ACRYDIUM. GENERIC CHARACTERS. Thorax elongated behind, often longer than the abdomen; elytra very small; pectus with a cavity for the reception of the inferior part of the head; tarsi three-jointed, destitute of pul- villi; antenne thirteen or fourteen jointed, not half the length of the body; oviduct not exsert- ed; posterior feet formed for leaping. OBSERVATIONS. This genus was established by Fabricius under the name which, with Thunberg, I have adopt- ed. lLinné included the species in his genus Grvyuivus. Lamarck distinguished them by the name of Acuera, and Latreille by that of 'Txr- Trix. ‘The species are nearly all small, and several are common. ‘They may be very readily distinguished from “ grasshoppers” of other ge- nera, by the remarkable elongation of the thorax, which is continued backward so as to cover the abdomen wholly or in great part. PLATE V. ACRYDIUM ORNATUM. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Whitish; beneath fuscous; thorax nearly as long as the wings, spotted with black. DESCRIPTION. Head blackish; vertex with an elevated longi- tudinal line, which extends down over the front where it is grooved, but this groove does not reach the acute ridge which divides the vertex from the front; thorax flattened, somewhat gra- nulated and whitish, laterally projecting a little over the origin of the hemelytra, a slightly elevat- ed longitudinal central line, and two abbreviated oblique elevated lines near the head; a velvet black spot each side over the tip of the hemely- tra: pleura, hemelytra and pectus black-brown. Length to the tip of the wings, half an inch. OBSERVATIONS. I am indebted to Mr. Lesueur for this inte- PLATE V. resting species, which he caught at Kaign’s Point, in the vicinity of Philadelphia. The in- sects of this genus vary much in their sculpture, size and colour, which renders it difficult to dis- tinguish the species, of which we seem to have several. In the above description I have pur- posely avoided a minute detail of colours and markings, noting such only as will probably prove to be permanent, or nearly so, and charac- teristic of the species. The left hand figures of the plate; natural size and magnified. ACRYDIUM LATERALE. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Pale brownish-testaceous, with a lateral broad fuscous line; thorax shorter than the wings. DESCRIPTION. Vertex with an elevated longitudinal line, com- mencing near the tip, and extending down over PLATE V. the front, where it is canaliculate the whole length, and terminating beneath the antenne: -antenne reddish-brown, blackish at tip: thorax flattened, with small longitudinal lines or wrin- kles, and a more obvious, continuous, elevated central line, extending the whole length: wings brown on the anterior margin towards the tip, and extending at least the twentieth of an inch beyond the thorax: plewra with a dilated black- ish-brown line or vitta, beginning at the eye, and including the abdomen above and each side: Jeet brown, more or less annulated with pale: venter pale yellowish or testaceous. Length to the tip of the wings, nine-twen- tieths of an inch. OBSERVATIONS. I obtained this insect in Georgia and East Florida, where it is not uncommon. The upper and right figures of the plate; natural size and magnified. PLATE V. I Weel Te ih Drawn bv LR Fale 6 Lngravd be CT LAPHRIA. GENERIC CHARACTERS. Body elongated; wings incumbent: antenne divaricating, approximate at base, three-jointed ; third joint inarticulate, obtuse, and destitute of a style: front impressed: hypostoma with long rigid hairs: proboscis horizontal, short, without dilated labia: poisers naked: abdomen with seven segments: posterior tibia arquated: tarsi terminated by two nails and two pulvilli. OBSERVATIONS. The genus Larurtia, of Meigen, is perfectly well distinguished from its neighbouring groups by the above stated traits, and has received the approbation of all recent authors who are willing to keep pace with modern discoveries. ‘The ar- rangement of the nervures of the wings, particu- larly of those of the anterior margin, is very similar to that of the wing nervures in the genus Asiuus, as restricted by the same author; but the form of the antennz, in this case, at once PLATE VI. decides the genus, those of Lapuria being simple at their termination, whilst those of Ast- Lus are furnished with a very distinct, and gene- rally elongated, setaceous style. These insects fly swiftly, and the force with which the wings strike upon the air, produces a loud humming sound. They are predaceous, and pursue with voracity smaller and weaker in- sects, which they seize, and then alight to suck out their fluids. Many species inhabit the Unit- ed States. Of these, the thoracius of Fabricius, and another which I described under the name of tergissa, in consequence of the form of body and sounding flight, have been very frequently mistaken for humble-bees, (Bombus.) The larve live, probably, in the earth. LAPHRIA FULVICAUDA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Black, with cinereous hair; wings blackish ; tergum fulvous at tip. PLATE VI. SYNONYM. LApHRIA FuLVicAuDA. Nobis. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences, vol. iii. p. 53. DESCRIPTION. Body black, with long cinereous hair: head large, transverse; eyes deep black: thorax varied with black and cinereous, and with short, black hair; two distinct, longitudinal, dorsal, black lines, with a more obvious cinereous band in the middle, which is interrupted by the dorsal lines ; two cinereous obsolete points each side behind: wings blackish: halteres pale at tip: abdomen depressed, above and beneath subglabrous, hairy each side; the two terminal segments of the ter- gum with a common fulvous spot. Length about three-fifths of an inch. OBSERVATIONS. I obtained it at the settlement of Cote sans Des- sein, on the Missouri river, during a short stay of Major Long’s exploring expedition at that place. Lower right figure. PLATE VI. F LAPHRIA SERICEA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Above with golden-yellow hair; beneath with pale hair; thorax, beneath the hair, dark blue. SYNONYM. Laryria sericEA. Nobis. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences, vol. iil. p. 74. DESCRIPTION. Head black; hypostoma and gena with gray- ish hair, that of the former tinged with dull yel- lowish ; vertex and occiput with black hair : thorax dark blue, with golden-yellow hair, ra- ther longer and somewhat more dense behind; a fringe of longer black hairs over the insertion of the wings: pleura blackish; a few long, pale hairs near the poisers: potsers pale: pectus and feet black, hairy; hair of the former long; hair beneath the anterior and intermediate feet whit- ish: scutel dull chesnut: wings hyaline; ner- PLATE VI. vures fuscous, broadly but faintly margined with yellowish-brown, as well as the inner edge: tergum dark chesnut-blue, thickly covered by golden-yellow, silky hair: anus black, naked: venter black-brown, nearly glabrous, with a few whitish hairs, the segments pale on their poste- rior margins: abdomen cylindrical, depressed. Length four-fifths of an inch. OBSERVATIONS. The nervures of the wings are arranged like those of L. ephippium, Fabr. Meig. It is an in- habitant of the United States generally. Lower left figure. LAPHRIA DORSATA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Blue-black ; head and feet with cinereous hair ; nervures of the wings widely margined with fuscous. PLATE YI. DESCRIPTION. Head black; anterior orbits with a white line: mystax cinereous; vibrisse black; stethidium blue-black, with slight dark cinereous hair ; wings, nervures widely margined with fuscous, obscuring the anterior part of the wing, and leaving the middle of the cellules on the inner margin almost hyaline: feet black, tinged with purplish, and with cinereous hair: poisers black- ish, paler at base: fergum blue-black, with a coppery or purple gloss. OBSERVATIONS. It was taken near Philadelphia. The back of the abdomen, although of a dark colour, in a cer- tain light reflects a brilliant coppery or purplish tint. The short nervure which terminates at the apex of the wing, is not only bifid at its origin, as in the albibarbis, Meig., but the upper branch joins the nervure above, as well as the lower branch joins the nervure immediately below. Upper figure. PLATE VI. NEMOGNATHA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Antenne longer than the thorax, with the first and third joints nearly equal, the second a little shorter, terminal one fusiform, abruptly termi- nated by a short point; palpi filiform; maxille very much elongated, filiform, curved; elytra elongate, linear; tarsi with entire joints. OBSERVATIONS. This genus was formed by Illiger for the re- ception of such species of the Linnean genus Menor, as are distinguished by the remarkable and striking character of elongated mazxille. Fabricius included them in his genus Zonirts. The maxille of these insects have the closest analogy with the spiral trunk of the Leprpopr- TERA, and every point of comparison induces the supposition that this organ is applied to the same uses. The species are found on flowers. PLATE VII. NEMOGNATHA IMMACULATA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Lemon-yellow, immaculate ; elytra pale yel- lowish, with scattered punctures ; maxille not longer than the thorax, and, with the antenne and palpi, black. DESCRIPTION. Antenne black, basal joint pale testaceous ; eyes, maxille, palpi, and tips of the tarsi, black ; elytra irregularly punctured, naked, polished. OBSERVATIONS. It inhabits the plains of Missouri, and was captured by Mr. Thomas Nuttall, on a species of thistle (Carpuus); I have since observed it in some plenty in the same locality. It seems to be allied to the Zoniris PALLma of Fabricius, judging by his description of that insect. PLATE VII. The smaller figure of the plate denotes the natural size, and the figures beneath it exhibit magnified representations of some of the oral organs, &c. Fig. 1. Antenna. 2. Mandible. 3. Tongue and labium supporting the labial palpi. 4. Labial palpus. 5. Maxilla with its palpus, verticillate with short hairs. PLATE VII. Fy at to. St ean Dry Be FR Pk 0 a, Drawn bv LR Pale OG Lungraved by CLicboti XYLOTA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Antenne three-jointed, inserted on a frontal elevation, nutant; third joint suborbicular, com- pressed, with a naked seta placed behind the dorsal middle; ocelli three; proboscis with fleshy lips; hypostoma above impressed, near the mouth a little elevated, retuse and subtuberculated: pos- terior thighs dilated, spinous beneath; onychii two; abdomen with five segments; wings in- cumbent, parallel. OBSERVATIONS. For this genus we are indebted to Meigen. Linné, Gmelin, Degeer, Schranck, and others, re- ferred the species to Musca; Fabricius and Pan- zer to Syrpuus and Mivesra. In his Systema Anthatorum Fabricius, with Latreille and Fal- lén, included them in the genus Mixesia; and a few species were scattered in the genera ME- RopON, Sc#va, Erisranis, and Tuereva, by several authors. PLATE VIII. G The species are frequently found on flowers, and the larva is supposed to inhabit decaying wood. XYLOTA QUADRATA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Blackish; tergum with four dilated subequal ochraceous spots; posterior thighs with a promi- nent angle near the tip. DESCRIPTION. Head golden-yellow, black at base of the an- tenne and in a line proceeding to the mouth: hypostoma very slightly indented, carinated : antenne ochraceous: eyes chesnut: thorax dark brassy; with two cinereous lines confluent be- fore, attenuated behind, and abbreviated behind the middle; an obsolete interrupted line each side over the wings: scutel on the posterior mar- gin ochraceous: pleura and pectus with a pale glaucous covering: feet ochraceous, thighs black at base; posterior pair black-brassy, their thighs PLATE VIII. dilated, with spines beneath, placed irregularly ; a prominent projecting angle near the tip: ¢er- gum black; basal segment on the lateral margin ochraceous; second segment with a large sub- quadrate, ochraceous spot each side, approaching the middle where it is longer than on the mar- gin, posterior edge ochraceous ; third segment with also a large subquadrate, ochraceous spot each side, approaching the middle where it is longer than on the margin, it reaches the basal suture, posterior edge ochraceous ; fourth seg- ment ochraceous at tip: venter yellowish-white, blackish at tip. OBSERVATIONS. The specimen is a female, and was captured in Pennsylvania. By its form of body, and the character of the hypostoma, it approaches the genus Eumerus, Meig. The upper right figure of the plate. - PLATE VIII. XYLOTA EJUNCIDA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Blackish ; tergum with four semioval, sub- equal, ochraceous spots; posterior thighs rather slender, with two series of black spines beneath. DESCRIPTION. Head silvery: antenne ochraceous: eyes ches- nut: thorax greenish-brassy, with a grayish spot each side before: poisers and scale whitish: feet whitish, two last joints of the tarsi black; thighs piceous with a slight brassy tinge, posterior pair not remarkably dilated, exterior series of spines nearly equal from near the base to the tip; pos- terior tibia piceous at tip: fergwm black, with a slight tinge of green; basal segment polished, immaculate ; second and third segments each with. a large semioval ochraceous spot on each side, approaching the middle and attaining to the lateral edges, but not reaching either the base or tip of the segment; fourth segment ob- PLATE VIII. scure, brassy, polished: venfer yellowish-white, black at tip. OBSERVATIONS. The specimen is a male. I caught it on the banks of St. John’s river, in East Florida, during a short visit to that country in company with Messrs. Maclure, Ord, and T. Peale. A speci- men, in the collection of Mr. William W. Wood, was taken near Philadelphia. = The upper left figure. XYLOTA PROXIMA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Blackish ; tergum about six-spotted ; posterior thighs dilated, with a large rufous spot on the middle. DESCRIPTION. Head yellowish-silvery: vertex black: antennz PLATE VIII. ochraceous: thorax blackish, two gray oblong- triangular spots on the anterior margin, connect- ed with a lateral line that extends nearly to the origin of the wings: poiser and scale whitish : pleura and pectus silver-gray: feet ochraceous ; posterior thighs much dilated, with a very dis- tinct rufous spot each side, and another at base, posterior half of the inferior edge more promi- nent, spines extending from near the base to the tip; posterior tibia blackish, rufous in the middle and at base: fergum black; first segment with an ochraceous lateral margin and basal edge; second segment with a large semioval ochraceous spot each side; third segment with a small trans- versely semioblong-oval ochraceous spot each side at base; fourth segment with a transverse pale ochraceous line each side at base, and posterior margin: venter yellowish-white, blackish at tip. OBSERVATIONS. Very common in the neighbourhood of Phila- delphia, on flowers. I obtained a variety in Virginia, of which the spots of the tergum are grayish-glaucous. ‘The two sexes are similar in colour. . It is closely allied to Syrphus pipiens of Fabri- PLATE VIII. cius; but the posterior thighs of that species, if we may rely upon Panzer’s figure, are widest in the middle, whereas in this species they are widest near the tip, and the rufous band is on the inside as well as on the exterior side. The lower left figure. XYLOTA HAHEMATODES. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Brassy-black ; abdomen rufous; wings fuli- ginous. SYNONYM. Mixesia Hezmatopes. Fabr. Syst. Anil. p. 193. DESCRIPTION. Head black-brown: hypostoma and front, in a certain light, silvery: vertex polished: thorax brassy-black: Aumerus, in a certain light, sil- very: scutel, colour of the thorax: wings fuli- PLATE VIII. ginous: pleura and pectus nearly black, polished: Jeet, anterior pairs tinged with brownish: pos- terior thighs much dilated, immaculate, spines short: ¢ergum bright rufous, basal segment black, second segment with a longitudinal black line at base: venter paler rufous. OBSERVATIONS. A native of the southern states. I obtained two specimens in East Florida, one of which is represented on the annexed plate. It was first described by Fabricius, in his Systema Antliato- rum, from the collection of M. Bose, but no figure has been hitherto given of it. The lower right figure. PLATE VIII. 6) ————H ————+t i a : , 8) Engravd by Ca Praun bv 7 CALANDRA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Body elliptic-oval, above somewhat depressed ; eyes immersed, oblong, encircling the head be- neath; antenne geniculated, inserted at the base of the rostrum; rostrum dilated at the insertion of the antenne; elytra plain, not covering the anus above; anus acutely prominent; tarsi re- flected to the inner side of the tibia. OBSERVATIONS. Such of the individuals, as were known to Linné, of almost the whole of the vast tribe of insects now distinguished from the other tribes by the name of CurcuLionipEs, were included by that author in his single genus Curcunio. So extremely numerous were the species, thus combined together, as to offer a very serious in- convenience to Entomologists. They soon per- ceived that the continual accessions of species, 7 resulting either from the more critical and accu- rate observations of numerous investigators, or PLATE IX. H from the contributions of those who were occu- pied in the adventurous task of exploring remote and unknown regions, had so far augmented the obstacles already existing, that the hand of refor- mation became absolutely necessary. Accordingly Olivier, Herbst, Fabricius, Latreille, Germar, Me- gerle, and other distinguished systematists, under- took to separate the Linnean genus CurcuLio into numerous smaller assemblages, and thus to bring this part of the system into a more inti- mate alliance with the order observed by nature in the distribution of species. The labours of these naturalists eventuated in the construction of more than one hundred addi- tional genera, but the characters of many of these genera appear to be too obscure, and of others not sufficiently important to justify their collective adoption. By far the greater portion of them, however, will probably tend to the elu- cidation of this difficult part of the system, and amongst these may be ranked the genus CaLan- pra of Clairville, distinguished by obvious and striking traits. The history of many species of this group is highly interesting and important, and we pro- pose to represent, in a future volume, those that are so destructive to the wheat, rice, and maize. PLATE IX. CALANDRA TREDECIM-PUNCTATA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Above sanguineous ; five spots on the thorax, four on each elytrum, and scutel, black; head and all beneath black. SYNONYMS. RYNCHOPHORUS TREDECIM-PUNCTATUS. flerbst, vol. vi. p. 10. pl. 60. fig. 5. CaLANDRA cripRARIA. Fabr. Syst. Eleut. part Q. p. 434. CurcuLio TREDECIM-PUNCTATUS. Melsheimer’s Catalogue, p. 28. No. 597. DESCRIPTION. Body punctured, beneath black, with a cine- reous shade in a particular light, and with numerous large punctures; head black; rostrum, dilated portion not longer than broad, but more dilated at tip, and with an impressed longitudinal line; thorax sanguineous, with five black spots, PLATE IX. of which two are orbicular, and placed on each side, and one is central, fusiform, sometimes rounded; scufel black; elytra sanguineous, with punctured striz, interstitial lines flat, with dilat- ed punctures; four black spots on each elytrum, placed 1, 2, 1, the latter largest. Length seven-twentieths of an inch, exclusive of the rostrum. OBSERVATIONS. We introduce this familiar insect, and a va- riety of it, chiefly for the sake of comparison with another species, which has many characters in common with it. A slight mspection of the plate will, however, at once disclose the differ- ences by which we will always be enabled to distinguish them from each other. The tredecim-punctata, which does not appear to be injurious to any useful plant, may be found in considerable numbers on the milk-weed, or wild cotton (Asclepias syriaca), which is very common in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia, growing on the banks of streams of water. The insect seems to be a pretty general inhabitant of the United States; I have found it in Missouri, Arkansa, and the North West Territory, as well as in Pennsylvania. PLATE IX. Lower right figure; the line represents the natural size, with a lateral enlarged view of the head. CALANDRA'TREDECIM-PUNCTATA, Var. DESCRIPTION. Body punctured; beneath black, with a cine- reous shade in a particular light, and with nu- merous large punctures; head black; rostrum, dilated portion longer than broad, but more dilated at tip, and with a deeply impressed punc- ture at its base above: thorax sanguineous, with five black spots, of which two are placed on each side, the posterior one larger and generally ob- lique, and one is central fusiform: scufel black: elytra sanguineous, with punctured striz ; inter- stitial lines flat, with dilated punctures; two small marginal spots; a large common transverse spot on the middle, and a common tip consisting of about one-third of the length of the elytra, black. PLATE IX. OBSERVATIONS. The spots of the elytra appear at first view to be formed and located differently in this from those of the preceding, yet by dilating the two central elytral spots of the preceding insect trans- versely, and enlarging the posterior spots in a posterior and transverse direction, we shall be able to exhibit an arrangement precisely con- formable to that of the present variety. The spots of the elytra in this variety are sub- ject to some variations; the transverse spot on the middle of the elytra is divided into two on one of my specimens; the posterior common spot is subcordate, being much narrowed behind in another, and in a third is a black spot on each elytrum, insulated from the common terminal spot which is much narrowed. This insect is a native of Missouri and Ar- kansa, as well as of the atlantic states. The lower left figure: the natural size is re- presented by a line, above which is an enlarged view of the head. PLATE IX. CALANDRA QUINQUE-PUNCTATA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Black ; thorax sanguineous, with five black spots; elytra with a sanguineous exterior sub- margin. DESCRIPTION. Body punctured, beneath black, with a very slight cinereous reflection in a particular light: rostrum, dilated portion longer than broad, but wider at tip, and with a deeply impressed punc- ture at base above: thorax sanguineous, with five black spots, of which two are on each side, the posterior one larger, oblique, and generally con- fluent along the basal margin with the opposite basal spot, the central spot is dilated and elon- gated, fusiform: scutel black: elytra black, with punctured striz; interstitial lines flat, punctured, penultimate lateral one and ultimate one at base sanguineous: thighs with a dull sanguineous spot on the middle, obsolete on the posterior pair. Size of the preceding. PLATE IX. OBSERVATIONS. I observed this species to be very abundant on the Southern Sea Islands of Georgia ; many spe- cimens also occurred in East Florida, but I can- not learn that it has ever been taken further north than that state, neither does it seem to in- habit the western region. The upper right figure; the natural size is exhibited by a line, above which is an enlarged representation of the head. CALANDRA COMPRESSIROSTRA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Castaneous black; rostrum compressed; a pro- found frontal puncture: thorax with two punc- tured lines converging to the scutel. SYNONYM. CALANDRA COMPREssIROSTRA. JVobis. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences, vol. iii. p. 319. PLATE IX. DESCRIPTION. Body dark chesnut-brown, passing into black- ish: head with small distant punctures, larger ones on the base of the rostrum, which decrease in size to the tip; a profoundly impressed large puncture between the eyes: rostrum very much compressed, acutely carinate above: antennzx at the tip rufous: thorax with larger punctures on the side, on the anterior impressed submargin and on two indented lines which originate each side of the middle and converge to the suture : elytra with crenate striz ; interstitial lines each with a series of punctures: fibia with a very robust obtuse spine and sete below the interior middle. OBSERVATIONS. This singular species occurred near the Rocky Mountains, on the banks of the Arkansaw river. It is widely distinct from either of the preceding species, as well by the much compressed form of the rostrum, as by the more obvious dissimilarity of colour. PLATE IX. The upper left figure; the natural size is represented by a line, and an enlarged view of the head and part of the thorax is added. PLATE IX. ANTHICUS. GENERIC CHARACTER. Antenne with conic joints, the second and third nearly equal, terminal one ovate-oblong ; labial palpi terminated by a small truncate joint; thorax subcordate, often strangulated near the middle; penultimate tarsal joints bilobate ; nails simple. OBSERVATIONS. The type of the insects which now constitute the genus Anruicus of Fabricius, was included by Linné in that of Metor, by Geoffroy, Oli- vier and Illiger in that of Noroxus, and by Marsham in that of Lyrra. I formerly adopted Geoffroy’s designation, but that name has since been adopted by European naturalists for a very different genus of insects. PLATE X. ANTHICUS BICOLOR. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Blackish, thorax with a projecting horn, and with the feet testaceous, immaculate. DESCRIPTION. Head very dark testaceous; front and vertex covered by short incumbent hair of a silky lustre: eyes black; thorax testaceous, immacu- late; horn obtusely dentate each side, and some- what bicarinate above ; scutel small, black ; elytra purplish-black ; breast and abdomen testa- ceous, sericeous; body with short imcumbent hair ; feet naked. OBSERVATIONS. In the forests of New-Jersey, I have found this little insect in the month of June, on the leaves of the hickory (Jucuans tomentosa, Mi- chaux), and of some other plants. The Rev. John F. Melsheimer, an able Entomologist, in- PLATE X. formed me that he obtained many specimens from the garden carrot. This species is allied to the Noroxus serricornis of Panzer, fascicle 32, pl. 17. The upper figures of the plate, of which the smaller one indicates the natural size. ANTHICUS MONODON. Fabdr. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Testaceous ; elytra with a black band and spots. SYNONYM. Antuicus monopon. Fabr. Syst. Hleut. 1, p. 289. DESCRIPTION. Body above hairy: head with the vertex silky: eyes fuscous: thorax with a lateral obscure spot : horn obtusely dentate each side: scutel small: PLATE X. elytra with a black band on the middle; each marked by two black spots at the base, of which one is near the scutel, and the other on the humerus; a black obsolete one near the tip: abdomen silky. - OBSERVATIONS. Not uncommon. I have found it in June, on the oak and other forest trees: it very much re- sembles AnTuicus monoceros, of which Marsham observes, “Thorax recta antrorsum exiens in cornu nigricans ultra caput entensum, unde vere monstrosa et insectis insolita facies.” 4. mono- don was first described by Fabricius, but it has not been hitherto figured. Lower figures, of which the smaller indicates the natural size. PLATE X. Engravd by Cu SYRPHUS. GENERIC CHARACTER. Antenne separate at base, shorter than the head, advanced, nutant, triarticulate; third joint orbicular or oval, compressed, with a seta near the dorsal base; hypostoma tuberculated, but not very remarkably prominent ; feet simple and slender; wings incumbent parallel, central transverse nervure placed almost perpendicu- larly. 3 OBSERVATIONS. This genus was included by Linné in his com- prehensive genus Musca. In the Systema .Ant- hatorum, Fabricius constructed a separate genus under the name of Sczxva, for the reception of many insects that he had formerly placed in his genus Syrpnus. But it is now ascertained that nearly or quite all the species retamed in the latter belong to other genera, and particularly to those of VoxtuceLua and Sericomyra. The name SyrpHus being therefore disengaged, has PLATE XI. been very properly restored to its old species, and, as far as I can learn, the name of Sc#va is rejected by Meigen. Consequently, the nine new species which I described in the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences (vol. iii. p. 88.) under the name of Scxva, must now be considered as belonging to the genus Syrpuus. As it now stands, this genus is closely allied to Minesra. Not one of our numerous species was known to Fabricius. The larve feed on Aphides or Plant-lice ; the body is in the shape of an unequal cone, large behind, attenuated to a point before, and destitute of distinct feet. In order to suck out the juices of their victim, they raise it from the surface of the plant on which they rest. When about to enter the pupa state, they attach them- selves by a glutinous secretion to a fixed object, the body contracts, and the anterior portion, which was previously attenuated, becomes the most dilated part. PLATE XI. SYRPHUS CYLINDRICUS. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Blackish, varied with yellow; abdomen, ex- cepting the base of the tergum, yellow-ferrugi- nous. DESCRIPTION. Mate. Head yellowish-white, somewhat sil- very, polished ; anfennez more deeply tinged with yellow; tubercle of the hypostoma a little dusky at tip; eyes chesnut: thorax dark green- ish-olivaceous, spot before the wings and scufel, yellow: pleura black with yellow spots: pectus black: feet, including the cox, pale yellow: tergum yellowish-ferruginous ; first segment and base of the second black; tip of the second seg- ment either dull ferruginous or blackish; third segment dull yellow, somewhat ferruginous at base and tip: venter yellow at base, ferruginous towards the tip. PLATE XI. OBSERVATIONS. I have seen but two specimens, which are both males, taken near Philadelphia. In form of body it resembles the S. scalaris, Fabr., and teniatus, Meig., of Europe. | The upper figure of the plate. SYRPHUS OBSCURUS. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Blackish-green; tergum with lateral full cu- preous triangles. DESCRIPTION. Mare. Head metallic black, tinged with green : antenne, third joint dull testaceous : stethidium entirely blackish-green, polished, im- maculate: feet dull testaceous, thighs blackish at base: ¢ergum velvet-black, slightly tinged with green; second segment with a dull coppery semioval spot on the middle of the lateral mar- PLATE XI. gin, extending on the edge to the base and tip; third and fourth segments each with a large dull coppery triangular spot on each side at base, ap- proaching closely towards each other on the basal margin, and extending on the lateral edge nearly to the tip; an obsolete, longitudinal, cen- tral, dull coppery line, widely outspread on the posterior margin, so as to attain to the posterior angles: venter purplish or dusky, highly po- lished. OBSERVATIONS. Of this also I have seen but two specimens, both of which are males; one was taken near Philadelphia, and the other at Chinquoteage, Virginia. The lower figure of the plate. PLATE XI. SYRPHUS OBLIQUUS. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Thorax green-bronze, with a yellow dot be- fore the wings; tergum bounded and spotted with yellow. : SYNONYM. Sczeva ospiiqua. Nobis. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sei- ences, Vol. iil. p. 89. DESCRIPTION. Head yellow, a dusky line above the antenne ; orbits yellow to the vertex; antennx blackish on the superior edge: thorax dark green-bronze; a yellow spot before the wings: scutel bright yel- low: feet whitish; anterior tibia and tarsi a little dilated, the latter with short joints; poste- rior thighs with one obsolete band, their tibia two banded; extremity of all the farsi dusky: tergum black; first segment with a yellow basal edge; second segment with a band at base, inter- PLATE XI. rupted into two oblong triangles, and a broader one on its middle, yellow; third segment with one arquated band; fourth and fifth segments each with an oblique oblong-oval spot each side, and two longitudinal lines on the middle, yel- low. Variety ¢ Band of the third segment of the tergum interrupted into four small spots. OBSERVATIONS. A very pretty insect, not uncommon in gar- dens on flowers, leaves, &c. The sexes are alike in colour and markings. The left figure of the plate. (This figure represents the variety.) PLATE XI. SYRPHUS POLITUS. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Thorax with a yellow line each side, and a cinereous dorsal one; tergum with elie bands and quadrate spots. SYNONYM. Sceva pouira. Nobis. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sei- ences, Vol. ill. p. 88. DESCRIPTION. Head yellow, above the antenne dusky sil- very: thorax somewhat olivaceous, a yellow line above the wings, and a dorsal cinereous one: scutel dusky yellowish, with a paler margin: feet whitish: fergum black; basal segment with the basal and lateral edges yellow; second segment with a transverse yellow band on the middle ; third and fourth segments with a band and lon- gitudinal line, each side of which latter is a large, transverse, subtriangular spot, yellow ; PLATE XI. fifth segment with the yellow spots and _ base, but destitute of the longitudinal line. OBSERVATIONS. This species, like the preceding, is very agree- ably ornamented with the yellow lines and spots that characterize it, and like that species it is not unfrequent, yet I have but two imperfect specimens, which are both females. The right figure of the plate. PLATE XT. Hy at nies aii 1 Dt hh IGS Hoh uy ~ SS Ws) x Drawn tv TRL cade 12 Engraved 6 SMERINTHUS. GENERIC CHARACTER. Tongue very short; antenne serrate; palpi contiguous, short, terminal joint tuberculiform, very short; anterior wings angulated ; anus simple. OBSERVATIONS. Latreille constructed this genus to receive such Linnean Sphinges as have a very short or indistinct tongue. The species, although closely allied to those of the genus from which they were separated, are yet distinguishable by their form of body and habits of life. ‘They are short, robust, and generally remarkable by a hand- some display of colours. ‘They are never seen to shoot, like meteors through the air, from flower to flower, balancing the body at each, in order to extract sweets from the nectary, but, unlike the Sphinx and Humming-bird, their flight is heavy and reluctant, and they receive food only in the state of repose. PLATE XII. L The larve are generally elongated, with late- ral, oblique, coloured lines, and a prominent horn on the upper part of the posterior extremity of the body. They feed on leaves, and undergo their change to the pupa state in the earth, with- out the care of constructing any regular coccoon. SMERINTHUS GEMINATUS. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Inner angle of the posterior wings with a large black spot, in which are two blue spots. DESCRIPTION. Head tinged with ferruginous before; vertex white: antenne whitish, pectens brown; thorax whitish, with a dark brown disk rounded before and gradually dilating behind: superior wings varied with brown and cinereous; a dark semi- oval spot at the tip is obvious and remarkable : inferior wings yellowish, with a red disk, and a large deep black spot of a similar shape to that of the thorax, including two blue spots. PLATE XII. OBSERVATIONS. Closely allied to the ocellata of Europe, and to the myops and excaecata of our own country, but it may be distinguished from either by the double blue spot in the black patch on the pos- terior wings. The excaecata I have not seen, and have therefore to rely on Abbott’s drawing of that insect, as given by Smith in his splendid work, the “Lepidopterous Insects of Georgia,” where it is represented with a single large blue spot, in the place of the two that exist on each posterior wing of the present species. These two spots seem to be constant as well as common to both sexes. The plate represents two views of the natural size. PLATE XII. ae Oe ihe. Ue wth ony ( Ray ee WIS IE fh Ip, on! —-—4 Engraved by CTibout LEPTIS. GENERIC CHARACTER. Antenne short, approximate, at base, triarticu- late; basal joint cylindric; second cyathiform ; third conic, not annulated, and terminated by a long seta; stemmata three, situated on the ver- tex ; proboscis and palpi exserted, the latter pilose, with its second articulation elongated ; wings divaricated ; halteres naked ; onychii three; abdomen consisting of seven segments. OBSERVATIONS. The species were arranged by Linné in his genus Musca. Fabricius, Meigen and Latreille, in their earlier works, removed them from Mosca, to form a distinct group, to which they applied the name of Ruacro, including, as it then stood, some species that have been since separated, and now stand under the name of Atuerrx. Those authors, in their subsequent publications, finding that the appellation of Rua- cio presented the inconvenience of a collision PLATE XIII. with that of a Coleopterous genus (RHAGiuM), united in rejecting the word, and supplied its place with that of Lepris, which I have adopted. Some of the species are common; they are predaceous; the larve are cylindrical, apodal. with a small horny head, and live in the earth. LEPTIS ORNATA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Velvet-black ; thorax and abdominal bands with whitish hair; wings hyaline; feet white. SYNONYM. Leptis oRNATA. Nobis. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sei- ences, Vol. ill. p. 34. DESCRIPTION. Hypostoma and front with silvery white hair: thorax, particularly on its lateral margins, with silvery hair very slightly tinted with yellow: pleura, pectus and coxe black: feet pale yellow- PLATE XIII. ish: farst, except at base, fuscous: pozsers pale yellow: fergum on the basal segment nearly covered with silvery hair; remaining segments each with a silvery band behind, occupying nearly one half of its length, and interrupted in the middle: venter immaculate. OBSERVATIONS. The specimen is a male. The species is an inhabitant of Pennsylvania, and probably also of several of the neighbouring states. It is very closely allied to the thoracica of Fabricius, with which it has probably been hitherto confounded ; but it differs from that beautiful species by its pellucid wings, pale tibia, broader bands of the tergum, colour of the thoracic hair, and by hav- ing silvery hair on the hypostoma and front. It belongs to the second division of the genus, in which the palpi are cylindrical, or slightly cla- vate and recurved. The upper left figure of the plate. PLATE XITIT. LEPTIS ALBICORNIS. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Pale testaceous; tergum with a dorsal series of black spots; wings spotted and tipped with fuscous. SYNONYM. Leptis ALBIcorNis. Nobis. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences, vol. iii. p. 38. DESCRIPTION. Body above rufo-yellowish: hypostoma ches- nut: antenne yellowish-white; seta black: palpi and rostrum white: cheeks somewhat glaucous, with whitish hair: ¢horax three or five lined with black, the three intermediate lines being obsoletely separate: scutel immaculate: wings hyaline, costal margin tinged with yellowish; nervures, particularly those of the inner margin, those that are transverse, stigmata and tip of the wing margined with fuscous, more obvious and PLATE XIII. dilated at the tip of the wing, and on each side of those transverse nervures that are beyond the middle: ¢ergum with a large rounded black spot on each segment, and a black line on the lateral edge. OBSERVATIONS. Very closely allied to L. scolopacea, Fabricius, of Europe, but it differs from that insect in seve- ral particulars, as in the colour of the antenne, stethidium, feet, &c. The specimen is a male. The upper right figure. LEPTIS VERTEBRATA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Pale testaceous; tergum with a dorsal series of black spots; wings immaculate. SYNONYM. LEPTIS VERTEBRATA. Nobis. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences, vol. ili. p. 38. PLATE XIII. M DESCRIPTION. Head black; terminal joint of the antennz, excepting the seta, and palpi, pale: stethidium blackish (in the female pale testaceous, with obscure lineations): thorax with two obsolete cinereous lines, and a pale humeral spot: scutel and poisers pale-yellowish: wings hyaline, costal margin tinged with testaceous, nervures brown: feet pale testaceous, coxx, farsi, half of the pos- terior thighs, and posterior tibia, black (coxe of the female colour of the stethidium): tergum yellowish, segments each with a fuscous or blackish spot above, and a line on the lateral edge; the dorsal spots of the posterior segments are extended into bands: venfer blackish on the terminal joints. OBSERVATIONS. This species, as well as the albicornis, belongs to Meigen’s first division of the genus, in which the palpi are elongate-conic, and incumbent on the proboscis. It resembles the albicornis, but the wings are immaculate, &c. The lower left figure. PLATE XIII. LEPTIS FASCIATA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Velvet-black; thorax with golden-yellow hair ; tergum fasciate with white; wings hyaline with a large brown stigma. SYNONYM. Lertis FascraTa. Nobis. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences, vol. ili. p. 37. DESCRIPTION. The fundamental colour of the fhorax is the same with that of the other parts of the body; hypostoma in a particular light cinereous; pleura and pectus dark lurid; poisers fuscous, scapus whitish; wing nervures brown, stigma rather large, brown and distinct; ferguwm on the poste- rior margin of each segment banded with yel- lowish; venter immaculate ; feet whitish, thighs reddish-brown towards their bases, farsi dusky at tip. PLATE XIII. OBSERVATIONS. Inhabits Pennsylvania. ‘The nervures of the Wings are arranged as in Meigen’s second divi- sion, and the insect has much the appearance in miniature of L. ¢thoracica of Fabricius. The lower right figure. PLATE XIIT. wat 5 we BERYTUS. GENERIC CHARACTER. Antenne four-jointed, filiform, elongated, ge- niculated in the middle, inserted above a line drawn from the eyes to the base of the labrum; first joint very long, clavate at tip; second and third joints intimately connected so as to appear as one; last joint short and oval; body filiform ; feet elongated, thighs clavate. OBSERVATIONS. This is one of the many genera that have been very properly separated from the Linnean Cimex by Fabricius under the name I have adopted, and under that of Nemes by Latreille. It is very distinct in appearance from either of its neighbourmg genera, and is remarkable for its slender form of body and limbs. PLATE XIV. BERYTUS SPINOSUS. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Obscure reddish-brown; terminal joint of the antenne fuscous; thorax punctured; a strong spine before the posterior feet. DESCRIPTION. Antenne longer than the body, terminal joint fuscous, yellowish at base and tip: eyes black: stemmata sanguineous, distant, placed very far back, almost lateral: clypeus produced, conic; rostrum as long as the thorax, inflected, and placed in a groove beneath: thorax gibbous be- hind, punctures large and crowded: scutel with an elevated spine: elytra nervous, with a black costal spot near the tip: posterior feet longest ; a spine each side as thick as the thighs, originat- ing before the posterior cox, curving upward above the elytra, and abruptly attenuated near the tip: abdomen depressed, fusiform, margined ; margin paler. PLATE XIy. OBSERVATIONS. Of this genus Fabricius has described two spe- cies, of which the ¢ipularius appears to be very like this insect—at least as far as I can judge from description, having no opportunity to con- sult a figure of either insect of the genus. One specimen in my cabinet has the antennz rather shorter, and on the thorax are three lines a little elevated, one of which is dorsal and two mar- ginal, with a two-lobed raised transverse spot be- fore: this may be a sexual variety, or possibly a distinct species; but, for want of sufficient knowledge of them, I will not, at present, incur the responsibility of separating them. The smaller figure in the plate denotes the natural size. PLATE XIV. aA { aye » VIN 8G. oF 0. Drawn év LER.Peale . f 15 f Lngravd by L Lied. PELECINUS. GENERIC CHARACTER. Antenne with not more than fourteen joints ; tongue trifid; neck not apparent; posterior tibia clavate; abdomen slender, elongated, filiform, inserted at the posterior and inferior extremity of the metathorax. PELECINUS POLYCERATOR. Drury. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Black; antenne with a white annulus; pos- terior tibia sericeous on the inside. SYNONYMS. IcHNEUMON POLYTURATOR. Drury, vol. ii. pl. 40, fig. 4. PeLEecinus potyceRATOR. Fabr. Latr. PLATE XV. DESCRIPTION. Head with a compressed, elevated, scale-like tooth at the inner base of each antenna: antenne, tenth joint and half of the ninth joint white: wings, nervures and costal margin fuscous: fee, two anterior pairs blackish-piceous ; posterior pair black, polished, the tibia much dilated at tip and much dilated on the inner side, the tarsi piceous. OBSERVATIONS. A truly singular insect, not uncommon in various parts of the United States. Its flight is slow and awkward, and when taken it endea- vours to force the point of the abdomen through the skin of the hand, but its strength not ade- quate to the task. The whole abdomen resem- bles a much elongated pedicle, from which the abdomen itself, or dilated portion, has been acci- dentally removed. The plate exhibits two views of the insect. natural size, and a wing somewhat magnified, to show the arrangement of the nervures. PLATE XV. a tLe Fngravad by BLAPS. GENERIC CHARACTER. Mentum small, or moderately large, quadrate or orbicular ; palpi terminated by a larger joint ; terminal joint of the maxillary palpi securiform ;_ mandibles naked to their base; clypeus termi- nated by a straight line; labrum transverse; an- tenn moniliform at tip, third joint much larger than the fourth; back flat; thorax almost quad- rate; elytra acute at tip. BLAPS SUTURALIS. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Blackish; elytra scabrous, grooved, reddish- brown, punctured; lateral thoracic margin re- flected. PLATE XVI. SYNONYM. Buars sururauis. Nobis. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences, vol. iii. p. 257. DESCRIPTION. Body black-brown, punctured: antennz, third joint longer than the fourth and fifth conjointly ; fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh equal obconico- cylindric; eighth obconic-orbicular, shorter than the preceding ; remaining joints nearly equal to the eighth, globose; the terminal one somewhat conic-compressed : /abrum prominent, emargi- nate, and with very short yellow hairs at tip: thorax transverse-quadrate ; edge deeply concave before ; lateral margin dilated, reflected ; lateral edge regularly arquated, slightly excurved at base; posterior edge slightly flexuose, nearly rec- tilinear ; angles acute, anterior ones with a small excurved point; punctures of the disk acute, dis- tant; two obsolete indented spots behind the middle: scutel impunctured, distinct, acute: ely- tra with seven grooves, the four sutural ones each with a single series of elevated points, re- maining grooves with numerous points; a series of points on each of the interstitial lines; lateral PLATE XVI. edge reflected, slightly elevated, acute; a sutural, common, reddish-brown margin: epipleura sca- brous and punctured, with four or five obsolete impressed strie: feet scabrous, anterior thighs slightly dilated beneath before the tip into an obtuse angle. Length one inch nearly. OBSERVATIONS. During the progress of Major Long’s expedi- tion up the Missouri, that enterprising and excel- lent officer entrusted me with the direction of a small party of thirteen persons, destined to ex- plore the country on the south side of that ex- tended river. After encountering many obstacles and privations which it is unnecessary to enume- merate, the party arrived at the village of the Konza Indians, hungry, fatigued, and out of health. Commiserating our situation, these sons of nature, although suffering under the injustice of white people, received us with their charac- teristic hospitality, and ameliorated our condition by the luxuries of repletion and repose. Whilst sitting in the large earth-covered dwelling of the principal chief, in presence of several hundred. of his people, assembled to view the arms, equip- PLATE XVI. ments, and appearance of the party, I enjoyed the additional gratification to see an individual of this fine species of Biaps running towards us from the feet of the crowd. The act of empal- ing this unlucky fugitive at once conferred upon me the respectful and mystic title of “ medicine man,” from the superstitious faith of that simple people. On the subsequent journey towards the Rocky Mountains, several specimens occurred, together with other insects of the same classical division, till then unknown. The upper right figure. BLAPS ACUTA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Blackish ; elytra scabrous, grooved ; dilated sutural margin reddish-brown ; exterior edge acute ; thoracic margin not reflected. PLATE XVI. SYNONYM. Buars acuta. Nobis. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences, vol. il. p. 258. DESCRIPTION. Body blackish, punctured: head with larger punctures than those of the thorax: anfennx as in the preceding species: Jabrum prominent, emarginate, with short yellow hairs at tip: thorax subquadrate ; anterior edge concave; punctures minute, separate; lateral margin not reflected ; lateral edge regularly arquated, a little excurved at base; posterior edge nearly rectilinear: scutel impunctured: elytra grooved; the four sutural grooves with a single series of elevated points ; interstitial lines with about one series of distant punctures ; sutural margin obsoletely reddish- brown; exterior edge acute: epiplewra obsoletely grooved, scabrous, punctured, and from the base to near the middle tinged with reddish-brown : anterior thighs dilated, and armed with a promi- nent spine near the tip. Length nearly one inch and one-fifth. PLATE XVI. OBSERVATIONS. The gradually recurved form of the lateral margin of the thorax in the preceding species, gives to the whole thorax a somewhat concave appearance, notwithstanding the convexity of the disk. In this conformation the present insect is obviously distinct, although very similar as re- spects general colour, the form of the elytra, feet, and abdomen. ‘The thorax here exhibits a regular convexity, which gradually subsides to- wards the lateral edges. 'This species occurred in Missouri, near Council Bluff. The upper left figure. BLAPS OBSCURA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Blackish ; elytra scabrous, grooved, dark red- dish-brown, margin rounded, thoracic margin not reflected. PLATE XVI. SYNONYM. Buars osscura. Nobis. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sei- ences, Vol. Hl. p. 259. DESCRIPTION. This species resembles the preceding, but the thorax is proportionally longer, the elytra are of a dull reddish-brown colour, approaching to pice- ous, and the lateral margin is rounded so as to exhibit no edge. Length more than one inch. OBSERVATIONS. I obtained this insect in the country bordering the river Platte, within a hundred miles of the Rocky Mountains. The lower left figure. PLATE XVI. BLAPS HISPILABRIS. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Blackish; elytra scabrous, grooved; sutural margin obsoletely reddish-brown; labrum with black, rigid hairs. 3 SYNONYM. Buaes uisprnABris. Nobis. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences, vol. iii. p. 259. DESCRIPTION. In form of the elytra, their lateral curve, ro- tundity of edge, sculpture and colour, this spe- cies resembles the obscura; but the anterior angles of the thorax are distinctly excurved and acute, the posterior angles viewed from above exhibit no excurvature; the scutel is proportion- ally smaller and more rounded, and the labrum is distinctly armed with many black rigid hairs extending forward, and projecting beyond the extremity of the labrum. PLATE XVI. Length more than four-fifths of an inch. Inhabits Missouri. The lower right figure; the figure near the bottom of the plate is a magnified representation of an antenna. PLATE XVI. oi 1 oh ase o'ipeit b- pith ony nipitahie jae, os bes Ai PQA t§ hae ce i, WG hi bee ; ei Linipaved bvLONGHAE ARGYNNIS. Partmuio. Lin. GENERIC CHARACTER. Antenne terminated by a short club: palpi divaricating, second joint compressed, broad, hairy; third joint terminating abruptly by a short, slender, acute joint: inferior wings sub- orbicular; anterior feet short, feeble: tarsi with double nails. OBSERVATIONS. Many species of this genus are beautifully decorated with spots on the lower surface of the inferior wings, resplendent with all the brilliancy of polished silver, or rivalling the milder, but not less attractive lustre, of precious opal. The superior surface of the wings is varied with red or orange, agreeably relieved by spots or lines of black or brown. The larva: or caterpillar is armed with spines, and the pupa or chrysalis attaches itself by the tail to a fixed object, in PLATE XVII. order to pass its destined period of quiescent pre- paration, for its change to the perfect, adult or butterfly state. Linné included the species in his genus Papt- L10, but Fabricius separated them as a distinct group under the name we have here adopted. ARGYNNIS DIANA. Cramer. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Wings above black-brown, with a very broad fulvous exterior margin, in which are a few blackish spots and nervures. SYNONYMS. Parmro Diana. Cramer, Ins. vol. ii. p. 4, pl. 98, fig. D. E. Le P. Diane. Encycl. Method. Insectes, pl. 35, f. 2. DESCRIPTION. Body above black-brown: vertex, and anterior PLATE XVII. sides of the thorax, ferruginous: wings on the basal two-thirds blackish-brown; the outer third pale fulvous, on the superior wings divided by blackish-brown margined nervures, and marked by two distant series of dots of a similar colour, the exterior of which is obsolete ; on the margin of the inferior wings the two series of dots are hardly to be traced: beneath, on the superior wings, the blackish-brown basal portion has from six to eight ochraceous spots, of which the ex- ternal ones are longitudinal, and those nearer the base are nearly transverse; intervening between these two sets of spots, are two opalescent spots, placed transversely, and sometimes confluent ; exterior third of the wing ochraceous, deeper to- wards the anterior angle, and with two distinct fuscous spots; inferior wings, on the basal two- thirds reddish-brown, with two small distant silvery spots on the anterior margin, and a series of obsolete dull silvery lines behind the middle ; exterior third of these wings ochraceous, with a marginal series of seven short silvery lines. OBSERVATIONS. The present species, though not remarkable for any superior gaiety of colouring, interests by PLATE XVII. the simple contrast of blackish and pale orange colours, of its superior surface, as well as by the rows of slender silvery lines which decorate the under page of its inferior wings. I have taken this insect in Georgia, East Flo- rida, Arkansaw, and Missouri, but have not yet met with it in Pennsylvania. Cramer described his specimen, in the collection of Mr. J. C. Syl- vius Van Lennep, and states it to have been taken in Virginia. He has applied to it the ter- restrial name of the daughter of Jupiter and Latona, and the twin sister of Apollo, in pursu- ance of the example of Linné, who thus endea- voured to connect Entomology with Mythology and the civil history of antiquity. The plate represents two views of this species, beneath which is an enlarged palpus. PLATE XVII. CICINDELA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Antenne filiform; clypeus shorter than the labrum ; maxilla monodactyle, with two very distinct palpi, of which the exterior one is nearly equal to the labial palpi, penultimate joint of the latter hairy; mentum trifid, the divisions nearly equal in length; feet slender, elongated ; ante- rior tibia without a sinus near the tip. OBSERVATIONS. A very natural and interesting group of in- sects. Many species inhabit this country, the more common of which, such as the vulgaris, sex-guttata and punctulata, are familiar to most persons who delight in rural scenery. They in- habit arid situations, run and fly swiftly, and live upon prey, which they seize by means of their somewhat elongated and very acute mandibles. PLATE XVIII. CICINDELA DECEMNOTATA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Green, above tinged with cupreous; elytra margined with bright green or bluish; four white spots and an intermediate refracted band. DESCRIPTION. Labrum three-toothed, white: mandibles black, base white: elytra with a white spot on the shoulder, another equidistant from the first and the band: band broad, arising from the middle of the margin, refracted at the centre of the ely- trum, and terminated near the suture in a line with the tip of the third spot; this spot is large, orbicular, and placed near the external tip of the terminal one, which is transverse and triangular : body beneath green: trochanters and tail purple. OBSERVATIONS. The specimen from which this description and the annexed representation were taken, is a PLATE XVII. female, the only one I have seen: it was caught by Mr. Nuttall, on the sandy alluvions of the Missouri, above the confluence of the river Platte. Upper figure of the plate. CICINDELA FORMOSA. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Red cupreous, brilliant; elytra with a three branched, broad white margin. DESCRIPTION. Front hairy: labrum large, three-toothed : elytra with a broad white border, anterior and posterior branches short, intermediate one flexu- ous, nearly reaching the suture; edge of the elytra green: body beneath green or purple-blue, very hairy: thighs blue, tibia green. Length seven-tenths, breadth one-fourth of an inch. PLATE XVIII. OBSERVATIONS. A beautiful species; it was captured by Mr. Thomas Nuttall, on the sandy alluvions of the Missouri river, above the confluence of the Platte. Lower figure of the plate. PLATE XVIII. IN DEX. COLEOPTERA. Cicindela *decemnotata - - - - Puare 18. *formosa - - - - = = = — Scarabeus tityus - - - - - - - - 4, Blaps *suturalis - - - - - - - - 16. *aCUta = - = - = a) Se Sipe to *obscura- - - = - = = = = — *hispilabris - - - - - - - - — Anthicus *bicolor - - - - - - - - 10. monodon - - - - - = = — Wytta- *nuttalli; -- - + -* -- - ~'-hieib sey e73. *albida s —.< = 4 = > eieiae = ae *maculata - - - - - - - = — *sphericollis - - - - - - - — Nemognatha *immaculata - - - - - 7%. Calandra tredecim-punctata - - - - - 9 variety - - - - - — *quinque-punctata - - - - - — *compressirostra - - - - - — INDEX. ORTHOPTERA. Acrydium *ornatum - - - *lateralis - - - HEMIPTERA. Berytus *spinosus - - - - HYMENOPTERA. Pelicinus polycerator - - - Stirzus *grandis ey ae *unicinetus ORT E78 LEPIDOPTERA. Papilio philenor- - - - - Argynnis diana - - - - - Smerinthus *geminata - = - DIPTERA. Leptis *ornata_ - *albicornis *vertebrata *fasciata PuaTeE 5. 14. lari 12. 13. INDEX. Laphria *fulvicauda - - - - - Puate 6. *sericea - - - - - - = = — *dorsata - - - - - - - - — Syrphus *cylindrieus - - - - - - = If. ST OUSCIPUS. 0 cesses | ei at oe *obliquus - - - - - - - — *politus - - - = = - = - = Xylota *quadrata *ejuncida <)-- 0- .cy.5 = =. 2 == 6 8 8 t) L 4 t a 2 *proxima - - - - - - = = — WESTIN ALOM ESS i ee ee In the above enumeration, asterisks are prefixed to such species as have been first described by the author. END OF VOL. I. avarl = gat ee res if THE eet teatiote to. saottaay mae : Pier ON LIBRARIES | iil 0 | L132 66.S27X 0 nhent QL4 “! | | nin eens we SMITHSONIAN IN | a) —F- mM ~ + 1