~ = ete ees OF a pe) Fae ee Epo Ost ete rer, ad ee ene poor! - JL ee C—O Up ee ee we P+ 0 Ee en re pe Sr Eyl - 7 tee ee —_ POS ee sr : : >» a ; : : : cera. a ? ; a See Sime ‘ , —- ——— —— ‘ 1 ald - seu tata money, ee? the Mantatat Mae MRR Nw NST oe Site Name etna met pre . _ te Ot et ee ee Dd N+ SP era en nyse m inee erir Dagon Aer 9 tee i — an - Se ee . . = ee ‘ ‘ . - 2 : 4 - : ‘ Cs - - ; . ——. te e a o Oo. ty =) z < 4 =) W ae & A 7) -*, ~ : a The c Annual Subscription & for 1918 i is. a. eee Sacetet ge 2 oe Res ay vin HOS Stee Bek eee <1 Seep. of Beppe ‘MON 1H ne wt foe “$e : se EeS “eprrep sr 8. ‘9 ctaati0s, PLS. oe 2 COLLIN, PES. 7 es ee ®. WwW. ‘FOWLER, D$o, MA, ELS. | 2 LW. T1030, EES, ¢, P. PORKITD, ELS. at ga e* F . Se ji :" we a Me Pe DY ee ee te * - ~~ Db Ain “ = ee 2, ; - ae eee ~) on ¥ —— ; | . . ey a Ey = | “vouw ME Liv. ; = “fe a trees: 9 HIRD 88 REEt S-Vou. ay. e' 232 > Lo. ee 4 2 . . . * Sh res) Se Stag aT Pe: pti > S = et on ‘seats ‘onc tous a rides deve leurs decitsvenad dustedeaaiies: “tote allusion Uae Jes Boutes de la isoussion la a BREE et la “LONDON: _ & J AOKSON Ota. Vai os 8 Sucorss0%»), Ase ROW, E C. Ae 3 3 se > “1 - Re eS bel a wy Fe — : ph hee ey & ee Ys ae. a Fs LS ne Ne ; mr: a “NOTICE —Owing to the reat iintreased: “cost ‘of paper, : _ = SEOOND SERIES. > * Vols: i: to ‘Xv. are tow offered at £3 per set. net Gn. testes ; ai 2s. Ba. for five. eee Male UE hound, aes Pi 3 Vol. bbe = . wher Fe ee a e15) contains’ 23 Plates one Siecle Fs sue Ss tn 10 ae graph f the British Siphonaptera, a aud Seana vania a epee: of t = Api te Ses e: See: = ae ee S- 25 2 ite oe it. Tee 23 e “EN TOMOLOGICAL. SOCIETY or TORDON 41, Chand Square, W. ,—-Wedltiesday, January ‘16th (AnnuAL Maiko Fl Sauk “The Chair will be taken at 8 o'clock in the evening’ precise er ees _... +.-The Bibrary ‘is open daily from 9am to 6 p.m. oe = z as f Siang] AE2 Fak, Bad ma See Meeting nights. ae . a2 4 \ - a — _—. ss HE SOUTH. LONDON ENTOMOLOGICAL ak NartRaL® tST' "SOCIETY, Hibernia Chambers, London Bridge: ~The Second & Fourth ‘ Sin each: month, at 7: 3 a “The ‘lantern wil be at: the betas 5 of agicte 5 the > =<: sexhibition of slides: - ASS Age ER ees pthe Cape pats bs taken iyunoieay al 8 o'elock. CS Ss ee = > "s 7 - ee Fe —4 - noe i A575 : Jon the: td ae a Gest Boss eacy How net Cirens, E. Oz will be al to welcome: at its es any “French or: | we a x Aero - 2 - 45 x k » f= ore se =} me cae “ Die We 7 ~ r- . os ~ Ss as a aE te D Sry ar — ws Loe 3 4 es ESS & mo: = ; Fe = ae 3 ie Z ao = 4 : 4 <<. — > —- = 3 = = ee i= as - i SA 419 ae Ae THE ENTOMOLOGISTS MONTHLY MAGAZINE: EDITED BY G.-C. CHAMPION, F-.Z:S. J. E. COLLIN, F.E.S. W. W. FOWLER, D.Sc., M.A., F.L.S. WwW. LOYD, F.E.S. Go Te, PORRERTS, WES, “J. J. WALKER, M.A., B.N., F.LS. “ J’engage done tous 4 éviter dans leurs écrits toute personnalité, toute allusion dépassant les limites de la discussion la plus sincére et la plus courtoise.”—Laboulbéne.| LONDON : GURNEY & JACKSON (Mr. Vay Voorst’s Successors). 33, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C. 4. 1918. PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCT RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET, E.C. 4. OM .C. seeker {19 i INDEX. PAGE SPECIAL INDEX (continued)— PAGE AIRE aE Me Pee a Pasnccanaonpneeas cache . 2. ,F.E. 18... .102, Harwood, P., F.E.S. tea hen 2ubes 169, 183; 214 4+ Haviland, Maud D. |........cccecececces 200 LO A aa ++. 226 | Hudson, G. V., F.E.S. ...............61, 212 Champion, G. C., F.Z.8....35, 40, 43, EMAL OES Hs! Wa, han cahocaucst canadseceioa vant 212 64, 91, 98, 139, 155, 163, 188, | | Hyde, T. RB. sits Bewauteasseee, Sauk 207, 208, 219, O55 Imms, A. D., D.Se., F.E s. venncsiaemieuly 2ukn Champion, H. G., B.A., LE.S., F.E.S: 199 | Keys, J. 12 6 1 SES AOE SA eR 250 Chapman, T. A., M.D., F.Z.S. ......9; 11 | Kirkpatrick, T. My PAS ee 18 NC ane oP a ard | Wintchel A. We at Beene Py WBS. yc. sie.rscnsesececan 279, |. Morley, C., FES. i.e... 18, 85, 163, 183 TENN osu sas cke én sco eceun odor fs Morton. Key da BBS ake le ih 185 Cee AL BZ.S. cccccase guanasien my Geek. Mier, Bes Ss sas. 137, 173, 202, 228 Dem EMEME DLS: cy ese 0. -/sernec-405 227, | Murphys Jn Hd jecoisccccsddecverceosectes BS Donisthorpe, H. St. J., F.Z.S. ,..14, EET AY ge Die yek cs tba icetden ged! die 252 99, 225 | Newbery, EH. A, .....cccceceees "162, 198, 280 a2 iv PAGE PAGE Nicholson, C., F.E.S. ..................... 89 | Thompson, E., M-R.CS., R.AMC.... 17 Perron, .'G., PGA. oie ih a 15 | Tomlin, J. R. le B., M.A., F.ES....... 225 Perkins, R. C. L., M.A.,"D.Sc., F.E.S., Turner, H. J., F.E.S. ......19, 41, 65, 36, 67, 107, 115, 129, 226, 253 93, 115, 164, 186, 213, 227, 255 OR 0 2 ee 39, 209 | Walker, J. J.,M.A., R.N., F.L.S...182, Sharp, D., M.A., F.RS. ...... 1, 154, 209, 211, 246 avs | Waleh, GB, BBe, ..u.cc25. eee 162 Sharp: Woe fic FLEAS; cenconccnnes 13, 23, 244 | Wheeler, Rev. G., M.A., F.Z.S. ...66, 166 GENERAL INS Ex PAGE Acanthocinus aedilis L. in North Devon a bie se ot 137 Acari, The association of, with Insects .. = ne — ><) ae Alianta pictipennis Fauv., Note on bh : + -. Amarochara bonnairei Rie. (glabriventris Bye) at Box Hill -- .. 280 Anchomenuus (Agonum) sahlbergi Chaud., Re-oecurrence of, in Scotland .. 33 Andrena wilkella K., and its allies, The synonymy of, with notes on habits as confirming specific distinctions .. 7. oh . oh re, Anthrenus varius F., Abundance of, in Essex .. - inee | | Aphides collected in South-eastern Russia in 1917, ahh oe ae nis Ba . > ao Apion (Erythrapion) miniatum Germ. in Scotland . 64 Apions, The British Red (Studies in Rhynchophora, 3) if oe oo ee Atomaria zetterstedti Zett. (= salicicola Kraatz) a British insect .. -» Oe Bombus terrestris L. at midwinter in New Zealand .. an *. eS eee Braconidae, Notes on. XII. On the Liophroninae. With description of a new British species .. : ‘ at =: se Butterflies of the Oxford district, The, 246 oe of et a5 2 oS Byrrhus pilula, Further notes on the larva a we a +) Caenocara subglobosa Muls., a species of Galbepters new to Butea 20 Campodea, On two new species of, 157; On a new species of (C. devoniensis, —_~ sp. n.), from South Devon .. oe =F ee Campodeidae, Records and descriptions af some Saas a bas . 109 Cercyon (Coleoptera, Hydrophilidae), On some species hitherto assigned ie - the genus 5: o» nT a a pj eee Ceuthorrhynchus rapae ait at bata) he Ke a 4: .. 209 Choleva angustata F. and its allies “> nig y 4 dn a Chortophila pilipyga Villeneuve in Britain .. = ys = - oe Cladius Viminalis Fallen, The egg-laying of .. .. ee Coccinella septempunctata L. parasitized by a Dipteron, ey peer F all. 91 Coleoptera captured in the garden of the Hospital of St. Jean, Arras, France, 251; of the Downs and country round Brightoa, 209; of Crowthorne (a Parish of Berkshire), Some further notes on the, 23; of. South. Devon and Cornwall, The coast-frequenting, 208; at Mickleton (Glos.), 39;..in. the. Oxford district, Recent: captures of, 182; in the Plymouth district, 91; in the Plymouth district and from the Lizard, Cornwall, 250; Suffolk, Some notes on Goleoptera, Gynarele te 5k a _ os 154, 225 Coleoptera, Notes on various. South American, collected by SEadies Tagen during the Voyage of the “ noaiea with descriptions of new genera and species .. e* o bs ais 3 -- 48 Coranus subapterus De G Noes on a - b> “= aye it dG Corticaria eppelsheimi Reitt. at Gomshall, Sirres ” 163 Cryptophagus lgvendali Ganglbauer in Pichon Park, 14; - pop Pay Notes on the habits of oes : . Sani 207 Cynipid oak galls new to the British Bees Notes on some .. 177 Dascillidae, New and little-known Saltatorial Bi) 9a, 139; 188, 219, 255 Derbidae in the British Museum Collection, Notes on. I. Zoraidinae, 173, 202; II. Derbinae .. a of 42 av at its ee | 228 Didea alneti Fln. in Kent.. “F a j- si a st bate 218 Dipterain 1917... = gs = ee a oF ie aq 18 Donacia clavipes F. at home a an on bh 18a Earwig, the Common, The Bionomics of, 226 ; Beaches bes cepsinan .. 09 Elater Bee miaalontis Schr., var. paleatus ee . 209; at Wimbledon ~~ .. 183 Eriococcus devoniensis Gen, Additional localities fn i ‘Lt og 17 Geotrupes typhoeus i in Flanders .. ue af oe - . i .. 997 vi Otiorrhynchus porcatus Herbst at Oxford... Oxford District, The Butterflies of the .. : Phigalia pilosaria, Abundance of, at Burnley .. Phyllobius calearatus F., Note on Pipunculidae and Stylopidae in Homoptera Plusia moneta in Cheshire, etc. : ce 44 ce Protective Resemblance and Mimicry in a Talia Larva, A combined instance of Psylla sorbi L. in Britain . ReEviews.—‘ Memoir of the Revered ‘Ockepias Pieleral Cals abes M. Ail F.R.S.” by his Son, Arthur Wallace Pickard-Cambridge, M.A., 185; Report of the Proceedings of the Second Entomological Mesting held at Pusa on the 5th to 12th eee , 1917, edited RY “i Fletcher, R.N., F.L.S., ete. 53 53 4 ae Rhadinoceraea micans Kings in Ghashins Sapyga clavicornis L. and other Hymenoptera, in ale! scBtis ae Oxford Scaphium immaculatum Oliv., an additional genus and species to our List of British Coleoptera Scymunus, The larva of, 39 ; Pet ee The Late. Inetary of Silpha nigrita Creutz in Co. Durham ne SocretTres.—Entomological Society of RenaGh, 66, 166 ; ieeute Tonge Entomological Society, 19, 41, 65, 98, 115, 164, 186, 213, 227, 205; Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union: Entomological Section Somatochlora arctica Zett., A new locality for .. Sphaeriestes Steph., Notes on the British species of . taphylinidae, New Oriental (1), 102; (2), 169; (3) .. Staphylinus pubescens De G. in Bsbex : Strepsiptera of the genera Stylops and aligioxeune: Saas of Batis Stylops, The assembling and pairing of, 129; and He bees, Further notes on Sysciophthalmus Heller, Note on He Ci ie -genus, ith a acserintiie of -a new species from Tierra del Fuego, 35; crawshayi Champ.: synonymical note Tanagra atrata, Aberration of : Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera), A remarkable new Beatie of. frost Tropical Africa . PAGE 209° 246 113 105 137 211 92 113 Tretothorax ten ((iolenptann), A ey on the ystoniede vorition of the genus .. : : Trichiosoma, Pacesiéas v si hatte: 163; ib abiales The emergence af, from its cocoon : Trigonogenius globulum Sol. in Tessas Trioza velutina Forster, Note on. ; Trogephloeus impressus Lac., an nAditnad to dhe List of British Gélebptieie ; Trypetidae from the Oxford oe ict, with notes on their time of appearance and food-plants Vanessa antiopa in Cheshire, 92. ; in hie oaths of eae Zephyrus quercus, the “swarming” of . SPECIAL INDEX.. ee ce | “--"* COLEOPTERA. Lt PAGE PEEEIOSS PUATIOIO®D |... 20. cnticaccdawe dh evne 161 Acanthocinus aedilis .................0006 137 PPO, SUICAGUS «1... nen Loateeveeees 210 Acupalpus brunnipes, 26; dorsalis... 27 Acylophorus flavicornis (sp. n.), 214; longiceps (sp. n.), 172; maculi- EMME CSP DLS ot oy). ase diesasae si sau AL Agabus uliginosus, 182; unguicularis 27 PPUEGIDOH. DHOSUS ..2. 25.02 00-20-2000 sane 251 Aveochara maculata. ...........0....ce00 182 Alianta pictipennis ............-.0.s0.06 183 Amalus haemorrhous ................-.. 161 Amara anthobia, 159, 182; famelica, UPAR PMA DEUCE 3... odo easels ae 182 Amarochara bonnairei, glabriventris . 280 Anchomenus quadripunctatus, 26 ; sahlbergi, 33; semistriatus, 64; SEMMBMEENSICREP yore snes eos 2d ooo 26 Anisodactylus binotatus, var. nemori- vacus, var. spurcaticornis...... 27 Anomophthalmus insolitus ............ 64 Antaretobius - lacunosus, 53; lati- cauda (sp.-n.), 54; rugirostris 7 eee aa Re Sa ae ee 54 Antaretonomus peroni .................. 43 Anthrenus claviger, 91; varius ...... 64 Aphthona coerulea ............. 2.2 eee eae 92 Apion: eurtisi, 251; minimum, etc., 161: schénherri; 208; sedi ...... 25 0| Atheta- euryptera,. 159; excellens, 250; exilis, halobrectha, 159; liliputana, 250 ; monticola, para- doxa, 159; perexigua, 250; sub- sinuata, 159; villosula ............ 27 Atomaria zetterstedti .................. 155 Attelabus curculionoides ...... .... 64, 92 Aulonodera darwini (sp. n.) ............ 51 Balanimus venosus ........................ 211 Bembidiomorphum convexum (sp.n.) 45 Bembidium doris, 26; normannum, 159; obliquum 26 PAGE Bledius atricapillus, 208; opacus ... 160 Bryaxis haematica, helferi . 160 Buprestis geometrica ........eseeeeeee ome tS Byrrhus pilula (larva) .......ssescseees de be Bythinus puncticollis ...............006 160 Caenocara bovistae,55,56; subglobosa 55 Caehopsis, waltont) «0-2. yeais. ceauseaesas ae ee Callidium sanguineum .............00.0+ 251 Calodera rufescens, umbrosa ......... 182 CHONG CIC y oF. dc. 3 waa nnd cn hoe ane 199 Carabus arvensis, 211; auratus ...... 251 Cardiophorus equiseti .........-..-2000. 251 Cassida sanguinolenta ...........e.c00ce 183 Cathormiocerus maritimus ............ 251 Catobleps blattoides (sp. n.), 151; Gbaftaniaiy?: (Sp, Te) ..c022- aweade: aa 152 Cercyon bifenestratus, 274; obso- Teh Ge sot asta rhasus Saedetae 159 Cerycon granarius, 275; lugubris, 275,. var. n. intermixtus, 275; minutus, 274; pumilio (sp. n.), 277; sternalis (sp. n.) Ceuthorrhynchidius barnevillei, 182; horridus, 161 ; triangulum Ceuthorrhynchus euphorbiae, pilosel- lus, 182; punctiger, 183; rapae, 209 ; setosus, 92; trimaculatus, 182; viduatus Chlaenius nigricornis . ee ee i Chlorophanus viridis ee ee ee ey Choleva .angustata, 30; cisteloides, 31; fuliginosa, 160; glauca (sp. n:), 31; imtermedia, 31, 160; sturmi Chrysomela.hyperici, 64; margi- nalis Cicindela sylvatica Cis alni Clambus punctulum Coelambus confluens, 210; 9-line- 276 182 92 211 251 PAGE Colon denticulatum, viennense......... 182 Conopalpus testaceus .................. 182 Conosoma laterale (sp. n.) ............ 217 Coprophilus striatulus .................. 160 Corticaria eppelsheimi .................. 163 Corylophus-sublaevipennis ............ 250 Corymbites tessellatus .................. 161 Creophilus -maxillesus, var. ciliaris ... 162 Criocerts ‘Hai- 2 -c2....- 020 ccs cca sceceeses 251 Cryptocephaln= aureolus, 210; bi- ptuetatus, var. lineola ............ 182 Cryptarcha imperialis, strigata ...... 161 Cryptephagus lgvendali, 15; populi totes ...182, 207 Dacoderus acanthomma (sp. n.) ...... 153 Deporaus mannerheimi .................. 250 Docemina-erassipes (sp. 1.) -....-...... 50 Donacia braccata, 161; clavipes...... 183 Dorytomus validirostris 182 Dpremanis- poms, «. ..... 10.220. sos 159 Dryopw el@iriews © ..0.222.iiecb0 sls. ce 91 Elater-.sanguinolentus, var. paleatus ...183, 209 Elmis ‘chiloensis (sp. n.) 48 Endomychus coccinets ............-.-... 278 femmas hisivin £34 .Js Asstt le 2 Se 210 Erythrapion brachypterum (sp. n.), 7; cruentatum, 5, 92; desideratum (sp. n.), 4; fraudator (sp. n.), 5; frumentarium, 6; miniatum, 3, 64; rubens, 7,92; sanguineum. 7 Euconosoma elegans (sp. n.) ......... 216 Paaectasabeillat. 5 ccclisclen la, avis 182 Evaesthetus scaber.. .. ¢..:.:. 2.2.2: -2.-.. 160 Geotrupes typhoeus ... 251 Gymnetron antirrhini, 92; collinus, linariae, rostellum, 182; vil- MOGUMEBIRE? ooo eo oe poke fo... Saeee 161 Hammaticherus lacordairei ............ 225 Harpalus.discoideus ............-...-0.1: 208 Hiemotiens. serradae. .. — .. 22032. 2h awn 27 Hesperus. terminalis (sp. n.)............ 104 Heberothops nigra. .... silo seein 160 Homalium punctipenne .................. 160 Homaleplis ruricola .............--.--.s<- 210 Homalota exarata, splendens ... 182 Hydnobius forticornis (sp. n.) ......... 47 PAGE Hydrophilus piceus ................s000 159 Hydroporus angustatus, 159; ferru- gineus, 182; umbrosus........... . to ‘Hylastinus obscurus ..........20..0.eee0s 161 Hypera fasciculata . Hypulus. quercinus ............. 0.2... .0e 92 Ilyobates bonnairei, 280; forticornis 182 Tps 4-ponctata. ...............a2c eu 182 Lamprosoma concolor .............0...6 91 Lasioderma serricorne .................. 162 Lathrobium quadratum .................. 160 Leucitus rufipennis (sp..n.) ............ 171 Leucocraspedum nigromaculatum (Sp. D.).. ....2.<..0cenes 3s ede 218 Limnobaris T-album ...........2...... 22. 250 Listroderes. katerensis (sp. n.), 52; quadrituberculatus (sp.n.) ...... 51 Lophocateres pusillus ...........2...... 162 Lucanus .cervus ............. ccc. 210 Lycoperdina succincta .................. 56 Malthodes atomus, 225; minimus .., 210 Mantura chrysanthemi, 92, 161; FUSHCR. | 2.2 5205n22>en0. Sandee 92 Masoreus wetterhali .................... 251 Medon apicalis, 27; obsoletus......... 91 Megacronus cingulatus .................. 160 Megadytes glaucus ......-.-... cceiseess 45 Melanophila acuminata, 199, 244, 278; ignicola (sp.n.) .......-.-.. 200 Melasis buprestoides .........-..........- 182 Meloé proscarabaeus ........- 2.2... <..60e 162 Micragyrtes ocelligerus (sp. n.) ...... 46 Micraspis 16-punctata .................. 91 Micrurula melanocephala ............... 91 Millidium trisuleatum .................. 182 Molorehus minor. ~.....{2. 2:08 ae 182 Morychastes australis ...............-2 48 Myrmeéopora uvida. ....:.::.:.40ksaee 159 Miyrmetes piceus” -:, ::; :...>.:::5........cccceceecss 253 Piezodorus -lituratus:..................60. 135 Pithanus maerkeli :.::............... 184, 252 Piesioeoris rupicollis .........0.....6.66.. 252 Plesiodema pinetellum .................. 253 Proutista, species--of, 175; pseudo- decisa (sp: n.), 177; wilemani CO eee ee daci cles cn edek ec 243 Psallus, species of .......... Riba eee Bey, 253 Pseudohelcita walkeri ............ 175, 204 Psylla--mali, 114, 252; nigrita, 252; SRPENIES Pte tiecalettats v's ces abeasdeeees 113 Psyllopsis fraxini, fraxinicola ......... 252 Pyrrhoneura mlanjensis (sp. n.) ...... 239 Rhopalosiphum lactucae, ribis ....... ap Robigus pattersoni (sp. n.) ............ 241 Semimononrd WA 22.26.22.) 6.5... ..0 2 202 Symidia flava (sp. n.)..0... 0.0000... eee 234 Syntames chiriquensis, sufflavus ...... 233 Wetrancura almi’’ (02). ). 0. 65.c0i eee ees 202 Trioza galii,-velutina .................. 114 Zoraida, species of, 175,176 ; aburien- sis (sp. n.), 206; distanti (sp.n.), 204; kirkaldyi (sp. n.), 205; ridleyi (sp. n.), 205; wallacei (sp. n.) Zoraidoides malabarensis xi HYMENOPTERA. | Pes Ree PAGE Andrena afzeliella, 68,-70 ; atriceps, ete., 69,71; -bueephala, labialis, 73 ; carbonaria, 68 ; chrysosceles, etc., 71 ; convexiuscula, etc., 36; parvula, 72; synadelpha, 71; trimmerana, 129; wilkella, 36, 68-70, 129-131: species of, 206; stylopized species of ...115, 116 Andricus furunculus, nodifex, rhy- zomae, 180; occultus, xantho- psis, 178; sufflator, trotteri...... 179 Anthidium manicatum: -::.:2¢:..0....6... 185 Anthophora furcata: :..0.......0...cc0 eee 185 Bombus terrestris ...::....... 00. eee eee ees 212 Centistes lucidator § .................000. 86 Chrysis cyanea, ignita, pustulosa ... 185 Cladius viminalis.........:::: vedas See 9 Colletes.daviesana-..1::.:.. 902.0088 208 Crabro, specids: Of -.::.23.:::50).9208. 184 Cynips corruptrix ...6..4..00. 00d 178 Dasypoda -hirtipes ......0....0..00 A005. 207 Dideaalnebr 25.114. eee A eee 213 Diodontus, species of oo... 2... cece 184 Diplolepis flosculi, quercus............. 181 Eniphytus. eimetuss(/)s a8. sas 164 Halictus.arnoldi, 253; xanthopus, 76, 108: species. of, 253.; stylopized SPeClEs OL) 3. Huei... 74, 75, 116, 185 Hoplocampa, alpina) ¢.t.>. 2020.48 163 Liophron ater, muricatus, 86; saxo... 85 Lophyfus pind «oo AL 164 Megachile.. apicalis, argentata, 18; centuncularis, etc. .................. 185 Nematus perspicillatus, salicis ...... 164 Nomada furva, 226; ochrostoma, 38 ; poludagimig, “HUM YO) Pie ue 226 Osmia caerulescens, leaiana, rufa ... 185 Panargyrops Claviger «ieee cee eee 164 Passaloecus, species of ..............0... 184 Pemphredon, species of .................. 184 Pimpla instigator .........02..2.0000004 163 Prosopis, species Of: wives eee ees 185 Psrenalus'pallipes! 0.8 BAS 184 Pteronus pini, sertifer.................. 9 Rhadinoceraea micans ..............400 212 Sapyga clavicornis, quinquepunctata 184 xii PAGE Spilomena troglodytes ................4. 184 Shelia QLAEVIMB | GW). Gis spfiadices's sos ees 185 SHSM GH HOMEY 1S cai tu ndepde os ohh bees. al 185 Trichiosoma tibiale ..............6+6 11, 164 TrigonaspisS SYNASPIS.....6.06....eeeee ves 180 Trypoxylen clavicerum, figulus ...... 184 LEPIDOPTERA, Abraxas grossulariata, vars. 22, 255; Bylvata . ous... .aejatpewe spores aque 258 Acronycta leporina _... wisieseds cvpseinn 213 Adopaca thaumas ........iducedeerniteses 250 Aglais urticae, 247, var. ....c sss eeeees 20 Agriades coridon, 20, 249; var. syn- STAD 2 55siss ses aa oe? 42 Apriopis aprilina |... 2... eipnevass alas ohs 42 Aiprotys Heretum ... ... 5.05. fa sevewecny cv 21 Aletia empyrea (n. Sp.) ............00-.. 61 Alsophila aescularia .............e0cseees 187 Amphidasys betularia .........-...0.4.. 213 Anosia berenice, 214; plexippus...... 16 FARGATO TA IIS 2.4 Sarees wil invande. Rape 247 Aphantopus hyperanthus ............... 249 Apodemia glaphyra ...........6..06be00s 65 ALOUD: OAjay VAEE UA: ik wand en ot 228 Argynnis adippe, 21, 248; aglaia ... 248 Aricia astrarche, 249 ; medon ......... Al Asteroscopus Cassinea ...........0.00668 22 AuPiaday SylVANUA «. .+2+eye0s Mains Aue 250 Boarmia consortaria (melanic) ......... 42 Brenthis euphrosyne, 248; selene ... 248 Galigparys TRL 55). sade oie biap eoceds 249 Camptogramma bilineata melanic ... 254 Carterocephalus palaemon ............ 250 Catagramma excelsior, pastazza, 167 ; SOTRHD: |. sesso iv: coingg eee th ieayeeem 66 Catonephele acontius, batesii ......... 165 ChATAGaS PTAMINIL. .§ 6. cyrenerwe yew iws se 21 Choerocampa celerio, elpenor, por- CUS is vito 2's satan eee ences alee 21 Chrysophanus dispar, var. rutilus ... 67 Glerome CuMeCUS — ..secesseceereeoercevers 187 Coenonympha pamphilus ............ 19, 249 Colias edusa, hyale ..............0035 20, 247 PAGE Cosmotriche potatoria, var. .......06.., 42 Cosymbria pendularia, var. nigrosub-. BORGER sh csncisn » aniteds ents edesteenaeee . 42 CYS iTIs BECIOMIB, ycrsh!.condned cds ane 249 Cydia, pomonella,. 5 :.0disecvviess «note 20 » Dicranura vinula ........ i a> cata sone 187 Tome yanillae ons. la» mad fern eclte ale 214 Dedona adonira, durga, unida ......... 65 Dryaswpaphia, <3.3 4. . 6s se'erses cee 248 Dynamine agatha «:.s.ct>.viides eee 167 Hehenias penthea,....0n> salons eee 65 Ematurga atomaria ...1...scyenscesvenre 187 Enarmonia woeberiana ...............06 255 Epinephele janira, 249; lycaon, var. lupinus, 93; tithonus . ..deuee 249 Hriopsela fractifasciana ............... 22 Huchloé cardamines .........<:sssseanewe 247 Eugonia polychloros .......0...seseeseees 247 Huploea depuiseti ............ccseeecovers 213 EKuproctis chrysorrhoea, similis ...... 186 Gnophos glaucinaria, w.aij54..055 ee 115 Gonepteryx rhamni.........0...00-s0 00 247 Heliconius charitonia ...4....s..e+seess 214 Hesperia malvae. ..........0+...15 ae 250 Hibernia defoliaria, var. ............... 93 Hypolimnas bolina, vars: .0s.dsnv»seseus 42 Hyponomeuta euonymella............... 20 Hyria, muricata. «.).....:. 2.00; , 24s ee 115 JONONIS COENIA i5i.4orc0is sine 214 Lasiocampa,;quercus, «ci .is<..0s eee 228 Libythea’' bachmanni ..........<:0ecsssce 16 Jvigdia adustata, « .u. . sss! .i8 saa soeene ee 20 Limenitis disippus, floridensis, 214; Sibylla ....... sos sseeqy» ess eee 247 Liparis aurifiua, chrysorrhoea ......... 186 Lemaspilis marginata, var. ..........0 65 Lophopteryx camelina ..............0.0 65 Lycaena arion, 66; hanno, 214; hut ee ee 249 Ly cis. binkariann. . 0+: ivetdapdetaeeee 20 Ibycorea halias © 43) 4..5 .nsueeuaeceee 213 Macroglossa stellatarum ............... 225 Melanargia galatea ...........eceeeceees 248 Melitaea athalia, 250; aurinia......... 248 Mosene DHATODS sus ie se0s sds 00s sensei >», oo Mimas tiliae..csiiisaseaussevsesssssateni 186 Morpho. Perseus. s6sescsieys00ss001005 42 PAGE Nemeobius lucina ..........0.0eseeeeee ees 250 Nisoniades tages, Var. ......--+-..-++-++ 255 Notodonta dromedarius ............... 227 Papilio alcinous,228 ; cresphontes,214 ; encelades, ilioneus, 165; lama, 228 ; machaon, 20, 22; marcellus, (187 ; nox, paradoxa ............... 165 Pararge aegeria, 248 ; megaera...168, 249, 256 Parectopa zorionella (n. sp.)............ 62 , IPBPICOPIS ANE UIOSS .........24.200ecee 00 ees 213 Pheosia dictaeoides ............-.6--000 65 Peete PUOSATIA ..:.....4..-.0---- 113, 165 Pieris brassicae, 20, 41, 42, 66, 187, 246; napi, 247, var. 20; rapae . 246 US 0G) Ce 21, 211 Eergeonia: G-albunt j.........:..2.-000-<-64 247 Polyommatus icarus ............0.c066 42 PHSUERETACH POPPE] 2.22... .cecccece+ ses 167 Pyrameis atalanta, 20, 214, 248; CE Ls ee 248 PRIMM PUS i 65.26.20 a8s . 2s eccnccnce 65 Rumicia phlaeas, vars. ...............+.- 249 Sabatinea aurella (n. sp.) ............... 62 Satyrus statilinus, vars. .............06 65 Scoparia ambigualis, var, ............+++ 22 PIMPE@MICHOFMIS ... 20... 6260s. ... cca cne 21 Sphinx convolvuli, 21; ligustri ...... 256 Spilosoma lubricipeda, vars. ...... 20, 165 SL 249 Pe RMMMEMADPAGL, VAT. .26.-52.5.020600cce Sa5 O00 (SCG 250 Thecla acis, 214; w-album ............ 249 Titanomis tetragona (n. sp.)............ 62 Tortrix corylana, 22; viridana ...... 187 Poxecampa pastinum ~................+. 214 Trichopteryx carpmata, viretata...... 213 Vanessa antiopa, 21, 92, 165, 187, 248, 280; io, 20, 21, 42, 248; PRONE 5s fee aaicass dcccexc: 20, 21, 92 MUMMIMMEEIELHLER OO 222.6. ccscaide coacensss van 42 Xanthorhoe pseudostinaria (n. sp.) ... 61 Zephyrus betulae, 249; quercus 211, 249 Ou 3 65 ae pal! PATASEPMMEMISINTINS io cicsiascacisadeccsesscacexs 250 Zygaena filipendulae .................000: 42 NEUROPTERA anp TRICHOPTERA. PAGE Aeschna cyanea, grandis, juncea...... 23 Agriompuelia .,2).Si202..2 29 5.0sea. 23 Anabola nervosa ; 2..{ ut oi) cali. 40 Brachytron pratense .................2.25 23 Calopterge vis@eds.. L).,lioncga.pii. 185 Chaetopteryx villosa ...................2. 40 Cordulegaster annulatus .-.............. 185 Enallagma cyathigerum ............ 23, 185 Halesus guttatipennis ©................. 40 Hemerobius marginatus ...........-... 40 Jschnura, eleeangec... 5 cae: <2 0- 23, 185 Isopteryx torrentium .................. 40 Lasiocephalus basalis .................. 40 Leptocerus commutatus ............... 40 estes spoons, . 20:2 sa55 -o7<4ac sree eae 23 Libellula fulva, 23, 185; quadri- mir eleibay:: 3) focecmenecaestas See 23 Mystacides azurea, ............cc0cc0cecces 40 Osmryluss ChrysOps | osc.3.» (8p. 8.) % » bimaculatae ag | UB ple he Ie 71 > hammella gai Gis Het 02s 5 nevinsoni Paes (=) crag) Pama g » spreta » | (spin). 7% > Wilkellae 3 (Sp. De)«, 40 THYSANURA. Campodea devoniensis Bagnall (sp.u.) 277 33 gardneri 2 (sp. n.) 110 en giardi Silvestri ...cccoorerece EEL 33 grassii 3” @ocecerceseceree ; 1 1 I " meinerti Bagnall (sp. n.)... 157 ; (sp. n.)... 110 (sp. n.)... 158 (Spe 0.)s auriculatus Dd Perale. ee 257 » - Subcostatus ,, Uganda... 193 . bifoveatus » Ceylon 259 » subulatus » Nigeria ... 196 ; bipustulatus ,, Borneo 219 » sulcigerus » Borneo ... 256 , buckleyi 5, Hewador... 148 » sumatranus ., Sumatra. . 270 > cineticollis » Amazons.. 147 ,» tetrastigma. 4 Assam ..9) 22a + erassicornis » Penang... 260 i frmibabis ,», Trinidad ... 189 5 curvipes » Assam ... 266 , validus » White Nile. 194 5, ¢yphonoides » Burma ... 269 » vittifrons »» Sierra ,» decemguttatus ,, S. India.. 220 Leone ... 195 » decemnotatus ,, Perak, etc. 223 » zambesianus » Zambesi ... 193 > dichrous >, Borneo... 260 | Staphylinus bryanti Cameron, Ceylon 104 > dispersus 3, Brazl ... 191 | Stenus confluens a India. 103 » ephippiatus » Borneo... 222 | Sysciophthalmus crawshayi Champion > excavatus > a Ue Tierra del Fuego (=Anomoph- » flavocinctus » te ae | thalmus insolitus Fairm.) ...35, 64 > favoguttatus » » --- 220 | Thoracochirus exasperatus, Cameron, > Havomaculatus ,, Brazil... 146 Bornes 169 > Hlavomarginatus ,, Antilles . 190 " umbilicatus, Camzron, » favonotatus » Borneo... 222 | (Borneo 169 > Horesianus » Flores ... 264 ;, forticornis > Braal ... 190 » helodinus ,»Br.H. Africa 196 > helvolus 5 poral... 191 >, holosericeus » Borneo... 268 HEMIPTERA. » lacunosus - Aki Loe GENERA. ;, laevicollis » Brazt ... 192 | NropiostromsBus Mwir ......... 174, 204 > longiusculus Borneo... 20). | PSHUDOMELEITA, 5, | halsvktic. 174, 204 > Iutens » Brawl ... 148 | Symrpra Me teste ake wer 234 > Malayanus bere. 267 > matanganus » Borneo... 269 SPECIES. > melanurus $i » «+ 271 | Derbe championi Muir, Panama 230 > melas i, UG, «..5 AO: | » fowleri me Guatemala 230 b uaa SPECIES. Diospolis annetti Muir, Nigeria ...... Herpis aburiensis _,, Notonecta halophila Edwards, Britain Pamendanga distanti Muir, 202 203 Ceylon - grahami ,, Ashantietc. a pseudoabscissa Muir, Sula Patara pattersoni Mwir, Gold Coast Phenice neavei es Nyasaland Proutista pseudodecisa Muir, Australia . 177 i wilemani Mwir, Formosa ... Pyrrhoneura mlanjensis Mwir, Nyasaland Robigus pattersoni Muir, Gold Coast Symidia flava » Br.Guiana Gold Joast E. Africa . Ceylon Zoraida aburiensis ,, » distanti es » kirkaldyi x » Yridleyi » Singapore. » Wwallacei 39 » LEPIDOPTERA. Aletia empyrea Hudson, N. Zealand . Parectopa zorionella Hudson, N. Zealand 62 Gold Coast... 236 58 | SPECIES. PAGE Sabatinca aurella Hudson, N. Zealand 62 Titanomis tetragona ,, 62 Xanthorhoe pseudostinaria Hudson, N. Zealand 61 STREPSIPTERA. Halictoxenus arnoldi Perkins, Britain 107, 108 = eylindrici Perkins, Britain 75, 108 se tumulorum Perkins, Britain 75, 108 Stylops analis Perkins, Britain ...... 73 ,5 bimaculatae Perkins, Britain 69, 71 ,» hammella et 69, 71 5 nevinsoni ee 69, 71 s spreta a a 73 , wilkellae ee 69, 70 THYSANURA. Campodeadevoniensis Bagnall, Britain 277 e gardneri “= nf 110 s meinerti , ms ty silvestri et. - 110 - wallacei = at 158 3 westwoodi 9 a gone bb bob Ee ITAN ATION OF SEE Ar. British Stylopidae (see pp. 67-76). ERR ACTA . Page 158, line 16 from bottom, for “larvae” read “ larva.” io 4. LO. ,, » jor “Zaraiwa” read “ ZORAIDA.” » 210, , 13 ,, top, for “ HucONOoNOsOMA” read “ KUCONOSOMA.” » 249, , 5 ,, top, for “‘ Epinephile” read “ Epinephele.” meet, . o& ,, bottom,for “conxex” read “convex.” r] » 279, 5 20 ,, top, for “hypogygium” read ‘“ hypopygium.” i ois ENTOMOLOGIST’S MONTHLY MAGAZINE: / nee . { Mj QU: My Beige cof: eG ANe 2 § (THIRD SERIES, VOL. IV.] 202 STUDIES IN RHYNCHOPHORA* BY D. SHARP, M.A., F.R.S. 3.— THe BRITISH RED APIONS. The species of the genus Apzon are much in need of a careful study. The genus, as at present understood, is very extensive. Herr Hans Wagner has devoted much attention to it, and we are indebted to him for a catalogue of Apionidae (published in 1910 by W. Junk) in which exactly 1000 species are assigned to the genus Apzon. This is, however, probably not one-tenth of those existing in the world. I have recently had occasion to study the genitalia of a few species, and I find so much difference in the construction of this important mechanism that I have no doubt the genus will be divided into numerous genera when these parts are well studied and comprehended. Apion, however, offers special difficulties, not only because of the minute size of the creatures, but also on account of the peculiar construc- tion of the parts in question. I am mentioning this, not because I have any intention of attempting to develop this study at present, but rather because Herr Wagner, who has attempted to use these characters, has not met with much success. He has recently published a paper (Miinchen. Kol. Zeitschr. iii, 1906, p. 199), entitled [translated] “Is Apion cruentatum Walton to be separated asa species from Apion frumentarium Payk.?” He tells us that he has studied the male characters of 60 specimens from Bohemia, and an equal number from other countries, and as a result he finds that the two forms should not be considered distinct. At the same time he * Continued from Vol. LIII, pp. 100-108, May 1917. _} I have the pleasure of thanking Commander Walker for sending me many fresh specimens of Apion for dissection. A 2 [January, admits that he is not satisfied with this conclusion, and in his catalogue of the genus he gives the two as distinct. His study of the aedeagus is not, however, adequate. I have been engaged for more than a year in examining the male characters in Rhynchophora, and I find that the best specifie characters are those of the internal sac. Wagner does not allude to this part of the strué- ture at all. Besides this, in Apion the tegmen offers very important characters, and no attempt to deal with these has been made, beyond allusion to the length of the ‘‘ Paramerenplatte” and some slight remarks as to the ‘‘ Paramerengabel.” The study of the sac in Rhynchophora is of the first importance, as I have remarked, but it is attended by great difficulties which attain their maximum in the genus we are discussing. The sac in Rhyncho- phora is often very long, and when not evaginated projects anteriorly much beyond the chitinous tube in which it is invaginated (the median lobe of Sharp and Muir, the penis of many writers). In order to study it, it must be evaginated, and this I have not succeeded as yet in doing in any Apion; the median lobe is usually long and slender in the genus and the sac is entirely occluded within it. It must therefore be long before we can understand this structure in Apion; anyone who can give an account of it in even a single species of the genus will be making an important contribution to its study. The species of many genera of Rhynchophora are in a very unsatis- factory state of discrimination, and this I am convinced is largely due to the want of satisfactory and thorough study of the genitalia.} I make these remarks because the work of so good and truthful an entomologist as Herr Wagner is as it stands a serious discouragement to a necessary and all-important study. The difficulties of carrying out such work in a thorough and conclusive manner are in the ease of Apion extremely great, but they must be overcome by skill and patience. At present the investigation of the sex characters by even the best writers on the subject is inadequate. We are all beginners. Schilsky and others have proposed about 25 subgenera of the great genus Apion. Most of these are arbitrary and are enumerated but not adopted in Wagner’s Catalogue. I find in examining the genitalia of our British species such important differences among them, as to leave no doubt that several good genera exist. One of Schilsky’s sub- genera, H’rythrapion, is the subject of this paper, and it is one of the groups that can, I believe, be accepted as a good genus. Schilsky established his subgenus on the colour, which, although very remarkable, 1918.] 3 is perhaps scarcely sufficient. Wagner has since pointed out that these red species possess a remarkable process on the tegmen which he calls “spornférmig.” This spur is a very important character, but I find that it exists also in the subgenus Protapion of Schilsky ( flavipes, dissimile, etc.). Protapion is perhaps the nearest ally of Erythrapion, but is no doubt sufficiently distinct. I therefore propose Erythrapion as a valid genus with the following preliminary definition :— ERYTHRAPION Schilsky, Kaf. Eur. xliii, 1906, p- Vi. Color rufus. Aedeagus temonibus articulatis ; tegmine elongato, apice haud diviso, ciliato, anterius processu libero. Spiculum gastrale minutum. —Seg- mentum ultimum ventrale medio profunde emarginato. Vesica occulta. As regards the distinction of Apion frumentarium and cruentatum, I may merely remark that the failure to distinguish them satisfactorily arises from each of the two being really composite, so that a further analysis is essentia] :— Key to British Species. 1. Dorsum of abdomen pale yellow, concolorous ............ =p 4 o in larger part black ...... te eee ec 2. Wings elongate ............ Nie bt! i sae OF. BLS He ee 3. 0 Rye) AEs OE TN Soe Oe NS BP ee A ag a destideratum. “05 se PME Ne NRT aia: We or ols minatum. | Be te ne ee as Rye hose). 4, 4. Rostrum not longer than thorax ............ ME Ee eee 1D. ps RRP PME NOU END ce soe ha ss ois nce aes GL a, \ipaxeeylindric ...-.....:.... nh Aiea ce Eka eC oe eee cruentatum, » conico-cylindric ..... ERC ee ee ers oi . .fraudator. 6. Size small, rostrum strongly curved:. ...............0.. . .7Tubens. meueareer, .,' léss strangely €urved. 22.5.2.) Pip § .. .sanguineum. neem. ae. Sh SA lk ten nia or . .frumentarium. » abbreviate (not longer than elytra) .............. . .brachypterum. 1.—Erythrapion minizatum Germar. This is the largest and most beautifully coloured of our species ; the sexes are very much alike. The female has the rostrum just evidently longer and more slender than the male; in the latter sex the length of the rostrum is about the same as from the front of the eyes to the front of the thorax, in the female it is very slightly longer; in each sex it is strongly curved. The form of the head is scarcely different in the two. The abdominal segments readily distinguish the two. however; the terminal one is flat in the female, convex in the male, the 2nd segment is a little longer in the female and its hind margin is less perpendicular. 9 4 (January, The male structures are very remarkable. The last (true) ventral plate is very deeply emarginate, but not divided into two. The median lobe is like that of no other; it has a dilated lower lip forming a broad plate ; the tube is usually laterally compressed, but is capable of much expansion, two ridges run along its upper face, which are contiguous or separate over the orifice, according to the amount of distention; a very delicate process can be seen forming the upper lip of the median orifice when the orifice is expanded, but usually this process is pressed down and cannot be seen; the struts are long in comparison to the length of the lobe itself, being nearly as long as the two ridges previously men- tioned. The cap-piece of the tegmen is ample but not elongate and is ciliate at the extremity; the anterior process is elongate. In the female the spermatheca appears to be of unusual form, being much coiled, but as I have only one mount of it I cannot satisfactorily appreciate its characters. I have several mounts of the aedeagus; the one from which the characters are chiefly drawn is No. 364. In this the sac (before the mount was made) was partially extruded, but has become indrawn subsequently. This species appears to be rather common on the larger species of Rumex in England, but I have seen none of it from Scotland. 2.—Erythrapion desideratum, sp. ni. Rufum, haud nitidum, subtiliter pubescens, fortiter punctatum, thorace medio medrocriter dilatato; alis perbrevibus. Long. cum rostro, 33-38% mm. Rather larger and more robust than £. cruentatum, of a duller red, equally strongly punctured, the prothorax more dilated in the middle. The abdominal segments are pure yellow, and the wings are very short, almost triangular in form. The rostrum is very stout, and the eyes are widely separated. The aedeagus is very like that of F. crwentatum but is more robust, and the ridges forniing the margins of the trough (of the median lobe) appear to be more thickened: the little swelling at the tip of the median lobe is rather larger ; the cap-piece of the tegmen is very symmetrically formed, with an elliptically rounded tip bearing long cilia. Arran, Aug. 1864, 1 ex.; Claygate, Aug. 1865, 2 exs.; Thornton and Dysart, June 1866, 2 exs.; Cambridge, Oct. 1866, 2 exs.; Cairn Water, Dumfries, April 1868, 4 exs.; Thornhill, July 30th, 1868, 1 ex. ; also 2 specimens of which I neglected to note the source; they were probably given to me many years ago as cruentatum. One female, taken at Logie, near Forres, by Dr. Jenkinson (27. ix. 1909), probably belongs here, though it has the head differently shaped. 1918.] On 3.—Erythrapion cruentatum Walton. This species differs from £. miniatum by its smaller size (long. cum rostro 3 mm.) and by the thorax being almost cylindrical, scarcely dilated in the middle. The punctuation of the head is coarse, that of the thorax very dense but a little finer. The sexes are very much alike, in both the rostrum is short and much curved ; it is a little longer in the female, but scarcely longer than the thorax. The aedeagus has been figured and discussed by Herr Hans Wagner (Miinchen. Kol. Zeitschr. iu, 1906, p.199), but it is necessary to make some remarks on his views, though I do so with reluctance, as H. cruentatum is a rare species with me, and I have not been able to ascertain some of the points of importance. Wagner is, however, incorrect in figuring the struts of the median lobe as continuous with the body of the lobe; they are articulated thereto just as the fork of the tegmen is articulated with the cap-piece, as is correctly shown by Wagner; moreover, the tegmen is represented in a very inadequate manner ; in order to show it properly it should be dissected away from the median lobe. Herr Wagner takes so much pains with his work and is so truthful that it is a pity his efforts should be frustrated by defective methods; and I cannot say whether his figure of “‘ crwentatum” aedeagus refers to cruentatum, desideratum, or some other species. I believe the species I call erwentatum is probably that which Walton had before him, but his description is so short that this can only be ascer- tained with certainty by examination of his types, and I do not know where they are, or even if they have been preserved. The only localities I can give with certainty for crwentatum as understood by me are Brockenhurst and Oxford (Commander Walker),* at both of which it occurs in company with #. frumentarium. No doubt it and desideratum are mixed in British collections, and this may not improbably have been the case with Walton. 4.—Erythrapion fraudator, sp. n. Pallide rufum, abdomine concolori; alis elongatis. Long. cum rostro 3 mm. This is easily distinguished from EH. frumentarium by the quite pallid dorsal segments. As I have not detected any other ditterence between the two it is useless attempting a long description. * The very distinct red Apion, which I have hitherto regarded as E. eruentatum, is found sparingly at Oxford by sweeping rank marsh-herbage in summer and autumn, as well as in damp tuits of grass and flood-refuse in winter. I believe its food-plant in this locality to be the common sorrel (Rumex acetosa), and that it only occurs accidentally in the dry situations affected by E. frumentarium and other species of the group.—J. J. W. 6 (January, I have seen only four specimens. Two males and a female have been standing in my series of fruwmentartum tor many years, and I have no locality for them. The fourth specimen, from Shirley Warren, Southampton, I have lost by an unfortunate accident. " I may here notice an example from Arran in which the dorsal seg- ments are of a rather dirty yellow colour. I believe it will prove to be another species, as the aedeagus is extremely slender, especially the apical part. 5.—Erythrapion frumentarium Payk. This name includes several forms, some of which may be good species. Its diagnostic characters in Britain are the black dorsal plates ot the abdomen and the long perfectly developed wings. In our country it is distinct from erwentatum Walt., and from desideratum, described above. Schilsky and Wagner have, however, failed to distinguish them on the Continent. The rostrum is short, stout, curved, in the male about as long as the thorax, in the female a little longer; in the female the eyes are a little shorter in front and rather more prominent than they are in the male. The thorax is slender, a little broader at the base than at the front margin, and slightly swollen across the middle. In each sex the length of the neck is about equal to that of the eye. If all the individuals I assign to it are really one species (as to which I have some doubts) it is decidedly variable. Large females have a distinctly longer and more coarsely punctate neck; but the sexual differences in these parts are decidedly variable.* This renders it easy to make a mistake as to the sex in some cases, but a reference to the very dliferent shape of the abdomen in the two at once removes this difficulty. ~The median lobe of the aedeagus is long and slender, almost pointed | at the tip but with a minute incrassation there; the struts are rather long, quite half the length of the body of the lobe; the cap-piece of the tegmen is but little elongate, and its cilia seem to be very minute. The species is fairly common from the north of Scotland (Nethy Bridge) to the south of England. It occurs on Teucerium scorodonia as well as on Rumex acetosella. * Speaking of A. spencei, Walton says “the prominence of the eye, and consequent narrowness of the forehead yaries considerably in both sexes, but surprisingly so in the female,” Ent. Mag. y, 1837, p. 13. 1918.] 7 6.—Lrythrapion brach ypterum, sp. n. Pallide rufum, abdonunis segmentis dorsalibus nigris; alis abbreviatis. Long. cum rostro 23-3 mm. I see no good distinction from E. frumentarium beyond the abbre- viated wings ; these are somewhat variable in length and shape, and till a thorough study of the aedeagus, including the sac, shall be made, the status of the form must be doubtful. The aedeagus is extremely like that of #. frumentarium. In the most successful of several mounts we have made, the cilia at the apex of the tegmen are very conspicuous. #. brachypterum is a common insect at Brockenhurst, and I believe it lives on Rumesx acetosella. It also occurs at Poole and Oxford. 7.—Erythrapion rubens Stephens. This species is well known. It has the rostrum rather longer in each sex than frumentarium. The dorsum of the abdomen is pale yellow. The aedeagus is very delicate, comparatively short, and has a very slender apex; the articulated portion of the struts of the median lobe is short, but is rather longer than the unarticulated part of the sides of the body that looks like a continuation of the struts. The cap-piece of the tegmen is very delicate, elongate, and with a delicate chitinous strip on each side at the tip, that may possibly be agglutinated cilia. HE. rubens occurs, with brachypterum, on Rumex acetosella at Brockenhurst, and Commander Walker has found it freely on Tewcrium at Oxford. 8.—Erythrapion sanguineum De Geer. I have never met with this species, and am indebted to my friend Commander Walker for my specimens. It is a larger insect than rubens, with a longer and less curved rostrum. The aedeagus is very like that of rubens, with a long cap-piece. The very minute incrassation at the tip of the median lobe is turned downwards, not upwards as in other species. This is indicated in the figure given by Wagner, Miinchen. Kol. Zeitschr. 11, p. 202. Brockenhurst. October 12th, 1917. 8 (January, THE LIFE-HISTORY OF SCYMNUS CAPITATUS F. BY GILBERT J. ARROW, F.E.S. Although the little Coccinellid beetles of the genus Scymnus are very numerous in almost all parts of the world and fourteen species are known in this country, scarcely anything seems to be recorded as to their life- history, and I believe no figure of a larva exists except the extremely crude representations by Réaumur of the “ hérisson” or “ barbet blanc” which there is no means of identifying with any particular species. ‘The second name (meaning “ white poodle”) is quite appropriate, but the soft woolly covering does not produce the least resemblance to a hedge- hog. Sharp, in the “ Cambridge Natural History,” states that the larvae of Scymnus have small depressions on the surface from which it has been ascertained that waxy se¢retions exude. During the past summer I have found larvae of Scymnus capitatus at Tooting, in company with Con- wentzia psociformis, upon oaks infested with Phylloxera, upon which both were preying. It is interesting to notice that the two predaceous insects are both characterized by the property of exuding a waxy secre- tion, the beetle in the larval, and the Neuropteron in the adult stage. In Scymnus capitatus the waxy substance forms a complete covering upon the upper surface, the head and legs alone being without it, and in the resting position these also are concealed by the projecting tufts. When active the white masses upon each segment are separated just enough to allow free movement to the body, although the movements are always slow, After moulting, the animal is greyish and naked, but the secretion begins to appear again immediately. Seen without its covering the larva resembles those of Coccinella and Adalia, but is less tapering in form. The feeding- habits are also practically the same. Fabre mentions a “barbet” of undetermined spécies which he found on the ground beneath terebinth-trees, feeding upon Aphidae fallen from above, but the one I have repre- sented here was invariably upon the leaves of oak. Larva of Scymnus The method of pupation is very peculiar. The ee larvae fix themselves by the hind extremity, as in other Coccinellidae, and in little groups of two or three, generally in some hollow upon a slightly withered leaf. The body becomes contracted and assumes a nearly circular shape, but beyond this there is no apparent change, The cottony mass forms a complete covering for the pupa as for the larva. The larval skin shrinks back and leaves the pupal envelope applied closely to this protecting coat, 1918.) : 9 from which it cannot be separated, The beetle eventually emerges (after a period of about a fortnight), not by the pupal skin splitting. along the back as usual, but from the ventral side, the dorsal part remaining entire and inseparably attached tu the waxy covering. It is interesting to notice that before attaining the fully mature condition the freshly developed beetle passes through stages of pig- mentation, which are represented in allied species of Scymnus. First of a uniform reddish-yellow colour it shortly after begins to darken upon the posterior part of the pronotum and the anterior part of the elytra, as in S. haemorrhoidalis, and, finally, the terminal part of the elytra, and, in the female, the greater part of the pronotum, also become black. Like many of the small Coccinellidae belonging to the same group, the male and female beetles are differently coloured, the former being decorated with yellow patches, which are not found in the latter. 9 Rossdale Road, Putney, S.W. Nov. 1917. THE EGG-LAYING OF CLADIUS VIMINALIS Fauwen. BY T. A. CHAPMAN, M.D., F.Z.S. The few saw-flies of whose egg-laying I know anything present some that lay their eggs superficially on leaves, closely related to others that lay their eggs in shallow grooves; at the other extreme, several, such as Pteronus pini and sertifer, make deep hollows by turning out the excavated material. Intermediate between these are those in which J have most interested myself, that lay their eggs in pockets formed by raising merely the delicate cuticle of the leaves or stems. Owing to the transparency of the thin cuticle the action of the saws in forming the pockets is not difhicult to see. I have described what I could see in the cases of Zrichiosoma and Cimbex and also in Phymatocera.* Cladius viminalis lays its eggs in a siunilar manner and the details of the procedure differ in a few particulars only from those noted in the above-named species. On May 27th, 1917, I put several newly-emerged females of C. viminalis on some twigs of Black Poplar, and on the 28th I found that eggs had been laid on the petioles of six leaves. It has long been known as the habit of the species to lay the eggs in the petioles. On * Trans. Ent. Soe. Lond. 1914, p. 173; Ent. Record, xxvii, p. 145; Proc. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1916, pp. liii, lxvii; and Mr. Morice’s Presideutial Address, Ent. Soc, Lond. 1911. 10 [January, examining these petioles it seemed to be clear that the fly laid her eggs on either side of the leaf-stalk, but always from the upper margin, but on the 29th, a fly having been induced to lay on a fresh petiole, she was seen to do so from the under margin; from this, and further obser- vations, it appears that the margin selected is a matter of accident or convenience, and that the margin that happens to be uppermost is most likely to be used. The petioles of the leaves of this poplar are flattened from side to side, especially towards the leaf where they are very deep, from upper to lower margins, but narrower than nearer the stem. They are therefore rather flat on each side, so that the laying is under a flat, rather than a curved, surface. The middle of the petiole is the selected portion, the more rounded base and very thin end being avoided. The two sides are indifferently occupied. ‘The six leaves above referred to presented the following as the numbers of eggs laid on each side :— 8-11, 10-10, 9-9, 12-24, 7-0, 8-5. The eggs vary a little in their spacing, each fills a separate pocket, each pocket is about 1°5 mm. (measured along petiole), and the space between pockets may be from 0-7 to 1-0 mm. In the process of laying the cuticle is pierced at the upper (or lower) margin of the side of the petiole by the sharp tip of the saw. The saw advances very rapidly, keeps all the time close under the cuticle, going first straight down and then curving up, just as in Zrichtosoma, or Phymatocera, till it is directed forwards from the opening of entry, and then the egg is laid in the same apparently magic way as in those genera. During the laying the terebra retreats to the position of first complete entry and is then withdrawn. ‘The insect then advances a step to the position for the next pocket—the whole process is much more rapid than in the other species referred to. The saws seem to be always quite straight and have an extremity narrowing to a sharp point. This dagger-like point makes the first entry and continues the first straight advance, but the widening to take the whole width of the terebra is done by the margin of the saws, and practically the whole of the cutting, as the terebra sweeps round to form the cavity of the pocket, is done by the margins of the saws. In pene- trating, the points of the saws advance and retreat in relation to the supports, and the points of each saw advance alternately; this alternate advance seems to have less amplitude than their combined advance and retreat. It may be described better, perhaps, by saying that the two saws advance together and then retreat, but at one advance one saw is in front, in the next the other, and so on alternately. The sharp stiletto of the saws is thrust a long way beyond the support and then withdrawn, 1918.) | 11 and there is a twinkling in the upper part of the saws demonstrating that they also advance and retreat alternately. The cuticle of the petioles is very minutely wrinkled, so that the view of the parts is not quite so clear as in Zrzchiosoma, as well as their being smaller, so that one cannot always be as positive as to what one sees as in that genus. It is just possible that the saws advance alternately beyond the supports— in fact, they certainly do so; the doubt is as to whether the other saw hardly moves when its fellow advances or whether it accompanies for about half the amplitude of the movement. The great difference between Cladius and Trichiosoma is that in the latter the saws curve round the end of the support, but do not leave it in their to-and-fro. movements, and the cutting is done by the margins of the curved extremities ; in Cladzuws the saws in their to-and-fro movements keep straight, go beyond the supports and do the penetration, but not the widening of the cutting by their sharp points. It is, perhaps, curious that the oviposition should take place equally on each side of the petiole; it is, possibly, because it is well to make the most of a suitable one; before settling down to ovipositing, the fly walked up and down the petiole and went more than once round the leat, and would appear to bite the surface close to the petiole, not, however, breaking the surface; it was probably a test as to whether the sub- cuticular cell-walls were tender and ata stage at which they could be easily cut by the terebra. The selected leaves were always fully developed, but only just so, younger and older being refused, though at this date the tree afforded few leaves that one could suppose to be over- mature. This biting of the leaf as some sort of test of the petiole reminds me of the action of the larva of Cerura vinula, and of some other larvae, that before beginning to eat a leaf would often strongly _ pinch the petiole close to the leaf, but without biting it—that is, not breaking the surface. Reigate. Dec. 3rd, 1917. THE EMERGENCE OF TRICHIOSOMA TIBIALE FROM ITS COCOON. BY T. A. CHAPMAN, M.D., F.Z.S. I reared a number of larvae of this species in hope of making some further observatious as to parthenogenesis in Zrzchiosoma. In the case of this species, and in Cimbex sylvarum, the observations so far are that the females begin to lay as soon as they emerge, but after a time, and while still with a considerable egg-content, they refuse to lay 12 [January, any more. All these eggs produce males; the conclusion is that the female now wishes to pair, and will thereafter lay eggs producing females; but one wants observation in addition to inference, and so far I have not succeeded in getting any pairings in these saw-flies On May 10th, 1917, already a large number (all males) of Trichio- ‘soma tibiale (hawthorn) had emerged from the cocoons afforded by larvae reared last summer. The process of emergence from the cocoon was observed in a number of instances. To find an emerging fly, one listens to the jar conta‘ning the cocoons, and, if one is emerging, the crackle of the jaws of the fly on the cocoon is heard, and a search soon finds the cocoon involved. If all goes well, the whole process does not take many minutes. The cutting off of the lid is, of course, done by the jaws, but not in the way one presupposes; the first thing to attract one’s attention is that the slit is freely bathed by some liquid, sometimes plentiful enough to wet some of the outer surface of the cocoon and always to wet a good deal of the head of the fly, probably inevitable, as in the revolution of the fly in cutting the whole circle, the back and other portions of the head touch the surface already cut on the side opposite to that being cut at the time. The next point is that the jaws do not act by gnawing, as one might, indeed, have concluded from their structure, being sharp- pointed and not constructed for gnawing; the lid is also evidently cut off. But it is not cut by ascissors-action of the jaws, as would seem to be a very probable method of action from the pointed ends and sharp inner eqlges. The actual process is that the point of one jaw is thrust through the cocoon (softened by the fluid ?) up to the first of the two teeth on the inner edge, the point of the other jaw engages the inner surface of the cocoon several millimetres back and at a point towards which the cutting-jaw is drawn, and in being so drawn the cocoon is cut in the required direc- tion by the sharp edge, just beyond the teeth and apparently also by the edge of the first (and at times, second ?) tooth, the line of cocoon to be cut falling into the angle between the tooth and the forward inner cutting-margin of the jaw. The incision is thus made by one jaw only, in much the same way as paper or cloth is sometimes cut by a pair of scissors, when they are not used as scissors, but the two blades remaining unmoved as regards each other, the paper is cut at the angle between them, or really by the edges of the two blades where they meet, but by a knife, not a scissors, action—a futile procedure unless the paper is firmly held, as the cocoon is by the other jaw. A certain portion being 1918.) 13 thus cut, the fulerum jaw is released and takes a fresh pocnt @appui a little further back and the process is repeated. It seems immaterial which jaw takes which function, as I saw first one and then the other used for cutting. This came about by an accident that sometimes happens. As a rule, the circle cutting off the lid is fairly good and the end of the -eutting meets almost exactly the point at which it began. But this is not always so, and in two or three instances a failure so to meet led the insect to make other tentative incisions, in some of which it operated towards the right, in others to the left. It may be asked how I knew what the jaw in the interior of the cocoon was doing. I ascertained this first by inference, as the end of one mandible only appeared externally, and it pressed on doing all the cutting, the other Jaw being unaccounted for. But towards the end of the process I was able to raise the lid sufficiently to see the modus operandi from the interior. This did not prevent the fly from continuing the process as if undisturbed. Never- theless, in several cases, a beginning to cut the lid was stopped, I could only suppose from my moving the cocoon. When the process was well advanced, the moving of the cocoon to examine the process in action did not lead to any cessation in the operation. ‘The whole process when all goes well takes very few minutes. In one case, however, the lid had been spun rather solidly against a curve of the twig against which the cocoon was fixed, and so the lid did not lift off, and this led to long delay in getting out; finally, the lid was partly cut, partly forced loose from the twig. I met, in this instance, with a curious feature: I forced up the lid sufficiently for the insect to emerge, but it refused to do so, but continued to work at the lid attachment. I experimented in two other instances, offering, by forcing up the not quite separated lid, an easy means of egress, but the inmates would have none of it, but kept on cutting, at once emerging when this was completed. This instinct to complete their task in the proper way gave me a very satisfactory opportunity of seeing the method of working from the inside. Reigate. Dec. 3rd, 1917. On the introduction of Insect Aliens to the British Isiunds—During a perusal of the December issue of this Magazine * my attention was arrested by some remarks by Mr. I. E. Green on the capture of certain exotic butter- flies in the south of England, conjectured by him to haye been deliberately * Ent. Mo. Mag, liii, 1917, p. 278. 14 (January, released in this country, or the descendants of such invited colonists. Now my purpose in alluding to this note is not to discuss whether Mr. Green’s hypothesis may or may not be correct, but to consider for a moment his state-_ ment that, “should these two butterflies (Laertzas philenor and Papilio bianor) actually gain a footing in the south of England it will be a matter for con- eratulation,” and his implied encomium on the action which may have led to such a result. I must confess that to me it appears very questionable whether entomologists are justified, however great the pleasure to be derived from a contemplation of such beautiful insects, in thus interfering with and modifying the natural fauna of any insular area such as the British Islands. For it be- comes at once obvious that were such methods of colonization adopted to any considerable or successful extent, it would, by the introduction of quite mis- leading and illusive factors, render completely fallacious any theories as regards distribution which may in the future be erected on what might be supposed to represent the autochthonous fauna of Britain. Of course it may be replied that these butterflies in question are so conspicuously unlike any British species, that even if they did become permanently established here no Lepidopterist could ever mistake them for anything but what they would be—introduced aliens--even if there existed no printed record of their introduction by Mr. Cecil Floersheim or other similar liberator. It is the principle involved, however, which [ am now questioning and not this particular application of it, and students of other Orders will, I think, easily realize how hopeless would be the attempt to construct any credible theory of faunistic distribution, past land connections, submerged Continental areas, and so on, topics to which that great entomologist Dr. Russel Wallace has devoted one of his most interesting volumes, had a century ago some enthusiast imported from other lands and set free in suitable areas in this country various species of his special Order, be- cause their beauty might gratify the eye or excite the interest of generations to come. The same argument would, of course, hold good as regards the flora of any insulated area; but the damage (if damage it be) has already been to a large extent done in this country, and all botanists are aware how difficult it is now for many of our apparently native plants to vindicate their claim to be in reality autochthonic. Possibly the question niay be regarded by many ento- mologists as too trivial to be worth discussion ; I am, however, not entirely convinced that this is so, and am tempted to write this brief note in the hope that it may elicit the opinion of biologists better fitted to judge of the subject on its merits than I may be—W. HK. Surarp, Crowthorne, Berks: Dec. 15th, 1917. Cryptophagus Ipvendali Ganglbauer in Richmond Park.—In one of the enclosures in Richmond Park is a large dead oali-tree, in which I have ocea- sionally found the remains of Megapenthes tibiahs during the past ten years. I visit it several times every year, hoping eventually to find perfect specimens, In August last I noticed that a strong colony of Vespa germanica had esta- blished its nest in this tree, the wasps entering and leaving it by a small hole about ten feet from the ground, situated behind a large projecting piece of the trunk. Having determined to take the nest after the wasps had died off (such places being very good traps for beetles), I set out on November 20th, armed with a saw and digger. After cutting away the projecting wood, the nest—a yery large one—was exposed in a hollow of the tree. The whole nest, with 1918.] 15 the débris behind and beneath it, was collected into a bag and taken home for examination. The contents of the bag were shaken through a sieve, and large numbers of Cryptophagi, small beetle larvae (of the same ?), and a few speci- mens of Coninomus nodifer were found to be present. ‘The remains of the nest with the larvae have been placed in a large glass-bowl for rearing-purposes. The Cryptophagi collected (some 80 in number) all belong to one species, with the exception of six C. scanicus L., and one of its var. patruelis Stm. After carefully studying the more abundant species I came to the conclusion they were C. lovendali Ganglbauer. It will be remembered that Mr. Champion, who introduced this species to the British list (Ent. Mo. Mag. xliv. 1908, p. 123), captured two specimens in July 1907, among a number of Cryptophagt taken in a hollow in a beech-tree in the New Forest. Having asked him to compare a number of my specimens with the New Forest ones, he has kindly done so, and he says he considers them to be J¢vendali. My specimens vary much in size, ranging from 1:8-2°5 mm. in length, and in colowr with nearly black elytra and dark red head and thorax, to ail dark, or lighter, red, Ganglbauer considered C. lgvendali to be a variety of C. pubescens Stm., but I agree with Champion and Deville (/. c.) that it must be treated as specifically distinct. From C. pubescens it may be known by the three-jointed club to the antennae, the thorax more rounded at the base, and the darker colour. C. pubes- cens is generally found in wasps’ nests--I used to take it freely in such situations at Chiddiugfold (Ent. Rec. x, 1898, p. 307)-—but this is no reason why it should be considered to be the typical form of /pvendali. From C. seanicus it may be known by its duller surface, coarser puncturation, thorax much less sharply narrowed at the base, somewhat narrower 9th antennal joint, and shorter antennae and legs. Out of all my specimens not more than twelve are quite perfect ; most have lost one leg, or one antenna, or parts of them, and others are much more mutilated. Butler (Ent. Mo. Mag. xxxii, 1896, p. 89) referred to similar numbers of C. pubescens, sent to him by Tuck from wasps’ nests, being mutilated, but he expressed the opinion that the injuries were not caused by the wasps. Morley (Ent. Mo. Mag. xxxv, 1899, p. 256) wrote a note on the same point, having found that a number of C. lycoperdi Hbst., carefully collected from a “ puff-ball,” were similarly mutilated. All my specimens when captured were at once put into laurel, being picked up by means of a fine damp paint-brush. I am of opinion that the beetles unintentionally bite off bits of their fellows’ legs and antennae when feeding close together.—H. Sr J. DonisTHoRPE, 19 Hazlewell Road, Putney Hill, London, 8.W.15: Dec. 12th, 1917. Further notes on the larva of Byrrhus pilula L.--In view of Mr. Champion’s article on the larva of this species in the last number of the Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine, the following notes may be of interest. In January, 1914, I found several examples of the larva of Byrrhus pilula I.. under mossy turf at Loosley Row, near Princes Risborough, Bucks. They were identified from Westwood's figure, and, in addition, two specimens of the perfect insect occurred with them. ‘The larve were always to be seen under turf near the top of a small bank, and when taken appeared to be hibernating, for each was inert and found in a small round earthen cell. They soon became active, however, and were several times observed to be gnawing erass roots. From the size of the specimens I should say that they were half-grown. Anu attempt 16 (January, to rear the larvae failed, for they soon became sickly and gradually shrivelled up without actually dying, but so as to spoil them absolutely for preservation as specimens.—MicuHarL G. L. Perkrns (Cadet R.G.A.), 4 Dean’s Yard, Westminster Abbey, 8.W.: Dec. 15th, 1917. Swarms of butterflies —The “ Entomological News” for October, 1917, con- tains a very interesting accountof the swarming of two species of butterflies in Texas, by Mr. J. L. Bernheim. It is as follows:—“ On Sept. 4th, 1916, and for several days following, near Eagle Pass, Texas, the air was fairly alive with swarms of Libythea bachmanni (Snout butterfly), which were flying towards the north. They occupied a strip about a mile wide eastward from Rio Grande, in which region the vegetation is most abundant. They extended upward as far as the eye could reach, and borne by a mild breeze from: the south, were moving quite swiftly. During this time I made several collecting trips south of Eagle Pass and at each step stirred up veritable clouds of this interesting butterfly which immediately rose in the air and started north. There were literally millions of them, and many of them had evidently com- pleted their allotted span of life as they were dropping from the air in large numbers. .... Late in October, while collecting east of Eagle Pass, I came upon a small pond upon the banks of which grew several quite large mesquite trees. These trees were almost covered with swarms of Monarchs (Anosia pleaippus). They remained until the following day, when nearly all of them left within an hour or so. Two days later the willows growing upon the bank of the Rio Grande were the resting place for a still larger swarm, some of which remained several days.” The illustration accompanying Mr. Bernheim’s note shows a swarm. of A. plevippus resting in one of these trees.—- Eps. Note on Coranus subapterus De G.—A specimen of Coranus subapterus, 9, captured by myself in August in the New Forest, was kept alive till the bezinning of October by feeding it on Aphides and Lepidopterous caterpillars. I was much interested in watching its method of attack upon a young larva of Spilosoma lubricipeda, It approached the caterpillar very cautiously, standing well up on its legs, with head raised, rostrum extended, and antennae bent, but with their tips pointing forward. ‘The whole attitude indicated caution and alertness. When near enough, it reached forward and gave the caterpillar a sudden prick with its rostrum, at once darting backward to be out of the way of the writhings of its victim, which were rapid and violent as soon as it received the puncture. Meanwhile the Coranus was intently watching, and as soon as the caterpillar became quiet, it again cautiously approached in the same attitude as before, and gave another sudden prick, again backing quickly“ out of harm’s way. As the result of this second puncture, a large drop of liquid exuded from the wound, and the caterpillar, after a few feeble struggles, . became quiescent, and was then found to be dead. The Coranus at once came up again and at leisure proceeded to suck the caterpillar, and did not leave the banquet till its own body was greatly distended and that of its victim was drained almost dry. Thus the puncture given by this Reduviid was suffi- ciently virulent to kill by two attacks, and, in less than a couple of minutes, a caterpillar quite as large as itself. { kept the insect in the hope of securing ova, and in this I was not disappointed. Shortly before its death at the end of the first week in October 1918.] | 17 it laid seven eggs ona small twig of heather which I had enclosed with it. After this effort, it seemed to become numbed, moving about slowly, and seeming to have lost the power of holding on by its claws, and then it soon died. The eggs are not inserted in the tissues of the plant, but are attached to the exterior amongst the needle-like leaves by a gummy secretion. They usually lie on one side, but some are attached by the posterior pole. They are rather striking objects, of a very dark, shiny, pitchy-brown colour, and sur- mounted by a curious whitish crown at the anterior end, which makes them somewhat conspicuous. A good description of the ova has been given by De Geer, who, however, calls them black instead of dark pitchy-brown, as mine certainly were. The shape, cylindrical and slightly curved, is very similar to that of certain Nabidae which I have been able to obtain, e.g. Nabis major and NV. rugosus, and is also not unlike that of the bed-bug, but there is more elaboration about the coronal cap. In view of the scarcity of suitable food for the young Reduviids during the winter months on an open heath such as Coranus delights in, it seems probable that eggs laid in October would remain in that condition through the winter and not hatch until the following spring.—H. A. Buruer, 14 Drylands Road, Hornsey, N. 8: Oct. 9th, 1917. Additional localities for Eriococcus devoniensis Green.—Mr. E. Ii. Green, in recording Dr. Imms’ capture cf this Coceid at Delamere, Cheshire (Ent. Mo. Mag., Nov. 1917, p. 261), refers to this as the third locality; he has evidently not seen my record of the species for two other counties—(1) Chester- le-Street, Durham (Vasculum, vol. ii, no. 3, p. 92; (2) Yorkshire (Entomolo- gist, vol. xlix, Aug. 1916, p. 173). In both instances I corrected the error with regard to the food plant. J can now add twe more counties and several other localities to its known range. It occurs in extreme abundance on every Cleve- land Moor I have visited, although there it can never exceed the numbers massed together in one limited area on Waldridge Fell, Durham. During August, 1917, I wandered over the Fells near Alston, where Cumberland and Northumberland meet, and I discovered the insect in both the counties in question—in some casks very freely. Lastly, whilst examining various Eri- caceous plants in company with my friend Bagnall in the far west of Durham, far away from its lowland habitat, I detected the insect in some numbers on L Erica tetrahx not far from Stanhope, and later in the same day near Waskerley Reservoir.—J. W. Hrstop Harrison, D.Sc., Zoological Dept., Armstrong Coilege, Newcastle-on-Tyne: Dee. 1917. A Hymenopterous note from the Eastern Front.—A small bee has made herself unpopular by building solitary cells of leaf and wax in the stethoscopes of several of the officers of the 66th General Hospital up in the mountains east of Salonika. No fewer than four of our medical officers have brought similar specimens tome. The little creature is most industrious, and one sees her crawling into the chest-piece of the stethoscope every few minutes to her cells in the rubber-tubes beyond. We have amused ourselves by detaching the chest-piece from the rubber and watching her consternation when she emerges from the forked end of the chest-piece into the light of day instead of her cell (this has been known to be varied with bets on which side she emerges from), and when she has recovered from her surprise she tries again and goes up the other tube. When the nest has been rudely extruded (in order to use B 18 . (January, the instrument she has blocked up) she starts again, and the specimen I send blocked my stethoscope on four successive days. She also makes nests in old nail-holes in wood, but I have not found her boring her own hole. We should all like to know her name.—F. THompson, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P.Lond., R.A.M.C.: September 6th, 1917. [The insect sent by Mr. Thompson to Commander Walker is a 9 of Megachile apicalis Spinola. This species is pretty common in all districts round the Mediterranean. I have taken it in Spain, 8. France, Algeria, Italy, Greece, Palestine, and Egypt. Its nearest British ally is WM. argentata F., which is also common—as well as several other species nearly related to it— throughout the Mediterranean region.—F. D. Moricz. | Diptera in 1917.—Except on two or three occasions, when the weather was uniformly unfavourable, I have only been able this year to collect in localities within easy reach of London. However, I think the following species are worth recording, as being from new localities, or sufficiently uncommon to merit attention :—Pachygaster atra Meig., Cleeve Hill, Glos., on a window, July 28th. Stratiomys potamida Meig., on Heracleum in a field at the foot of Leith Hill, Surrey, July 2nd. Beris morris Dale, 1 §, near the top of Leith Hill, July 2nd. Therioplectes tropicus Meig. var. bisignatus Jaenn., a 9, at Oxted, June 14th. TZ. distinguendus Verr., males seen in abundance on Leith Hill on July 2nd, hovering in the sun over roads, 15 or 20 in ten yards of road. I noticed them as early as 6.30 a.m. (Greenwich time), and they seemed to have disappeared by soon after 10 a.m. The males of Tabanus bromius L., were also common here, but resting on palings, never hovering. Leptogaster guttiventris Zett., one specimen on Leith Hill, July 2nd. L. eylin- drica De G., abundant near Oxted, June 14th. Dolichopus wahlbergi Zett., one male at Great Bedwyn, Wilts, July 15th. Rhaphium longicorne Fln., Epping Forest, several males in a limited locality, June 7th. Pipunculus modestus Hal., Leith Hill, July 21st. P. terminalis Thoms., oue male in Epping Forest on June 7th, also at Oxshott, Surrey, on August 16th. P. varipes Meig., Leith Hill, July 21st. P. wanthopus Thoms., one male in Epping Forest, June 7th. Chilosia praecox Zett., common at Barton Mills, May 15th. Syrphus umbel- latarum F., Oxted, August 30th. Volucella manis L., Oxshott, August 16th. Helophilus hybridus Lw., near Oxshott, August 25rd. Chrysotoxum octo- maculatum Curt., Oxted, August 50th. Microdon devius 1., near Oxted, June 14th. Alophora hemiptera F., Great Bedwyn, Wilts, one male on an Umbellifer, July 15th. ear ee ; (ae ‘ : st a q would finally become explicable by the minute application of t obvious factors. Of these the more important and omnip certainly meteorological conditions which as a causal chain oft direct and perplexingly complicated affect one or more of the sta specific Insect life; the other the intelligent operations of mankind acting through change in Environment. Pe. The recent admirable paper contributed to these pages by Mr. G. B Walsh * deals so fully with this subject that I need not further dilate upon it here, merely remarking briefly on the application of there/a ne factors in this special district. Our general remembrance of the weather of His last two ye recalls the wet and cold summer of 1916 with its few sporadic days 01 or weeks of sunshine, followed by a very severe winter, which began so early as to exclude any autumn and lasted so late as to deprive us of our 7 usual hesitating and reluctant spring, so that on its passing at the . of April we found ourselves suddenly in the temperature of midsu But as such reminiscences are often misleading for phenological pury I may perhaps be allowed to quote the definite figures issued by Meteorological Office for this district, thus :— MeraAaNn TEMPERATURE F. 1915. 1916. 1916, | 1917. | a July ... 519 | Jan. ... 34°38 July ... 58°4 | Fem eae 39-7 | Aug. ... 51°9 Feb... 33:2 | Ang. ... 61°7 | Feb. ... 33°8 Ea Sep. ... 47°5 Mar.... 373 | Sep. ... 550 | Mar... 3250) Oct... 420 | April... 41:3 Oct. ... 52:0 | April... 390 | Nov... 83 | May... 554 | Nov... 42°9 | May ... 456 Dec. ... 30:9 | June... 59:7 | Dec. ... 348 June... 46:1 RAINFALL, INCHES. 1915. 1916. 1916. | 1917. July ... 5°06 | “Jan. ... 1:22 July ... 0°6 Jan.’ <, ane Aug. ... 2°70 Feb. ... 416 | Aug..,. 51 Feb. ... 0°8 Sep. ... 2°88 Mar. -.. 5°27 Sep. i... 19 Mar. ie Oct. ... 3:03 April... °78 Oct. ... 39 April... 1:9 ‘Nov. ... 1°88 May ... 2°20 Nov. ... 43 May... 15 Dee. ... 5°74 June... 1°72 haG.\ cro 2 June... 23 | * Ent. Mo. 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Branch: --The: Chingford Local Branch meets at the ae rue Ca ‘ opposite Chingford Station, at.8"p.m.,an the kag Moniiny 3 in each month. 1918.] 25 Now, in reproducing the above tables of weather conditions~and comparisons, I do not, of course, imagine that from a single series of such data inferences of any value can be drawn; but I am inclined to think that if similar figures could be regularly published and compared with systematic faunistic records, for any given locality during some considerable period, correspondences might be discovered of the utmost value in the solution of the problem in hand, a solution which it is obvious however interesting to the entomologist might be of still more economic and practical value to the agriculturalist. Secondly, as regards the alteration of the environment by human agency. Unhappily, no more conspicuous example of this could be cited than the present condition of a large area of North-Eastern France. Far removed from such a catastrophic disturbance of natural conditions, but of the same origin, is the destruction of woodlands by systematic felling for purposes connected with the war which is now taking place in so many districts throughout this country. Here especially, in an area consisting largely of woods of Seots pine, the character of the land surface is being entirely altered, and the continual burnings of “ toppings and loppings”’ entailed by the conversion of the trees into cut timber, adds a factor whieh probably has effects of a quite exceptional character on both fauna and flora. | Proceeding now toa more detailed although necessarily very im- perfect consideration of what the changes in the character of the Coleopterous fauna of the district have been, I refer, firstly, to the Geodephaga, and find that probably the most noteworthy event connected with that group has been the surprising and rather mysterious emergence of the Carabid Pterostichus angustatus Dufts., discovered here by Mr. Tomlin.* What the exact nature of the association of this beetle with burnt wood, if, indeed, any such real association exists, is at present unknown, Since its discovery in a very limited area in the spring of 1916, it has widely extended its range and has been taken this year in localities quite remote from its first haunt, but all containing burnt or charred timber. It seems incredible a priori that P. angustatus should have been recently introduced from the Continent and suddenly appear in the interior of Berkshire; nor is it much less difficult to understand how so large and conspicuous a beetle, if it be a member of our indigenous fauna, should have hitherto eluded observation and capture. _ My experience this and last year with regard to this species fully SS * Ent, Mo. Mag. 1916, pp. 157-159, qc 26 (February, confirms what Mr. Tomlin notes as to the remarkable asymmetry which the elytral sculpture so often exhibits, and I should estimate that less than 50°/, of the specimens so far taken have one elytron in exact correspondence with the other.* But as regards the association of this and other Carabids with areas from which the vegetation has been burnt, the remarkable fact alluded to by Dr. Russel Wallace of the occasional appearance on scorched and devastated railway-banks of a flora quite dissimilar from that which originally clothed them and one containing plants not previously known in the district, caused, as no doubt it is, by the destruction of competitive and stronger forms, affords perhaps an analogy, but, of course, not an explanation of similar phenomena among insects. Passing, however, to the Agona, we find that brilliant species A. sexpunctatum, as a note by Mr. Tomlin, which I can confirm by _ further evidence, shows, has considerably extended its range, and has been perhaps generally more abundant in 1917 than it was in 1916, the first year of its phenomenal epiphany here. Another Agonum, A. quadripunctatum, which was taken here for the first time by the Rev. W. W. Fowler in 1915, is certainly dependent in some way directly on charred wood, for it seems to have almost deserted the small area where it was frequent in 1916, the charred wood being then comparatively fresh, for other localities where the felling and consequent burning of the “tops” was again only of the preceding year. No doubt as the ground over which this burnt wood occurs increases so will the range of A. guadripunctatum, but I doubt whether, normal con- ditions having been restored, this insect will ever become a constant member of our fauna. I have ascertained that both these insects hibernate in the perfect state—A. sexpunctatum at the roots of grass and rushes, and J have also recently found it in the borings made by a Longicorn, probably Rhagium or Asemum, some distance beneath the surface, and A. guadri- punctatum I have unearthed at least three inches deep among the charred débris of pine-needles, ete. On the other hand, Bembzdion doris, which, with B. obliguum and an occasional Acupalpus brunnipes, occurred by the margin of one of the meres, have during the present year been very difficult to discover. | A beetle I saw for the first time alive in this district was Cicindela sylvatica, although, I believe, there are previous records by other . observers. * About half of the large number of specimens taken by myself at Woking during 1917 exhibit the same peculiarity.—G. C. C. ) 1918. ] 27 A feature of the present year was the extreme abundance of Aniso- dactylus binotatus and Pterostichus coerulescens (versicolor) in the early spring and again in September. A few specimens of the Anzsodactylus var. spurcaticornis, as well as of A. nemorivagus with its var. atricornis, occurred in 1916, and still fewer this year. The Acwpalpi have also been much less frequent during the present year, especially A, brunnipes, although a dark form ot A. dorsalis (var. notatus Mauls. ?) has been taken which might easily be mistaken for it. Among the Amarae, the occurrence of A. famelica is worth notice, although quite what might have been expected in a district so near and so similar to Woking. Among the Water Beetles but little change has been noticed. Coelambus 9-lineatus has again appeared in one of the meres, swimming visibly in the clear sun-warmed water over a gravelly bottom. A single capture also of Agabus unguicularis perhaps deserves notice, as it had not been previously recorded trom the district, but I have been unable _ to discover Laccobius regularis Rey again in the waters whence I took it in 1915. This particular locality has never been remarkable for its Brach- elytra and but few noteworthy records of the group exist. One of these, however, is Mr. Tomlin’s capture in a heap of faggot-refuse of a single specimen of Medon apicalis in the spring of 1916. Atheta villosula and Oligota apicata may also be mentioned as some of the less frequent species of their genera. But to mea more interesting capture was that of Staphylinus caesareus, taken running on a pathway by a fence behind which was a strong nest of the ant F. rufa. Fowler states in his book that this beetle is more common in the south than the north of this country ; my experience of it, however, is exactly the reverse, and I had never seen a living specimen since I found it in abundance many years ago on the banks of the Shannon. The usual Myrmecophile species have occurred without much varia- tion, except that I found Wotothecta anceps abundant in a nest ot F. rufa in January, and that Quedius brevis and Myrmetes piceus were much more abundant than usual, associated with the same ant in September 1916. In the Clavicorn group, perhaps the most noticeable feature of this year has been the scarcity, compared with former years, of any species of Liodes (Anisotoma), especially of ZL. scita Er., of Triarthron, and of Amphicyllis, and the best capture undoubtedly that of Henoticus serratus by Mr. Tomlin from the same heap of faggot-refuse whence he took Medon apicalis and where Stilicus fragilis was for a short period frequent. — c2 (February, bo 19 2) Under the bark of the few felled oak logs which this district produces, Stl/vanus unidentatus has been rather common during the past autumn. The usual subcortical species of Rhizophagus, Pityo- phagus, Glischrochilus (Ips), Epuraea, and Ditoma seemed as abundant as in previous years, and Zvllus elongatus was taken for the first time, so far as I am aware, off an old beech-stump. As I have previously stated, all the Coprophagous species of Lamellicornia, except Geotrupes typhoeus, are singularly deficient in the district, owing probably to the absence of cattle. The Cetoniadae are more frequent, and I took two and missed another on flight of the blue form of Anomala aenea (var. cyanea Torre), which, as I have never seen a “type” specimen of the species here, is perhaps further evidence that the blue variety is the predominant inland form of this Anomala. Phyllopertha horticola was for a few days only more abundant this year than I had ever previously seen it here, and Cetonia aurata was also in evidence. Among the Sternoxi no new species have been observed nor any | special disparity among those previously recorded. As regards the Malacodermata and Teredilia, a point of interest was the excessive abundance of the ¢ Lampyris noctiluca, which for about a week in July flew into the lighted rooms in the evenings to such an extent as to become a distinct nuisance, while the 2 of the same insect was not observed till late August and September. JZalthodes fuscus Wat. (pellucidus Kies.) was frequent by sweeping in the woods, although not in such abundance as in former years, but the profusion of Thanasimus formicarius during the early spring in all the areas where the pines had been felled and the ‘toppings ” left on the ground since the previous year was quite remarkable. Ernobius mollis was, however, much less frequent than usual, but in 1916 I took a very small EHrnobius, which Dr. Sharp states to be E. oblitus, a species which he had recently described as new.* The Longicornia seem to have been generally rather well repre- sented during the past summer. In this district our usual species, such as Callidium violaceum, Rhagium, etc., were common; Asemum striatum remarkably abundant, the variety agreste F. (which I should prefer to call a case of permanent immaturity) being also frequent. this was probably due to the number of more or less decayed pine- stumps left in the ground from the fellings of previous years. Saperda populnea was also common wherever there were aspens, * Ent. Mo. Mag. 1916, p. 179. 1918.) 29 and a capture of Caenoptera (Molorchus) minor by Prof. Beare forms, if I am not mistaken, a new record for this particular district. _ The same may be said of Tetropium gabrieli, five or six of which oceurred in one stump of Scots pine. It may be noted that of these, evidently all one species, the legs of some were clear red and of others almost black ; but the fact that they were found in pine, not larch, and in a single stump close to a railway along which have been carried during the last two years very large quantities of timber from various parts of England, supports the presumption that the species was thus introduced from some other locality, and owing to the absence of larch, the proper larval food-tree, will not spread or perhaps even be maintained here. Criocephalus polonicus, however, which appeared in some numbers during 1916, has been exceedingly rare this year; and another species, taken in 1916 but not seen this year, has been Phytoecia cylindrica. Phytophagous beetles were generally remarkable during the past season for their early appearance and very brief life in the perfect state. Thus Phytodecta viminalis for about ten days swarmed wherever there was any aspen or sallow and JM/elasoma populi wherever white poplar oceurred; Cryptocephalus bipunctatus, var. lineola, was much less frequent than usual, but C. bzguttatus was again taken in July by Mr. Tomlin. Luperus longicornis (rufipes), a species which usually oceurs in the utmost profusion on the young birches during June and July, was this summer much less abundant than in previous years. One of the most noteworthy captures among the Rhynchophora during the present year has been that of several specimens of Rhino- macer attelaboides by beating the loppings of the Scots pine. This beetle, like Asemwm striatum, is probably an example of the spread southward during recent years of species formerly considered exclusively northern in range, made possible by the extension of the growth of the pine, and not, as in the case of Ayonwm ericeti, one of the most surprising of recent New Forest captures, a lingering vestige of a long-supplanted fauna. The Rhynchophora were, generally, perhaps below their average numbers this year except during June, when a few common forms were in great profusion. Among species not previously noticed were Antho- nomus pomorum, Dorytomus dejeant, and, in September 1916, Cryphalus abietis, beaten from dead spruce-twigs. In the Heteromera, Anthicus floralis was frequent in the unusual situation of beneath planks laid on the heaps of sawdust from the saw- mills now established in many places in the woods, and Hypophloeus linearis was taken in some numbers on the wing over heaps of pine- loppings one warm still evening in June. 30 (February, And this brings to a close these incomplete notes on some of the more salient features of the Coleopterous fauna of a particularly inte- resting district. Without a doubt many other species occur here which the present writer has failed to detect. Other observers may have been more fortunate; for of no fact does a long experience of collecting beetles, or, indeed, any group of insects, convince one more than that our most assiduous efforts reveal to us only a small minority of what really exist, and that there are many species of whose presence we may remain entirely ignorant unless we are in the right place exactly at the right time. “The Bungalow,” Crowthorne. November 1917. CHOLEVA ANGUSTATA F. AND ITS ALLIES. BY H. BRITTEN, F.E.S. A careful study of the insects belonging to the angustata-group of Choleva (excluding, of course, the very distinct C. spadicea and C. agilis) has convinced me that we possess five good species in Britain, z. e. two more than given in Fowler’s “ Col. Brit. Islands.” One of these cannot be identified from the continental literature, and it’ is necessary to give it a new name. They should be readily separated by the following table based on the structural characters of the two sexes in each case :— 1. Posterior trochanters similar in the two sexes, simple; male with a small tooth on first third of posterior femora; female with apex of elytra toothed. a. Form narrower and shorter: thorax broadest near front, slightly broader than long, with posterior angles rounded; sculpture of upper surface finer and closer; posterior trochanters short and blunt. Male with second, third, and fourth ventral segments of abdomen impressed in centre, sixth simple at apex; median lobe of aedeagus (fig. 1) with a fine sharp tooth at apex. Female with apex of elytra sloping gradually to tooth .......... sturmt Bris. b. Form broader and longer; thorax broadest near middle, as long as broad, posterior angles more evident ; sculpture of upper surface coarser and not su close ; posterior trochanters short and pointed. Male with third and fourth ventral segments of abdomen im- pressed in centre, sixth raised into a distinct ridge in middle, and with a triangular excision of apex ; median lobe of aedeagus (fig. 5) divided into two curved teeth, the points turned inwards like the forceps of an earwig. Female with apex of elytra bluntly roynded to Loothe!. it-griawss 1>|-)- «wien: angustata F. 1918.) on 2. Posterior trochanters not similar in the two sexes; male without tooth on posterior femora; female with apex of elytra simple. a. Thorax broadest before middle, with margins distinct, flattened and slightly raised ; sculpture of upper surface fine, pubescence short, silky ; posterior femora narrow. Male with posterior tro- chanters short and blunt at apex, with a long, strong, straight tooth on outer side near tip; fourth and fifth ventral segments deeply impressed in centre, sixth with a small triangular ex- cision in middle of apex; median lobe of aedeagus (fig. 2) sharply contracted at apical third, terminating in a long, narrow, fine point. Female with posterior trochanters short, obtuse at BUDE cea! cw o's ux, + 0! aim; 6 apa 03 opi ae a gig simi din oe glauca, sp. D, b. Thorax broadest before middle, with margins distinct but not flattened, slightly rounded from middle to base; sculpture of upper surface strong, pubescence coarser and longer; posterior femora thickened. Male with posterior trochanters longer, pointed at apex, with a long, strong, curved tooth on outer side near tip; ventral segments with an impressed line extending the whole length of abdomen, sixth distinctly raised in centre of apex; median lobe of aedeagus (fig. 3) contracted before apical third, terminating in a long, broad point. Female with posterior trochanters slightly longer and more pointed at CLS EE ag Genel 9 TRliis pte et Aa cisteloides Frdl. e. Thorax broadest before middle, with margins distinct and slightly flattened, contracted in an almost straight line from middle to base; sculpture of upper surface moderately strong, pubescence long with distinct outstanding hairs intermixed; posterior femora stout. Male with posterior trochanters long and gouge-shaped ; fourth and fifth ventral segments lightly impressed in centre, sixth with a slight triangular notch in middle of apex; median lobe of aedeagus (fig. 4) conical. Female with posterior tro- chanters longer and sharply pointed ........ intermedia Kraatz. sturmi. glauca. cisteloides. intermedia. angustata. Drawings made to same scale, X 32, and of the same portion of the median lobe in each case, 39 [February, Fowler, following Reitter, when he published his ‘Coleoptera of the British Islands,” sank ©. sturmz Bris. as the male, or a variety of C. angustata F.; in fact, he was inclined to consider that it would be more correct to refer all four to one variable species. Murray, in his Monograph of the genus Catops [Ann. & Mag. N. H. ser. 2, vol. xvii, pp. 12-25 (1856)], was of the same opinion, and the five forms now under consideration were all referred to one variable species; but he gave us a good account of the three which _Kraatz considered to be distinct. From these descriptions we can be quite certain as to which insects are really referable to C. cisteloides Frél. and C. intermedia Kraatz, and almost equally certain of C. an- gustata F., as he states that it has the thorax “broadest before middle, gently rounded at sides, gradually narrowed to base.” Now in the allied form which I have considered to be C. sturmi Bris., the thorax is broadest nearer the front and is rather strongly narrowed from middle to base. On turning to Cox’s “ Handbook of British Coleoptera,” vol. 1, p- 401, we find it stated that C. angustata has the posterior coxae short and pointed in the male, whilst C. sturmz has the posterior coxae short and simple. Of course, it is readily understood that what are termed the coxae here are in reality the trochanters. Fowler no doubt had both forms under review when he said ‘posterior trochanters of male more or less produced into a point.” It is impossible for me to give any opinion on the synonymy of these insects as quoted by Ganglbauer 1899 and Reitter 1906. They use the name elongata Payk. for our angustata F., and oblonga Latr. for our intermedia Kraatz; otherwise their work seems to be very much in accord with that of British writers. C. angustata F. is the largest insect, with the antennae and tarsi longer than in any of the other four species: the thorax is longer and broader at the base than in C. sturmz Bris., whilst the female has the elytra obtusely rounded at apex to the tooth at the sutural angle. C. sturmi Bris. is readily distinguished by its smaller size, shorter antennae and tarsi, finer sculpture, more rounded thorax, and the elytra in female sloping more gradually to tooth at apex. The following is a rather more detailed description of C. glauca, n. sp., in comparison with the closely-allied C. czstelotdes, Frol.:— Form narrower, head pitchy black, thorax dark with margins usually paler, margins distinctly flattened and slightly raised, posterior angles more evident; antennae more or less darkened towards apex; elytra 1918.] 33 pale, with striae and sculpture much finer; legs longer and more slender; underside dark pitchy, with deeply impressed fourth and fifth abdominal segments in male. The slender posterior femora in both sexes, the distinctly longer and less thickened tibiae, its fine surface-sculpture and silky pubescence, and the very evident bluish bloom with which it is covered when fresh makes this insect readily recognisable. C. cisteloides Frél. also has the underside dark; but its deeper striae, much coarser sculpture, and usually darker elytra, easily distinguish it. C. intermedia Kraatz has the underside pale as in CO. sturmz and C. angustata; its different shape, and the distinct outstanding hairs on the elytra, the gouge-shaped trochanters in male, and the simple apex to elytra in female, easily separate it from these species. All five species have been found by me in moles’ nests, although C. intermedia seems to be really attached to rabbit burrows, as I have dug it out on several occasions at a considerable depth in such places in midwinter, the beetles running about quite actively and usually in pairs. It is difficult to say anything at present as to the distribution of these insects, but I have taken them all in Cumberland and also in Oxfordshire, and have also had examples of all the species lent me by Commander Walker, from the Oxford District; whilst he also has C. angustata from the Isle of Sheppey and the neighbourhood of Chatham, and C. zntermedia trom the Isle of Sheppey and Campbeltown. I am greatly indebted to Commander Walker for the loan of all his material, and also to Mr. G. C. Champion for looking up descriptions in works which I am unable to obtain. Myrtle View, Windmill Road, Oxon. Jan. 11th, 1918. RE-OCCURRENCE OF ANCHOMENUS (AGONUM) SAHLBERGI Cuaun. IN SCOTLAND. BY J. E. MURPHY. In May 1909, while collecting Coleoptera in Renfrewshire (south side of the River Clyde), I bottled an Anchomenus as a unicolorous variety of paruwmpunctatus F. It was not until adding it to my series, some months later, that I noticed the difference, and the thought occurred to me that, not improbably, it might prove to be the long lost sahlbergi. 34 [February, Naturally, I was anxious to “ work up” this interesting find, but having to leave the district just about that time I was unable to do anything further. On my return in 1914 I succeeded in finding two female examples, under stones at a spot some distance from the river and quite a mile from where the first was procured. In each case the specimens were found in company with parumpunctatus, which, at first sight, 1s so similar that it has prompted me to make drawings, placing sahJ- bergi (2) between parwmpunctatus F. (1) and ericeti Panz. (8) for comparison. 3 Late in May, about 53 years ago, Mr. Bishop met with the insect in some numbers on the edge of a sandy bank on the north side of the Clyde a few yards west of Dunglass Castle. It was determined by the late } Mr. Rye as a variety of A. parumpunctatus. A few specimens were subsequently taken by Mr. Henderson, and I understand they are now in Dr. Sharp’s collection. These appear to be the only occasions on which A. sahlbergi has been found in the British Isles previous to the present record. I have to express my indebtedness to Mr. T. G. Bishop and Mr. G. C. Champion for their kind assistance in the identification of this species. 104 West Graham Street, Glasgow. Navy lith, 1917. \ 1918.] oer NOTE ON THE CURCULIONID-GENUS SYSCIOPHTHALMUS HEt.er, WITH A DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES FRON TIERRA DEL FUEGO. BY G. C. CHAMPION, F.Z.S. In the “Stettiner entomologische Zeitung” for 1906 Dr. K. M. Heller described and figured both sexes of a remarkable new Tanymecid- weevil from Santa Cruz, Argentina [ Patagonia], under the name Sys- ciophthalmus bruchi. Four specimens (3 2 9, 1 ¢ ) of this insect were acquired by the British Museum in 1903, all from the Valle del Lago Blanco, Patagonia (Koslowsky), as well as a second species of the same genus from Useless Bay, Tierra del Fuego, in 1906. The eyes in the present genus are large and finely facetted, and placed beneath the rounded, lateral, ear-like expansions of the head, and completely invisible from above, and the vibrissae are long and numerous. Sysciophthalmus is an addition to Enderlein’s list (1912) of the Coleo- ptera of Tierra del Fuego. It is related to Anaemerus Schonh., from Africa and Madagascar. Sysciophthalmus crawshay?, n. sp. od. Moderately elongate, black, opaque, densely clothed with small, pale greyish, agelutinated, earthy-looking scales, variegated (the legs included) with whitish and velvety-black scales, the latter condensed on the elytra into a series of short oblique strealis along the suture and interrupted series of small spots on the disc, the whitish scales on the prothorax tending to form three faint lines on the disc, the median one continued on to the base of the suture ; the surface also bearing very short, stiff, decumbent hairs (densely granulato- punctulate, when the vestiture is removed). Head with large, ear-like lateral processes, irregularly biseriato-tuberculate between them, appearing sulcate down the middle, the rostrum very broad, the two processes at the apex divergent and obliquely truncated at the tip; antennae short, the funiculus 5-jointed, joint 5 broader and stouter than 4, 6 and 7 apparently absorbed into the oyute club. Prothorax about as long as broad, trapezoidal, slightly wider than the head, feebly compressed at the base, interruptedly sexcostate. Elytra oval, not very much longer than the head and prothorax united, flattened and irregularly tuberculate on the disc, with interrupted series of coarse scattered punctures partly hidden by the vestiture, the fifth interstice produced into a conspicuous, angular, dentiform prominence at its point of termination, and the apices into a stout blunt tooth, the humeri broadly, obliquely truncate, the base sinuato-emarginate. Length 5}, breadth 2} mm. Hab. 'Trerra DEL Furao, Useless Bay (2. Crawshay). One male, captured in Sept. 1904. Much smaller and less elongate than 8. bruchz, the prothorax without projecting tubercles at the sides, simply trapezoidal, the elytra oval and much shorter, the funiculus 5- (instead of 7-) jointed, the two missing joints doubtless merged into the club. Horsell, Junuary 1918. 36 (February, THE SYNONYMY OF ANDRENA WILKELLA K., AND ITS ALLIES, WITH NOTES ON HABITS, AS CONFIRMING SPECIFIC DISTINCTIONS. BY R. C. L. PERKINS, D.Sc., M.A., F.E.S8. Having been asked recently by an American Hymenopterist to supply him with specimens of Andrena wilkella, A. convexiuscula, and A. xanthura, which have beeen ‘“ determined through comparison with the types,” since “one of the above species” appears to occur in New England, I have here attempted to give what I believe to be the correct synonymy of our three closely allied species of the wilkella group. From the examination that I have made of Kirby’s and of F. Smith’s collection I consider the three names cited by my corre- spondent to belong to a single species only, A. wilkella K. As the types of the three species were described in this country, I am not here concerned to deal with the synonymy of continental authors. Those who adhere strictly to the law of priority, even to the adoption of a name scarcely mentioned during a hundred or more years, and practically unknown to working entomologists, rather than continue the use of one of those which is well known to all, and has under it the copious literature of a century, will, I believe, be correct in using the specific name placed at the head of each list of synonyms. ANDRENA OVATULA Kirby. Melitta ovatula Kirby, Mon. Ap. Angl. 1, p. 149, no. 89, ¢. (N.B.) By an oversight Kirby describes his specimens as 2 (ef. the case of IL. spinigera, op. cit. p. 123) and the name is omitted in his Index. Melitta fuscata Kirby, op. cit. p. 167, no. 107, @. Melitta afzeliella Kirby, op. cit. p. 169, no. 108, 2. Andrena fuscata Smith, Cat. Brit. Hym. (Apidae) 1855, p. 100, 2. Andrena afzeliella Smith, op. cit. p. 101, 9; the d described was probably a wilkella K. (N.B.) I contigua K. is wrongly given as a synonym, being 3 fulvicrus K. Andrena fuscata Smith, Cat. Brit. Hym. (Apidae) 1876, p. 70, 9. Andrena afzeliella Smith, op. cit. p. 71, partim. In my opinion both sexes were partly described from wilkella K. In Smith’s series of A, afzeliella the 2 2 with “pale fulvous ” anal fimbria are clearly wilkella. Andrena afzeliella and var. fuscata EK. Saunders, Tr. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1882, p. 281. The description of the Q at least was made from 1918.] 37 true afzeliella, but the species was not distinguished from wilkella K. (nec E.S. op. cit.); cf. E. Saund. “Hym. Acul.” under A. wilkella. Andrena afzeliella and race intermedia Perkins, Ent. Mo. Mag. xxv, p- 128. Andrena a*zeliella var. fuscata race ? intermedia E. Saunders, “ Hym. Acul.” (of British Islands) p- 268. ANDRENA WILKELLA Kirby. Melitta wilkella Kirby, Mon. Ap. Angl. ii, p. 145, no. 84, 9. Melitta barbatula Kirby, op. cit. p. 152, no. 92, 3. Melitta xanthura Kirby, op. cit. p. 164, no. 105, 2 ¢o. Melitta convexiuscula Kirby, op. cit. p. 166, no. 106, Q var. stylopized. Andrena convexiuscula Smith, Cat. Brit. Hym. (1855) p. 102, 2 ¢ var. stylopized. Andrena wilkella Smith, op. cit. p. 105, 2. Andrena xanthura Smith, op. cit. p. 106, partim. (The description of the ¢ was drawn up probably from an afzeliella mainly, and the 2 from a similis Sm., but the true w7zlkella was included with these.) Andrena convexiuscula Smith, Cat. Brit. Hym. (1876) p. 72, 2 ¢ var. stylopized. Andrena xanthura Smith, op. cit. p. 74, 2 (partim) & S. (The females given to this species were both w7lkella K. and similis Sm.; barbatula K. and wilkella K. are rightly cited as identical with it.) Andrena afzeliella and var. convexiuscula EK. Saunders, Tr. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1882, p. 281, ¢ 2 partim. (At this time afzeliella K. and xanthura K. were considered one species by Saunders, and wilkella K. and similis Sm. were held to be identical.) Andrena xanthura Perkins, Ent. Mo. Mag. xxv, p. 128. Andrena wilkella KE. Saunders, “‘ Hym. Acul.” p. 267. ANDRENA SIMILIS Smith. Andrena similis Smith, Zoologist, vii, Append. lx, ¢. Andrena similis Smith, Cat. Brit. Hym. 1855, p. 68, ¢. Andrena similis Smith, op. cit. 1876, p. 37, 3. Andrena wilkella K. Saunders, Tr. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1812, p. 282, ¢ @. Andrena similis Perkins, Ent. Mo. Mag. xxv, p. 128. Andrena similis E. Saunders, “‘ Hym. Acul.” p. 266. ‘With the exception of certain males of A. ovatula (afzeliella) and wilkella (xanthura) there is no difficulty in distinguishing each 38 _ [February, of the three species with certainty, provided the examples examined are clean and in reasonably good condition. But it must be confessed that in the species named one does occasionally find examples of the male sex that at any rate need the most careful scrutiny before they ean be correctly placed. Most of the examples can be determined off-hand, by anyone who has once mastered the slight distinctions between them. The difficulty is certainly caused by the variability of the double-brooded ovatula, this species being more unstable in its characters than its allies. These closely allied species have always been of particular interest to me, and it may be worth while to mention some of the reasons which confirm their specific distinction. (a) Andrena ovatula (afzeliella) is in the South generally double- brooded; the other two species are single-brooded, even in abnormal seasons, when they may appear as early in the Spring as ovatula. Usually the latter appears considerably earlier in the season, though later all will be found together. (b) A. ovatula is more variable and has in both broods a black-legged form of 9, fuscata K.,Sm. The hind tibiae of the other two are always pale, like the afzeliella form of ovatula. (c) A. ovatula is rarely attacked by Stylops, even in most localities in which it abounds, whereas A. wilkella is frequently found stylopized, where it is abundant, and examples changed by this parasite are the convexiuscula of Kirby and Smith. In Smith’s collection the series of conveviuscula is made up almost wholly of stylopized wilkella, not of ovatula. Of similis Sm. I have never met with a stylopized example, though I have read that such are common in Germany. (d) A. wilkella (xanthura) is the natural host of Nomada achrostoma, which often abounds at pure colonies of this dndrena. I have entirely failed to find it at pure colonies of either ovatula or similis. Where all three species of Andrena occur together, but w7lkella much less numerously than the others, I have found the Nomada, though it was not then abundant, as one would have expected it to be, had it also attacked the other two species, which were extremely numerous, especially ovatula. (e) A. wilkella is extremely partial to gardens, meadowlands, and well- cultivated districts. ‘It frequents hedgerows and woodsides in preference to open heaths and sandy situations ”__words used by Smith, not of the Andrena, but of its parasite, V. ochrostoma. Not that it is necessarily absent from such places, but both 1918.] : 39 itself and its Nomada sometimes literally swarm in localities on stiff clav and the heaviest soils, from which its allies are entirely absent. Similarity in habits is shown by the liking of all three species for papilionaceous plants, the females gathering much pollen from these. Paignton. Dec. 26th, 1917. The Association of Acari with Insects——It may interest Mr. Morley (cf. ante, p. 19) and others to know that in Curtis’s “ Farm Insects,” p. 199 & Plate G, figs. 48 & 49, Uropoda wmbilicata is described and illustrated in connection with its attachment to Elater [Agriotes| obscurus. The mite is attached by its back to a tube (apparently) the other end of which it fastens to av elytron of the beetle for the purpose (?) of extracting nourishment from the latter.—C. Nicuorson, Hale End, Chingford : Jan. 14th, 1918. Staphylinus pubescens De G. in Essex.—\ have taken two specimens of this insect in the Southend district—one at Hockley, in April, in horse dung, and one in September, at Hadleigh, also in dung. It has not, I believe, been recorded from these localities previously. Myr. C. E. Stoll has kindly verified my determination.—A. F'. J. Gepyx, 2 Park Terrace, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex : Jan. 16th, 1918. Coleoptera at Mickleton (Glos.).—From Aug. Ist to Sept. 13th, 1917, I was “under canvas,” working “on the land,” near a small village in the north of Gloucestershire. This gave me opportunities in the evening, after work, for a little collecting. The following Coleoptera, amongst others, were noticed :— Carabus violaceus; C. monilis, very common in the tents; Amara familiaris and trivialis, extremely abundant in an onion field; Pterostirhus vernalis and cupreus, sparingly in the same field ; Stoms pumicatus, under a stone; Ilybius gttiger, one example under a clod of earth in the onion field ; Astidbus cana- liculatus, three specimens in an ant’s nest under astone; Hister cadaverinus and Dermestes murinus, in a dead rabbit: Mycetophagus 4-pustulatus, in a boletus on an oak-tree ; Dorcus parallelepipedus, 3 and @, on ash logs; Sinodendron cylindricum, in ash log; Chrysomela staphylea, under moss; Liophioeus nubilus, one specimen.—GrorGE B. Rye, 15 Madeira Place, Brighton : Dee. 27th, 1917. The larva of Secymnus.—My attention has been called to the fact that in stating on p. 8, ante, that I believed no modern representation of a larva of this genus existed, I have overlooked a drawing of that of 8. arcuatus by the Key. J. F. Perry in Proc. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1915, Plate A (facing p- xcix). This is not strange, for by some extraordinary mischance that drawing is described at the toot of the plate as “Larva and pupa of Aleurodes parasitic on Scymnus arcuatus.” Aleurodes is really the prey of the insect represented (there is no parasitism), and I am glad of the 40 (February, opportunity of calling attention to this unfortunate error. A comparison of the figures of Scymnus arcuatus and capitatus shows a remarkable dissimilarity between them. The former is without the flocculent clothing and is described by Father Perry as white and glistening, but with a sticky secretion to which the waxy matter of the Aleurodes adheres.—GILBER?T J, ARROW, 9 Rossdale Rd., Putney, 8.W.: Jan. 15th, 1918. Trigonogenius globulum Sol. in London.—Amongst some Ptinids recently sent me for determination by Mr. W. West there were several examples of this insect, supposed to be of Chilean origin, but now almost cosmopolitan in its distribution. These were found, with many others, during the present winter, in an old carpenter’s shop in Upper Thames St., London, beneath a lot of timber, odd specimens of the insect having been seen crawling about in the same place amongst the wood-shavings on the floor for some time previously. Ptinus tectus occurred with it, and Nzptus hololeucus was very common amongst the ‘ sweepings.”—G. C. Cxampion, Horsell, Woking: Jan. 15th, 1918. Halesus guttatipennis McLachl. and other Trichoptera and Neuroptera in Cumberland.—Among a number of insects of the above Orders recently named for me by Mr. Porritt are two specimens of this very local species, which were taken in September 1912 on the banks of the River Eden in Cumberland. Mr. Porritt tells me that the date is early—October and November being the time he has himself captured it. Several of the other species which Mr. Porritt has kindly determined appear to be also new to Cumberland, viz. :-—Chaetopteryx villosa, R. Eden, Isopteryx torrentium and Lasiocephalus basalis, Keswick, Mystacides azurea, KR. Petteril, Sialis fuliginosa, R. Caldew, and Hemerobius maryinatus, Orton. In addition to these I have, at various times, taken Anabolia nervosa, Leptocerus commutatus, and Osmylus chrysops on the banks of the Petteril, near Carlisle, which I believe will also be new records for the county.—F. H. Day, 26 Currock Terrace, Carlisle: Jan. 5th, 1918. Obituary. William Henry Harwood died at Sudbury, Suffolk, on Dec. 24th, 1917, after a long illness. He was born at Colchester on Feb. 25th, 1840, and from a very early age developed a taste forentomology. Educated at the Colchester Royal Grammar School, he was afterwards apprenticed to Messrs. Smith & Shenstone, Chemists, of Colchester. After completing his indentures, owing to indifferent health, he decided to take up an outdoor occupation, and this resulted in him devoting all his time to entomology. He was one of the first to practise the method of “sleeving” larvae on growing food-plants, and was successful in rearing many species, the earlier stages of which were previously unknown. On this subject he constantly corresponded with Messrs. Buckler, Hellins, and Harpur-Crewe, and his name is frequently mentioned throughout the first-named author’s “ Larvae of British Butterflies and Moths,” as well as in the current Entomological Magazines. In the early “ eighties” he took up the study of Coleoptera and Hymenoptera-Aculeata, and later on other Orders of British Insects, devoting much attention to species of economic 1918.] 41 interest ; but the Aculeata were always his favourite group, and he soon became as well known among those interested in the “‘ Neglected Orders” as he already was among Lepidopterists. He married in 1875 Elizabeth, younger daughter of James Netherwood Dixon, who predeceased him in 1914. Of the four children, three survive him, two of the sons being active entomologists whose names are familiar to the readers of this Magazine. Harwood was responsible for the Insect Section of the “ Victoria Wishsy of Essex,” the bulk of the records, apart from Lepidoptera, being of species taken in the Colchester district, the High Woods in that neighbourhood, once famous for their luxuriant oaks, being his favourite hunting grounds. The Essex Field Club, in their early days, received a good deal of assistance from him, and he sometimes conducted their excursions to such places as West Mersea, St. Osyth, ete. Society. Tue SoutuH Lonpon ENTOMOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HisToRY SOCIETY: October 25th, 1917.—Hy. J. Turner, F.E.S., President, in the Chair. The decease of a member, Mr. Archer (1914), was announced. The President read a paper on “The Pieridae,” dealing chiefly with the “ines of variation ” in each of the species which breed in Britain usually, and illustrated his remarks with diagrams and the specimens contained in the Society’s various collections. Mr. Leeds exhibited aberrations of Pierts rapae, 3 without spots, ¢ large, ¢’s third brood small, 2 deep yellow below; P. brassicae, 2 blotched with bright green, 2 pale blue below, 2 very large ; P. napi, § third brood small. Mr. Moore, exotic Pierids to show that many species were not white: Tachyris nero, red ; Archonias critias, nearly all black ; Appias celestina, blue; Nepheronia thalussina, pale green; Teracolus sp., iri- descent at apex ; and Leptophobia sp., silvery lustre below. He also showed Leucidia brephos, the smallest Pierid known, and the much debated Pseudo- pontia paradoxa. Mr. West (Greenwich), the local Coleopteron Ctonus longicollis, a series. Mr. Bunnett, the Coleopteron Ptinus tectus, which had attacked some cayenne pepper. November 8th, 1917.—The President in the Chair. The decease of a Life-member, Mr. R. Standen (1873), was announced. Mr. Leeds exhibited forms and aberrations of various British Leucaniidae, including Leucania impura, with ab. punctina, etc.; L. pallens, with ab. ectypa, ab. arcuata, etc.; L. phragmitidis, with ab. rufescens, ete. ; Coenobia rufa; Tapinostela fulva; Nonagria geminipuncta, with ab. wnipuncta, ab. obsoleta, ete.; NV. dissoluta; N. brevilinea, with ab. sinelinea, etc. Mr. A. W. Buckstone, a series of a small race of Aricia meden (astrarche), from Wendover, May 1912, with Surrey series for comparison. Mr. Edwards, a number of species of Pieridae, and referred to the different odours which were emitted by the specialised scales in many species. Mr. Turner, examples of the Pierid, Anthocharis crumeri (belia), from some twenty localities, and referred to the local and seasonal forms. D 42 {| February, December 13th, 1917.—The President in the Chair. ANNUAL Exuisprrion.—Mr. R, Adkin exhibited a Prerts brassicae with the apical blotches of the fore wings crossed by distinct yellow streaks on the veins. Mr. W. G. Sheldon, about 600 Peronea cristana and its yarious forms and his long series of Leptogramma literana in great variety. My. B. Adkin, a cabinet-drawer of Noctua primulae (festiva), and one of Dianthoecia carpo- phaga. The Rev. J. E. Tarbat, a Pieris napi having two small white patches centred with black on the underside of the right hind wing, and a Mimas tiliae without the central band on the right fore wing. Mr. W. J. Ashdown, a varied series of Ematurga atomaria. Mr. Prideaux, living larvae of Pararge megaera, and read notes on the oviposition habits of the species. Mr. West, on behalf of the Society, several drawers of the “Freeman” collection of Huropean butterflies. Mr. Bowman, specimens of Cosymbria pendularia, including various forms of the ab. nzyro-subroseata, also Tiliacea (Xanthia) awrago with reddish forms from Horsley. Mr. Brooks, series of 7. (X.) auwrago from Horsley, and representatives of various local races of Ematurga atomaria. Mr. Hammond, a perfectly symmetrical gynandromorph of Polyommatus icarus from Boscastle. Mr. Newman, for Mr. G. B. Oliver, a very long series of picked aberrations of Agriades coridon taken in 1917. Mr. Tonge, a bred series of Ennomos quercinaria (angularia), half being dark banded; males of A. coridon showing red scales on the margin of the hind wings, and an example of ab. fowlert from Surrey ; and the Dipteron Echinomyia grossa bred from a larva of Lastocampa quercus var. callunae from near Preston. Mr. A. J. Lawrence, a rare aberration of the female of the Australian race of Hypolimnas bolina from Rockhampton, almost uniformly black. Mr. L. W. Newman, long series of aberrations of Abraxas grassulariata, including forms of ab. varleyata, of ab. lacticolor and ab. niyrosparsata, etc.; long series of Cosmotriche potatoria from W. Sussex, many females approaching the rich dark males in coloration ; a long series of hybrid ocellatus x populi, bred 1917, very uniform in marking, most were gynandromorphs ; a number of brick-red- Mimas tiliae; bred series of Boarmia roborarva, extremely small although well fed; an extreme melanic Boarmia consortaria from Sutton Coldfield ; large female Cerura bicuspis bred from Tilgate Forest; and black-banded Agrvopis aprilina bred from pupae dug in Delamere Forest. Mr. W. J. Kaye, Morpho perseus from French Guiana, a polymorphic species spread over a considerable area of S, America, Mr. Hy. J. Turner, butterflies recently received from Sicily, including Charazes jasius, Gonepteryx cleopatra, Polygonia egea, Papilio podalirius, Rumicia phlaeas var. eleus, Pieris mannt(?), a very dwarf Aricia inedon, etc., and read notes on the exhibit. Myr. E. M. Gibb, salmon-coloured examples of Zygaena filipendulae from Last Sussex. Mr. H. A. Leeds, a large number of aberrations of British butterflies taken in 1917, including Agriades coridon, pale ¢ , ab. semi-syngrapha, varied ground in Q Q, ab. syngrapha (Chiltern Hills), dwarf 9; Polyommatus icarus ab. tcarinus, underside aberrations ; Luchloé cardamines ; Pieris napt, large black markings on fore wings; Melanaryia galathea, much yellow | developed ; Coenonympha pamphilus, yaried ground, ab. dyl/us; ete. Mr. H. Moore, Luvanessa antiopa and Pyrameis cardui, examples from numerous localities over the whole of their areas of distribution. Myr. A. W. Buckstone, a series of Spilosoma lubricipeda var. fusciata the result of inbreed, a cross between type and zatima; and bleached forms of JZpinephele jurtima. Mr. Edwards, Burmese moths and species of various Papilionine genera.— Hy. J. Turnwr (Hon. Hditor of Proceedings). 1918.] . 43 NOTES ON VARIOUS SOUTH AMERICAN COLEOPTERA COLLECTED BY CHARLES DARWIN DURING THE VOYAGE OF THE “BEAGLE,” WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW GENERA AND SPECIES. BY G..€. CHAMPION, F:Z.5- Darwin, as is well known, was a keen Coleopterist, as shown by the representative collection made by him of our British forms, still preserved in the University Museum at Cambridge. During the voyage of the “ Beagle,” 1832-1836, he captured beetles at every opportunity, and frequently mentions them in his published Journal. These insects were sent direct to specialists for determination, and most of them subse- quently passed into the British Museum, the last instalment of his unnamed collections having been presented to that Institution by Mr. C. O. Waterhouse in 1885. The conspicuous South American Cara- bidae, Dytiscidae, Tenebrionidae, etc., were named or described long ago by Babington, G. R. Waterhouse, and others,* but the rest of the American beetles have remained untouched to this day amongst the “ Accessions”’ in the Museum. The unnamed specimens, including many minute forms, have recently been examined by myself, and a few of those from the Tierra del Fuego and Chile are described in the present paper ; the new species from the first-mentioned region are, of course, additions to Enderlein’s Fuegian list (1912). Darwin’s Falkland Coleoptera have been enumerated by me in the “Annals and Magazine of Natural History ” for Feb. 1918, pp. 167-186. List of New Species described. Bembidiomorphum (n. g.) converum Aulonodera (n. g.) darwint (Halti- (Carabidae). cidae). Micragyrtes (n. g.) ocelligerus (Sil- Listroderes quadrituberculatus (Cur- phidae). culionidae), Hydnobius forticornis (Silphidae). Listroderes katerensis (Curculionidae). Philothermus cribricollis (Colydiidae). Antarctobius rugirostris 38 Elmis chiloensis (Parnidae). 94 Laticauda Fe Docemina (n, g.) crassipes (Halticidae). CARABIDAE. ANTARCTONOMUS Chaud. Antarctonomus peront Chaud. Hab, Trerra pet Fungo, Orange Bay (type of Chaudoir), Hardy Peninsula Re Dar Mies Navarin Isl. (C. Darwin, Michaelsen), Hermite * Note. yo maculatus Babington (1841), found by Darwin at St, Jago, Cape Verdes, was described by Wollaston from the same island in 1867, under the name H. crassus, the latter name, of course, falling as a synonym. In the * Munich Catalogue,” ii, p. 428 (1868), the locality for H. maculatus is incorrectly given as “ Brazil.’ 44 (February. Isl. (C. Darwin); Srrarrs or Macernan, Punta Arenas (Delfin); CuiILE, Chiloe and Ynche Isls. (C. Darwin). There are eight specimens of this species in the Museum, left un- named by Waterhouse, seven of which were captured by Darwin. The ¢, unknown to Chaudoir (1861), has joints 1-4 of the anterior tarsi dilated, 2 being wider than the others, as in the same sex of Brachycoelus virescens G. R. Waterh. (duponti Chaud.). TrEcHUS Clairv. Trechus hornensis Fairm. Hab. TrerRRA DEL FuEGO, Kater’s Peak, Hermite Isl. (C. Darwin), Beagle Channel (type of Fairmatre); Straits oF Magenian, Punta Arenas (Wichaelsen). Found in abundance by Darwin on Hermite Island, in 1832. BEMBIDIOMORPHUM, Nn. gen. Mentum feebly bidentate in the centre in front; [ligula injured in the specimen dissected]; paraglossae siender, curved, short; inner lobe of the maxillae hooked; terminal joint of the maxillary palpi twice the length of the preceding joint, conical, pointed at tip, that of labial palpi similar; antennae short; head with a single narrow, cblique, supra-orbital furrow placed close to the eyes, and a small juxta-ocular pore ; eyes large; mandibles stout, curved inwards at tip; prothorax subcordate, sharply margined laterally ; scutellum wanting: elytra oval, immarginate and truncate at base, obsoletely striate on disc, the sutural stria complete, not recurved at apex, a scutellary stria present, the margins not sinuate posteriorly, the epipleura rapidly nar- rowed towards apex, not reaching tip; anterior coxae separated by the truncated process of the prosternum; tibiae with short spurs, the excavated portion of the. anterior pair preceded by a similar spur; tarsi smooth, the anterior pair simple, similar in the two sexes, set with short setae beneath ; body convex, apterous, glabrous. Type, B. convexum. The type of this genus has the general facies of the Palaearctic Bembidium nigricorne Gyll., except that it is larger and more convex, and has a longer prothorax, approaching the Broscids and certain Ptero- stichids in this respect. The simple, inferiorly setose anterior tarsi in the two sexes, and the conical apical joint and comparatively short second joint of the maxillary palpi are its chief characters. Bembidiomorphum would perhaps be best placed near the southern Trechids, Dormeyeria Enderlein (Falklands), Oopterws Guérin (New Zealand), and Merizodus Solier (Chile, Falklands, and Tierra del Fuego). Bates, in 1882, in speaking of his Group “ Bipalmati,” calls attention to numerous con- necting links between Bembidium, Tachys, and Trechus. 1918.} ; 45 Bembidiomorphum convexrum, n. sp. Oblong, convex, brilliant cupreous with the dise of the prothorax and elytra slightly suffused with green, green with the base and apex of the pro- thorax and the sides of the elytra cupreous, or brassy black, the legs, mandibles, palpi, and antennae black or piceous, the under surface aeneous. Head almost smooth, bisulcate in front, the space between these sulci and the narrow supra- orbital groove appearing thickened: antennae rather stout. joint 3 slightly longer than 2, 5-10 not longer than broad. Prothorax large, wider than the head, broader than long, rounded at the sides anteriorly, and narrowed and sinuate posteriorly, the hind angles rectangular ; sparsely, coarsely punctate at the base, and with a large deep fovea near the hind angles, the disc transversely wrinkled and with a narrow, sharp median sulcus, not quite reaching the base or apex. Elytra regularly oval, at the middle considerably wider than the prothorax, the humeri distinct, but obtuse; obsoletely striate on the disc, the striae becoming evanescent towards the sides and apex, those near the suture conspicuously punctured, the interstices smooth, flat, without pores. Legs rather short, the tarsi comparatively stout. Length 33-4, breadth 13-13 mm. Hab. Tierra DEL FureGo, Hardy Peninsula near Cape Horn, Navarin Isl. (C. Darwin); Cutie, Patch Cove, north part of Tres Montes (C. Darwin). Five specimens, varying greatly in the colour of the upper surface, the one from Tres Montes ( 9 ) having the prothorax and elytra brilliant green and cupreous. The general coloration is suggestive of that of Cascellius nitidus G. R. Waterh., a much larger, elongate Broscid also inhabiting Tierra del Fuego. DYTISCIDAE. Mercapyvres Sharp. Megadytes glaucus Brullé. Hab. Argentina; Urvevay, ete. Sharp, in his important work on the Dytiscidae (1882), omitted to mention Cybister biungulatus Babington (1841), found by Darwin at Maldonado, Uruguay. It is correctly placed asa synonym of JZ. glaucus ‘Brullé in the “Munich Catalogue” (1868), in which, however, the locality is wrongly given as “ Patagonia.” There are five specimens from Maldonado in the Museum, one of which must be the type. STAPHYLINIDAE. NorDENSKJOLDELLA Enderlein. Nordenskjéldella flavitarsis Enderlein. Hab. Tierra pEL Fveao, Lapataia Channel (type), Navarin Isl. (C. Darwin). 46 [February, Described from a single (2 ) example captured on Oct. 9th, 1902, by the Swedish South Polar Expedition. Darwin found another on Navarin Island, in 1882 or 1833. SILPHIDAE. MICRAGYRTES, n. gen. Head with two prominent ocelli; eyes finely facetted ; apical joint of the maxillary palpi abruptly subulate, the narrow pointed apical portion very short; mandibles acute at tip, sharply toothed towards the base within ; antennae 1]1-jointed, 1 and 2 stout, 8-10 strongly transverse, 8-11 dilated into a stout club, 11 divided into two portions by a distinct suture, the apical por- tion narrow; elytra truncate posteriorly, incompletely covering the abdomen, confusedly punctured; anterior coxae contiguous, without visible trochantin, the cavities widely open behind, closed by the raised edges of the two depres- sions in front of the mesosternum ; mesothoracic episterna narrow, those of the metasternum not visible, covered by the rather broad inflexed margin of the- elytra, which is rapidly narrowed posteriorly; metasternum long, truncate behind ; intermediate coxae narrowly separated; posterior coxae contiguous, the rather long trochanters placed on the same axis; abdomen rapidly nar- rowed posteriorly, with five free ventral segments, 1-4 subequal in length, 5 narrow, triangular; legs rather slender; tibiae spinulose externally, the spurs minute; tarsi slender, 5-jointed, 4 simple: body oblong, convex, pubescent, winged. Type, I. ocelligerus. The remarkable little Silphid from which the above characters are taken has the general facies of an Agyrtes, except that the elytra are not striate. It has two conspicuous ocelli, which are present, but rudimentary, in the type of the genus Pteroloma,* P. forstroemi Gyll.; open anterior coxal cavities, truncate elytra, and five free ventral segments. only, as in Sphaerites; and strongly clubbed antennae, as in Colon. The mouth- parts are injured in the 2 specimen dissected, and fuller particulars of the oral organs cannot therefore be given. The possession of two ocelli is so seldom to be seen in Coleoptera that it requires special notice. Micragyrtes ocelligerus, n. sp. Oblong, convex, shining, finely, sparsely pubescent; nigro-piceous, the ocelli, basal margin of the prothorax, basal and apical margins and suture of the elytra, antennae, legs, and under surface testaceous, the antennal club and metasternum slightly infuscate; above rather coarsely, closely punctate, the punctures separate one from another, the elytra obsoletely striate at the base, * A genus at one time referred to Carabidae. The Mexican P. saliaei Matth., as stated by Ganglbauer, has no trace of ocelli, and also differs in other respects from the type, and it cannot really belong to Pteroloma. The Japanese P. discicollis Lewis should also be remoyed from the genus, 1918.] 47 ‘ and with a shailow anteriorly evanescent sutural stria; metasternum closely, somewhat coarsely, the ventral segments very sparsely, minutely, punctate. Antennae reaching the base of the prothorax, joints 7-9 becoming progressively wider, 7 and 8 shorter and smaller than 9-11, the latter about equal in width. Prothorax convex, transverse, rounded at the sides, narrowed anteriorly, the angles obtuse. Scutellum small. Elytra oblong, a little wider than the pro- thorax, rounded at the sides anteriorly, broadly truncate at the tip. Posterior tibiae sinuously bowed inward towards the apex, and the basal joint of the anterior tarsi slightly thickened, in ¢. Length 14, breadth mm. (¢ Q.) Hab. Cure, Chiloe Island (C. Darwin). One pair, numbered 2365 in Darwin’s register. They were captured in 1834. Hypnosis Schmidt. Hydnobius forticornis, n. sp. Oblong-elliptic, convex, rufo-testaceous, shining. Head broad, impressed with a few minute scattered punctures; antennae with the 5-jointed club greatly developed, as long as the other joints united, 7, 9, and 10 strongly transverse, subequal. Prothorax gradually narrowed from the base, the sides almost straight, the anterior angles rounded, the hind angles obtuse ; the base immiarginate ; very sparsely, minutely punctate. Elytra rapidly narrowing from a little below the humeri, obsoletely, irregularly, striato-punctate, the interstices flat, sparsely, very minutely punctate, and also faintly transversely strigose, the sutural stria deeply impressed. Tarsi slender. Length 12mm. (@.) Hab. Cute, Chiloe Island (C. Darwin). One specimen, numbered 2369, obviously 2, the posterior femora being unarmed. This insect must be nearly related to H. consobrinus Fairm. et Germ. (1859), type ¢, from Concepcion, Chile; but the latter, to judge from the description, has the prothorax not so smooth and more rounded at the sides, and the elytra more coarsely punctate- striate, with the interstices transversely rugose. Compared with the European H. strigosus Schmidt the upper surface in H. forticornis is much smoother, the prothorax and elytra are less rounded at the sides, the prothorax wants the marginal groove at the base, and the antennal club is as strongly developed as in the allied holarctic genus Triarthron. The discovery of a second species of Hydnobius in Chile is interesting from the point of view of geographical distribution. It may be noted that typical representatives of the genera Anisotoma, Cyrtusa, Colenis, and Colon have been recorded from Central America, all unexpected additions to the fauna of that region. 48 [February, CoLYDIIDAE. PHILOTHERMUS Aubé. Philothermus eribricollis, n. sp. Oblong, shining, nigro-piceous above, piceous beneath, the head, palpi, antennae, and legs ferruginous. Head somewhat closely, conspicuously punc- tute; antennae about reaching the base of the prothorax, 11-jointed, the club freely 2-jointed, 10 strongly transverse, joint 9 also transverse and considerably wider than 8. Prothorax convex, much broader than long, feebly rounded at the sides, gradually narrowing from a little before the base to the apex, the anterior angles prominent, the reflexed lateral margins narrow, the basal foveae deep ; very coarsely, closely punctate. Elytra moderately long, slightly rounded at the sides, and at the middJe wider than the prothorax, the margins without projecting carina, the humeri angulate; with rows of coarse subapproximate punctures placed in shallow striae, the interstices almost flat, sparsely punctu- late. Beneath sparsely, the prosternum and the sides of the metasternum coarsely, punctured ; metasternum sulcate down the middle. Length 23-3 mm. Hab. Cutie, Chiloe Island (C. Darwin). Four specimens, numbered 2369 in Darwin’s register. This species is larger and has a more coarsely punctate prothorax than any of the described members of the genus known to me. The antennae have a freely articulated 2-jointed club, as in P. depressus Sharp, from Japan, P. cerylonoides Reitt., from Brazil, ete. In the allied genus Cerylon, the antennae are 10-jointed and the elub solid. The enlarged ninth antennal joint in P. erzbricollis might, perhaps, be counted as belonging to the club. BYRRHIDAE. MorycuHastes Fairm. Morychastes australis Blanch. Hab. TIERRA DEL FuEGo, Orange Bay, Perrier Isl.; SrRarrs oF MaGeEtuan, Port Famine. Two examples found by Darwin agree with Enderlein’s figure of M. australis, that of Blanchard being unsatisfactory. They are labelled “Bahia,” possibly in error, the handwriting being different from that attached to the specimens mounted at an earlier date. PARNIDAE. Emits Latr. Elmis chiloensis, n. sp. Oval, very shining, black above, piceous beneath, the antennae, anterior margin of prothorax, and legs rufo-testaceous. Antennae very slender. Pro- thorax transversely convex, a little broader than long, feebly rounded at the WATKINS & BONCASTER, Hatunalists, Keep in stock all Articles for Entomologists, Ornithologists, Botanists, &c. : Umbrelle Net, 7/-; Folding Cane or Wire, 3/6, 4/-, 4/6; Plain Ring Net, 1/3, 2/-,3/-; Pocket Boxes, 6d., 9d., 1/-, 1/6; Store Boxes, with Camphor Cells, 2/6, 3/6, 4/-, 5/-,6/-; Zine Pocket Boxes, 9d., 1/-, 1/6, 2/- Setting Boards, from 5d. to 1/10; Complete set of 14 boards, 10/6; Breeding Cages, 2/6, 4/-, 5/-, 7/6; Sugaring Tins, 1/6, 2/-; Sugar- ing Mixture, ready for use, 1/9 per tin; Setting Houses, 9/6, 11/6, 14/-; Glass Topped and Glass Bottomed Boxes, from 1/- per doz.; Zine Killing Boxes, 9d., 1/- ; Coleoptera Collecting Bottles, 1/6, 1/8; Collecting Box, containing 26 tubes (very useful for Coleopterists, Microscopists, &c.), 4/6; Brass Chloroform Bottle, 2/6. 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The Chingford Local Branch meets at “th. Avenue Café, == > Seago te. ee Sie ta at 8. Sap Paes! poner’ m Lange See oe as ees ? ae pe ets, oe eet es ae 1918.] prominent; finely, shallowly canaliculate down the middle, and with a spicuous submarginal ridge running parallel with the raised margin, the disc with a few extremely minute scattered punctures. Elytra oval, rather short, somewhat acuminate at the tip, convex on the dise anteriorly; shallowly seriato-punctate towards the sides and apex, almost smooth on the convex portion of the disc, and with two submarginal carinae, the lower one in line with the raised margin of the prothorax. Pro- and metasternum and abdomen, with a broad, shining, smoother space down the middle, the anterior portion of the metasternum depressed between the intermediate coxae, and the depres- sion limited on each side by an oblique ridge; ventral segment 5 not longer tibiae than 2-4 united. Legs rather slender, the intermediate and posterior tibiae sinuous within. Length 13-13 mm. Hab. Cutie, East coast of Island of Chiloe (C. Darwin: Dec. 1834). Four specimens, labelled by Darwin as having been found under stones in a small stream, and numbered 2338 in his register. A minute, convex, very shining, black form, with reddish legs and antennae, related to #. sulcicollis Sharp, from the mountains of Chiriqui, and Z£. laevi- gatus Grouv., from Brazil, differing from both of them in having the prothorax less narrowed anteriorly and more finely canaliculate on the disc; H. sulcicollis, moreover, has a raised plica at the base of the elytra, which is wanting in the present insect. H. chzloensis could, perhaps, be included under the section or subgenus Hsolus Muls. It cannot be identified with any of the five species of Hlmis, described by Germain from Chile, three of which are from Quillota. HALTICIDAE. DocEMINA, n. gen. Antennae narrowly separated at the base, 11]-jointed ; terminal joint of maxillary palpi acuminate ; prothorax margined laterally, without longitudinal impressions or transverse groove on the disc at the base; scutellum small, transverse; elytra striato-punctate; anterior coxae narrowly separated, the cavities closed behind; metasternum very short; ventral segments 1 and 5 subequal in length; legs stout; femora thickened, the posterior pair much stouter than the others; tibiae comparatively short, the posterior pair not reaching the apex of the elytra and without definite spur at the tip; tarsi with joints 1-3 spongy-pubescent beneath, 1 as long as 2 and 8 united, 2 transverse, 3 bilobed, 1 strongly dilated in g,, the claws small, angularly dilated at the base; body oblong, apterous, metallic. Type, D. erassipes. The single species referred to this genus is not unlike Docema C. O. 1) 50 { March, Waterh.,* type Haltica galapagoensis G. R. Waterh., found by Darwin on Charles Island, Galapagos, in 1835 ; it wants, however, the transverse basal groove on the prothorax, and the anterior coxal cavities are closed behind. The stout legs, strongly bilobed third tarsal joint, closed coxal cavities, unarmed posterior tibiae, etc., separate Docemina from Pato- phila, and the non-foveate prothorax, stout legs, etc., distinguish it from Mantura. The type of the present genus is not unlike the European M. chrysanthemi Koch, except that the prothorax and elytra are more rounded at the sides. It seems strange that G. R. Waterhouse left this beetle undescribed, after naming many of Darwin’s Halticidae from other localities, all of which were presumably in his possession at the time. The present insect is not included in Enderlein’s list of Fuegian beetles, in which one species only of Phytophaga is enumerated. Docemina crassipes, un. sp. Oblong-ovate, convex, very shining, aeneous above, nigro-piceous beneath, the legs and antennae ferruginous, the apical joints of the latter slightly in- fuscate. Head with an angulate impressed line between the eyes which is connected in front with a small V-shaped mark; antennae moderately long, joints 7-11 distinctly stouter than those preceding, 1 and 2 also thickened, 7-10 not longer than broad. Prothorax very convex, broader than long, rounded at the sides, slightly narrowed anteriorly; closely, rather coarsely punctate, transversely depressed on each side at the base above the obtuse hind angles. Elytra oblong-oval, about as wide as the prothorax in ¢, broader in 9, rather coarsely striato-punctate to the apex, the interstices flat and almost smooth. Ventral segments very sparsely, finely punctate. . S. Basal joint of anterior and intermediate tarsi broadly dilated and longer than in 9, that of the posterior pair also widened ; fifth ventral segment depressed down the middle posteriorly. Length 2-2; mm. Hab. Trerrka DEL Fureo [o 9, types] (C. Darwin); CuHtItE, East coast of Island of Chiloe [ d ] (C. Darwin). Described from three specimens. The label on the Chiloe male is not in the same handwriting and cleaner than that on the others, and it is just possible some mistake may have been made in ticketing the Chilean example ? AULONODERA, N. gen. Antennae narrowly separated at the base, 11-jointed, long, slender ; pro- thorax margined laterally, and with a deep, complete, transverse basal groove ; scutellum not visible; elytra gibbous, cordate, and with a deep sutural stria ; anterior coxal cavities imperfectly closed behind, the prothoracic epimera not * Prov. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1877, p. 80. 1918.7 51 quite reaching the rather broad prosternal process; intermediate and posterior coxae somewhat distant; metasternum extremely short; ventral segment 1 about as long as 2-5 united, 2-4 short; legs elongate; posterior femora strongly incrassate ; posterior tibiae long, extending to far beyond the apex of the elytra, armed with a minute spur at the tip; third tarsal joint narrowly bilobed, the basal joint of the posterior pair about as long as next two joints united ; body apterous, convex, subovate. Type, A. darwint. The single species referred to this genus has the general facies of a small Longitarsus, from which it at once separated by the very deeply impressed, complete, transverse basal groove of the prothorax, the deep sutural stria of the elytra, the feeble spur to the posterior tibiae, etc. The anterior coxal cavities, so far as can be ascertained without detaching the prothorax from the rest of the body, appear to be incompletely closed behind by the inward extension of the epimera. Aulonodera darwint, n. sp. Very convex, shining, glabrous, almost smooth, reddish-brown, the elytra piceous to near the tip in one example, the antennae and legs testaceous. Antennae long, slender. Prothorax transversely obliquely widening from the base to the tuberculate anterior angles, the deep basal groove finely punctured. Elytra transversely gibbose anteriorly and subacuminate at the tip ; obsoletely striato-punctate, the fine scattered punctures distinctly traceable at the base. Length 13-13 mm. Hab. Cutz, Chiloe Isl. (C. Darwin). Three examples, sex not ascertained, two of them numbered 2368 and one 2369, and to judge from the incomplete copy of Darwin’s register at the Museum, all obtained by sweeping low bushes. CURCULIONIDAE. LISTRODERES Schoénh. Lustroderes quadrituberculatus, n. sp. Elongate, parallel-sided, flattened on the disc, piceous or reddish-brown, the antennae (the club excepted) ferruginous ; opaque above, the rostrum and under surface somewhat shining; sparsely clothed with small, adpressed, brownish hairs, which are minute and inconspicuous on the elytra; densely, rugosely punctate, the head and prothorax subgranulate. Rostrum feebly curved, a little shorter than the prothorax, stout, widened outwards, not carinate, the scrobes becoming shallow towards the eyes; antennae slender, rather long, the scape reaching to about the middle of the eyes. Prothorax transversely subquadrate, gradually widening from the base to near the apex and then abruptly, obliquely narrowed; broadly excavate down the middle, and also hollowed on each side of this anteriorly, and with a more or less EZ 52 [March, distinct, incomplete, fine median carina. Scutellum triangular. Elytra elon- gate, much wider than the prothorax, laterally compressed, broadly flattened on the disc, parallel from a little below the oblique humeri to near the apex and then abruptly narrowed to the tip, the apices produced and conjointly rounded ; coarsely punctato-striate, the interstices uneven, the third with a rather large oblique tubercle at some distance beyond the middle and a still larger conical tubercle before the apex, the latter connected with the swollen apical portion of the costiform sixth interstice by an oblique ridge. Beneath closely granulato-punctate ; mesosternal process very narrow, terminating in a small tubercle; ventral segment 5 sulcate down the middle. Legs long, rather slender, tibiae strongly sinuate within, the anterior pair bowed inward at the apex. . Length (excl. head) 83-9, breadth 3-3; mm. Hab. Trerra DEL Fureo, Summit of Kater’s Peak, an abrupt cone of greenstone, alt. 1700 ft., near Wigwam Cove, Hermite Island (C. Darwin). Two specimens, assumed to be males, found under stones, in 1832. The broadly flattened, laterally compressed elytra give this species the general facies of the Tenebrionid-genus Mosoderma. It is very like LL. (Elytrogonus) varicosus Blanch., his figure nearly agreeing with the insect before me, except that the tubercle on the third elytral interstice is wanting, and the prothorax is obviously longer; the rostrum, moreover, is said to be carinate. Blanchard’s type, destroyed by his artist, was from Port Famine, on the northern side of the Straits of Magellan. One of Darwin’s examples is labelled, ‘‘ guadrituberculatus,” apparently in G. R. Waterhouse’s handwriting. Enderlein (1912) enumerated three species only of Listroderes from Tierra del Fuego, all described and figured by Fairmaire, and very different from the present insect. The Magellanic forms named by Germain and others are also dissimilar. LInstroderes katerensis, n. sp. Elongate, oblong, rather broad, flattened on the disc, shining (when denuded), black, the antennae and tarsi rufescent ; rather sparsely clothed with minute brownish hairs; densely, rugosely, the rostrum, head, and pro- thorax roughly, punctate. Rostrum very stout, shorter than the prothorax, slightly widened outwards, convex down the middle, and with an indication of feeble carina towards the sides; head foveate between the eyes; antennae rather long and slender. Prothorax broader than long, rounded at the sides, the latter obliquely converging anteriorly, and slightly sinuate and feebly con- vergent towards the base; broadly trifoveate on the disc (the two posterior foveae transversely placed), and also with an interrupted median sulcus. Elytra long, broad, subparallel for three-fourths of their length (the sides slightly rounded below the humeri and sinuate posteriorly), flattened on the disc, and laterally compressed, the apices somewhat oblique, conjointly rounded at the sutural angle; coarsely, interruptedly striato-punctate, the interstices 1918.) #53 here and there raised and transversely confluent, the third with a large conical tubercle at the commencement of the apical declivity, the fifth and seventh subcostate, the fitth with a smaller tubercle before the tip, the ridge on the seventh terminating in a large subangular, laterally projecting prominence which is almost in a line with the tubercle on the third. Beneath rather coarsely, closely punctate ; ventral segment 5 broadly excavate in the middle. Legs long; tibiae strongly sinuate within. Length (excl. head) 73, breadth 33 mm. (0?) Hab. Tierra pet Fureo, Kater’s Peak, Hermite Island (C. Darwin). One specimen, found with the preceding. Less elongate than L. 4-tuberculatus, the rostrum rougher, stouter, and subcarinate; the prothorax sulcate and trifeveate, not carinate; the elytra shorter, broader, less parallel, and less flattened on the disc, with four large, transversely placed tubercles towards the apex, and two smaller tubercles between them and the tip. ANTARCTOBIUS Fairm. Antarctobius lacunosus Fairm. Antarctobius lacunosus Fairm. Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 1885, p. 59; Miss. Scient. Cap Horn, vi, p. 56, t. 2, fig. 8 (1888). Listroderes lacunosus Enderlein, Stett. ent. Zeit. 1907, p. 39, ete. Hab. Tierra DEL FuEGOo, Orange Bay, Hardy Peninsula (fair- maire), Kater’s Peak, Hermite Island (C. Darwin); CuitE, Patch Cove, north part of Tres Montes (C. Darwin). Three specimens from Kater’s Peak (2 ¢ gd and 1 2 ) and one (¢ ) from Tres Montes agree very fairly with Fairmaire’s description and figure; the deeply excavated metasternum and first ventral segment mentioned by the author are obviously d-characters. The tarsi are densely pubescent beneath and the third joint bilobed. Antarctobius Fairm. has been sunk by various authors as a synonym of Listroderes Schénh.; but if I have correctly identified the present species, one of the three forms included in the genus by Fairmaire, the ocular lobes are entirely wanting, as in the two others here added. The genus Ama- thynetes Olliff (1891), from the Ecuador Andes, is rather like these southern insects, but it has distinct ocular lobes. Antarctobius rugirostris, n. sp.} Elongate-obovate, somewhat convex, moderately shining, piceous, the legs, antennae, and under surface reddish, clothed with rather long, fine, adpressed hairs ; closely, finely, the elytra densely, rugulosely punctate. Rostrum short 54 (March, very stout, widened outwards, densely, rugosely punctate, feebly tricarinate ; head deeply foveate between the eyes; antennae with joints 3-7 of funiculus transverse, becoming wider outwards. Prothorax transverse, rather convex, rounded at the sides, about equally narrowed towards the base and apex; the disc with an abbreviated, smooth median line terminating in a longitudinal impression at the base, and a transverse foveiform excavation on each side just behind the middle, the punctuation uniform. Elytra oblong-oval, somewhat acuminate behind, conjointly rounded at the apex, truncate at the base, the humeri rounded; rather coarsely punctato-striate, the interstices densely rugulose, uneven, here and there obliquely raised (appearing subareolate), 3, 5, and 7 interruptedly costate. Beneath sparsely punctate; metasternum and first ventral segment broadly excavate in the middle behind. Tibiae strongly sinuate within. Tarsi clothed with short pubescence beneath, joint 3 bilobed. Length (excl. head) 5, breadth 2 mm. Hab. Trerra DEL Fureo, Hardy Peninsula (C. Darwin). One specimen, assumed to be ¢. This insect must be nearly related to A. dissimilis Fairm., 5, from Choungougon, Orange Bay, to judge from the description; but it has a very rugose, tricarinate rostrum, . densely rugulose, uneven elytral interstices, ete. There are no definite tubercles on the elytra and the prothorax is without trace of ocular lobes. Antarctobius laticauda, n. sp. Elongate-oval, moderately convex, shining, clothed with scattered minute hairs (mostly abraded); nigro-piceous above, piceous beneath, the antennae, the basal and apical margins of the prothorax, the suture and outer portion of the elytra, and legs rufescent. Head and rostrum densély, uniformly punctate, the latter short, stout, widened outwards, deeply sulcate down the middle; eyes depressed; antennae rather long and slender, the scape reaching to the posterior margin of the eye, joints 1 and 2 of the funiculus long, subequal, 3-7 short. Prothorax transverse, rounded at the sides, narrowed anteriorly and constricted behind, the base margined and slightly hollowed in the middle; closely punctate, and with a rather broad median sulcus which becomes deeper towards the base and apex. LElytra oblong-oval, much wider than the prothorax, conjointly produced at the apex into a broad, stout, caudi- form, subtruncate process, which is slightly flattened towards the tip above ; with ten rows of coarse punctures placed in shallow striae, the interstices sparsely, minutely punctate, the alternate ones more or less convex, the others feebly so towards the sides and apex. Ventral segments almost smooth, 2-4 subequal in length. Legs rather slender, the femora clavate; tibiae with a few setae on their inner edge, the anterior pair sinuous within, the others almost straight; tarsi sparsely clothed with long hairs beneath, joint 3 broad, laminate, feebly emarginate at the apex. Length (excl. head) 63, breadth 23; mm. (Q.) Hab. Cute, Northern part of Tres Montes (C. Darwin). 1918.) 55 One specimen, captured in 1834. This insect is not unlike A. dis- similis Fairm., the ¢ of which wants the caudiform process, from Orange Bay, Perrier Isl., and New Year’s Sound, Tierra del Fuego; but differs from the corresponding sex of that species, figured by Fairmaire, in the non-excavate caudal process and other particulars. The tarsi are clothed with longer hairs than in A. rugirostris, and the laminate third joint is almost entire, instead of being deeply cleft. Horsell. January 1918. CAENOCARA SUBGLOBOSA MULS., A SPECIES OF COLEOPTERA NEW TO BRITAIN. BY HORACE DONISTHORPE, F.Z.S. “ Enneatoma subglobosa Muls.—Subhémisphérique, hérissée d’une fine pubescence cendrée ; trés-brillante, d’un noir de poix, avec les élytres d’un rouge brun, les palpes, les tarses, et les antennes d’un roux testacé, le ler article de celles-ci, les cuisses, et les tibias d’un roux ferrugineux. Téte et prothorax confusément, élytres subsérialement ponctués. Front assez large ; légérement convexe. Prothorax fortement convexe, beaucoup plus étroit en avant; a cotés presques droits et trés-étroitement rebordés, avec les angles autérieurs tres aigus, les postérieurs subobtus et subélevés ; largement bissinué & la base; assez fortement convexe, égal. LEcusson subsémicirculaire. Elytres courtement ovalaires, assez convexes, largement et obtusément arrondies au sommet, tristriées-sillonnées sur les cOtés, parées, outre la pubescence, de poils sérialement disposés. Tarses courts, étroits. Long. 0™,0012 (3/5).” Mulsant, Col. de France, Térédiles, pp. 3877, 378, 1864. There are only three species of this genus mentioned in the European catalogue, and Mulsant (/. c. p, 870) gives the following table by which they may be separated :— a, Stries des élytres canaliculées. b. Elytres confusément ponctuées, a pubescence ordinaire et couchée, ee bovistae. bb. Elytres subsérialement ponctuées, 4 pubescence en partie redressée et disposée en séries répuliéres ...........00ce re ceeee affinis. aa. Stries des élytres sulciformes. Elytres subsérialement ponctuées, & pubes- cence en partie redressée et disposée en séries réguliéres .. subglobosa. Of these three species C. swbglobosa is the smallest (C. affinis is the largest) and is very distinct from our only British species known up to now—C. bovistae. It may be known from the latter by its smaller size; shorter, subglobose shape; more golden (less grey) and less decum- bent pubescence, the suberect hairs being arranged in more or less distinct rows, and more distinct and longer pubescence beneath; more shining 56 |[March, appearance ; smaller and more widely separated puncturation, the spaces between the punctures being more shining; reddish-yellow legs, antennae and palpi, the first joint of the antennae and the femora and tibiae being of a deeper red; the thorax at the posterior angles evidently more sepa- rated from the base of elytra; the scutellum longer and narrower and distinctly punctured all over; the interstices between the three striae at the sides of the elytra being rounded (not flat as in bovistae), and the striae more uneven. I have bred three specimens of C. swbglobosa (3 2 9 ) from a Lyeo- perdon gemmatum which I found at Barton Mills, on September 9th, 1917, and took home, as it contained a number of very small and medium-sized white coleopterous larvae. ‘The putt-ball was kept in a tin with a little damp earth, and some muslin over the tin in place of the lid. From it I had already bred one Lycoperdina succincta and a few Pocadius “errugineus. The larva of the Caenocara came out of the puff-ball, and made a small cell in the earth beneath. At first I thought it was a very small Lycoperdina larva, and that, having deserted its food, because it was dry and there was not enough left, it would probably die. In the Ent. Mo. Mag. vii, p. 180 (1872), Sidebotham gives an interesting account of how he bred specimens of C. bovistae from larvae found “in small dry specimens of Bovista plumbea and other small fungi, on a sandy flat near Barmouth.”’ | C. bovistae is sometimes taken by sweeping; I have taken it in this way at Battle. C. suwbglobosa is found in lycoperdons in France and Germany; Europe, Central and South, and also Siberia, but appears to be rare. I owe my best thanks to Miss Lorrain Smith of the Natural History Museum for kindly helping me to name the Lycoperdon. Putney. January 1918. ON THE BRITISH SPECIES OF NOTONECTA. BY JAMES EDWARDS, F.E.S. The more one studies the various kinds of MWotonecta found in Britain “as living things” the more difficult does it become to adopt the supposition of Fieber (‘‘ Rhynchotographien,” pp. 49, 50, 1851) that N. furcata Fab. and NV. maculata Fab. are varieties of NV. glauca L., or as he calls it WV. fabrictz. If it were worth while to controvert this Fieberian dogma, one might inquire how it is that one does not find amongst our native Notonectae a number of obvious mongrels such as exists in the case of Philaenus spwmarius. It does not appear that 1918.) 57 there is any reason for assuming that the laws of heredity are suspended in the case of Notonecta; and there is no advantage in continuing to attribute to 1. glauca a degree of variability that it does not possess, simply in deference to the opinion of any authority, however eminent, which there is no evidence to support. These insects are so common that if furcata and maculata are the offspring of glauca, there ought to be no lack of intermediate specimens indicating the fact; but Kirkaldy, the reviser of the genus (Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1897, pp. 397 et seg.), who may fairly be assumed to have had access to abundant and varied material, could find no intermediates between glauca and furcata from localities nearer than Persia and Kashmir. The only named form which appears to be a variety of glauca is marmorea Fab. as defined by Kirkaldy, which has the metanotum black, yellow-brown elytra with darker mottling, and the connexivum greenish-testaceous. According to Kirkaldy this variety has been confused with maculata Fab., and as regards the elytral pattern and colour some forms of marmorea and maculata are quite indistinguishable. Even so the latter may be known by its orange- yellow metanotum; but marmorea would only be separable from specimens of glauca with an excess of dark mottling on the elytra by the greenish-testaceous connexivum. Kirkaldy gives the connexivum of glauca as black, but I have invariably found it dull ochreous with the junction of the segments brown, as described by Douglas & Scott (Brit. Hem. p. 588). I have not seen any form of glauca to which the name marmorea could be applied, though it is evidently the insect referred to by Dale, as quoted by Douglas & Scott (¢. c. p. 589) in the following passage:—‘‘Some varieties of NV. glauca, with the wings closed, do not show any great variation from WV. maculata; ...”. Kuhlgatz (in Brauer, Siisswasserfauna Deutschlands, Heft 7, p. 81, 1909) uses the name marmorea Fab. for the insect which is here called maculata Fab.; but I adopt the view of Oshanin (Verz. Pal. Hem. i, p- 975), who regards as representing VV. maculata Fab. the figure of Herrich-Schaffer (Wanz. Ins. viii. p. 28, fig. 797), which, teste Douglas & Scott, /.c., is a copy of that of Curtis (Brit. Ent. t. 10) and therefore represents our insect. I am indebted to my esteemed colleague, Mr. E. A. Butler, for the opportunity of characterizing an additional native species of this genus which he found at Whitstable in April, 1912, associated with Coelam- bus parallelogrammus, and at Rye in March, 1913, in company with Corixa selecta. An example of this insect was sent some time since to Dr. Horvath, who could see in it nothing more than another variety of NV. glauca. 58 [March, N. halophila, n. sp. Expanse 25 mm. ¢, 265 mm. 2. Crown and pronvotum greenish-white, hinder half of the latter blackish. Anterior angles of the pronotum produced in an acute equilateral triangle. Scutellum black. Elytra sordid greenish- white, inclining to yellowish in the female, costa with a row of irregular blackish spots from the base, inner apical angle of the corium with a blackish marking, which has a tendency to originate as a short thick black line and does not encroach on the apex of the clavus, in the inner angle of the cuneus some blackish mottling. Wings with a white reflection; apex nar- rowly fuscous ; Sc blackish, Rs, r-m, and M dark brown. Metanotum and abdomen above, except the sides and apex of the latter, deep black. Abdomen beneath with the long hairs on the middle keel and on the inner edge of the connexivum black in the male, pale brown in the female. Length 13°5-15°5 mm. This species, of which I have also seen a specimen, ex coll. Thouless, taken at Gravesend by Kirkaldy, 16.iv.1897, may be readily known by its smaller size, pale colour, and the sharp projecting front angles of the pronotum. The distinctive characters of our native species are set out in the following table :— 1 (6) Metanotum black. 2 (5) Expanse not exceeding 27 mm. 3 (4) Expanse 26-27 mm. Front angles of pronotum in the lateral aspect right angles or obtuse. Elytra brownish-yellow with more or less of blackish mottling, which originates next the costa and exceptionally extends over the disc. Wings usually with a white reflection; con- colorous at the apex; Sc at the apex, Rs, r-m, and M in its distal half, yellow, the remaining veins colourless. Abdomen beneath with the long hairs on the middle keel and on the inner edge of the connexivum pale brown in both sexes .......... glauca L. 4 (3) Expanse 25-265 mm. Front angles of pronotum in the lateral aspect acute and projecting. Elytra sordid greenish-white with a row of irregular blackish spots trom the base of the costa. Wings with a white reflection ; narrewly fuscous at the apex; Sc blackish, Rs, r-m, and M dark brown. Abdomen beneath with the long hairs on the middle keel and on the inner edge of the connexivum black in the male, pale brown in the female ................ halophila, nu. sp. 5 (2) Expanse 31-33 mm. Elytra dark brown to black, with two yellow streaks at the base. Wings with a purplish-blue reflection; nar- rowly fuscous at the apex; Sc, Rs, r-m, and M dark brown, the remaining veins colourless. Abdomen beneath with the long hairs on the middle keel and on the inner edge of the connexivum brownish-yellow in the male, pale brown in the female. Se Ree furcata Fab. 6 (1) Metanotum orange-yellow with a black spot on each side of the base. Elytra brownish-yellow inclining to orange, closely mottled with blackish. Wings narrowly fuscous at the apex; reflection inclining to brownish-yellow ; Sc almost to the apex, and R, pale, Se at the apex, Rs, and M yellow-brown. Abdomen beneath with the long hairs on the middle keel and on the inner edge of the connexivum black in the male, pale brown in the female. Expanse 27-28 mm. ies sae maculata Fab. 1918.] 59 For those unfamiliar with the Comstock-Needham system of naming the wing-veins, it will suffice to say that the strong vein running along the front edge of the wing is black or dark brown in halophila and furcata, colourless in glauca, and yellow in maculata. In the male the distal edges of the penultimate and antepenultimate ventral segments of the abdomen have each a single deep indentation reaching from side to side, arcuate in the former, angular in the latter; in the female the corresponding parts are straight or feebly concave. The differences in the male genitalia are those of degree, and insufficient to afford dis- tinctive characters. The wing-veins in Wotonecta conform very nearly to the type which Comstock and Needham from their studies of the tracheation (Amer. Naturalist, xxx, pp. 249-252) regard as the most generalized condition in the Heteroptera, the principal difference being that in Notonecta M runs parallel to R, and Cuand al combine just before the termen. Se is a strong vein, and in the basal two-thirds of the wing runs next the costa; near the apical third it curves downward to combine shortly with the apical part of Rs. RK is a feeble colourless vein running close to Sc until it gives off Rs; the latter is a strong vein and curves downward in the direction of M as far as the short rm, whence it curves upward to combine shortly with Sc. M is a moderately strong simple vein, some- what more evident in its distal than in its proximal half; just beyond rm it is joined to Cu by the colourless m—-cu. Cu and al are both colourless simple veins; they anastomose for a short distance near the base and afterwards diverge and run parallel nearly to the termen, just before which they combine. The most instructive specimens of Notonecta are those which are pinned and have the elytra and wings spread out. Colesborne, Cheltenham. January 15th, 1918. BRANCHED FORCEPS IN AN EARWIG. BY H. H. BRINDLEY, M.A. In the course of measuring many thousands of forcipes of the Com- mon Harwig (forficula auricularia Linn.?) I have found only one instance of this organ being branched, so it is perhaps worth while to record it. The most common abnormality is one of the forcipes of a pair in the male resembling, on the whole, the normal female forceps, in its being comparatively straight and slender and in lacking the inner shoulder 60 ; [March, at its base which is characteristic of the male. As Dr. Maleolm Burr points out (“ Fauna of British India: Dermaptera,” 1910, p. 9), “Such cases are frequently recorded as hermaphrodites, but whenever the full complement of nine segments occurs together with one male branch, it is more probable that these are not gynandromorphie specimens, but merely that one branch has been unable to obtain full development.” Mutila- tion or insutficient nourishment may account for retarding the normal development of a forceps, so that in the imago it presents the characters of a nymph’s forceps, for, on the whole, these ‘‘ female” forcipes in males resemble those of nymphs as much as they do those of adult females. The instance now described and illustrated is of a different kind, as it is one of the forcipes (the right) bearing two branches on its outer side, which give it an antler-like appearance. Its length is 3°25 mm., while that of the left or normal forceps is 8°75 mm. Whether the difference in length and the bluntness of the extremity and branches of the right forceps were due to insufficient nourishment during development or to subsequent injury is, of course, uncertain, but it will be noticed that the organ is abnormal also in the elongated and non- serrated condition of the characteristic inner shoulder. The specimen occurred among a batch of 353 adults of both sexes ‘collected on Maryland Farm, Brownsea, the largest island in Poole Brownsea 6, 1911. Harbour, in 1911. Other collections from the same spot, made in 1910, 1912, and 1913, produced no abnormalities in forcipes beyond the so- called ‘‘ female” forceps of males which are met with in collections from any locality. This antler-like forceps does not observe any rules of symmetry such as are set torth by Bateson (“ Materials for the Study of Variation,” 1894, chaps. xx—xxii) in dealing with duplicity and other forms of branching in the appendages of insects and crustaceans. The abnormal forceps seemed to have been no disadvantage to its possessor, which was of healthy appearance; and the same may be said, in general, of males with ‘female ” forcipes. I am indebted to Miss Maud D. Haviland, H.M.B.O.U., for kindly making the above camera lucida drawing of the Brownsea specimen. Zoological Laboratory, Cambridge. February, 1918. —(1918.] 61 DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES OF LEPIDOPTERA FROM NEW ZEALAND. BY G. V. HUDSON, F.E.S. The following descriptions relate to new species of Lepzdoptera which have recently come under my notice from various localities in the Dominion. Some of them are very. distinct forms and of more than ordinary interest, NoctTurmpDAE. Aletia empyrea, n. sp. This large and handsome species was discovered by Mr. Charles E. Clarke in the Routeburn Valley at the head of Lake Wakatipu, at an altitude of about 2500 ft. above the sea-level. It has also occurred at Queenstown. The expansion of the wings is about 2 inches. The fore wings of the male are rather bright bluish-grey with blackish markings; the basal line is distinet, strongly dentate; the first line has four strong projections; the claviform is very narrow, blackish-edged and pale centred; the orbicular is large, trape- zoidal-ovate whitish; a conspicuous blackish triangular spot is situated be- tween the orbicnlar and the reniform, the reniform itself being very indistinct ; the second line is strongly dentate and bent outwards above the middle; there is a series of faint blackish triangular marks on the subterminal area, and the veins are irregularly marked in blackish. The hind wings are pale grey with a dark grey lunule and two cloudy-grey bands. The female is considerably paler than the male and the markings are much less distinct. The perfect insect appears in December. Described from specimens kindly lent to me by Mr. Clarke. GEOMETRIDAE. Xanthorhoe pseudostinaria, n. sp. A single specimen of this very distinctly-marked insect was taken at Otira on the west coast of the South Island. The expansion of the wings is 13 inches. The fore wings are rather broad with the apex very slightly projecting and the termen slightly bowed; cream- coloured with bright brown markings ; there is a narrow line along the costa; a faint slightly curved line on the inner edge of the median band; a small blackish discal dot; a straight, oblique, very strongly-marked line from near the apex to the dorsum at 4, and a very faint wavy subterminal line; a dark brown terminal line is situated below the apex, where the cilia are also dark brown. The hind wings are cream-coloured with a conspicuous brown line across the middle and very faint traces of one basal and two subterminal lines. Except as above indicated the cilia of all the wings are cream-coloured. The perfect insect appears in December and frequents forest. 62 {March, GRACILARIADAE. Parectopa zorionella, n. sp. This very distinct species was discovered in the Botanical Gardens at Wellington. The expansion of the wings is $ inch. The fore wings are elongate-oblong with the costa strongly arched; very dark brownish-black with very vivid steely- blue reflections ; there is a large semicircular silvery-white spot on the costa a Nttle beyond the nuddle ; an oblique silvery-white bar beyond 3 and two much smaller bars just before the apex; there are three minute silvery spots on the dorsum. The hind wings are dull steely-grey. The cilia of the tore wings are black, of the hind wings dark grey tinged with bronze towards the body. The perfect insect appears in November and is found amongst light scrub. TINEIDAE. Titanomis tetragona, n. sp. With the exception of the extremely rare Titanomis sisyrota this handsome insect is the largest Tineid at present known in New Zealand. It was discovered on Mount Egmont in January 1917 at an altitude of about 3000 feet above the sea-level. The expansion of the wings of the male is fully 24 inches. The fore wings are oblong with the costa strongly arched ; deep purplish-brown obscurely mottled with darker and with faint bronzy reflections; there is a large irregular patch of paler scales in the disc near the base; a large dull whitish triangular patch on the tornus, its apex almost reaching the costa; this patch is thickly streaked with grey; the terminal area is clouded with warm purplish-brown ; there ts a very conspicuous, almost square, pinkish-ochreous blotch on the costa immediately before the apex. ‘The hind wings are pale ochreous very heavily dappled with grey. All the cilia are ochreous with pale greyish-brown basal line and tips. The head is ochreous, the thorax pale purplish-brown and the abdomen dark ereyish-ochreous. The perfect insect appears in January and may be looked for in sub- alpine forests. It is attracted by light. Described from the unique specimen kindly lent to me by Mr. Morris N. Watt. MtIcROPTERYGIDAE. Sabatinca aurella, n. sp. This very brilliantly-coloured little insect was discovered by Mr. R. M. Sunley on the Tararua Mountains at an elevation of about 3000 ft. above the sea-level, 1918.) 63 The expansion of the wings is; inch. The fore wings, which have the costa very abruptly arched at the base and the termen very oblique, are bright golden-ochreous with the veins well marked and deeply depressed ; there ts a large erimson-orange-metallic basal patch, purple on the costa; a curved transverse band at about + deep crimson-purple-metallic on the costa, metaliic-blue below the middle, and crimson on the dorsum; another narrower band at about 4, deep purple on the costa, thence brilliant metallic-blue to the dorsum ; two long costal bars beyond this, purple on the costa, pale metallic-blue towards the disc; an irregular confluent series of crimson and metallic-blue spots on the termen; the cilia are golden-ochreous. The hind wings are blackish with strong purple reflections. The head and thorax are clothed with long rusty-orange hairs. The abdomen is blackish. The antennae are orange, black towards tbe apex. Hillview, Karori, Wellington, N.Z. November 18th, 1917. On the Introduction of Insect Aliens to the British Islands.—I see that Mr. W. E. Sharp (in the January number of this Magazine) takes me to task for expressing approval of the possible establishment in these islands of two exotic butterflies. As Mr. Sharp invites the opinion of biologists on the subject, I am tempted to state my views more fully. I must confess that, as a student of biology, I am in sympathy with his argument, and have myselt experienced annoyance at certain heedless interferences with Nature's methods of populating a country. And yet there is another side cf me (let us call it the esthetic side) that would lead me to welcome the introduction of any object of beauty that might add to the interest and pleasure of the lives, not of entomologists only, but of the general community, I wonder if biologists (and entomologists in particular), constituting—as they do—such a minute percentage of the population of the world, are justified in setting their own inconvenience (for it is little more) against the harmless gratification of the aesthetic instincts of the majority. Ido not wish for a moment to underrate the value of work that has been and is being effected by biologists all the world over, but are we not, perhaps, in danger of taking ourselves and the importance of our particular theories a little too seriously ? Mr. Sharp com- plains of confusions that have arisen in the study cf the distribution of the flora of this country, through the constantly repeated introduction of foreign plants ; yet how dull would our gardens now be but for the untiring zeal of collectors who have ransacked the world for new floweriny plants to add to the beauty and interest of our surroundings. Why should not lovers of insect life be allowed some such indulgence? As an Economic Entomologist by profession, I acknowledge that indiscriminate introductions might lead (and indeed have led) to disastrous results, and must be sternly discouraged. I need only instance the case of the Gypsy-moth plague in North America. Any experiments in this direction should be under close control and subject to the strictest regulations. They ought to be first submitted to some responsible 64 ‘ (March, body (such as the Zoological Society) which should investigate all the circumstances and be empowered with authority to veto all species that might by any possibility become pests in the country of their proposed adop- tion, and permanent records should be kept of the circumstances under which others were admitted. With proper safeeuards, I see no reason why our butterfly fauna might not be enriched by the addition of many beautiful exotic species. —E. Ernest Green, Camberley: Feb. 1918. Apion (Erythrapion) miniatum Germ. in Scotland.—Dr. Sharp’s remark, in his paper on the “ British Red, Apions” (antea, p. 4) that he had not seen A. miniatum from Scotland, induced me to send him a “ Clyde” specimen which I had standing in my collection under that name. He has examined it and finds it correctly identified. It was taken by me at Ardpeaton, east side of Loch Long, Dumbartonshire, on 27th June, 1910. The species does not appear to have been previously recorded from the Clyde area. I may add that on 21st September last I took a few specimens of Chrysomela hyperict Forst., from St. John’s-wort on the shore near Ardpeaton.— WIL.1aM Evans, 38 Mor- ningside Park, Edinburgh: 12th February, 1918. Abundance of Anthrenus varius F. in Essex.—During last June, a feature of my garden, at Westcliff, was the excessive abundance of this little Der- mestid on the blossoms of a certain white rose-tree. At the commencement of its occurrence the flowers appeared quite black, owing to the beetles being present in such large numbers, in company with Meligethes, Olibrus, and other flower-frequenting Clavicornes. After the first few days, however, they were not so numerous. About fifty specimens were secured, but many were partly divested of their elytral scales I am indebted to Mr. G. J. Arrow for kindly determining the species. Another case of extraordinary abundance during the past June was that of Attelabus curculionoides L. on young oaks, as was also the case the preceding year.—A. F. J. Gepye, 2 Park Terrace, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex: Feb. 18th, 1918. Sysciophthalmus crawshuyi Champ.—Synonymical note.—The remarkable Curculionid from Useless Bay, Tierra del Fuego, described in the February No. of this Magazine, antea p. 35, under the above name, proves to be synonymous with Anomophthalmus insolitus Fairm, (1884), the type of which was from Santa Cruz, Patagonia, the reduced number of joints in the funiculus (5 instedd of 7) separating S. crawshay? from Sysciophthalmus Heller. I am indebted to Dr. Sharp for calling my attention to Fairmaire’s description of it, which was overlooked by me. He tells me that he has dissected males of Sysciophthalmus and Anaemerus, and finds that these genera are somewhat closely allied, Tanymecus (as represented by T. palliatus F.‘, on the other hand, being perhaps sufficiently different in ¢-structure to belong to a separate group. Amongst Capt. R. Crawshay’s captures at Useless Bay, etc., in Tierra del Fuego, there are also specimens of a Carabid, Anchomenus semistriatus Fairm., type from Punta Arenas, not included in Enderlein’s Fuegian list ; Commander Walker sent me examples of it taken in the same Magellanic locality in Dec. 1880.—G. C. Cuampion, Horsell: Fed, 11th, 1918. 1918.} 65 Societies. Tur Soutru Lonpun ENTOMOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HiIsToRY SOCIETY: November 22nd, 1917.—Hy. J. Turner, F.E.S., President, in the Chair. Mr. Bowman exhibited several series of Hemerophila abruptaria bred in 1916 and 1917, spring and summer emergences, and gave details of the results, a wild typical male having been paired up each time with a melanic-bred female. Mr. Brooks, a fine aberration of Lomaspilis marginata, the dark -markings confined to the costal area, almost ab. pollutaria, from Wicken in 1910. Mr. Edwards, a series of Papilio nireus and pointed out variation in the underside marking. Mr. B. Adkin, three aberrations of Aa eB 16 NATURAL HISTORY CABINETS BELONGING TO THE LATE Dr. Mason, ALSO FOUR MICROSCOPICAL CABINETS, Containing Microseopical Slides by G. R. VINE, of Sheffield. 7 ALSO 400 BRITISH BIRDS IN CASES. Apply—Mrs. MASON, Trenr Hovusr, Burvon-on-TReEnv. STEVENS’ AUCTION ROOMS. Estd. 1760. TUESDAY, MARCH 127TH, aT 12.30 o’cLocK. NATURAL HISTORY SPECIMENS. Mr. J. C. 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Suna of ben ag & developm ant of agectet ace: ‘dmch indebted to. him ae int ‘torn “abretwacthy guide: to the exte x * pilies at various stages of their life-histories.” Mtr a eS i re a =e cra Prospectus. on application =, Ss sectad University P ise Fetter: Tane, Fond BG 4 Cc FB. hoy, Masao ae pohupli Pall. : 2 Se ere Sioa | ee gantitati Sola SPREE : Bae > #raecus Deje oer woe ics seplonoided Crenta. ee ‘ TO A PAGE. a0. # 3 | oy me ATA will ris sailed we . oh : SOONTENTS. aoe | Notes on various “South dbenacione ‘Ooleoptera piilaabed: by . en during “the Voyage of ‘the * “Beagle,” with deecriptions BS new species (coheluded).—@. 0. Champion /#.Z:8..-<...4.,%, Beg - thirpe; P.ZA. reer at) 1 ries Ss sagt ie Bs On the British species of Notonecta. J. Edwards, EB an as ) Branched forceps in ‘an Earwig (with figte sgh Ht. H. 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Sec.: J, Ross, 18, Gin ee Ra ee ree 3 Chingford Branch, The Chingford Local ‘Branch meets at thé pore c opposite Ganetord Station, at 8 Puy 5 on ies ni Doatnr in each mont 1918.) 73 figures made from Newport’s type closely resemble those of; ppencit, _ allowing for differences of aspect, and also the same parts showirir-the: front view of a whole head of a specimen bred by me from A. trimmerana and preserved in aleohol. A female Stylops taken from A. bucephala may well be identical with that of trimmerana, and that which occurs in spinigers is likely to prove the same. 9.—S. dalii Curtis. The description of Curtis, quoted in Pierce’s work, is not sufficient for the identification of this species, but no doubt it is distinct from any of the preceding. The female cephalothorax is wide across the spiracles, - being about 1-3-1:4 mm. at that point. I have only examined a single specumen and that from an A. labialis taken many years ago, for I have not recently met with stylopized examples. Consequently, the following characters may prove variable or even not quite correct. The basal dark band is straightly edged in front or only slightly curved and is followed by a narrow pale one, in front of which isa very faint, smoky, wide band not reaching the sides of the thorax, the front margin of this band having two darker streaks, one on each side of the middle, each of these enclosing a small pale spot. The width as given above is about 8 times as great as the distance between the mandibles. 10.—S. analis, sp. n. The only specimens I have seen of this Sfylops are two 2 Q taken in the New Forest by A. H. Hamm. One of these I have extracted, and it certainly appears to be distinct from any described form, the width of the thorax at the spiracles being about 1 mm., or about 8-9 tumes as great as the width of the head between the mandibles. The length from the hind margin of the spiracle to the middle of the front margin of the head is -7 mm. Owing to its old (triungulin- producing) condition its colour is uncertain, but it appears to be broadly darker along the sides of the thorax and more yellow between this, the basal black band hardly reaching the line of the spiracles. 11.—S. spreta, sp. n. I have examined a number of examples of the 2 of this species, which is certainly distinct from the others by its minute size, the width at the spiracles being about -7 mm. only, or 6-7 times as wide as the mandibular space. There is a basal smoky-black band, somewhat variable even in examples taken from the same individual of the host, its front Margin being either straight or slightly curved, or sometimes extended G 74 (April, forwards in the middle, but not reaching the line of the spiracles. There is no other dark banding or suffusion in my specimens. At present I have not examined the 2 parasites from the very closely allied species, A. minutula, moricella, subopaca, and falsifica, but as I can see no difference between those from A. spreta and saundersella (nana auct. plur.) I think the others are likely to be the same. I have several times bred the ¢ of this little Stylops, but not recently, the last I secured being in 1898 or 1899 at Fordham, near Cambridge, but these and others I gave away to Coleopterists. HaticroxEntus Pierce. This genus was formed by Pierce for American species of Stylopidae infesting the group of metallic Halicti (known sometimes as Chlora- lictus), and was placed by him in his family Xenidae, the species of which are mostly parasitic on wasps and fossorial wasps. A subgenus, Halictophilus, was made for two Asiatic species, while a second genus, Halictostylops, for the European species infesting Halictus minutus was erected on the strength of Nassonow’s figure! I suspect that these genera will prove to be so intimately connected as to be inseparable, and I have used for the British species the first name used, Halictorenus. I have myself frequently obtained female Halictoxenus in H. nitidius- culus, a species so closely allied to H. minutus that it is often confused with it in collections. This latter species has also been recorded as sty- lopized in England, but I should not depend on the true identification of the host by the recorders. Most likely, however, both have the same parasite. My specimens from H. nitidiusculus do not agree with Pierce’s description taken from Nassonow’s figure, but I attach no im- portance to the differences. Even recently some Hymenopterists have used the name Halictophagus for the stylopid parasites of Halictus, but as I pointed out in 1905, this name was an unfortunate creation by Curtis, who, probably at Dale’s suggestion and on the feeblest kind of evidence, conjectured that Halictus was the host, while the true one was, no doubt, some Jassid in the Homoptera. 1.—Halictoxenus spencit Nassonow. Local, but sometimes not rare in Halictus nitidiusculus. I have several times found the bee with the empty d puparium, but have never been able to breed this sex. The specimens examined by me are approxi- mately ‘9 mm. broad across the spiracles and -7 long from the hind margin of these to the middle of the front margin of the head, measured in a straight line. The basal dark band does not reach the line of the 1918.) m5 spiracles, but nearly on a line with these, or a little anteriorly, are two small discal dark spots. In front of these is a conspicuous transverse line of 6 or 8 whitish spots on the middle third of the width of the thorax, these spots having an appearance of oil or fat drops. Whether they would always be present I do not know. There is a fuscous stain or vague band across the brood-chamber opening, from the ends of which two fuscous subparallel bands extend forward on to the head and back- wards to the spiracles or to the basal black band. ‘The width of the thorax across the spiracles is 7-5-8 times the distance between the inner edges of the mandibles. 2.—H. cylindricz sp. nu. This might perhaps be only a large variety of the preceding. Measured in the same manner, its width is 1:2 mm., the length from ‘9-1 mi., the width being 8 times the width between the mandibles. The pattern of marking is nearly the same as in the preceding, a faint smoky suffusion from the basal band to the small dark spots (which lie on or near the line joining the spiracles) is more distinct. The discal band of pale spots is much less distinct, the spots being smaller and less white, and therefore less easily distinguished from the ground-colour. - This Stylopid is not common, seeing how abundant is its host, but it is widely distributed in the south of England. The stylopized 2 of Halictus calceatus (cylindricus) lives through the winter, and the Halictoxenus triungulins may be seen emerging from the parasite in early spring. I have never myself taken a bee from which the ¢ of this parasite had emerged. Smith recorded the very closely allied H. albipes as being stylopized, but the specimens so named in his collection are H. calceatus. 3.—AH. tumulorum, sp. n. The width across the spiracles is 1 mm., the length from the hind margin of either of these to the middle of the front margin of the head ‘9 mm., the width being about 7°5 times the distance between the mandibles. ‘The front half of the length of the cephalothorax is nearly wholly brown or fuscous, contrasting with the yellower hind part. On the latter, nearly in a line with the hind-angles of the thorax, are two very conspicuous round white spots (of the nature of the discal ones in spencii). They are distant from one another by about } of the width of the thorax, and between them is a cluster of excessively minute pale dots. In North Wiltshire in one piece of bank I found most of the ¢ Halictus tumulorum stylopized in August of several years (1886-90), G2 6 ‘ {April, and the bee was extremely common; but elsewhere in that district I took none stylopized. Since then I have only come across one or two parasitized examples, in Somerset and Kent. I regret that I no longer possess specimens of other Halicti that I have found stylopized, e.g., H. wanthopus. I should be very glad to receive stylopized bees from any Hymeno- pterist who does not want them, in order to continue my studies of the S'ylopidae. As mere specimens in a collection, stylopized bees are not of much value, now that the external features of stylopization have been so closely studied by Pérez and others. There is, however, need for a further study of the internal organs of such bees, but this cannot be done except from fresh specimens, or those preserved in liquid. For systematic study the extraction of large numbers of individuals and their proper preparation for microscopic examination is necessary in the case of female parasites. In conclusion it should be stated that the descriptions of the so-called female are made not from the female, but from the pupariwm of the female. It is easy enough for anyone with ordinary capacity for dissecting work to extract the true 9 from her puparium, EXPLANATION QF PLATE I, Fig. 1. Head of Stylops aterrima viewed from the front to show the ap- pendages, drawn from a specimen in alcohol. The antennal joints (except the small 2nd) are numbered 1-6; the first and second joints of the so-called maxillae of some describers, the palpi of others, are lettered a@ and 6. The narrow pointed mandibles overlie the suture between these joints. la, antennal joints from Newport’s type of S. aterrima. 16, aedeagus of the same specimen. Though broken at the base the parts are connected by the duct. » 2. Two views of the antenna of S. spencii. 2 a, aedeagus of the same. , 8. Antenna of S. bimaculatae. 3a, aedeagus of the same. » 4 Antenna of S. nevinsone. 4 a, aedeagus of the same. », oO. Antenna of S. hammella, 5 a, aedeagus of the same, » 6. Antenna of S. melittae. 6 a, two views of aedeagus of the same. . Antenna of S. thwazter. 7 a, aedeagus of the same. Paignton. January, 1918. Ent. Mo. Maa., 1918. Puate I. - eS . ‘ § bo —- j = ae f ‘i ‘ ‘ - ‘ , ’ > "I ? e . F 7} 3 . * = 7 t ; 5: c ye im P © : ee 7 ‘ . Ps » \ Pr . a) i ; = p ‘ ’ aT : 4 = ¥ = ‘ r ul ’ ~~ a | ~I 1918.) NOTES ON THE BRITISH SPECIES OF SPHAERIESTES Strpu BY K. G. BLAIR, B.Sc., F.E.S. The genus Sphaeriestes Steph. [= Salpingus Muls., Fowler, etc., Salpingus (pars) Gyll.] has long been a stumbling block to Coleo- pterists. Not only have British authors misidentified the species of Continental writers, but many of the latter have gone equally astray in the identification of described species, so that the synonymy of the genus has become almost hopelessly confused. The present paper is an attempt to reduce this confusion to some sort of order, at least so far as the British species are concerned. The principal works dealing with them are: Stephens’s “ Illustre- tions of British Entomology ” (1831, and App. 1835), summarized later in his “ Manual of British Coleoptera” (1839), and Fowler’s ‘“ Coleoptera of the British Islands,” v (1891). Mulsant, ‘“‘ Coléoptéres de France, Rostriféres (1859), has supplied us with a more detailed account of these insects, and a useful key to the European species is given by Reitter in his “ Fauna Germanica,” Coleoptera, ii, 1911. Unfortunately, as re- marked above, these authorities do not always apply the same name to the same insect, so that their works must be used with caution. In this attempt to correlate them I have not only consulted, wherever possible, the original descriptions, and tried to ascertain what was actually the insect intended—not always an easy matter without the examination of actual type specimens—but I have endeavoured to make sure what each subsequent writer intended by his use of the name, and in this I have been enormously aided by the kindness of Mr. G. C. Champion, who has unreservedly placed at my disposal his own collec- tion of the genus, including specimens determined by Abeille de Perrin, Reitter, Sahlberg, Seidlitz, and other Continental authorities. Without Mr. Champion’s help, indeed, I should not have been able to arrive at the conclusions here set forth, or to pierce the mists of obscurity in which certain of the species were shrouded. To Mr. E. A. Newbery also [am deeply indebted for his generous help, and for many valuable suggestions in the preparation of this paper. He had himself commenced to put together various notes on the same subject; but owing to the interruption of correspondence with the Con- tinent, and to his being unable to obtain many of the books required, the work was not proceeded with. So far as his investigations went, however, Mr. Newbery had arrived at practically the same conclusions as mine as regards the number of our British species, and the variation 73 [April, exhibited by them. He has placed his material in my hands and asked me to publish this paper. To Commander J. J. Walker and Messrs. O. E. Janson and W. J. Ashdown my thanks are also due for the loan of specimens. Most of the species show very great variability in size, in the puncturation of the thorax and elytra, in the more or less marked depres- sions or foveae exhibited in these areas, and even in the general outline of the thorax, so that these characters are almost valueless for specific determination. A structural peculiarity upon which much stress has been laid is the number of joints of the antennae that are enlarged, forming a more or less distinct club, but this character must be used with caution. There is usually at least one transitional jojnt, and much depends upon the aspect from which the antenna is viewed whether this slightly thickened joint should be classed with those forming the club or not, so that perhaps the method adopted by Reitter of quoting both numbers is the best, e. g. “last 3, or 4, joints forming the club.” The form of the front part of the head, and of the grooves at the sides in which the antennae are inserted, is of the utmost importance, as upon these the subgenera are to a great extent based. Another valuable character is the form of the elytral epipleura. Around the shoulder, usually a little on the under side, will be observed a distinct ridge or carina. ‘This is defined on its upper side by the outer- most stria or row of punctures. If this stria be followed backwards, it will be seen in some species to continue sharply impressed almost to the apex, separating the outermost interval as a distinct marginal epipleuron. In others this stria loses its special character about halfway, so that in the posterior half of the elytra it does not differ markedly from its fellow ; neither is the outermost interval different in form from that next to it (subgen. Salpingellus Reitt.). The mature coloration of these insects apparently takes some time to develop, as immature specimens are frequent. The following key includes, besides the British species, two names (enclosed in brackets) that have frequently figured in error on the British List, viz. aeratus Muls. and virescens Muls. (N.B. Though I have retained the various subgenera already proposed I do not consider that these serve any useful purpose. One might just as well claim that aeratus and foveolatus require new subgenera !) 1918.] 79 1. Head more or less evenly narrowed from the eye to the front of the clypeus, lateral carina almost straight oe, GRU. SE ue 2: Front of clypeus suddenly wider, lateral carina of head deeply emarginate above and in front of insertion of antenna.......... oe . Last 8, or 4, joints of antennae thickened and darker, elytral epipleura not distinct beyond the middle, outermost interval in posterior half normal, plainly visible from above..............-- (Subgen. Salpingellus Reitt.). Colour black or dark piceous, not er scarcely metallic, base of antennae and tibiae usually reddish ...............- ater Payk. Last 4, or 5, joints of antennae thickened ; elytral epipleura distinct almost RO ake ces am ate, « xinrs,> «+, <=, a eas (Subgen. Sphaeriestes s.s.). a. Colour castaneous brown, not or scarcely metallic; antennae and legs concolorous. Epipleura inflexed, so that the extreme margin of elytra is not visible from above. Anterior tarsi of J pabprennls) eifateg i psS bua erraa aap thts We et castaneus Panz. b. Colour brassy black, antennae and legs reddish testaceous. Epi- pleura not inflexed, extreme margin of elytra visible from above in posterior half. Anterior tarsi of ¢ expanded . .(aeratus Muls.). 3. Lateral carina of head not reaching the eye, antennal groove terminated in front of the eye. Head markedly convex between the eyes. Labrum UPD? SS ee een (Subgen. Colposis Muls.). Colour greenish brassy ; antennae and legs testaceous; last 3, or 4, joints of antennae expanded ....... Meat ate (virescens Muls.). Lateral carina of head meeting the eye, antennal groove terminated by the eye. Head shorter, almost flat between the eyes, labrum almost as long 2 ee a a (Subgen. Rabocerus Muls.). a, Colour brassy black ; clypeus simply punctate; last 5, or 6, joints of antennae thickened: thorax a little wider than the head, its greatest width at about } of its length, rather finely and sparsely punctate (more so than in ater or castaneus); elytra rather strongly convex, with a transverse impression a little behind EN OS A Dis eh aR LE RT a a et mutilatus Beck. 6. Colour blackish or piceous, scarcely metallic ; clypeus punctate and transversely wrinkled; last 6 joints of antennae thickened; thorax about as wide as the head, its greatest width a little behind the anterior margin, very coarsely punctate, punctures almost contiguous, the anterior pair of impressions very strong, arcuate, almost meeting in the middle ; elytra more elongate, with a transverse impression a little behind the base, and a second more feeble impression about the middle ........ Joveolatus Ljungh. S. ater Payk.—This is certainly the most puzzling of our British representatives. It is excessively variable in size (length 2 to 3} mm.), in shape, and in sculpture, but after examining a large number of specimens from different localities, particularly a long series taken by Mr. Champion from burnt pines at Woking, I am unable to consider it as more than one species. 80 {April, It is the S. ater of Stephens, according to specimens still extant in his collection (now in the British Museum), and is the S. aeratus and S. ater combined of Fowler. It is certainly identical with S. rey Abeille, according to two examples from Sos, Lot et Garonne,-the type locality, in Dr. Sharp’s collection (also in the British Museum). Other specimens of vey? determined respectively by Abeille himself and by Reitter, in Mr. Champion’s collection, confirm this identity. According to the figure and description, S. piceae Germar (Faun. Ins. Europ., fase. x, 1825, No. 9) is also the same species; at any rate, it cannot be synonymous with castaneus Panz. as placed by Mulsant and the eata- logues. Stephens introduced S. piceae as British in his “ Manual,” but there is no specimen in his collection. It is therefore not possible to determine positively what he intended, but probably it was a form of ater. The species is widely distributed in Britain, and apparently equally variable wherever it occurs: e. g. of two specimens from Aviemore in Mr. Champion’s collection, one is referred to by Fowler as being the only British specimen he had seen ‘that appeared to be related to y] the type of ater,” 7. e. a small form with black legs, and a narrow thorax, broadest close to the anterior margin, the other is normal “aeratus”? (Fowler, nec Mulsant). Similarly, Mr. Champion has specimens from Gomshall, Surrey, of the normal aspect, though one has completely red legs and is of the form referred by him tentatively to reyt (Ent. Mo. Mag. 1909, p. 249). It is noteworthy, too, that the pair above referred to from Sos are comparable respectively with Mr. Champion’s pair from Aviemore. Two specimens of ater from Finland in Mr. Champion’s collection, ,one identified by Sahlberg, and the other by Reitter, together with a third from Sweden in the British Museum collection, have the humeral earina particularly plainly visible from above, a character relied on by Reitter to separate ater from reyz; but I am unable to differentiate them otherwise from certain of the Woking examples. It is interesting to note also that Sahlberg finds S. afer in Finland abundant among burnt pines (Ent. Mo. Mag. 1916, p. 41), just as our form occurs at Woking and Brockenhurst. In fully mature specimens the under side is dark piceous like the upper, but very commonly it is considerably lighter in colour. ‘he puncturation of the thorax is very variable, the punc- tures sometimes being almost crowded, usually they are fairly evenly spaced with distinct imtervals between them; sometimes there is a median line free of punctures quite strongly developed. The punctures of the elytral striae vary in the same way: usually they are placed fairly v8 81 elose together, but sometimes almost as far apart as the width of the intervals. In certain specimens the interstices on the posterior half are distinctly convex, but usually they are quite flat. It is probable that aeneus Steph. (nec Oliv.) was an immature speci- men of this species. The description is inadequate to make this identity certain, but the words “ elytra not foveated” apply better to this species than to mutilatus, which it might otherwise be. Furthermore, its constant identification with aeratus, or rather with this species erro- neously taken for aeratus, tends to confirm this view. Mr. Champion also has two immature specimens of atev from Germany, labelled aeratus Muls., though he does not remember from whom he received them. S. castaneus Panz.—There is no difficulty about this species. It is the S. immaculatus of Stephens, the type species of his genus Sphaeriestes ; but this name was omitted from Mulsant’s synonymy and also from Reitter’s. European Catalogue (1906), though it appears correctly, as a synonym of castaneus, in Gemminger and Harold’s Catalogue (1870). The elytral epipleuron in castaneus is particularly well marked, and distinct almost to the apex. It isa little inflexed beneath, so as to be invisible, when the insect is viewed from above, throughout its length. In size and puncturation castaneus is almost as variable as ater; usually the striate punctures of the elytra form rather irregular wavy lines, and become very confused towards the base and at the sides; but sometimes these lines are much firmer and remain fairly distinct throughout. This form would appear to be S. exsanguis Abeille, according to a specimen in Mr. Champion’s collection named by Abeille himself. [N.B.—In suggesting reyz and exsanguis as possible British species (Ent. Mo. Mag. xxii, 1886, p. 160), Mr. Champion has inadvertently allied the former to castaneus and the latter to ater, an error which was copied by Fowler: these names should be transposed. | S. mutilatus Beck.—This is another species about which much con- fusion has arisen. J have not been able to consult the original description (Beitr. zur baier. Insekten, 1817, p. 19), but have little doubt that the species was correctly identified by Sahlberg, who redescribed it in “‘ Medd. Soc. Fauna Fenn.,” xxix, 1904, p.40. This opinion is confirmed by speci- mens identified by Seidlitz, Reitter, etc., in Mr. Champion’s collection. The name is not quoted by Mulsant, but his description of foveo- Jatus Ljangh is more applicable to this insect, which he has apparently confused with it. Many authors attempt to identify mut‘latus with 82 ‘ [April, virescens Muls., but its characters do not agree with those of Mulsant’s subgenus Co/posis. Abeille, who states that mutilatus * was unknown to him, protested against the assumption of this identity (Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. Toulouse, viii, 1874, p. 26), and later Pie has expressed disbelief in it (L’Echange, xix, 1903, p. 140), but without offering any explanation ; it is doubtless the same error that accounts for Dr. Sharp allying Colposis with Rabocerus (Ent. Mo. Mag. 1909, p. 245), whereas the true v77vescens is a very different insect. Gerhardt, too, evidently follows Mulsant in his determination of this species as foveolatus, and consequently redescribes the latter asa new species, gabrielz. Lastly, Reitter, recognising Gerhardt’s foveolatus and gabrieli, and assuming the identity of mutilatus (a speci- men of which, correctly identified by him, is in Mr. Champion’s collection) with verescens, which was apparently not known to him, tries to make the same species do duty both for Colposis and Rabocerus, according to the degree of development of its thoracic impressions. (In some speci- mens there is a pair of well-marked foveae near the middle line towards the base of the thorax, which in others is scarcely indicated. This is probably mutzlatus var. tmpressithorax Pic.) S. mutilatus was apparently unknown to Stephens, unless it can have been his aeneus, but the expression “elytra not foveated”’ seems to preclude this possibility. It was first identified asa British insect by Mr. Champion in 1886. | Rabocerus bishopi Sharp (loc. cit.) I am quite unable to recognise as specifically distinct from 8. mwtilatus, an opinion in which Seidlitz, Champion, Newbery, and others agree. Dr. Sharp himself states that had he only had one specimen he would have considered it a variety of mutilatus, and I fail to see why the mere fact of his having a series from one locality should make him grant it specific rank. A. bishop was beaten from birch, while mutz/atus seems usually to be attached to beech. S. foveolatus Ljungh.—The original description of this insect is very detailed, though the figure is poor, but the only species known to me to which they can apply is that hitherto known by this name in our collections. Specimens still extant in Stephens’s collection prove that he had the same insect, and it is correctly identified by Fowler. It is appa- rently a more northern species than most others of the genus, and not oveurring in France was probably unknown to Mulsant, who seems to have mistaken our mutilatus for it. It is well known to Sahlberg, but — some authors have undoubtedly followed Mulsant, so that Gerhardt was * The foveolatus of Abeille was probably mutilatus.—K. G, B. == es 7 2 : 1918.) 83 led into describing it as a new species under the name of gabrieli (Zeitschr. fiir Entom. Breslau, 1901, p. 18). Professor Hudson Beare, in proposing the substitution of the name gabrieli for foveolatus in our collections (Ent. Mo. Mag. 1916, p. 254), admittedly follows Reitter without questioning the soundness of his conclusions, which have been considered above. In our islands foveolatus appears to be confined to Scotland and the north of England, whereas mutilatus is more widely distributed, with its headquarters in Surrey, Kent, Oxford, ete. The names S. aeratus Muls. and S. zvzrescens Muls. must both be removed from the British lists: S. aeratus Muls.—There is a specimen of this species determined by Seidlitz, and which agrees with Mulsant’s description, in Mr. Champion’s collection. It is a metallic brassy insect, with-the lateral carinae of the head straight, thus differing from mutzlatus, and has the last 4, or 5, joints of the antennae thickened. The humeral stria of the elytra is strongly impressed, the outermost interstice being convex, but not inflexed as in castaneus ; finally, the anterior tarsi are strongly expanded, dis- tinctly wider than the tibiae. This feature, which is no doubt confined to*the male, is not found in any other species of the genus. Mulsant does not mention the tarsi, but the character is indicated by his quoting ‘“ tarsalis Guillebeau, in coll.” as a synonym. _ The species is probably correctly identified by Reitter, though the name is sunk by him asa synonym of aeneus Steph. (see ater, supra). It is strange that the peculiar tarsal structure should have been over- looked by this author. S. virescens Muls.—A single specimen, labelled “ Savoy ” ex Coll. Sharp, must, I think, be this species. It agrees well with the description and is very different from any other Sphaeriestes known to me. The lateral carinae of the snout are sinuate, as in Rabocerus; but the head, excluding the mouth-parts, is longer, and more convex between the eyes, and the “‘scrobes” of the antennae, instead of abutting directly upon the eyes, are separately rounded off some little distance in front of them. It is this feature that is the distinguishing character of Mulsant’s subgenus Colposis, making the head, exclusive of the mouth-parts, relatively more elongate and giving it, as he remarks, ‘une certaine analogie avec les Lthinosimes.” In virescens the muzzle is not more the 14 times as wide at the apex as it is long from the front of the eyes to the front of the | 84 {[Apru, clypeus ; in mutz/atus its width is at least twice this distance (cf. foveo- datus Muls.), while in foveolatus it is fully three times as wide. I have not included in this essay the consideration of wiridipennis Latr., which should rather form the subject of a separate paper. Reitter has placed this species in a new subgenus, Vincenzellus; but whether this should be considered a subdivision of Sphaeriestes or of Rhinosimus as left by him is a point open to discussion. The following is a brief synonymy of the species herein considered :— Species correctly recorded as British : 1. S. ater Payk. Fauna Suecica, i, 1798, p. 298; Steph. Ill. Brit. Ent., Mandib. iv, 1831, p. 218; — Man. 1839, p. 339; Muls. Col. France, Rostrif. 1859, p. 32; Fowler, Col. Brit. Isl. v, 1891, p- 52 (pars); Reitt. Faun. Germ. Col. 11, 1911, p. 416. prceae, Germ. Faun. Ins. Europ. fasc. x, 1825, No. 9 ? piceae, Steph. (Germ.) Man. p. 340. P aeneus, Steph. (nec Oliv.) Ill. Brit. Ent., Mandib. v, 1835, p. 421. reyt, Abeille, Bull. Soc. d’ Hist. Nat. Toulouse, viii, 1874, p. 27. aeratus, Fowler (nec Muls.), loc. cit. 2. S. castaneus Panz. Index Ent. 1813, p. 89 (Muls., Reitt., Fowler). immaculatus, Steph. Ill. Brit. Ent., iv, p. 219. 3. S. mutilatus Beck, Beitr. Baier. Insekt. 1817, p. 9; Chariyiea Ent. Mo. Mag. xxiii, 1886, p. 160; Fowler, loc. cit. ; Sahlberg, Medd. Soc. Fauna Fenn. xxix, 1904, p. 40; Reitter, doc. ct. (pars). foveolatus Muls. (nee Ljungh), loc. cit. ; Reitter, loc. cit. (pars). var. bishopt, Sharp, Ent. Mo. Mag. 1909, p. 245; op. cit. 1910, pl. iv, fig. 1. foveolatus Liungh, Vet. Acad. Handl. Stockholm, 1824, p. 269, pl. mi (8), fig. 1; Steph. Joc. ext. (1835)-p. 4215, Mower loc. cit. gabrieli, Gerh, Zeitschr. fiir Entom. Breslau, 1901, p. 18; Reitt. doe. cit. ; Hudson Beare, Ent. Mo. Mag. 1916, p. 254. =< 4. 8. Species incorrectly recorded as British : 5. S. aeratus, Muls. (nec Fowler) loc. cit. aeneus, Reitt. (nec Steph.) doc. ett. 6, S. virescens, Muls. loc. cit. (nec mutilatus=virescens, Champion, loc. cit., Fowler, Joc. cit.). British Museum (Nat. Hist.), S.W. 7. March 1918. 1918.) 85 NOTES ON BRACONIDAE. XIIl*.—ON THE LIOPHRONINAE, WITH DESCRIPTION OF A NEW BRITISH SPECIES. BY CLAUDE MORLEY, F.Z.S., F.E.S. Economie Coleopterists have not done their fair share in the elucidation of this interesting group, which is at once recognized from all other subfamilies of the Bracanidae by the strikingly convex and strongly shining abdomen, whereof the basal segment is very stout and subsessile, the second with its suture nearly wanting, and the apex in 2 curiously deflexed and recurved, in such a manner that the terebra is directed below the venter towards the head, much as in female Proctotrypes-species. But our knowledge of its economy is entirely confined to a remark made by Haliday so long ago as 1835 (Knt. Mag. ii, p. 458): “larva speciei cujusdam in larva boletophaga Insecti Coleopteri vixerat,” for no one has since that time bred material, and there is no evidence that he himself had done so. Upon this Marshall seems to have based his assertion (Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1889, p. 176) that “the perfect insects frequent fungi, but their habits in the larval state are entirely unknown”; and, consequently, he adds (Spp. Hym. Europ. 1891, p. 200): “ Pour éclaircir le mystére qui plane sur leurs premiers états, il faudrait élever en nombre les larves fongivores de tout ordre, dans Vespérance d’obtenir de ces parasites obscurs”.f Thomson (Opuse. Ent. xx, 1895, p. 2219) refers to no economy; nor does Reinhard’s paper (Berl. Ent. Zeitschr. vi, 1862, p. 321) help us at all. These are the main authorities upon this group. Turning to the imagines, I have had for some years a little group of Braconids placed in juxtaposition, unknown and temporarily “ perdu,” till I sent one of them to Mr. G. T. Lyle for his opinion. This was that it probably belonged to the genus Liophron, though the species escaped him and he had seen nothing like it. A wrestle with Marshall’s two works, referred to above, satisfied me that I had before me the male ot Liophron saxo Reinh., a species not hitherto known in Britain. Thomson’s extremely lucid diagnosis confirmed the determination ; it is :— L. saxo.—Niger, pedibus validis rufis, metathorace toto rugoso, abdomine petiolo latitudine apicali vix longiore, ore antennisque brunneis, maris nigris. 3 2. Long. 24-24 lin.—Species magna, capite pone oculos et os versus sub- angustato, genis longis sulco impresso ; metathorace toto rugoso; alis leniter fumatis; abdomine petiolo rugoso striato, latitudine apicali vix longiore, Pe * Cf. Ent. Mo. Mag. xlv, 1909, p. 209 e¢ Entom. xlix, 1916, p. 83. t Cf. also Gaulle, Cat. Hym. de France, 1908, p. $2, who gives no references. 86 [April, feminae postice compresso piceo, terebrae valvis verticalibus, glabris, pedibus solito validioribus distincta.—Funnen i sédra Sverige; hannen ej sillsynt, af honan har jag endast sett ett exemplar. Otherwise it is known only from the environs of Dresden. My two males were taken (1) by Mr. E. A. Newbery at Clacton-on-Sea in Essex during June, 1918, and (2) by,myself while sweeping low-marsh herbage on the banks of the River Lark, just outside the town of Mildenhall in N.W. Suffolk, on 14th June, 1899 (cf note thereon, Ent. Mo. Mag. 1899, p. 190). All the species of the Liophroninae are said to be of rare occurrence, both here and upon the Continent, but this is doubtless owing to nothing but our ignorance of their habits. The Palaearctic fauna comprises only seven species, and there are one or two more in Canada. Of the three genera, Liophron alone possesses mesonotal notauli; and Centistes Hal. has the first cubital discreted from the first discoidal cell, whereas they are confluent in Syrrhizus, which has been found by no one but Dr. Edward Capron in Surrey. The single exception to this general rarity is Centistes lucidator Nees (Hym. Mon. i, 1834, p. 50), who took the male as late as October; this is found over north-west Europe and extends to Russia. My little group showed a couple taken by Wilson Saunders at Greenings in Surrey in 1872, and one that I found on a reed in Wicken Fen, Cambs, on 16th June, 1908, far from fungi. The three remaining specimens in my collection proved to be a couple of Liophron muricatus Hal., captured by Mr. E. A. Newbery at Trefriw during August 1903, and by myself while sweeping at Hurst- hill in the New Forest on 11th July, 1909; and a single @ of L. ater Nees (lib. cit. p. 45) that I found in the marshes of the Shannon to the south of Limerick on 15th June, 1913. The last species was originally caught in cop. during the summer of 1814 in a Franconian garden. Marshall possessed only four females from St. Albans and Nunton in Wiltshire ; in fact, so late as 1889 his collection comprised no more than fourteen specimens of the whole genus. Bignell, after long years of collecting in South Devon, records (Trans. Devon. Ass. Adv. Se. xxxiii, 1901, p. 27) a single specimen of JL. ater from Plym Bridge on 25th September. Monk Soham House, Framlingham, Suffolk, January 1918. 1918.] 87 _ TRYPETIDAE FROM THE OXFORD DISTRICT, WITH NOTES ON THEIR TIME OF APPEARANCE AND FOOD-PLANTS. BY A. H. HAMM, F.E.S. It is long since any special reference to the time of appearance and the food-plants of the Trypetidae has been published in the pages of this Magazine,* and I think that a few notes on the Oxford species may be of some assistance to those who take a delight in these interesting and beautiful flies. Some of the species are to be had in abundance by sweeping or searching at the right time their respective food-plants; or again, the galls, leaves, etc., containing the larvae, may be gathered and the occupants bred in due course. Then, too, the interest taken in col- lecting or breeding the commoner species will inspire the naturalist to search for some at least of the rarer and little-known forms, and thus in time we may hope that the habits and food-plants of all our native species may be known and recorded. It is with this object in view that I am induced to write the following rough notes. Nearly all the following species were taken within three to four miles from the centre of Oxford, some at least within the boundary of the City itself. Aciura rotundiventris Fln.—This rare species was taken as long ago as June 23rd, 1832, by the Rev. A. Matthews, at Weston-on-the- Green, near Oxford. + I have not met with it so far. Acidia cognata W.—A few taken in various years, always at the end of June, resting on the upper-side of alder-leaves, Hogley Bog, near Cowley, Oxon, and several in a garden on Shotover Hill, on lilac-leaves, July 1, 1917. : A. heraclei L.—This is the well-known parsnip and celery fly, but away trom gardens it is not at all plentiful. It can, however, usually be swept from Heraclewm. My friend Mr. H. Britten bred it in large numbers during July 1916, from the blotched leaves of parsnips growing in his garden at Headington. Similar blotched leaves were present in almost every patch of parsnips looked at in gardens and allotments all over the district, but I believe it does little or no harm to this useful vegetable. Gonyglossum wiedemannt Mg.—I have only met with this species on two occasions, both on Shotover Hill, probably swept from Heracleum.t es * R. C. Bradley, Ent. Mo. Mag. 1901, p. 9. t C. W. Dale, Ent. Mo. Mag. 1904, p. 212. I G@. wiedemannzi is to be found occasionally in numbers on Bryonia dioica.—J, E. C. 88 (April, The first was taken June 19th, 1915, the second on June 30th, 1917. Care should be taken that this species is not passed over for A. heraclei, which it closely resembles, especially in the net. Spilographa zoé Mg.—Ocecurs sparingly, always on thistles, chiefly Cnicus lanceolatus, at various localities in the district, the University parks, Shotover Hill, and Headington Wick Copse. End of May and June. S. artemisiae ¥.—Until last season (1917) this fly had only occurred very sparingly, probably because I had not hit upon the right time or place. On July 28th, in and around Hogley Bog, it was taken plenti- fully by sweeping mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris). My other dates extend from May to August. Trypeta onotrophes Lw.—One individual was swept from the marsh thistle (Cnicus palustris), near Bayswater Mill, on July 14th, 1917. T. cornuta ¥.—This species was extraordinarily abundant during the past season, and could have been obtained in hundreds during July by sweeping the large knapweed (Centaurea Scabiosa). It was especially common on and around Shotover Hill, but also occurred all over the dis- trict. The smaller black knapweed (C. nigra) was also swept whenever met with but did not yield the fly. This is a most beautiful insect when alive, of a lovely pale green colour, which soon fades after death. T. tussilaginis F.—One specimen by sweeping in a rough clay-pit, Shotover Hill, August 11th, 1917. There was plenty of coltstoot growing all over the pit, but I could not decide whether the specimen came off that plant, for persistent sweeping failed to yield another. c: florescentiae L.—This elegant little fly is evidently attached to the marsh thistle (Cnicus palustris). A rough pasture-field on the north side of Shotover Hill is much overgrown with this tall thistle, the flower- heads of which, when swept on July 7th, 1917, yielded a fine series. Other species of thistle growing in the same field were also tried, but entirely without success. A week later, near Bayswater Mill, Headington, the marsh thistle was again tried and a few more examples taken. : T. colon Mg.—This species, so far, has proved rather scarce here. About a dozen specimens have been taken by sweeping the knapweed (Centaurea Scabiosa), during July, on Shotover Hill and Hogley Bog. Somewhat variable in colour. T. serratulae L.—This, again, is not a plentiful species in the dis- trict. It has only been obtained by sweeping the musk thistle (Carduus 1918.] 89 nutans) growing in fair abundance on Open Brasenose Common. A small series was the reward of sweeping for an hour or two on July 21st last. T. acuticornis Lw.—I have only met with this species on one occasion, August 16th, 1916, when a nice series was boxed from the heads of the woolly-headed thistle (Cuieus ertophorus). A fine patch of this beautiful plant was growing in abundance in an old disused quarry, near Wood Farm, Cowley. I found that searching the heads ot the thistle proved more effectual than sweeping. The flies were all boxe from the exterior of the woolly receptacle, the insects’ pale colour aiding them considerably in their resemblance to the environment. Urophora solstitialis L.—A good series of this beautiful fly was secured during July and August 1917 by regularly sweeping the musk thistle (Cardwus nutans), on Brasenose Common and Hogley Bog. The best time was about the middle of July. This species, too, can be boxed from the thistles if searching be preferred to the more laborious method of sweeping. U. stylata F.—The most abundant species of the genus, being found everywhere in the district, either by sweeping or searching the spear thistle (Cuicuws lanceolatus), during June and July. It was especially abundant on Shotover Hill on July 7th, 1917. The hard, nut-like galls formed by the larvae of the fly in the abortive seed-head of the thistle are easily found during autumn, and these, if kept ina fairly cool place, not too dry, will readily emerge the following year, sometimes four or five flies appearing from a single gall. The wing- markings of this species vary considerably, even in individuals bred from the same gall. U. aprica Fln.—Has been taken by my friend and colleague, Mr. J. Collins, near Islip. U. quadrifasciata Mg.—Also obtained by Mr. Collins at Water Eaton. This and the preceding species have not, so far, been taken by the writer, and I do not know the plant or plants from which they were swept. U. cardui L.—This curiously marked fly is not met with so often as one would expect, judging from the numbers of its well-known gall on the stems of the (all too common) creeping thistle (Cnicus arvensis). It seems somewhat local, but has been found throughout the district. The insect should be looked for in June. Those desirous of breeding it suc- cessfully should allow the galls to mature before being gathered (as the larvae pupate within the gall). Gathering should be deferred until late HL 90 [ April, autumn, and if the galls are kept as recommended for U. stylata the flies can be bred the following year. Sphenella marginata F\n.—Not an abundant species. I have taken a few by sweeping various thistles and ragwort, chiefly in the neighbour- hood of Shotover Hill, during July and August. Carphotricha guttularis Mg.—Not uncommon in a piece of rough pasture, on Shotover Hill, during July 1916. Both Mr. Britten and myself endeavoured to determine the plant from which they were swept, but neither of us could come to any certain conclusion. Perhaps the flies came from ragwort more frequently than any other plant. Ensina soncht L.—This very small, pale Trypetid was exceedingly abundant all over the district last autumn (September and October), and obtained by sweeping various Compositae, such as dandelions, hawkweeds, fleabane, ete. It was not, however, swept from Sonchus after many attempts, in spite of its name. This small fly bears a striking resem- blance in colour to the grass-seeds of many kinds that are so plentiful at this time, and mixed up together as they all are in the sweeping- net, the insects are hard to distinguish; but in a short time, the flies begin to crawl up the sides of the net and can then be readily boxed or tubed. Tephritis miliaria Schrk—Not uncommonly taken by sweeping the creeping thistle (Cuicus arvensis). At occurred locally throughout the district from June to August. T. (Oxyna) proboscidea Lw.—Taken by Mr. J. Collins, first at Wolvereote, June 15th, 1911, and again at Sunnymeade, July 8th, 1915, on both occasions by sweeping low herbage. T. (Oxyna) absinthit ¥.—I have only taken this species once—near Brasenose Common, August 10th, 1915,—by sweeping a low bank with short herbage. T. hyoscyami L.—Occurs both in spring and autumn. I have taken it plentifully by sweeping the spear thistle (Cnicus lanceolatus) in early June, and again in August, from the same patch of thistles. It also hibernates. Mr. Britten, after beating furze on Shotover Hill, March 4th, 1916, for Coleoptera, etc., gave me a sample of the various flies he had obtained, and among them was a specimen of this species. On April 1st we visited the same spot together, and by vigorous beating obtained a few more examples. Those who have never tried beating furze for Diptera during the winter months may be advised that many interesting species of hibernating flies can be obtained in this way. 1918.) 91 T. vespertina Lw.—In my experience, undoubtedly the commonest species of Trypetid, to be found practically throughout the year, inas- much as it hibernates like the preceding species. It was beaten from the furze-bushes in large numbers, at the same time and place as recorded for T. hyoscyami. TT. vespertina may also occasionally be found on fences, etc., during warm days in mid-winter. In the summer it can be swept in abundance from Compos//ae. T. bardanae Schrk.—Not a very common species in this district, but swept several times from the common burdock (Aretiwm Lappa), in June, at Hogley Bog and Headington Wick Copse. Palloptera umbellatarum ¥.—Another fly, which has habits similar to those of a Trypetid, was constantly found in the sweeping-net in com- pany with U. stylata. The females were often observed probing the flower-heads of the spear thistle with the extruded ovipositor. Whether the species breeds in the thistle-head or is parasitic on U. stylata I have not been able to ascertain. ‘My best thanks are due to Mr. J. E. Collin and Mr. C. G. Lamb for kindly naming or confirming the determination of doubtful species ; also to my friend Mr. H. Britten, for his able assistance during our joint collecting excursions. 22 Southfield Road, Oxford. March 1918. Coccinella septempunctata L. parasitized by a Dipteron, Phora fasciata Faill.—-M. Henri de Buysson (Bull, Soc. Ent, Fr. 1917, pp. 249, 250) states that out of 37 nymphs of C. septempunctata taken by him from leaves of potato in June, four were deformed, due to the attacks of the minute Dipteron, Phora fasciata, specimens of which emerged from the CoccineJlid nymphs in the following month. A similar observation was recorded by Rondani in 1860,—EDs. Coleoptera in the Plymouth District.—On looking through the Coleoptera which I have taken last year in the Plymouth district, [ think there are a few species which it may be as well to note as having occurred here. Some of these appear to be new to this locality, and one or two have not, I believe, been, as yet, recorded from Devon; but there are very few rarities. They include Medon obsoletus, Megarthrus affinis and denticollis, Cercus pedicularius and rufilabris, Heterostomus pulicarius (Brachypterus gravidus), Soronia punctatissina, Micru- rula melanocephala, Omosita depressa, colon and discoidea, Pria dulcamarae, Lasia globosa, Micraspis 16-punctata, Dryops (Parnus) algiricus, Dermestes murinus, Anthrenus elaviger, Ochina ptinoides (hederae), Lampresoma concolor 9? {April, (fairly common), Mantra chrysanthemi, M. rustica var, suturalis, Aphthona coerulea (nonstriata) abundant, Phyllotreta atra, P. nigripes, ete. The ftol- lowing Rhynchophora were nearly all taken in the neighbourhood of Bere Alston, in August :—Caenopsis waltoni, Strophosomus retusus, Coeliodes ruber, C. dryados (quercus), Ceuthorrhynchus viduatus, C. setosus, Orobitis cyaneus, Orchestes avellanae, O. stigma, Rhamphus pulicarius, Gymnetron antirrhini (fairly common), Apron rubens, frumentarium, cruentatum, punctigerum, aethiops, etc., Attelabus nitens, Ips (Tomicus) laricis. This last species, according to Fowler, is associated with larch, fir, and pine, but Mr. J. H. » Keys and I secured a good series under the bark of a felled tree, apparently elm. One of my best “finds” was a single example of Hypulus quercinus, which I swept from a hedge at Bickleigh, 26.v.17.—A. V. MircHe tu, 90 Mount Gold Rd., Plymouth: Fed. 19th, 1918. Vanessa antiopa in Cheshire-—The Rev. H. V. Aspinwall has shown me a “Camberwell Beauty” which was discovered in St. Peter’s Church, Hale, Cheshire, in August 1917, the butterfly having presumably entered the building for the purpose of hibernation. This church appears to be a favourite hibernaculum for Vanessids, several V. urticae and V. io having been found there this year; Mr. Aspinwall also found a specimen of Prerts rapae which had emerged from the pupa some time prior to February 20th, probably owing to the combination of the warm weather and artificial heating.—T. A. Cowanrp, Bowdon, Cheshire: March 1918. A combined instance of Protective Resemblance and Mimicry in a Locust Larva.—The following instance of what is now usually known as “ camouflage ” in insects has not apparently been noticed before and is worthy of record ; it was observed by my friend, Mr. H. M. Wallis, of Reading, who is an excellent all-round naturalist. While travelling in North Africa he came across a species of locust in the larval state, which was very abundant on the ‘‘ Stone Desert ” between the Atlas Range and the true or “Sand Desert”; he does not know the species. The insect was of sub-angular form and of many shades of dull “khaki ”-colour, some redder, some more isabelline, but all of one type; it has very short clavate antennae; the two anterior pairs of legs are normally quite hidden, and the large hind jumping-legs are tucked close against the body ; in this position it exactly resembles the surrounding stones. If, however, its dis- guise is detected, it instantly springs up on its four anterior legs and, tilting its hinder part, throws up the large jumping-legs and curves them forward over the body, forming a very passable imitation of the dreaded scorpion; it even vibrates the recurved tarsi of the hind legs; moreover, it then displays, as a warning, its only spot of bright colour, which consists of broad bands of yellow and black on the inside of the hind femora. It is somewhat hard to describe the position, but an excellent sketch given me by Mr. Wallis shows how striking the mimicry is. Mr. Wallis adds:—“ You will wonder what enemies it has to fear. I found that it is fed down by the Clot-Bey Lark (Rhamphocorys elot-bey Bonap.), an aberrant form of Lark with enormous toothed mandibles peculiar to this region, which was discovered by Clot Bey, a Frenchman in the Tunis Service.”—W. W. Fowter, Earley Vicarage, Reading: January 23rd, 1918. 1918.] 938 Society. Tur SourH LonvoN ENTOMOLOGICAL AND NATURAL History SOCIETY: February 14th, 1918.—Mr StantEy Epwarps, F.L.S., President, in the Chair. The death of Mr. G. Brooks, a member of the Council, was announced. Mr. Bowman exhibited a series of female Hibernia defolaria from Epping Forest in which the abdomen was jet black. Myr. Main, an observation-cage with the burrow of the beetle Nebria brevicollis, and remarked on the abun- dance of the small mounds of débris from such excavations after the last frost. Mr. Ashdown, a long series of aberrations of Coccinella lieroglyphica taken in Surrey in. 1917, and a curious old book with coloured plates, entitled “ Dia- logues on Entomology,” 1819. Mr. R. Adkin, a copy of Merrit’s “ Pinax,” 1667, one of the first books on the whole of the British fauna. Mr. West, the locust Schistocerca peregrina, found on a ship from W. Africa. Mr. Hy. J. Turner, specimens of Epinephele lycaon form lupinus from Cyprus, with typical specimens from the French Alps for comparison. Mr. B. Adkin, a series of the males of Agriades thetis (bellargus) showing gradation in colour development, including a clouded example on which the patches seemed to be formed of scales curled up when it was looked at obliquely. The President, various species and forms of the helenus group of the genus Payilio, which Moore has called the subgenus Charus, including P. chaon, P. helenus, P. fuscus (severus), DP. wwara, etc. A short discussion took place on the “Introduction of non- indigenous species into the country.” February 28th, 1918.— The President in the Chair. Exhibition of lantern-slides. The President exhibited slides showing varied forms of antennae, wing venation, androconial scales, and other anatomical details of insect structure, and a slide illustrative of “ Paedo- genesis” in Miaster, a Cecidomyiid (Dipt.). Mr. Hy. J. Tarner, a copy of Capt. Browne’s “ Butterflies, Sphinges, and Moths,” 1832, and called attention to the crude shape and colour of the figures.—Hy. J. Turner, Hon. /:ditor of Proceedings. NEW AND LITTLE-KNOWN SALTATORIAL DASCILLIDAE. BY G. C. CHAMPION, F.Z.S. The Central American Dascillidae were described by myself in 1897,* and since that time but little has been written on the exotic saltatorial forms, apart from “Descriptions abrégées,” published from time to time by Pic, many of which are almost useless for the identifica- tion of closely allied insects. The numerous new species of Scirtes and its allies contained in the British Museum, including an interesting series from Borneo and Penang recently presented by Mr. G. E. Bryant, are described in the present paper, and additional localities, ete., given for ee * A few Antillean Scirtes, ete., were added by me in Trans. Ent. Soe. Lond. 1897, and a very remarkable one from Nyasaland, in the Ent. Mo. Mag. for 1917. , O4 (April, some of those named by C. O. Waterhouse in 1880. Prof. Poulton has lent me the specimens captured by A. R. Wallace in Borneo, Batchian, Flores, and Ceram, belonging to the Oxford Museum, and Mr. H. E. Andrewes the short series from India named by Bourgeois in 1896. In dealing with the Central American Dascillids, in 1897, the present writer called attention to the peculiar foveae or excavations near the apex of the elytra in the females only of certain species of Scirtes and Cyphon, a character now known to occur in various members of the genus Ora, this structure being almost homologous with that of the males of many Malachiids. The females of these insects seem to be more abundant than the males, and as the ovipositor (with its apical articulated palps) is often extruded in dried specimens, there can be no mistake as to the sex of the foveate examples. No male Ora or Scirtes has been detected by me with any sexual modification of the elytral surface. The genus Sczrtes is almost cosmopolitan in distribution, and pro- bably 1000 species exist ; the 100 enumerated in Pic’s Catalogue (1914), to judge from the material before me, and the number of “ uniques” (many of which are too imperfect for study), cannot represent more than a fraction of those actually living at the present time. So far as my own experience goes, they frequent marshy places, living upon Salza, ete. Their active jumping powers must often enable them to escape the ordinary collector, with whom they are not favourites, owing to their fragility. The resemblance of many of these insects to Coccinellids, Halticids, and even Cassididae, is well illustrated by the material now under examination. Prrionosctrtes Champ. 1.—Prionoscirtes reliquus, n. sp. Subhemispherical, convex, shining, closely pubescent; rufo-testaceous, the eyes and elytra (the apical margin excepted) black, the antennae and legs testa-~ ceous; the head rather sparsely, minutely, the prothorax and elytra more closely, finely punctate. Head very broad, the eyes convex ; antennae thickly set with fine bristly hairs, long, very slender (the greatly dilated basal joint excepted), joint 3 about as long as 2, those from joint 4 onwards elongate, equal in length, parallel-sided, narrow at their base. Prothorax very broad and short, narrowed from the base, slightly hollowed in front opposite the eyes. Elytra transversely convex, rounded and narrowly margined at the sides. Posterior femora moderately incrassate, the tibiae almost straight, not much widened, carinate, the spurs slender, the longer one barely one-half the length of the first tarsal joint. Length (excl. head) 3, breadth 2,5 mm. (2°?) Hab. Penane (G. £. Bryant: x.1913). 1918.} im 95 One specimen. This insect bears an extraordinary close relationship to P. nigripennis Champ. (¢ only known), from the Pacific slope of Guatemala, and is of the same size and colour, being separable therefrom by the following characters only: antennae longer and more slender, eyes a little smaller and more convex, tibiae straighter and narrower, and tarsi more elongate. ‘The mandibles in the present species are curved, sharply pointed, and armed with two very short teeth towards the base within. The presence of such closely allied forms in very widely separated regions affords a good example of the difficulties encountered in dealing with geographical distribution. The three recorded species of the genus—two from Guatemala and one from the St. Vincent, in the Lesser Antilles *— are known from single examples only, and they therefore must be rare insects. Ora Clark. If the name Ora Clark is to be retained for the forms with simple posterior coxae (7. é. without angular plate extending over the inner basal portion, this plate being well developed in the type of Sezrtes, hemi- sphaericus l.), his second species, O. troberti Guér. (= chevrolati Clark), must be taken as the type, the first species, O. grayii Clark (=seamaculatus Pic), being a true Scirtes. This course was followed by myself in the “ Biologia,” in 1897, but at that time a detailed examination of O. grayii had not been made by me. The species are numerous in tropical regions generally, and some of them have broadly expanded margins to the elytra, suggestive of Cassida; and, as in Scirtes, very similar forms are found in widely-separated geographical regions. ‘The bifoveate head is characteristic of many members of the present genus. The Bolivian Scyrtes ligneus Blanch. belongs to Ora as here recognized. TropicAL AMERICAN SPECIES. 1.—Ora triradiata, n. sp. Elongate-oval, depressed, very shining, glabrous above (? abraded); the head, palpi, antennae (the rufo-piceous joints 1-3 excepted), and scutellum black, the prothorax testaceous ; the elytra flavous, with a sinuous stripe near the inner margin (coalescent with the one on the opposite elytron towards the apex, and then continued narrowly along the suture to the apical margin) and three oblong, laterally-connected patches placed one behind the other near the outer margin, black; the under surface, the prothorax excepted, in great part piceous ; the tibiae (the spurs excepted) and joints 1-4 of the tarsi nigro- piceous or black, the femora and the rest of the legs testaceous; closely, finely * Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1897, p, 291. oe 96 ; 4 [April, punctate. Head rather broad, slightly depressed on each side anteriorly, the eyes large; antennae moderately long, not very slender, joints 2 and 8 short, equal, 4-11 slightly decreasing im length. Prothorax very short, rapidly narrowing from the base, bisinuate in front, the lateral margins explanate. Elytra long, compressed at the sides below the humeri, depressed along the suture to about the middle, rounded at the tip, and with flattened expanded margins. Posterior coxae without plate. Legs moderately long; posterior tibiae compressed, feebly curved, the long upper spur much shorter than the first tarsal joint. Length (excel. head) 43, breadth 2} mm. Hab. Brirtsu Guiana (A. W. Bartlett). The single specimen seen, received by the Museum in 1909, has the _ prothorax crushed on the right side, but in other respects it is in good condition. An elongate, depressed, sharply maculate insect, bearing an extraordinary resemblance to various Tropical American Halticids. Its nearest known ally, O. troberti Guér. (= chevrolati Clark), from Mexico, etc.,* has a broader head and prothorax, and the head, antennae, elytra, and legs very differently coloured. In the present species the elytra have a broad, sinuate, exteriorly triradiate vitta on the dise, the outer margin, and suture in part, flavous and the rest of their surface black. 2.—Ora complanata. ? Scyrtes complanatus Guér. Rev. Zool. 1861, p. 544. Ora complanata Pic, in Junk’s Col. Cat. p. 39 (1914). Broad, oval, depressed, shining, closely pubescent; testaceous, the eyes black, the antennae (joints 1-3 excepted) piceous, the elytra (except along the dilated margin) suffused with red to near the apex; densely, extremely minutely punctate, the prothorax much smoother, the elytra with distinct scattered coarser punctures intermixed. Head rather small, excavate on each side near the eyes anteriorly, the latter large; antennae moderately long, not very slender, joints 2 and 3 short, equal. Prothorax short, rapidly, obliquely narrowed from the base, explanate laterally, bisinuate in front, the anterior angles prominent. Elytra rounded at the sides and somewhat acuminate at the tip, distinctly striate near the suture, the margins explanate. Posterior coxae without plate. Posterior legs very long, the tibiae compressed and sharply carinate, the upper spur nearly as long as the elongated first tarsal joint. Length 4, breadth 24 mm. Hab. Brazit {type}; Amazons, Tunantins (Zraz/). The above description is taken from the Tunantins specimen (received by the Museum in 1897), which is in very good condition. Guérin’s * There is an example of this species in the Museum labelled “‘ Brazil,” possibly in error. 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Chambers, London. atte Phe Second & Fourth Thy -n_each month, at 7 pam. aie denterr? ule ate een Members - exhibition of slides: ne a eee eS ithe Chair will be taken > pancbnily 6.8olonk -s Baier, Seer = : ee ERA a a8: THE LONDON NATURAL. BIST ¥ ee hich. a ab? Zp on the 1st and 3rd ‘Tnesdays in each : c por socrE 20, Salisbury Hor Ae Cirous; E.C.; will be glad to-welcome ab ita: any. French ér antom> dlogists now staying in this country, and to give them. the benefit of its library and” eollections. ~ Communications: seboul Pe. _aresy esas to’ the. wishing Salisbury - House, EC. = BY RICHARD S. BAGNALL, F.L.S. For some time I have been collecting material towards a monograph of the British Campodeidae and, as in present circumstances it is impos- sible to find the time to make the detailed studies and complete the neces- sary figures, I think it advisable to give some indications of the British species and brief descriptions of new forms. Altogether I know twelve or thirteen species, but three (or four) new forms are represented by but two or three poor examples, and I have therefore withheld describing them in the hopes that further material will come to hand. I take this opportunity to issue a further appeal for material; in my first appeal I suggested reserving one tube for one specimen. Most species occur in little families or colonies, and I now suggest that one tube should be reserved for the members of one little colony, or those from one particular habitat. I particularly want examples from the South or South-West of England; from the coast and from the summits of our higher mountains. I am particularly indebted to those friends whose names are inserted in brackets in the following records. Section I.—MrsonoTUM AND METANOTUM WITH THE LATERAL SUB- POSTERIOR MAJOR SETAE PRESENT. 1.—Campodea fragilis Meinert (fig. 3). Ener~anDd: Northumberland, on the coast at Hartley, 1912, and Whitley Bay, Mar. 1918; inland at Denton Burn, near Newcastle, Dee. 1912, and Corbridge-on-Tyne, Mar. 1918. Durham, on the coast at Whitburn, Aug. 1914. Hogley Bog, near Oxford, Feb. 1918 (dH. Britten). Yorkshire, Weedley, 1915 (ZL. Stainforth). ScoTLanD: Isle of May, May 1914 (W. Evans). IRELAND: Ballycastle, Co. Antrim, Aug. 1915, and in the neigh- bourhood of Stewartstown, Co. Tyrone, Mar. 1918 (VV. H. Foster). 2.—Campodea lubbocki Silvestri (fig. 4). Described from specimens found at Berkhamsted (Collinge) and Oxford (2. S. B.); apparently somewhat rare. NORTHUMBERLAND, Denton Burn, near Newcastle, Dec. 1912, and Leazes Park, Neweastle. Duruam, Gibside and Fencehouses; rare. DogRsETsHiRE, Swanage, the only species, and Studland, Apl. 1918, 110 (Mey, : 3. = C. staphylinus Silv., non Westwood. Campodea silvestriz, sp. n. (fig. 7 a). See remarks under description of C. staphylinus. Silvestri examined British material from Dublin, and Leamside and Penshaw, Co. Durham. Curiously enough he did not receive specimens of our commonest British Campodea, which I now bring forward as the true C. staphylinus, falling into Section IT. EnerannD: Lizard Pt., Cornwall, April 1915, and Swansea, Jan. 1916 (P. A. Buxton). Ringwood, Hants, Aug. to Dec. 1912 (C. B. Williams). I have only seen a few examples (all juvenile) from Northumberland and Durham, while gardneri and staphylinus are to be found everywhere. TrRELAND: Ballycastle, Co. Antrim, Aug. 1915 (V. H. Foster). 4.—Campodea gardneri, sp. n.* (figs. 5 & 7). Length 1:9-2°3 mm. White. Minor setae elongated, pointed, simple; much as in stlvestrit, but fewer and ljonger, being intermediate between that species and redii Silv. Major setae as in fig. 7. Antennae 19-segmented, about 0-4 the length of the body. Notum with all the major setae present. Tergites without submedian major setae: 5-9 with sublateral posterior, and lateral major setae. Cerei 8-10 segmented, very similar to the cerci of C. silvestrii var. plusiochaeta Silv., but noticeably stout basally, less than half the length of the insect, 8-10 segmented. Apical seta of style with a single branch near base, subapical seta branched towards middle, and the third main seta branched distally. Apart from its small size this species differs from sivestrii (staphylinus Sily.) and its variety plusiochaeta very sharply in the character of the major setae and of the type of stylus. In size it more closely approaches rediz Silv. (1°65 mm. long), but in that species both the major and minor setae are longer and, in the latter case, fewer, whilst the sublateral posterior major setae are found on tergites 4-9. Hab, Exetaxp: Durham, in turf and with C. staphylinus, Hart, Gibside ; Winlaton; Axwell. Northumberland, Newcastle, Matfen, Corbridge, Ovingham, Hartley, ete. Yorkshire, Hull (7. Stainforth). ” Lancashire, Grange-over-Sands. Northamptonshire, Kettering, in turf (C. B. Williams). Hampshire, in peat from Ringwood (C. B. Williams). IRELAND: Ballycastle, Co. Antrim, Aug. 1915 (V. H. Foster). 5.—Campodea lankesteri Silvestri. A large species, described from examples taken at Berkhamsted ( Collinge). * I find particular pleasure in dedicating this species to my friend Mr. John Gardner, F.ES8., of Hart, as a small mark of appreciation for the help and encouragement I have received at his hands since I first turned to Entomology. 1918.] ; 111 NorTHUMBERLAND, Denton Burn, Neweastle, Dec. 1912. Duturnam, Gibside, Fencehouses, Lambton Park, Fatfield,}Blackhall Rocks. York- sHtRE, Hull and Lincolnshire, South Ferriby (7. Stainforth). Surrey, Merton, Sept. 1912 (C. B. Williams). I have also taken this species at Oxford and in the Kew Gardens, London. 6.—Campodea giardi Silvestri. In 1914 I found two examples which agreed perfectly with Silvestri’s description, the chief character lying in the posterior position of the submedian macrochaeta on the abdominal tergites. Duruam, Gibside. Section I1J.—As 1n Section I, BUT WITH THE MAJOR SETAE AT HIND ANGLES OF THE METANOTUM ABSENT. 7.—Campodea staphylinus Westwood (figs. 6 & 8.) Length 39-46 mm. Metanotum without major setae at the hind angles. Tergites without submedian major setae ; 6-9 with sublateral posterior and lateral major setae. Stylus ag in silvestri, fragilis, ete. Cerci short, about 0-4 the length of the insect (fig. 6). Silvestri had not the opportunity of studying this insect, and had before him a much rarer, though very similar, species (falling into Section 1) from the British Isles, which he naturally considered to be Westwood’s staphylinus and described it as such. Both Westwood and Lubbock figured Campodea staphylinus without macrochaetae at the hind angles of the metanotum, and as our commonest species agrees in this particular I think there is no doubt that it is the same species as Westwood described. I find it in numbers everywhere and have had it sent to me from Ireland, Scotland, and many parts of England. 8 —Campodea grassii Silvestri. This fine species seems to be distinctly variable. I have an example agreeing with Silvestri’s description in the main particulars, but the inerassate minor setae of the posterior margins of the nota are shorter than in Italian examples. The species is known to vary as regards these minor setae. I hope more examples will turn up, as my unique example has passed through .many vicissitudes and is now minus both antennae and cere. LANCASHTRE, Grange-over-Sands. 112 (May, Section [II.—MersonoruM (AND METANOTUM) WITH THE LATERAL SUBPOSTEBIOR MAJOR SETAE ABSENT. There are two divisions of this section, the first for species having submedian major setae on the abdominal tergites and the second where these submedian setae are absent. The species described below falls into the second division. 9.—Campodea westwoodi, sp. n. (figs. 1 & 9). Length 3°5-5:0 mm. White. The minor dorsal setae of the body short, incrassate and pointed; the major setae (macrochaetae) short. Antennae about 0:4-0'45 the length of the total insect, 20-22 segmented. Mesonotum with both the anterior (submedium and sublateral) and the metanotum with the submedian major setae present. Tergites without submedian major setae ; 6-9 with sublateral posterior and lateral major setae. Style of the same type as in stlvestrit, staphylinus, and fragilis, Cerci longer than the antennae ; 9-10 articulated (fig. 1); setae rather short, subequal, the outstanding ones arranged in 5-6 whorls. A striking and distinctive species, related to C. aristotelis Silv. Hab. A few examples taken by Mr. W. J. Lucas at Rhinefield Sandys, New Forest, in April 1912. 2

  • pS We aK TX? Figs. 1-6.—Distal end of cerci of 1, C. westwoodi ; 2, O. lankesteri; 3. C. fragilis ; 4, C. lubbocki; 5, C. gardneri; 6, C. staphylinus. 113 Figs. 7-9.—Left side of the pronotum, mesonotum, and metanotum of Campoder gardneri (Section I), C. staphylinus (Section IT), and C. westwoodi (Section IIT), with more enlarged figures of the pronotal macrochaeta. 7 a,—Pronotal macrochaeta of C. silvestrw. Blaydon-on-Tyne. April 2nd, 1918. Aberration of Tanagra atrata.—On July 7th last vear, when I was collecting in some meadows near Burnley, where 7. atrata was exceedingly abundant, [ noticed one very different from the rest, This was captired, and proved to be an aberration of a golden-brown tint, very distinct from the usual black colour of the species; it was in very good condition.—W. G, CLUTTEN, 152 Coal Clough Lane, Burnley, Lancashire: March 17th, 1918. Abundance of Phigalia jrilosaria at Burnley.—The weather seems to have : been very favourable for P. pilosaria this winter, as nearly three hundred examples have been observed here. A careful note of melanic specimens has been made, and it is found that rather over 20 per cent. in this locality are now of the black form.—W. G. CLuTTEn. Psylla sorbi L. in Britain.—The common Psylla of the Mountain Ash has occupied very little space in entomological literature. Linnaeus described it, quite as fully as could be expected from a naturalist of that date, in 1767. K 114 [May, Thomson in his “ Ofversigt af Scandinaviens Chermes-arter ” (Op. Ent. viii, 1877) includes Chermes sorbi L., but his description leaves it uncertain whether he was really referring to the Mountain Ash species or not. Although Reuter had already recorded from Mountain Ash a Psylla which he thought was P. mali, F. Low (Verh. zool.-bot. Ges. Wien, xxxii, 1882, p. 250) says that no Psylla living on Sorbus Aucuparia had yet been found, and therefore it was very probable that the presence of Linne’s Chermes sorbi on Mountain Ash was accidental. In the neighbourhood of Northwich, where Mountain Ash isa dominant tree, I found on the latter a pale Psylla commonly in August 1910 and with considerable doubt put away the specimens as P. mali. The next season I looked for a Psyl/a on Mountain Ash here and found it at once, both on trees undoubtedly native, of which there are very few, and on planted ones which had been brought in the young state from Scotland. It was now perfectly clear that notwithstanding the similarity of the green nymphs and of the male forceps, the Mountain Ash insect could easily be distinguished from P. mali which was living on Crab Apple a few yards away. The following particulars will serve for its recognition:—Upper fore-parts whitish-yellow inclining to orange and not to green; mesonotum with a pair of wide stripes on each side and a line down the middle lighter or darker yellow-brown. Dorsulum entirely brown. Antennae about half as long as the costa, the fourth and following joints ringed with black at the apex, last joint entirely black. Elytra hyaline, the veins becoming darker from the basal third onward, cell M well covered with tubercles throughout except on a well- defined marginal area, the latter very evident in the basal third of the cell, cell a2 pale throughout. Length 35-4 mm. PP. mali, which is a more robust insect, does not develop the dark line down the middle of the mesa- notum and has cell M practically free from tubercles from its base as far as the fork of Cu. Ihave also seen P. sore from Hyde Heath, Bucks (£. A. Butler), and Great Salkeld, Cumberland (Britten).—J. Epwarps, Colesborne : Apri 9th, 1918. Note on Trioza velutina Forster.—Dr. Karel Sule, whose writings on Psyllina are unequalled for completeness of morphological investigation, accuracy of description, and wealth of illustration, deals very fully (Mon. Gen, Trioza, Pt. iv, p. 88, t. 47, 48) with 7. gal and T. velutina Forster; and as the result of his examination of the type-specimens, amongst others, he comes to the conclusion that they are one and the same species. But the facts which he demonstrates also prove most conclusively that we have to deal with two kinds which differ from one another in_certain definite and well- marked particulars; namely, the tuberculation of the elytra and the form of the forceps ; and since the researches of the learned doctor go to show that these are constant whilst the shape of the elytra and the shape and bulk of the face-cones, features on which he relies in support of his amalgamation of the two forms, are decidedly variable, it would appear better to retain the names as applied by Forster and call the form with no tubercles on the elytra except a few in the neighbourhood of the base of a1, and the extreme tip of the forceps in the dorsal aspect sharply truncate, galii, and the form with the elytra well covered with tubercles except at the edges of the cells, and the extreme tip of the forceps in the dorsal aspect bluntly rounded, velutina, The eee 1918.} 115 tuberculation of the elytra here mentioned is that of the upper surface; it is very minute and is most readily seen in dried specimens when the elytron is obliquely lighted; if the elytron be mounted in glycerine its examination by transmitted light is easy, though in this case care must be taken to distinguish the tuberculation of the upper surface from that of the under. T. gali is decidedly sporadic, but I have found it on the annual Galium Aparine, as well as on the perennial G.-eruciatum, G. palustre, and G. verum. On June 2nd, 1908, I swept casually at Colesborne a single female which has the elytra proper to velutina; and amongst some Psyllids recently sent to me for names by Mr. Britten I find two males, taken by him from Vaccinium Myrtillus at Gamblesby Fell, Cumberland, 11. vii, 1909, at an altitude of over 2000 feet, in which the forceps and elytral tuberculation exactly resemble Sule’s figures of Forster’s velutina (op. cit. Pt.i, t.5). From what plant the Colesborne specimen came is unknown, but it was certainly not Bilberry.—J. EDwaRDs, Colesborne: April 9th, 1918. Society. THe SoutH Lonpon EnromMoroecicaL anD Natura History SocrEtTy: March 14th, 1918.—Myr. StanteEy Epwarps, F.L.S., President, in the Chair. Mr. Turner exhibited Colias edusa v. helice from Cyprus and Spain, in- cluding an intermediate form. Mr, Edwards, a long varied series of Gnophos glaucinaria from Macugnaga and several species of Setina (£ndrosu), iS. trrorella, S. aurita, and S, kuhlweinit, some having confluent markings. Mr. Burnett, a short series of Hyria muricata from near Guildford, much lighter than the northern form. Mr. K. G. Blair, the larva of the Coleo- pteron Nebria brevicollis parasitized by a Proctotrupid. The larvae of the par site were attached full fed for pupation along. the back of the host by their tails.—Hy. J. Turnrr, Hon. /ditor of Proceedings. ——$—$—————=x<. FURTHER NOTES ON STYLOPS AND STYLOPIZED BEES. BY BR. C. L. PERKINS, M.A., D.S8c., F.Z.S8. The following list comprises, I believe, all the British Andrena that have at present been recorded as stylopized. Where the species of Stylops has itself been described or named, this name is added after its host. In a few cases, where the records are very old, the authority for the record is given, and confirmation is desirable :— Andrena alfkenella Perkins ............ ? Stylops spreta Perkins, apicata Sm. (recorded as stylopized under the name lapponica Zett. by Theobald, Ent. Mo. Mag. 1892, pp. 40-42). bimaculata K. Both broods .. Stylops bimaculatae Perkins, bucéphala SWles abies cic... ss S. aterrima (i) 116 [May, Andrena carbonaria L. (=pilipes). 1st brood * 35 'd's) See ee S. nassonowt Pierce, chrysosceles Kee hs ae S. hammella Perkins, clarkella K. coitana K, Falsifica Perkingh i.) oS eee ? S. spreta Perkins. Ferox Sm. Jlavipes Panz. (=fulvicrus KX.), Jucata Sm. sulde' Sehriy L745 Fay ee 2S. nevinsont Perkins. JSuscipes K, Pickering 1835. Shuckard records rwfitarsis K. probably in error for Q fuscipes (rufitarsis K.= tridentata K.). gravida Imh. (= fasciata Nyl.). gwynana K, Both spring and summer broods. helvola 8. labialis K. ...... eh ells © rat Me S. dalit Curtis. minutula K. Both broods. moricella Perk. yagroaenea Ko saa hs to t84 bh Ye S. melittae Kirby. ovatula K. (=afzeliella Auct.) .. S. thwaitest S. Saund. praecox Scop. provima Kk. Pickering 1835 with doubt. Commonly stylopized in . Germany. saundersella Perk. (=nana, Sm., Sands)” kites le wean |p S. spreta Perkins. sericea Chr. (=albicrus K.) Curtis 1832. Stylops dalii. Very pro- bably an error. STONE WO a Pe ees ola «Bh S. aterrima? spreiu Péreas ieee. C1 a5 vee es S. spreta Perkins. suup pact Nels yisnks Jisciseaats . 2S. spreta Perkins. synadelpha Perk. (= ambigua Ponlayry ets een tls Taek S. nevinsont Perkins. tarsata Ny]. (=anals Panz.) .. S. analis Perkins. Lota BOM LO chee seess S. Spencw Pickerine, trommerana Auct. ........065 » SS. aterrima Newport. vartians Rossi. iolketla ss ae = Sn S. wilkellae Perkins. The following species, which occur in England, are known to be stylopized, some of them commonly so, on the Continent, but I have not seen them recorded as being affected in this country :—4A. ecneraria L., cingulata ¥., denticulata K., florea F., fulvescens Sm. (humilis), nitidiuscula Sch. (lucens Innh.), rosae Panz., thoracica F., similis Sm. The only stylopized species of Halictus that I have myself found are:—H. xanthopus K., H. calceatus Scop. (cylindricus ¥.), H. nite- diusculus K., and H. tumulorum L. The following have been recorded, but the records may require 1918, } 117 confirmation :—H. rubicundus Chr., H. 4-notatus K., H. albipes K., Hi. longulus Sm., H. minutissimus K., H. minutus K., and H. morio F., and I think also H. leucozonius. The effect of stylopization on the internal reproductive organs of Andrenw has been insufficiently studied in this country, and the accounts given by different workers are not in accord. It must be remembered, however, that each writer on the subject examined different species of Andrena, and, it is possible that the effect of the parasite is not the same in the case of different hosts with different species of Stylops. My earliest investigations (Ent. Mo. Mag. 1892, p. 1) were made mainly on stylopized A. wilkella K. and saundersella Perk. (nana E. Saund.), while those of Theobald (/.c. p. 40) were on A. apicata Sm. (then wrongly known as A. lapponica Zett.) and his conclusions were very different from mine. Recently (Quart. Journ. Mier. Sei. 1914, p. 435), extensive work was done on A. nigroaenea K. by Geoffrey Smith and A. H. Hamm. It will be noted then that the Andrena mainly used by each writer belonged each to a quite distinct group of species in this large genus. The conclusions arrived at by the last-named authors agree very well with my own. It is true that they say that both “for male and female” my notes “ tend to minimise the effect of the parasites on the internal organs.” For reasons stated (viz. the fact that the female ovaries are often unripe in freshly emerged bees, while the ¢ genitalia are fully-developed at that period) my dissections were practically all made from males, as I was careful to point out, and the results obtained from an examination of these appear to me to exactly agree with those of Smith and Hamm. Thus of 15 3 nigroaenea examined (4 of which carried ¢ puparia and 10 female parasites, while one had a ¢ and Q parasite) they found that “it could not be observed that the presence of parasites in any case had exerted any effect on the development of the testes and ducts.” Pérez in his classical work on the subject of stylopization records some cases of damage to one side of the testes as due to Stylops. This may be correct, but his account of the external changes caused by stylopization in some common Andrvenae does not agree with the facts observed in British examples of these same species of Andrena, so far as we can see. From Pérez’s original observations and the recent ones of Smith and Hamm, it is certain that the ovaries of the ? bee are always or nearly always reduced in size or at least fail to produce ripe ova. It would be of great interest to compare the condition of these parts 118 [May, in a stylopized bee that is carrying a good load of pollen (a very rare circumstance) and also in some species of Andrena in which, as here- after mentioned, the pollinigerous apparatus is less deteriorated by stylopization than in those hitherto worked at, with the condition that ordinarily results from the: parasite. | . Pairing of the sexes is beyond doubt frequent in stylopized bees. On the one day that I was able to make any observations last year, I took two pairs of A. spreta in cop. in which one of each pair was stylopized. In America, Crawford in the case of Andrena craufordt noticed three cases in four days, and in one of these both ¢ and Q were stylopized. As comparatively few bees of the total number seen are stylopized and few also are taken 7m copula, it cannot be expected that one would very frequently notice such cases. We may conclude that though the female bee when stylopized is sterile except perhaps in very exceptional cases, not yet demonstrated, the ¢ is rarely if ever castrated. When very badly injured by the attack or emergence of 3 Stylops, male bees may be so incapacitated as to be scarcely able to fly and are naturally incapable of pairing, but such cases are quite exceptional, and even in some of these I have found no appreciable alteration of the internal reproductive organs. In the case of one such 3 of A. trimmerana, however, there was a disparity in size of the genital glands, but on both sides spermatozoa were perfectly produced. It may be that such disparity may also occur sometimes in non- stylopized examples. The external changes due to stylopization are more or less well known to all collectors of bees, and an admirable summary of the chief or most conspicuous of these is given by Edward Saunders in his “Synopsis” of British Aculeata (Tr. Ent. Soe. Lond. 1882, pp. 228, 229). More minute details are considered by Pérez in his work already referred to, published in 1886 (Act. Soc. Linn. Bordeaux, xl, p. 21). One may note in a general way that stylopization generally affects such external characters as are subject to more or less variability in healthy examples. Thus a decrease or increase in length or amount of clothing, change in the colour of the facial hair (e. g. from brown to black), variation in the size of the head, etc., may often occur in healthy bees. Change of colour of the white or yellow clypeus of the ¢ does not occur in non-stylopized bees in this country; but one of our species, A. humilis var. fulvesceus Sm., is found with both white and black face on the Continent. The stylopized male of A. chrysosceles sometimes has the clypeus black also, and it is interesting to note that healthy 1918.} 119 Males of this bee may have not only the clypeus but an additional spot on each side of the face adjoining this, yellow. The most important external change produced by Sty/ops in its host is, without doubt, the degeneration of the pollinigerous apparatus of the hind legs. This, of course, affects the female bee only, and it is questionable whether—at any rate in most of the species subject to stylopization—any parasitized individual has these perfect. In fifty examples of A. ¢rimmerana the scopae exhibit much difference in the degree of their degeneration, and even when at first sight they appear ’ practically normal in size, it will be found on closer examination that the hairs which spring from the lower side of the tibiae do not exhibit that curvature upwards round its outer surface in so perfect a degree as in a healthy bee. This degeneration is no doubt strictly correlated with injury done to the ovaries and is never seen in non-stylopized examples ; so also is the assumption of white or yellow facial markings in some females of A. labialis, coitana, chrysosceles, and probably of tarsata (analis). Whether a diminution or entire loss of such markings in the males of yellow-faced species is also correlated with injury to the genitalia appears to me much more doubtful. Every one who has studied bees must have noticed that different individuals are very differently affected by Stylops, but it is much less easy to demonstrate, largely indeed for this very reason, that different species react differently to the attacks of the parasite in important respects (e.g. the deterioration of the pollinigerous organs). This, however, appears to be the case, and cases will be given when the species. are considered separately. E. Saunders speaks of the “assimilation of the sexes” caused by stylopization. This tendency to some similarity of appearance seems to me to be due to the following causes: Inflation of the abdomen, caused no doubt by pressure from the parasites, affects both sexes very commonly, and this causes the usually much more slender males to have more the appearance of the other sexe Both sexes are often similarly influenced as to the condition of the abdominal pubes- cence, this being either decreased or increased or changed in appearance in ¢ and Q alike. When the ¢ and Q are under normal circumstances. unlike in this character, their general appearance when similarly altered by stylopization naturally becomes more close. The notable decrease in size of head of ¢ and Q sometimes causes some resemblance between the sexes in this respect. In extreme cases of deterioration of the pollinigerous organs the hind legs of the female, by the diminution of the scopae and their more slender tibiae, make-some approach to the ¢ condition, 120 [ May, In no feature, except m certain cases in the white-marked face, does the Q acquire any positive ¢ character of importance. The antennae remain 12-jointed, and, in their structure, essentially charae- teristic of the 2. Pérez found some slight variation in the length of the joints, and thought that they indicated an approach of ¢ and 9 characters. I cannot find any noteworthy change in the large number of A. trimmerana that I have examined, nor any that one could imagine due to stylopization, as I have found slight variations in the antennae of healthy specimens. Pérez found changes in this species. Smith and Hamm found no change in the case of A. nigroaenea. In ¢ A. fulva, which is extraordinarily affected by Stylops, the antennae appear to be sometimes more or less affected. Where the male has quite special secondary sexual organs (e. g. the form of the mandibles, their armature, or that of the cheeks), no stylopized female has been found with these characters. Nor do the males ever acquire any special female character, but the mandibles and antennae of parasitized examples remain those of the male, while pollinigerous organs are never developed. Except the colour of the clypeus, they can hardly be said to lose any definite secondary sexual character. Even the small basal mandibular tooth characteristic of many do ¢ of the fulva group does not appear to be lost, nor the genal spine in A. spinigera. This latter case is the more remarkable, since the male of the 2nd brood is normally without the spine or has it rudimentary. If one places a large series of males by the side of another con- sisting of females, both formed of stylopized specimens, selecting some species in which the sexual dimorphism is notable—e. g. 4. trimmerana— it must be acknowledged that very rarely, if ever, will there be found an example of one sex having such an assimilation to one of the other that it. would not be detected at once, if it were misplaced. g a oe > 1. A. nigroaenea.—There is a tendency in both sexes to a decrease in the size of the head, but this is not noticeable in all specimens. When the ¢ bee is parasitized by a 3 Stylops the abdomen frequently assumes a deeper black colour, and the long hairs on the middle of the second segment become much shorter or sparser, or both short and sparse; the fourth segment and generally the third acquire a dense, appressed, apical band of pale hair, more or less distinct, so as to give the insect an appearance quite different from that of typical healthy examples. 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The surface of the 2nd abdominal segment of parasitized individuals is generally duller than in normal ones, this being apparently chiefly due to a change in the minute surface sculpture between the punctures. The male bee, attacked only by 2 Stylops, is,.in the material examined, generally less affected than those yielding d parasites, and sometimes hardly differs from a healthy individual. Female bees with male Stylops may have the abdominal pubescence greatly shortened or diminished on the second segment and excessively short on the following ones. In those bearing the female parasite the pubescence of the apical impressions of the segments often forms wider or more distinct pale bands there than in normal specimens, though more or less evident bands may generally be seen in the latter in some aspects. The tibial scopa shows more or less degeneration in all the speci- mens that I have examined, though in some this degeneration is slight. In one certainly stylopized, though the Stylops itself is not visible (either having died as a larva or not developed sufficiently to push out its head through the intersegmental membrane), enough pollen remains “in the scopa and in the femoral basket to show that this is no accidental collection. Another very old one with discoloured and tattered wings, the abdomen almost entirely denuded, and the head and thorax largely so, bears a single discoloured 2 Stylops, which has probably produced its triungulins. 1t was caught during the first half of July 1911, so that its life must have been a long one. I have minutely examined about forty stylopized examples in making these notes and have seen very many others in past years. Both the external and internal changes caused by Stylops in this species have been detailed by Geoffrey Smith and Hamm in their paper already referred to. 2. A. tibialis (atriceps).—The effect of stylopization is in general like that shown by A. nigroaenea, the 3 ¢ of these two species being ») ery’ Similar superficially, but structurally remotely allied. The ¢ in healthy examples varies in the colour of the facial clothing, but in the 2 normally the face is pale-haired, with whitish or whitish-fuscous hair below the line of the antennae. The latter sex has yellow or red hind tibiae. In the worst affected males (e.g. one from which several g Stylops have issued) the abdomen is shining and appears nearly glabrous to tne L 122 (June, naked eye, the hair on the second segment 1s scanty and very short. The effect caused by the ¢ Stylops is evidently on the average greater than that resulting from the 9 parasite, and in some examples, bearing only a single 2 Stylops, the abdominal condition is normal, and were not the head of the Stylops exserted these might pass as healthy bees. No doubt there is every sort of intermediate between the extremes. In the 2 bee denudation of the abdomen similar to that described in the ¢ may result from infestation by the male Stylops, while others may hardly show any effect. The characteristic yellow hind tibiae become in some examples entirely dark, or dark with pale tips, the pale face beneath the antennal line becomes frequently entirely clothed with sooty-black hairs. In a fine 2 bee, affected by a single 2 Stylops, the abdomen is well clothed all over with quite long erect hairs, those at the base pale, but on the apical impression of the 2nd and on all the others the general clothing is black, only the apical fringes showing an obscure paleness ; the whole face also is clothed with black hairs. So far as the specimens examined are concerned the 2 pollinigerous organs in this species are much less deteriorated than in trimmerana; in fact, in many of them it requires close examination to detect any change at all. The head in stylopized specimens of either sex generally is evidently smaller than in healthy ones, often very conspicuously so. I have examined about thirty stylopized individuals in drawing up these details 3. A. trimmerana Auct. nec K.—Both sexes show an evident tendency towards decrease in the size of the head, but this is not always noticeable. In normal ¢ ¢vimmerana in the South of England the face below the line of the antennae is clothed mainly with brown or yellowish- brown hairs, the abdomen has long pale hairs on the first segment, while those on the second are particularly long and noticeable towards the middle line, so as to form there a more or less evident tuft. The examples most altered by Stylops have the abdomen of a much deeper black than normal, and are very sparsely clothed; the tuft of the second segment is much reduced in the number or length of the hairs, or in both these respects, and indeed is sometimes all but wanting. The face below the clypeus is clothed altogether with black hairs or the clypeus has many sooty hairs mixed with the brown ones. Seven males that I have examined exhibit these characters, and all have carried one or more male Sty/ops. A common effect of stylopization in the ¢ bee is the presence of a quite conspicuous apical band of appressed hairs on the third and ~ 1918.] 123 fourth abdominal segments or on one of these. Quite the opposite to the first mentioned specimens, in others the abdomen becomes actually more hairy than in normal ones, though in some cases the greater hairiness is only apparent and due to the decumbency and pale colour of the hairs on the third and following segments. Some of these examples have much black hair on the clypeus, while in others the clothing of this part is normal. It is doubtful whether in nearly 50 ¢g bees examined any one of these would be passed over as normal, were the Stylops or its puparium unseen, though some closely approach the normal condition. In the females the tibial scopa is always more or less deficient, usually conspicuously so, in rare cases only very slightly so, and some- times all the hairs of which it is composed are of a tawny colour, the black or dark fuscous ones of the normal scopa being entirely changed. Only rarely is the characteristic silvery hair of the pollen-brush beneath retained, e.g. in three out of twenty-four examples casually examined. The clothing of the abdomen often appears denser and more conspicuous than in healthy examples, the hairs being pale throughout and more depressed. Some examples—about one in ten of those examined— correspond in appearance to those males I have described above, as most altered, the abdominal pubescence being very deficient. One of these has the scopa greatly degenerated and fulvous in colour throughout, the abdomen being much distorted also, while another has the scopae hardly at all deficient ! Both these examples have borne ¢ Stylops. In stylo- pized females the inflation or abnormal convexity of the abdomen is usually conspicuous. Stylopized examples of A. trimmerana ave numerous in many localities and I have, in drawing up the above notes, examined about 80 examples in various collections and from many localities. | 7 4, A. wilkella K.—The result of the stylopization varies greatly in different individuals, but in this species there is one feature which is almost constant, so far as I can gather from the examination of about 50 examples. As in other species the greatest changes are usually the result of the ¢ parasite. In the most extreme forms the abdomen becomes more shining and the chitinous integument looks thinner than in normal specimens, the punctures being also less close. The pubescent bands of the abdomen may approach or be identical in appearance with those of the very closely allied species, A. ovatula (afzeliella). The hind tibiae of the 2, the yellow colour of which is.so constant in healthy L2 124 (June, examples, are often more or less clouded with black, or may even be entirely black so as to resemble those of 4. ovatula var. fuscata. One most noticeable sexual difference between the ¢ and Q of A. wilkella is that the ¢ has a clothing of long pale hairs over the greater part of the 1st abdominal segment, while in the 9 this segment is for the most part glabrous. | Tn all or nearly all stylopized males the clothing of this segment is much reduced so as to approximate to the female condition, and further, the short pale hairs at the middle of the base of the second segment are reduced to still further minuteness so as to be scarcely visible. In female bees attacked by Stylops the segment that lies in front of the head of the Stylops itself has often a quite abnormally dense clothing of short, pale, appressed hairs. The effect produced by the 2 Stylops, even when two parasites are present, is normally much less noticeable than that produced by the ¢. The changes mentioned above in the clothing of the stylopized male are particularly interesting, seeing that it was in this species that my dissections showed, that the essential male genital organs were little or not at all affected by the parasite. On the contrary, the stylopized females have not assumed a condition of abdominal clothing comparable with that of the male. 5. A. nitida Fourcr.—If the Stylops that attacks this bee is S. melittae, it is remarkable how rarely it is affected as compared with A. nigroaenea. A very fine stylopized example was taken near Paignton by my eldest son last year. It is a Q and bears three visible (and possibly one concealed) female parasites. The head is small, the scopae evidently deficient. The third segment is clothed with very short white hairs over most of its surface, as also is the fourth; on the apical im- pression the depressed hairs form a complete pale band. A small Q in F. Smith’s collection is comparatively little changed from the normal, but it carries only a single 2 Stylops. 6. A. gwynana K.—The few examples of each sex that I have examined belong to the second brood. Neither the females nor the males that bear female Stylops are greatly changed, but a ¢ from which ¢ Stylops has emerged (captured by A. H. Hamm at Tubney near Oxford) approaches somewhat in condition to that of badly-affected $ nigroaenea, as described above. Westwood reported that he had taken this bee (presumably the 1918.) 125 spring brood) in numbers at Oxford in a stylopized condition, out all the Devonshire examples that I have seen belong to the summer brood. 7. A. gravida Nyl. (faseiata Imh.).—The really remarkable specimen, which stood in F. Smith’s collection as the sole exponent of Kirby’s mouffetella, must, although captured in July, be referred to gravida, even though that species does not normally have a summer generation. It bears only a single 2 Stylops, yet the changes produced by this are very great. The apical pubescent bands on the abdominal segments are dense, but not pure white as in normal females, and are formed of more erect hairs, having a tendency to curve ; the surface of the 2nd segment has a very short pale pubescence (not bearing long hairs as in the 2, nor being nude as in the normal @ ), while the next two are very densely clothed all over with short pale hairs, so that the apical fasciae do not stand out conspicuously, as in fasciata and Fulvicrus. The puncturation is not much changed from the normal. The clothing of the thorax above, the white hairs of the face and underparts make it necessary to refer this bee to gravida rather than fulvicrus. 8. A. bucephala Sm.—I have only seen one small stylopized male bee and one female of this species, and neither were greatly changed by the parasites, which were females. The male had the head and mandibles quite similar to a healthy example of its own size. 9. A. spinigera K.—Three stylopized males of this species show no special effect from the parasite. The mandibles, and the spines on the cheeks—striking secondary sexual characters of this species—are quite normal. 10. A. fulva Schr.—The effect of the stylopization on the male of this species is of a most interesting character. The few stylopized examples that I have examined are none of large size, but the falcate mandibles and the basal mandibular teeth remain normal for small specimens. ‘The head is considerably decreased in size in some cases, without effacing the secondary sexual characters just referred to. Normal male fwlva has the first and middle of the second abdominal segment clothed with very long fulvous hairs; in stylopized examples the whole abdomen is clothed with equally long hairs, so that the con- dition approximates to that of the female. The colour of the clothing, however, remains much like that of healthy males and does not assume either on abdomen or thorax the deeper shade so characteristic of the 126 (June, female. Of this msect I have not seen a stylopized example for many years, and the one or two I examined were, as it happened, not much affected by the parasite. ll. A. spreta, minutula, saundersella, ete.—I have seen many stylopized examples of these obscure and minute species, but owing to their small size and close relationship one to another, they are not very favourable material for working at. It should be said, however, that in no case have I seen stylopized examples which could not be referred to their proper species with certainty, in spite of alterations caused by the parasite. Of other species I have examined only a few, or comparatively few I , y few, stylopized examples, but a few notes may be added on some of these. 12. A. pilipes F.—A few stylopized males have been examined ; the Stylops itself has been named nassonowi by Pierce from Nasso- — now's figure. Nassonow himself considered the Stylops to be melittae. Whether my 8. b¢maculatae is different remains to be proved. I have only taken stylopized A. pilipes in the same locality as stylopized bimaculata. In one 3 bee from which a ¢ Stylops had escaped, the long hairs of the base of the abdomen are much decreased in number, and the head is extremely small. One, bearing a female Stylops, is less altered. These stylopized pzlipes I have taken belong to the first generation. 13. A. bimaculata K.—The male example of the Stylops and the females referred to were from the second (or summer) brood of the bee, but I find that I have a note of having collected a stylopized female of this bee in 1899 at Mildenhall, Suffolk. I have not examined any stylopized males, and the females are none of them very much altered by stylopization. One female, indeed, was collecting a heavy load of pollen from bramble blossom when captured. So far as I can judge, this bee, like its close ally ¢zbzalzs, will be found, as a rule, to undergo less degeneration of its scopae than ¢77mmerana or nigroaenea from the attack of the parasite. 14. A. labialis K.—In stylopized females, frequently either the clypeus, or both this and two spots on the sides of the face adjoining it, become yellow ; in males the yellow facial markings are reduced in size. Smith and Hamm remark that Pérez’s observations on the change of colour of the clypeus have not been confirmed since his publication of the fact, but this is not quite correct. F. Smith described the pale- 1918.] 127 faced female of stylopized /abialis as separata Sm., but subsequently himself sunk it under the former name. Saunders specially mentions that he has eliminated species formed on stylopized examples, and therefore separvata Sm. does not appear in his “Synopsis,” but he must have been well aware of such specimens, as they exist in many of the older collections. Similarly as to the reduction of the pale markings in stylopized ¢ dg, Chitty in 1902 (Ent. Mo. Mag. pp. 182-183) recorded a black-faced example of A. chrysosceles. 15. A. chrysosceles K.—A stylopized female with yellow clypeus was taken by Mr. A. H. Hamm at Oxford, and one or two others unaltered. I have taken the ¢ with black clypeus (like that recorded by Chitty) at Newton Abbot. 16. A. tarsata Nyl. (analis)—My. Hamm has informed me that the two stylopized females he possesses were from a much affected colony discovered by Arnold in the New Forest. These females have a normal black clypeus, and there are no stylopized examples in Arnold’s col- lection. No doubt males with black, and females with white, clypeus will be found. The hind tibiae are considerably suffused with black (cf. A. tibialis and wilkella). 17. A. coitana K.—A parasitized 9 has a large yellow spot on the clypeus, and I have seen no other example of this species stylopized. The commonest position for the protrusion of the puparium of Stylops is through the intersegmental membrane that divides the fourth and fifth abdominal segments, more rarely between the one preceding or following this. In a few cases it is quite abnormal. Thus in the A. coitana mentioned above, the parasite appears to have escaped between the Ist and 2nd segments. In one example of trimmerana I noticed that the head of the 2 puparium was so lateral in position that it was covered by the ventral sclerite, but such cases must be very rare. Many collectors have witnessed the flight of the ¢ Stylops and on special occasions they have been seen in some numbers together, as by Thwaites, J. C. Dale, Champion, and Hamm. Often they fly at some height from the ground, but in Germany Friese took males flying about the burrows of A. ovina. The only reason why this sex of Stylops cannot easily be obtained in plenty is because, as a rule, it emerges from the host very soon after the bee issues from its burrow into the sunlight, so that most stylopized bees, that do not contain female parasites, are found, when caught, to have only the lid-less, empty puparium of the ¢ 128 (June, remaining. Sunlight has a strong effect on Stylopidae other than Stylops itself in causing rapid emergence of the ¢. Thus I remember one dull day in Brisbane coming across a number of Delphacid Homo- ptera, which were heavily stylopized. At noon the sun came out suddenly, and immediately the ¢ Elenchi began to emerge from the bodies of their hosts, which were resting on the stems of some rushes. I had several in the act of emergence at the same moment in full view. Actual pairing of the sexes has not been observed in the Stylopidae, or at any rate the precise method of pairing is unknown. Smith and Hamm think that pairing does not take place at all, and that the female eggs cannot be fertilized owing to the nature of the female reproductive organs. Numerous observers have seen the ¢ Stylopid mount the host in which the female is imbedded, and Mr. E. B. Nevinson has informed me that he captured a bee with the ¢ Stylops so attached (presumably to the 2) that it remained thus even in the killing bottle, and only became separated on removing it from this. That the eggs of the 2 Stylops can develop parthenogenetically is quite certain; that they always do so seems to me very unlikely. If it were the case of useless males being produced in the case of only one species the fact would be surprising, but it must be remembered that now the Strepsiptera have been considered to consist of superfamilies, families, and subfamilies, and many genera, in all of which males are freely produced. In insects, when the parthogenetic mode of reproduction becomes normal, the males always appear to be lost entirely or only to be produced at intervals. This may happen in the case of very closely allied species, the one being, so far as is known, entirely parthenogenetic, no males beimg ever pro- duced ; while its ally produces males and females in equal numbers, and pairing between these is regularly accomplished. That the Stylopidae in their parthenogenesis resemble other insects I should infer from the fact that in one species of Halictoxenus at least hundreds of females — have been obtained, but no ¢ of the same species has ever been procured, nor any bee containing a ¢ puparium. It is clear that males are very rarely, if ever, developed in this case. There is no reason to doubt that the developing eggs of Stylops melittae, as described in Smith and Hamm’s paper (Quart. Journ. Micr. Sci. 1914, p. 443), were developing parthenogenetically, but I think it highly probable that it will be found that sometimes the eggs are fertilized by the d. The “ pick-axe ” form of the male aedeagus, almost universal throughout the Strepsiptera, is so very remarkable as to suggest that it may be in some way adapted for breaking up the tissues, so as to allow access to some of the ova of the spermatozoa which are abundantly produced by the g¢ Stylops. i918.) 129 Those who wish to know some of the histological details of Stylops would do well to study the paper by Geoffrey Smith and A. H. Hamm, that I have frequently referred to. The first-named able zoologist is one of those whose loss at the front we have to deplore, he having been killed by shell-fire in 1916. Park Hill House, Paignton. April 1th, 1918. THE ASSEMBLING AND PAIRING OF STYLOPS. BY R. C. L. PERKINS, M-A., D.Sc., F.Z.S. On April 21st I picked up two or three stylopized Andrena trom- merana, one of which contained an unhatched ¢ puparium, as well as a mature 2. Early néxt morning, on placing the bee in bright sunshine, the ¢ Stylops aterrima emerged and soon afterwards paired with the female in the same host. I was able to kill this pair while still attached and make a camera lucida sketch, showing the aedeagus to be inserted into the opening of the brood chamber. When the bee and Sty/ops were both dry, the ¢ of the latter became detached, owing to the slight jerk caused in removing the insects to another box. A day or two later, an assembly of ¢ Stylops was noticed settled on and hovering round a gorse-bush in the same spot, where the A. ¢rzm- merana had been taken. Several were secured at a single stroke, though some were able to escape through the rather coarse mesh of the net. Supposing at the time that these males also belonged to S. aterrzma, one was placed in a glass-topped box with A. trimmerana containing 2 Stylops. As no pairing took place, this ¢ was removed to another box containing 4. wilhella stylopized, this bee having been found at the same time in this condition. Pairing was seen to take place between the ¢ and 9 Stylops, but they became separated before the means to kill them 72 sztw could be obtained. On April 27th three instances of assembling of ¢ Stylops wilkellae were observed in the field. One of these assemblies was very remark- able, the individuals covering several inches of a stout, bare thorn-branch, so that it appeared quite white from the wings of the small creatures. Owing to the very thorny nature of the place chosen for assembling, only seven males were secured at the stroke, but not less than fifty must have been present in the cluster, many of which escaped through the opening and torn side of the net. One lot of Stylops was attracted by the aid of a female in the middle of the same field, seven being secured, while others were carried off by 130 ; [June, the rather strong gusts of wind. Many female Stylops entirely failed to attract any male, and it is evident that only certain individuals have or at any rate exert this power, this probably depending on their age or the state of development of the ovaries. On May 4th I obtained a 3 S. wilkellae firmly connected with the 2, while the host was resting on a daisy, and my son took a similar pair in the same situation. His pair became separated in the net, but that taken by me not till long after capture, in fact not until both bee and 3 Stylops were recovered from the anaesthetic, which had been used to allow of their close examination. So far as stylopized Andrena wilkella is concerned, the following notes may be of interest. All the captures were made in one very long, but narrow, pasture-field, in which was a plentiful supply of flowers, buttercups, daisies and dandelions. A line of gorse bushes in bloom formed the front of one of the long hedges. Many of the stylopized bees were captured by my eldest boy. Bees Captured. Containing 3 Puparia 2 Stylops. (mostly hatched). | Healthy Bees. | | Date of Capture. | | | | . / April 24th ............ 3 0 0 tle ce. oe ae 13 | 12 0 rye BERS 21 17 4d Leitner Okt visedreeh uae 7 5 0 | May 4th 23 43 12g 67 Us | 16g In some cases two or more 2, or two or more ¢ Stylops were found in the same host, so that the number of parasites considerably exceeded the number of parasitized bees. The well-known fact that stylopized bees appear abroad in general before the healthy ones is well shown. Thus healthy examples were only beginning to be common on May 4th, and up to this time nota single healthy 2 was taken, that sex being asa whole later in appearance than the ¢. Until April 27th all specimens taken were stylopized, while up to May 4th 90 per cent. were affected. If further investigations * were * On May 7th a survey by my sons showed 30 per cent. parasitized, and another on the 11th less than 10 per cent. affected. ae 1918.) 131 made, it would be found that the percentage of stylopization would become less and less, and probably by June Ist, when the female at least of A. wilkella is still abundant, few stylopized individuals would occur. Unless in a given area all the examples possible of a species are collected during its whole season, percentages of stylopization in bees are entirely misleading. Even then the percentage of stylopized examples will be overestimated on figures drawn from captures. Stylopized examples are, as a rule, extremely easy to capture and rarely fly far from the breeding-place. Thus, on May 4th most of the healthy male bees were flying in the wildest manner high up along the hedge and many, no doubt, were out of reach. Some stylopized males were behaving like these, but most were easily captured low down or on flowers. As the grass of the pasture becomes grazed down, the healthy female bees will go elsewhere for their pollen, for the gorse is already past its prime. The burrows of the bees are scattered here and there throughout the length of this large field, and the chance of intercepting any considerable proportion of the healthy females as they return to their nests is small. For these reasons it would be in vain to try to secure an approximately accurate percentage of the stylopization. One may learn, however, that while male Stylops is quite a common insect, under favourable con- ditions, it is much easier to secure it in numbers by actual capture than by breeding from caught specimens of the host, unless, indeed, the latter can be dug from the burrows, before the bees have ever flown. Although we were in the field before the w7lkella were astir, in order that we might obtain them on their first appearance, yet so quickly, as a rule, does the Stylops emerge that only in one or two (accidental) cases was the puparium still occupied. Paignton. May 6th, 1918. SCAPHIUM IMMACULATUM Ottv. AN ADDITIONAL GENUS AND SPECIES TO OUR LIST OF BRITISH COLEOPTERA. BY PHILIP HARWOOD, F.E.S. It is with pleasure I have to record the capture of this striking addition to our fauna. I took a single specimen in moss on April 21st, near St. Margaret’s Bay, Kent, and three others on May 4th, about twenty yards from the same spot. Scaphium immaculatum Oliv., apart from its wholly black elytra, may be readily distinguished from Scaphidium quadrimaculatum Oliv. by the shorter basal joint of the posterior tarsi, the anteriorly contracted, 132 (June, long, subeampanulate prothorax, the six rows of coarse punctures on the elytra exterior to the sutural stria, the anteriorly produced, cuneiform mesosternum, etc.; the d has two teeth on the metasternum between the posterior coxae, and the intermediate and posterior tibiae very strongly curved. ‘The two genera are each represented by a single species in the European fauna, the type of Scaphium Kirby, being the N. American S. castanipes of the same author. 8. immaculatum occurs in France, Germany, Austria, Algeria, etc., and it is said to be found in fungi and under dead leaves in the autumn. Good figures of the insect have been given by Jacquelin Duval and Reitter, and a crude one by Olivier. I am indebted to Mr. Champion for the name of the species, and for giving me the above particulars as to its distribution, ete.* oth Royal Fusiliers, Kingston-on-Thames. May 9th, 1918. ON THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE HEMIPTERA-HETEROPTERA AND VEGETATION. BY E. A. BUTLER, B.A., B.Sc., F.E.S. Almost all Hemipterous insects have, in one way or other, a very close connexion with the vegetable world. It is true that many species are , carnivorous and do not derive their sustenance directly from plants; but, even in such cases, there is commonly a plant-association, sometimes, probably, because the plant supports other living creatures,—insects, Arachnida, ete.—upon which the bug feeds, sometimes because it pro- vides shelter, or a resting-place during hibernation, and sometimes that the plant may furnish a nidus for the eggs, even though the insect itself is not vegetarian. ‘This last association is seen in such water-bugs as Nepa and Ranatra, which lay their eggs in leaves of Alisma; amongst the Reduviidae, too, Dr. Chapman has found the eggs of a species of Nabis, probably NV. lativentris, in the stems of Chlora perfoliata, and I have eggs of Coranus subapterus deposited in captivity on Calluna. In this paper [ propose to confine my remarks to British members of the suborder Heteroptera, and I do this chiefly because I have lately been occupied in gathering information as to the plants that are known to be in any way connected with this particular group of insects, with a view to systematize and tabulate our knowledge under this head. This investigation has revealed a remarkable and hitherto unsuspected con- trast in their attitude to certain divisions of the vegetable kingdom. To * There is a good g specimen of S. imimaculatum, on an unmistakably “ English” pin, in the Eope-Westwood collection of British Coleoptera in the Oxford University Museum. Unfortunately, beyond the label “* Coll. Hope,” it bears no record of its history._—_J. J. W. 1918. ]: 133 some groups of plants they manifest a strong partiality which contrasts very forcibly with their utter indifference to, or perhaps one should say. their entire avoidance of, others. Looking at plants as a potential food-supply, we must remember, that, as the mouth-organs of the Heteroptera always consist of four fine and sharp-pointed setae, lodged in a trough-like labium, and used as a single piercing organ, the only food that can be taken is of a liquid nature, and must be reached by the penetration of the cuticle of the plant by the cibarial setae of the insect, so as to gain access to the juices that lie beneath. These setae are very flexible, and could not, even when combined, be used as a piercing organ, unless strengthened and guided by the more suhstantial labial trough, which does not itself, however, enter the perforation that is made. It is, therefore, only at its softer parts that the prey, whether animal or vegetable, can be success- fully attacked. But as there can scarcely be any British plants that do not present somewhere or other over their surface a cuticle delicate enough to be pierced by the rostrum of even a weak bug, it would seem that the avoidance of certain species of plants cannot be due to any intractability in the material, or, in other words, to any mechanical difficulties involved in getting at the enclosed juices, but must be attributed to some distastefulness in the plants. Nor does the selection, or the degree of popularity of the plant appear to be dependent upon the attractiveness of its appearance; in fact, very often the reverse is the case, for plants which are of insig- nificant aspect, and possess no showy colours, are often very much sought after, to the neglect of more conspicuous species, and in this category come mosses, grasses, and the Umbelliferae. The abundance or other- wise of a plant no doubt has some influence on the choice; but even this cannot always be the determining factor; e. g. there are few more abun- dant plants than the Dog’s Mercury (Mercurialis perennis), and yet not a single bug is recorded from this plant. And, again, such common weeds as Capsedla and Cardamine pratensis are entirely neglected. Few of the existing records made by Hemipterists specify the particular part of the plant on which the bugs occur, whether stems, leaves, flowers, or fruit, though a distinction is commonly drawn between the upper parts and the neighbourhood of the roots. But, in my own experience, when the insect occurs on the upper parts, it is almost always on or under the leaves, except in the case of the Umbelliferae, when the flowers are preferred. One species of Lygaetdae, Chilacis typhae, appears to be found exclusively in the heads of the Reed-Mace (Typha). A few species take up their abode on the trunks of trees, hiding, or perhaps 134 (June, lying in wait for prey, in the crevices of the bark. Spreading plants, which cover some unoccupied space beneath their foliage, provide an attractive shelter to several small species, especially of Lygaeddae. Amongst flowering plants, there are several natural orders that are altogether avoided by our British Heteroptera, and the most noteworthy. of these is the Orchidaceae. Amongst at least 2000 records: which I have been able to collect from entomological literature, and from the unpublished observations of myself and other Hemipterists, I have not found a single one referring to any species belonging to this order. Not even as a casual occurrence has any connexion between an Orchid and a heteropterous bug been recorded in Britain; the whole order is entirely shunned. This is a remarkable exception, for the Orchidaceae are fairly numerous in species, upwards of 40 being included in the British list, and though some are rare, several are common or even abundant. The other natural orders which are entirely avoided are Papaveraceae, Fu- mariaceae, Polygalaceae, Krankeniaceae, Portulaceae, Elatinaceae, Linaceae, Droseraceae, Lythraceae, Valerianaceae, Monotropaceae, Apocynaceae, Gentianaceae, Polemoniaceae, Ovrobanchaceae, Ver- benaceae, Thymeleaceae, Ceratophyllaceae, Hydrocharidaceae, Amary/- lidaceae, -Dioscoreaceae, Araceae, Eviocaulonaceae. All of these orders have British representatives, though some contain no more than: one species ; but, on the other hand, the list includes many very well- known and widely distributed plants, such as Poppy, Fumitory, Milk- wort, Flax, Loosestrife, Valerian, Periwinkle, Gentian, Vervain, Arum, etc. None of these has any heteropterous inhabitants. The Thalamiflorae, as a whole, are much neglected, for even such extensive orders as the Ranunculaceae, Cruciferae, and Caryophyllaceae, have but very few adherents, and probably most of the records that are given (usually a solitary one in each instance) are merely casual oceur- rences. The best established connexions in these orders are those of Eurydema oleraceum with cabbages, Beosus maritimus with Silene maritima, Dicyphus constrictus and D. globulifer with Lychnis dioica, and Orthotylus rubidus and Conostethus salinus with Arenaria. The Tiliaceae and Geraniaceae, however, are more favoured. ‘The lime-tree is regularly inhabited by several species, either on its leaves or on its trunk, the most noteworthy being Lygus cervinus on the leaves and Microphysa elegantula on the trnnk, where it probably hunts other small insects. In the Geraniaceae the grand attraction is Hrodium, and the species of Pentatomidae, Coreidae, and Lygaeidae that inhabit sandhills often take shelter under its wide-spreading leaves, if they do » = ~~ a. 1918.) ~ 135 not actually feed upon them. Tilia and Evrodzwm are, in fact, practi- cally the only Thalamiflorae that are generally attractive. The Calyciflorae are much more popular, especially the orders Leguminosae, Rosaceae, and Umbelliferae. In the first mentioned order, Ulex, Sarothamnus, and Ononis are the special favourites. Piezodorus lituratus, Dictyonota strichnocera, Asciodema obsoletum, and various species of Orthotylus on Ulex, Dictyonota fuliginosa, Anthocoris sarothamni, various ,Orthotyli, and Heterocordylus on Sarothamnus, and the genus Berytus, Metacanthus elegans, Calocoris lineolatus, and Macrotylus paykulli on or under Ononis, are the most noteworthy examples of a very intimate association. In the Rosaceae, Crataegus is the chief favourite, 29 species having been recorded as oceurring on it. Prunus, Spiraea, Rubus, Pyrus, and Sorbus are also attractive, chiefly to various species of Capsidae. The broad umbels of the Umbelliferae are enticing chiefly to Capszdae, but also to several species of Pentatomidae, notably Eurydema dominulus, but here it -is not easy to single out any definite association, as Hemipterists usually do not specify the particular species of Umbelliferae, but mention the order as a whole. In the majority of cases, probably the plants referred to are Angelica sylvestris, Heracleum sphondylium, and Pastinaca sativa. Of definite food-plants, the Onagraceae furnish two well-known examples, Mpilobium hirsutum for Dicyphus epilobii and Circaea lute- tiana tor Metatropis rufescens. Amongst Gamopetalous plants, the most frequented-orders are the Compositae and the Evicaceae. In the former, Achillea, Tanacetum, Artemisia, Senecio, the thistles, and Centaurea are the most popular, while in the latter both Calluna and Evica cinerea have many votaries. The Rubiaceae are particularly associated with certain Capsédae, espe- cially the genus Poeciloscytus. The ash-tree is fairly popular, with a record of 15 species. The Scrophulariaceae and Labiatae are hardly so attractive as might have been expected. Verbascum is by far the most popular in the former order, and in the latter Thymus serpyllum and Stachys sylvatica; next in popularity to these, but a long way behind them, are Mentha, Origanum, Lamium, and Teucrium. Amongst the Apetalae, we find some extremely popular orders, and the Amentaceae are the prime favourites. Forest trees, such as Birch, Alder, Hazel, Oak, and Beech, are all very attractive, and oak easily heads the list with upwards of 70 species. The Salicaceae, again, with the various willows and poplars, harbour a great many species. Equally attractive are nettles and the common elm, while the Chenopodiaceae and Huphorbiaceae also have many associates. 136 (June, Of Monocotyledons, it has already been pointed out that one of the most showy orders, the Orchidaceae, is altogether neglected, and the preference is given to those that possess no bright colours, such as the Juneaceae and the Graminaceae. 'These two orders, and especially the latter, are very much sought after, and grasses alone serve as support, in one way or other, to upwards of 100 species. The Pinaceae, again, are very productive, and Juniper, Scotch Fir, Spruce, and Larch have numerous adhtrents ; not only are they the food- plants of many species, but also, as evergreens, they often furnish a winter residence to such species as survive that season in the adult form, since theyafford much better protection from the weather than the then leaf- less deciduous trees. Reuter (Charak. und Ent. Hemipt. Faun. Palaearct. Conit.) has recorded 190 species of Palaearctic Heteroptera as having occurred on Coniferous trees, and of these, 101 are inhabitants of Britain. These he classifies into three groups, according as (1) they depend upon deciduous trees or low plants for their food and resort to the Coniferae only for hibernation, or (11) are found on both Conifers and deciduous trees or low plants even in summer-time, or (il) occur exclusively on Coniferous trees. Coming, finally, to the Cryptogamia, we find that ferns give support to a few species, amongst which may be specially mentioned MJonalocor?s and Bryocoris, our two solitary representatives of a section of the Cap- sidae which has many remarkable exponents in the Tropics. Foliaceous lichens and lichen-infested trees are attractive to a few, while mosses are extremely popular, especially amongst the smaller species, notably in the Tingididae and the smaller Lygaeidae; and also as a winter-resort for many of the larger species. The Capsidae almost entirely avoid this group of plants, which would, no doubt, be too moist for insects of such a delicate texture. The habits of those species that are found in the British Islands do not always quite agree with what is recorded of them by Continental observers. Thus the Coreid bug, Gonocerus acuteangulatus with us, in the perfect state, is confined to box-trees, whereas on the Continent it has been recorded from oaks and Rosa canina, and the larva from Rhamnus frangula. My. E. C. Bedwell has found the latter also on yew, where it was attracted by the berries which it was seen to be sucking. One may say, in general, that there are but few. species that are confined to a single species of plant. 14 Drylands Road, Hornsey, N. 8. April 30th, 1918. * 1918.] 137 PIPUNCULIDAE AND STYLOPIDAE IN HOMOPTERA. BY FREDERICK MUIR, F.E.S. Few entomologists realize the number of Homoptera that are parasitized by Pipunculidae and Stylopidae. Dr. R. C. L. Perkins * has described a number from Australia and Hawaii, and I have found them equally numerous wherever I have looked for them. When in Scotland several years ago I swept over a small patch of grass for Delphacidae and found about thirty per cent. bearing Stylops, and when collecting Delphacidae in the Hawaiian Islands I have always noticed that a number of these insects were parasitized. In the Philip- pines, Java, and the Malayan Islands, Jassids and Fulgorids bearing these parasites are not uncommon. [If careful search were made among British Homoptera it is highly probable that parasitic Pipunculidae or Stylopidae would be found to be not uncommon. While studying the male armature of Delphacidae in the Hawaiian Islands, I have noticed that a number of parasitized hoppers had abortive genitalia. Upon dissecting such specimens it was always found that the parasites had injured or destroyed the testes. The abortion of, or altera- tion to, the genitalia was not confined to the aedeagus or penis, but was common to the armature of the anal segment, the aedeagus, the genital styles, and to the connecting-rods that co-ordinate the movements of these organs. This connexion between the testes and the external genitalia is of interest, as it may throw light upon the specific differences of these organs; for if an injury to the testes can cause such a large. alteration to the genitalia, is it not possible that an alteration of the germ-plasm may account for the specific phallic differences ? Crofton, 4 St. Andrews Rd., W. Kensington. Apri 1918. Acanthocinus aedilis L. in N. Devon.—On September Ist, 1917, I was at Mortehoe, N. Devon, and noticed that the shore from Croyde, siete Woola- combe Sands and Morte Point to Rockham Bay, was thickly strewn with pit-props, which were being washed up from a vessel that had gone down off Hartland some days previously, and the sea continued to throw up logs in large numbers fora fortnight. A fine g specimen of Acanthucinus aedilis was cap- tured here by a lady, with the result that a search was made by my friend Mr. C. D. Heginbotham and myself amongst the pine-logs, which were about 10 feet long by from 3 to 12 inches diameter. A large proportion of those thrown up on the rocks were entirely stripped of bark through the rough treat- ment they had received, and a careful examination of them disclosed a not very oo Sugar Planters’ Assoc. Experiment Station, Entomological Bull. i, pts. iii and iy ) M 138 [June, obvious small hole about } inch long by § to ,%, inch wide, parallel with the grain and closed with wood fibres. This hole proved to be the end of the larval cell, 3 inch deep, running parallel with the grain for about two inches, half of it being filled with the woody fibre before mentioned, and in the outer space was found either the full-grown larva, the pupa exhibiting the wonderful way in which the long antennae were coiled round it, or the perfect beetle, which emerges from an oblong hole made by itself through the thin wall at the for- ward end of the cell made by the larva. In nearly every instance the pupa and beetle faced outwards towards the bark. Hundreds of cells were found, those logs attacked, in some cases, having perhaps two dozen cells; but though the majority of the insects were dead through long immersion in the sea-water, about fifty beetles were taken alive. The logs with bark still attached were more difficult to examine, needing stripping, but by September.17th the beetles were emerging, for several were found running over the logs. The beetle when disturbed makes a slight stridulating noise. The following species were also found: in small cells in the wood, Pissodes pint; and in the bark, Thanasimus Sormicarius and Tomicus seadentatus, also others undetermined.—CHARLES BaRTLeETT, Morwenstow, Woodhill, Portishead, Somerset: April 29th, 1918. Aeview. REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING HFLD AT Pusa on the 5th to 12th February, 1917, edited by T. Bainbrigge Fletcher, R.N., F.L.S., ete. Pp. xii & 340, pls. 34: Calcutta, 1917. Price Rs. 3, or 4s. 6d. This Report, as stated by the Editor, is practically an abstract of our current knowledge of Indian Crop-pests, illustrated by numerous coloured plates. The Editor's own book, “Some South Indian Insects,” issued at Madras in 1914, containing figures of many common species, has been freely quoted throughout, and a number of coloured plates recently printed and issued at Pusa, have also been included, to make the references as complete as possible. The various subjects are arranged under the following headings :— Hill Crops (tea, coffee, rubber, cinchona, etc.), Miscellaneous, Leguminous Field Crops, Oil-seeds, Malvaceae, Non-Malvaceous Fibre Plants, Sugar-cane, Paddy and other Cereals, Grasses and Fodder Crops, Fruit-trees, Palms, Garden Plants, Drugs and Dyes, Cruciferous Crops, Other Vegetables and Condiments, and Insect Pests of Stored Products. Of the 84 plates, six are devoted to Coleoptera (Curculionidae, Galerucidae, and Hispidae), three each to Hemiptera-Heteroptera and Orthoptera, one each to Hymenoptera and Diptera, and the rest to Lepidoptera. The last-mentioned Order of insects would thus appear to be the most destructive, but this can scarcely be the case. The present compilation should be of great assistance to all who are interested in tropical agriculture, not only in India but elsewhere, the Editor having brought together such a quantity of useful information on the subject, and illustrated it with so many excellent plates. The only criticism we venture to make is, that the plates themselves should have been numbered for facility of reference. The date given on the title page is 1917, but the copy sent us for review was not received till April 1918. 1918.) 139 NEW AND LITTLE-KNOWN SALTATORIAL DASCILLIDAE. BY G. C. CHAMPION, F.Z.S. (Continued from p. 102.) MapaGascar SPECIES. 14.—Ora rugipennis, n. Sp. Broad-oval, moderately shining, pubescent; testaceous, the prothorax with an irregular v-shaped mark on the disc, and the elytra with various scattered spots and streaks (an oblique mark near the suture at about the middle the most conspicuous), black, the posterior femora also nigro-variegate, the tibiae and tarsi testaceous; closely, minutely, the elytra densely, rugosely punctate. Head rather narrow, with two broad foveae between the eyes, the latter large {antennae wanting]. Prothorax very short, comparatively small, obliquely narrowed from the base, deeply hollowed in front opposite the eyes, with an indication of a median groove. Elytra broad-oval, explanate and sharply mar- gined laterally, flattened on the disc anteriorly, excavate for some distance at the sides below the shoulder, and with several faint costae on the disc. Posterior coxae without plate. Posterior femora very broad, the tibiae long, curved widened, the upper spur a little shorter than the first tarsal joint. Length 34, breadth 23mm. (0d?) Hab. Mapacascar (Gerrard, ex coll. Fry). One example, in mutilated condition, but so different from the known forms as to be worth naming. The strongly bifoveate head and the rugose, explanate, nigro-variegate elytra bring O. rugipennis near the Indian and Malayan O. nigropunctata Motsch. (= trregularis Waterh.), which has the elytral surface still more uneven. Compared with O. rugosissima, from Perak and Borneo, which is hemispherical in shape, the elytra are more depressed on the disc and less rugose. AStatic SPECIES. 15.—Ora antiqua, n. sp. Broad-oval, depressed, somewhat acuminate behind, moderately shining, pubescent: testaceous, the upper surface (except the sides of the elytra anteriorly and the base of the latter) and femora mottled with piceous; the elytra very densely, minutely punctate, with larger punctures intermixed, the rest of the surface much smoother. Head small, bifoveate, the eyes not very large ; antennae slender, feebly subserrate, rather short, joint 3 much smaller than 2. Prothorax very short, feebly developed, arcuately narrowed from the base, deeply hollowed opposite the eyes in front, the angles somewhat obtuse. Elytra broadly arcuato-explanate at the sides, with a distinct sutural groove and an indication of three obsolete costae on the disc; the right elytron compressed and longitudinally raised near the suture just before the tip, the apices thus appearing dehisceut. Posterior coxae without plate. Posterior legs 140 (June, moderately elongate, the tibiae curved, widened, and strongly compressed, the outer carina conspicuous, the upper spur nearly as long as the first tarsal joint. Length 4, breadth 2? mm. (9 ¥) Hab. Barcutan (A. R. Wallace, in Mus. Oxon.). One specimen, in very good condition. This insect bears an, ex- tremely close resemblance to the Tropical American O. marmorata Champ. (1897), and it is only separable therefrom by the less developed head and prothorax, the smaller eyes, the shorter and more slender antennae, the more acuminate elytra, and the shorter posterior legs. The confused mottling on the elytra does not tend to form definite spots as in O. marmorata. The asymmetrically formed apices of the elytra are probably natural, and the structure may be indicative of the female? O. antiqua, like Prionoscirtes reliquus from Penang, each of which is reproduced as it were in Tropical America, is perhaps a survival of a primitive Dascillid ? 16.—Ora pieta. Galleruca picta Fabry. Syst. Ent. i, 2, p. 26. Setrtes pictus Guér. Sp. et Icon. i, 3, p. 4; Bourg. Bull. Soe. Ent. Fy. 1896, p: 120. Ora picta Champ. Biol. Centr.-Am., Coleopt. iu, 1, p. 608, nota (1897); Pic, in Junk’s Col. Cat. 58, p. 40 (1914). Hab. Ixpta, Tranquebar [type], Belgaum, Chapra in Bengal, Bassein Fort, Bombay (HM. H#. Andrewes), Podanur (Downing) ; Cryton, Dondra (C. B. Fletcher: 4. xii. 1907). Mr. Andrewes has been kind enough to lend me his ‘specimens of this species, from Belgaum, Bombay, etc., recorded by Bourgeois in 1896, and there are others from ‘8. India,” ete., in the British Museum, including one with the black spots on the elytra reduced to four in number, thus approaching the var. obliterata Bourg., in which they are wanting altogether. The posterior coxae are without angular plate at the base. The head is excavate on each side between the eyes, as in various other species of Ora. The elytra are without foveae in Q. 17.— Ora atrosignata, n. sp. Elliptic, broad, shining, thickly, rather coarsely pubescent; testaceous, the elytra with various angulate, more or less confluent markings (not reaching the base, and mainly condensed into two irregular fasciae, which are connected near the suture, one submedian, the other subapical), the eyes, and the abdo- men and posterior femora in part, black or piceous; densely, minutely, the igis.j 141 elytra more coarsely, punctate, the latter with finer punctures intermixed. Head rather small, foveate on each side near the eyes, the latter large ; antennae moderately long, joints 2 and 3 short, equal, the others elongate, not very slender. Prothorax rapidly narrowed from the base, deeply hollowed in front opposite the eyes, the anterior angles prominent. FElytra rather convex, flattened on the disc, strongly rounded and sharply margined laterally, without raised lines or grooves. Posterior coxae without plate. Posterior tibiae rather broad, carinate. | Length 3,4, breadth 24 mm. Hab. Assam, Patkai Mts. (Doherty, ex coll. Fry). Two specimens, sex not ascertained. Smaller than the Indian O. (Galleruca) picta F., the elytra more rounded at the sides, the sharply-defined irregular markings mainly restricted to the apical half, and partly condensed into two, common, angulate fasciae. The punc- tures on the elytra are unequal in size, and here and there transversely confluent, in both species. Scirtes nigronotatus Pic (1913), from Sumbawa (compared by him with S. difficzlis Waterh.), may be an allied form ? 18.—Ora nigropunctata. Scirtes (2?) nigropunctatus Motsch. Bull. Mosc. 1863, 1, p. 4841. Scirtes wrreqularis Waterh. Cist. Ent. u, p. 569 (1880) ”. Hab. Cryion, Colombo!; Java?; Sumarra, Merang (Doherty) ; Borneo, Kuching (J. H. A. Lewis), Kina Balu (ex coll. Fry); Prenane (H. WN. Ridley). Motschulsky’s lengthy diagnosis applies well to the insect subse- quently described by Waterhouse. There are seven specimens of this species in the Museum, including the type of S. irreguluris, which is a 2, the males having the elytra less dilated at the middle. The two examples from Kina Balu have the markings (five rows of scattered minute dots in the typical form) more extended on the disc of the elytra and partly confluent. The elytral surface is feebly tricostate and here and there raised or swollen, thus appearing very uneven. The posterior coxae are without angular plate. The two dark spots on the head, mentioned by both authors, each arise from a deep fovea. O. nigropunctata is evidently a widely-distributed form in the Malayan region. | 19.—Ora rugosissima, n. sp. 2. Hemispherical, convex, moderately shining, thickly cinereo-pubescent ; the antennae (joints 1 and 2 excepted), upper surface, and the legs in part, piceous, the under surface (the elytral epipleura excepted), two short, oblique, coalescent streaks at the base of each elytron, and the posterior tibiae and tarsi, 142 (June, testaceous ; the entire upper surface very densely, the elytra rugosely, punc- tate, the punctures on the latter rather coarse and transversely confluent (the surface thus appearing very rugose, especially in the depressed post-scutellar area), the under surface densely, extremely minutely punctate. Head excavate on each side anteriorly, the eyes large ;: antennae long, pilose, joints 2 and 8 short, equal, 4-11 elongate, filiform, rather slender. Prothorax very short, un- even, deeply hollowed in front opposite the eyes, arcuately narrowed from the base, the anterior angles prominent, rounded, the hind angles obtuse, the disc canaliculate anteriorly, Scutellum somewhat convex. Elytra broadly arcuato- explanate at the sides, transversely depressed behind the scutellum, and with the suture gibbous before the middle; each elytron with three incomplete costae on the disc, the apices unimpressed. Posterior coxae without angular plate at the base. Posterior femora extremely broad, the tibiae long, curved, broad, and strongly compressed, the outer carina conspicuous, the upper spur nearly as long as the first tarsal joint. Length 42, breadth 34 mm. *~ Hab. Perak (Doherty, ex coll. Fry: type); Borneo, Sarawak (A. RB. Wallace, in Mus. Oxon.). Two females, precisely similar, each with the ovipositor extruded. A very peculiar insect, resembling a rugose, hairy Coccinellid. The species may come near the Javan forms placed by Pic under ZHzo- chomoscirtes (1916), which, however, is said to have very prominent anterior angles to the prothorax. 20.—Ora gibbosa, n. sp. Q. Extremely like O. rugosissima from Borneo and Perak: piceous: above, the lateral and basal margins of the prothorax, several small, scattered, indistinct spots on the basal half of the elytra (one on the suture below the base the most conspicuous, the two oblique basal streaks altogether wanting), the outer margins of the latter anteriorly, and the posterior tibiae and tarsi, testaceous; antennae more slender, slightly infuscate, joints 1-3 excepted, 3 very small; prothorax uneven, without trace of median groove; elytra with the punctures separate one from another, and slightly coarser, the common post-basal depression large and deep, the space behind it gibbous, the apices with a smooth, shallow, rather large fovea near the suture before the tip (of which there is no trace in O. rugosissima, 9), the disc with four feeble costae, . the suture also thickened; posterior coxae without plate; upper posterior tibial spur shorter than the first tarsal joint. Length 32, breadth 3 mm. Hab. Borneo, Sarawak (A. R. Wallace, in Mus. Oxon.). One specimen, probably captured at Sadong. Lasily separable from O. rugosissima, 2, by its much less rugose, obscurely flavo-punctate elytra, with foveate apex, and the more slender antennae. 1918.) ; 143 21.—Ora compressa, n. sp. Q. Broad-oval, somewhat convex, thickly, rather coarsely pubescent, the pubescence here and there clustered into denser patches (thus appearing fasciculate) ; testaceous, variegated with piceous above (leaving the base, suture, outer margin, and various indefinite markings on the disc, testaceous), the antennae (joints 1-3 excepted):and an annulus towards the apex of the posterior femora also infuscate ; densely, very finely punctate. Mead slightly depressed on each side between the eyes, the latter moderately large; antennae rather slender, not very elongate, joint 3 small, barely as long as 2. Prothorax uneven, very short, rapidly arcuately narrowed from the base, deeply hollowed in front opposite the eyes. Scutellum somewhat convex. LElytra explanate and sharply margined laterally, compressed and deeply excavate at the sides beneath the prominent humeral callus, hollowed along the suture anteriorly, distinctly gibbous behind this, and with a shallow sutural groove and indica- tions of four teeble incomplete costae. Posterior coxae without plate. Posterior leas long, the tibiae broad, compressed, curved, and sharply carinate, the upper spur about as long as the first tarsal joint. Length 53-37, breadth 23 mm. Hab. Cryton, Dikoya [type] (G. Lewis: 27.xii.1881), Kandy (G. Lewis: 22.11.1882). Described from a female in very good condition. An abraded, paler example (d?), with longer, entirely testaceous antennae, and the dark markings on the elytra reduced to a general suffusion on the disc, must belong to the same species. ‘The fasciculate or subfasciate arrangement of the pubescence on the elytra may be partly due to abrasion. O. com- pressa can be placed near the Bornean O. gibbosa. 22.— Ora coronata, n. sp. Hemispherical, shining, thickly cinereo-pubescent; testaceous, the head, prothorax, and scutellum piceons in one example, the elytra (except along the thickened sutural margin) mottled with the same colour, the apical excavations of 2 also infuscate; densely, finely, the elytra more coarsely, punctate. Head broad, excavate on each side between the eyes, the latter large ; antennae long, slender, joint 3 very small. Prothorax very short, explanate laterally, and deeply hollowed in front opposite the eyes, arcuately narrowed from the base, the angles obtuse, the anterior ones prominent, the surface uneven. Elytra arcuately explanate laterally, depressed behind the scutellum, with four faint incomplete costae on the disc and the suture thickened, the apices somewhat acuminate in g and very obtuse in 9; the 2 with a common, broad, deep, antero-laterally furcate excavation before the tip, formed by a common angular depression on the suture and an oblique, short, broad sulcus exterior to it on each elytron, the depressions separated by an oblique plica. Length 3;,-33, breadth 3mm. (¢ 2.) Hab. Borneo, Sarawak (4. R. Wallace, in Mus. Oxon.). Two examples in fragmentary condition, assumed to be sexes of 144 [June, the same species, the elytra of 9 with a broad, common, very deep, coroniform excavation before the tip, suggestive of similar ¢ -characters in many Malachiids. The 9 (with ovipositor extruded) has the elytra less coarsely punctate than in the supposed ¢. The apical excavation is more developed than in any other species of the group known to me, and for this reason it is advisable to name the insect. O. coronata is less gibbous than O. gibbosa, and has very different 9 -characters. Westwood examined the two specimens, and labelled them “ Hubria? ” 23.—Ora fouqueti. Scirtes fouqueti Pic, Mélanges exot.-entom. xii. p. 5 (Jan. 1915). Oblong-oval, depressed, finely pubescent, black, piceous beneath, the antennal joints 2 and 3 and the tibial spurs reddish or testaceous; densely, finely, the elytra more coarsely, punctate, the puncturing of the latter be- coming more diffuse towards the tip. Antennae with joints 2 and 3 short, equal, 4-11 elongate, rather slender, filiform. Prothorax rapidly, arcuately narrowed from the base, hollowed in front opposite the eyes. Elytra long, feebly rounded and sharply margined at the sides, with an indication of a sutural stria. Posterior coxae without angulate plate at the base. Posterior legs elongate, the tibiae widened, feebly curved, sharply carinate, the upper spur about as long as the first tarsal joint, the latter stout and very little longer than the other joints united. Length 3-33, breadth 14-2 mm. Hab. Cocutn Cutna, Saigon (J. H. A. Lewis: 4.vii.1909). Four specimens from Saigon in the British Museum (and one without locality in the Oxford Museum) seem to be referable to S. fouqueti Pic, the type of which was from the same place. The description consists of eleven words, and it is therefore impossible to identify the species with any certainty. It is said to be less elongate than the Japanese S. ovatwlus Lewis (though described as “ oblong”), the reverse being the case, if the insect has been correctly named by me. Two at least of the examples seen are females, indicating that the elytra are without foveae in that sex. The posterior coxae are without lamella, and S. fougueti is in consequence here placed under Ora; the general facies, however, is that of many typical Sc7rtes. Since the preceding pages have been in type, Mr. O. EH. Janson has given me the following interesting Tropical American insect for description :— 24.—Ora angularis, n. sp. 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TO A PAGE Bron Fees ee 22 aif : a =. - or ay & ei Te Seo Br re ? Rp me ES ; — we. . "* “ar er PES Sa ~ a, ti ~~ ’ . A _ re, 7 4 4 7 Fa ee + ~—y A aire on ’ re . ‘i ES See sibkee on Stylopa and ~~ 7 Taka San was SELL sw teens yen teen angny a he am MA, D.Be FES. G0 5: : bs 6 . Ss. foc Seaphinm imuaculatom Olv.-an additional qeims and ‘species to ou © = 2 «British Coleoptera. =P. Hartaond, : : eS On the association between the | : ~ Butler, B.A., B.Sc. PLES. i eone, Berets Pipunculidae and Stylopidae in Hi me Acanthocinus aedilis L. in North I Review.—Report ‘of the © f-th held at Pusa ‘on the 5th to 18th ¥ ebru Fletcher, B.N., F-LS, eto, - issu: New and little-known saltatorial FES: * a ak eat Tee i : 2 | | 3 roaee aos er ees eel Ae “NATURAL ‘HISTORY. Fon tiie 50 > tale Ee Pi BS ‘SHEFPARD, MLB Fos, nee q Seige RS pe / Tax ase ee A 5 x - + f . ~ ‘ + on : > = v f z4 Pr See > ss #2 te? 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Be: spur bathe A Station, at 8 pee on vad 2nd eres in each: Teta 145 those on the prothorax into various spots and streaks, and those on the elytra mainly into three irregular angulated fasciae (the median one enclosing several small pallid spots and extending to the outer margin, but not reaching the suture) and an angular apical patch ; the eyes black, the antennal joints 1-4, legs (the infuseate outer portion of the posterior femora excepted), and under surface testaceous; densely, very finely, the prothorax minutely punctate. Tlead small, bifoveate between the eyes; antennae moderately long, rather slender, joint 3 small, short, narrower than 2. Prothorax very short, obliquely narrowed from the base, the anterior angles sharp and prominent. [lytra rounded and explanate laterally, somewhat acuminate at the tip, with a faint sutural stria. Posterior coxae without definite plate. Posterior legs long, the femora very stout, the tibiae curved, the upper spur a little shorter than the first tarsal joint. Length 3, breadth 2 mm. Hab. Brazit, Minas Geraes (Mus. Brit.). Two examples, assumed to be sexes, the supposed ¢d having stouter antennae than the other. Near O. mixta and O. marmorata Champ., the sharply defined elytral markings very similar to those of the Eastern O. nigropunctata Motsch. (=crregularis Waterh.), an insect extremely like the present species, except that it has the elytra uneven and witha double system of puncturing. Scrrtes Illiger. TroprcaL AMERICAN SPECTEs.* RI ATIACTSLS re eee ee ee eens Nos. l- 4. Klytra not maculate (the base, suture, and outer margin paler in Meee POG. EO) LR. 2k ee Ae.) AUD OSS Nos. 5-17. 1.—Scirtes grayt. Ora grayit Clark, Journ. Ent. ti, p. 385 (1865)1; Champ. Biol. Centr.-Am., Coleopt. iii, 1, p. 603 (1897) 2. Scirtes sexmaculatus Pic, Mélanges exot.-entom. xii, p. 5 (1915) 3. Hab. Brazii?, Constancia!, Rio de Janeiro (Gray, Fry), Itatiaya® ( Gounelle). The type of O. grayii has two broad interrupted black stripes on each elytron, and the rest of their surface flavous, that of S. sewmacu- latus has the black stripes each divided into three oblong patches, the connecting transverse flavous lines between these patches being clearly * Twenty-one species of Scirtes from Central America were recorded by myself in 1897, and about the same number have been catalogued from the Southern Continent, a totally madequate representation for such a vast region. SS. 4-fossula/us Pic, from French Guiana (Melanges exot.- entom. xx, p. 5, July 1916), a species unknown to me, the type of which must be 9, has the elytra foveate as in the same sex of various Asiatic forms here described. : N 146 (July, visible even in Clark’s type, though he omitted to notice this in his description. ‘The posterior coxae have a rectangular plate at the base within, as in the type of Scirtes, 8S. hemisphaericus L., and the present insect therefore does not accord with the description and figure of the genus Ora Clark, taken from O. troberti Guér., given by me in the “ Biologia,” the last-named species wanting the coxal lamella. 2.—Scirtes flavomaculatus, un. sp. Broad-oval, rather convex, very shining, rather sparsely pubescent ; nigro- piceous, the sides of the prothorax broadly, and six spots on each elytron—one adjacent to the scutellum, two transversely placed at about the basal third (the outer one transverse and reaching the lateral margin, the inner one smaller and near the suture), two others below these (obsolete in one specimen), and one near the apex,—flavous, the antennae, palpi, and legs, the under surface in part, and a triangular mark on the front of the head (wanting in one example) testaceous ; the elytra closely, rather coarsely, the rest of the upper surface much more finely, punctate. Head broad; antennae long, slender, joints 2 and 3 short, equal. Prothorax rapidly, arcuately narrowed from the base, hollowed in front opposite the eyes. Elytra with an indication of a faintly impressed sutural groove, rounded at the apex, sharply margined. Posterior coxal plates subquadrate. Posterior legs long, the tibiae feebly curved, the upper spur much shorter than the first tarsal joint. Var. The prothorax wholly infuscate, the flavous elytral markings reduced to a narrow interrupted fascia below the base. ( 9.) Length 4-43, , breadth 23-3mm. Hab. Braztu, Rio de Janeiro (f7y). Three examples, varying in the development of the flavous markings on the elytra, the one ( ) with six sharply-defined spots on each wing- case taken as the type. Very near S. gray, but with a different system of coloration, and the elytra less rounded at the sides. The present species might easily be mistaken for a Coccinellid. SS. variegatus Guér., from Cayenne ?, seems to be a somewhat similar insect. 3.—NSeirtes multiguttatus, n. sp. 9 Oval, shining, finely pubescent ; piceous, the head with an oblong patch on each side in front, the prothorax (a transverse piceous fascia on the dise excepted), and the suture and nine sharply defined spots or streaks on each elytron—two, oblique, on the disc near the base, a humeral streak curving - inwards posteriorly, an oval spot below this near the suture, three spots arranged in a curved fascia beyond the middle, and two, transversely confluent, near the apex—yellow ; the basal joints of the antennue, and the legs iu part, testaceous ; closely, minutely, the elytra conspicuously, punctate. Head rather swall; antennae moderately long, rather slender, joint 38 minute, shorter than 2, 4-10 gradually decreasing in length. Prothorax arcuately narrowed from the base, hollowed in front opposite the eyes. Elytra rather convex, without 1918.] 147 trace of grooves or castae, narrowly margined. Posterior coxal plates small, angular, hoilowed behind. [Posterior legs wanting. ]} Length 3, breadth 2mm. (d¢?) Hab. Brazit, Iguarassu (G. A. Ramage). One specimen, received by the Museum in 1896, and subsequently placed in their “ Accessions” amongst the Halticidae, which it closely resembles. S. multiguttatus must be placed near the Brazilian O. gray? Clark (=seamaculatus Pic). The flavous elytral markings are more sharply defined than in any other Seczrtes known to me. 4.—Scirtes cincticollis, n. sp. 2. Elliptic, rather convex, very shining, finely pubescent; piceous, the sides of the head broadly, the prothorax with the lateral. basal, and apical margins (leaving a sharply-detined, slightly curved, picevus fascia on the disc), and the elytra with the suture to about the middle, the base, and outer margin to below the humeri (the mirginal stripe curving inwards and dilated at its point of termination), flavous, the apical third of the elytra, and the antennae, legs, and abdomen, testaceous; closely, very finely punctate. Head broad, with a minute shallow fovea on each side near the eyes; antennae very slender, moderately lung, joint 3 very small, barely as long as 2. Prothorax convex, rapidly narrowed trom the base, bisinuate in front, the anterior angles some- what obtuse. Elytra with an indication of a shallow sutural groove, rounded at the tip, narrowly margined. Posterior coxal plates small, angular. Posterior legs long, the tibiae distinctly carinate, the spurs curved, the long upper one much shorter than the first tarsal joint. Length 22, breadth 2 mm. Hab. Amazons, Prainha (Tradl, xi—xii.1875). One specimen. A convex, very shining insect, elliptic in shape, with a flavo-maculate head, fusco-fasciate prothorax, and the elytra of a dilute piceous colour, with the suture and outer margin anteriorly, as well as the base narrowly, flavous. The vittate head and general facies are sugges- tive of the much larger and more robust Scirtes vittifrons, from Sierra Leone infra. 5.—NScirtes cayennensis. Scyrtes cayennensis Guer. Rev. Zool. 1861, p. 545. 2. Oblong-oval, broad, depressed, moderately shining, thickly, cvarsely, pubescent ; rufo-testaceous, the elytra in great part (except along the base, suture, and outer margin) reddish brown, the apices of the latter, the antennae (the slightly infuscate joints 9-11 excepted), and legs, testaceous ; densely, finely, the elytra a little more coarsely and rugosely, punctate. Head rather small, the eyes not very large; antennae long, slender, joints 2 and 3 short,equal. Prothorax rapidly, arcuately narrowing from the base, hollowed in front opposite the eyes, , ? N ow 148 _ [July, the anterior angles rounded. Elytra long, broad, subparallel anteriorly, some- what acuminate at the tip, sharply margined, with just an indication of faint costae and a sutural groove in certain lights. Posterior coxal plates angular. Posterior legs comparatively short, the femora broad, the tibiae sharply carinate, moderately widened, the upper spur much shorter than the first tarsal joint. Length 53, breadth 33 mm. flab. Guiana, Cayenne [type]; Brazit, Rio de Janeiro (Fry). The above description is taken from a fully mature 2 in good con- dition, from the Fry collection. This example agrees so nearly with Guérin’s brief diagnosis of S. cayennensis, except in its slightly larger size (Guérin gives, length 43, breadth 24 mm.) and darker colour, that it can be provisionally referred to that species, which is said by him to be extremely like Helodes livida. The resemblance to this genus, or rather to Microcara, under which /ivida is now placed, is certainly very striking, as is the case in S. costulatus Waterh., from Penang, 6.—Scirtes lutens, n. sp. @. Oblong, shining, closely flavo-pubescent ; luteous, the suture paler, the eyes black; densely, very finely, the elytra more distinctly, punctate. Head rather small, the eyes moderately large ; antennae slender, joints 2 and 3 short, equal, those following elongate. Prothorax convex, ample, rapidly, arcuately narrowing from the base, deeply sinuate opposite the eyes in front. Elytra long, feebly rounded and sharply margined at the sides, with an indi- cation of a sutural groove, the apices somewhat acuminate and depressed near the suture within. Posterior coxal plates subrectangular. Posterior legs com- paratively short, the tibiae curved, moderately widened, and sharply carinate, the spurs short, curved, stout, the upper one not much longer than the lower one, and much shorter than the first tarsal joint. Length 43, breadth 23 mm. Hab. Brazix, Rio de Janeiro (Fry). One female. An oblong, luteous, finely-punctured insect, resembling a large Cyphon, with the posterior tibial spurs shorter than usual in the genus Scirtes. It is narrower and much less rugose than the insect here referred to S. cayennensis Guér., and larger and more elongate than S. championi Picado, from Costa Rica. 7.—NScirtes buckleyi, n. sp. @. Oblong-oval, convex, very shining, sparsely, finely pubescent; black, the head and prothorax rufo-testaceous, the anterior and intermediate femora (except at the tip) testaceous, the tibiae and tarsi piceous; sparsely, minutely, the elytra somewhat coarsely, punctate, the punctures on the latter becoming finer towards the apex. Head moderately broad, the eyes large [joints 3-11 of antennae wanting]. Prothorax short, convex, rapidly, arcuately narrowing 1918.] 149 from the base, hollowed in front opposite the eyes. Elytra long, flattened near the suture anteriorly, somewhat produced at the apex, sharply margined and -feebly rounded at the sides, without grooves or costae. Posterior coxal plates rectangular. Posterior legs elongate, the tibiae moderately widened, the upper spur comparatively short, barely one-half the length of the long first tarsal joint. : Length 4, breadth 2} mm. Hab. Ecuapor (C. Buckley). One specimen, acquired by the Museum in 1872. Distinguishable by the rufo-testaceous head and prothorax, black elytra, and dark legs, the short tibial spurs, and the sparse puncturing of the upper surface, ‘the punctures on the elytra coarse, compared with those on the pro- thorax. The general facies is that of an Helodes. 8. gounellet Pie (1915), from Caraca, Brazil, is a somewhat similarly coloured, oval, larger insect (length 5 mm.), with the scutellum and knees rufescent. : (To be continued.) | g g A REMARKABLE NEW GENUS OF TENEBRIONIDAE (COLEOPTERA) FROM TROPICAL AFRICA, BY K. G. BLAIR, B.Sc, F.E.S. (Published by permission of the Trustees of the British Museum.) A single specimen of the remarkable beetle here described was presented to the Museum some few years ago by Dr. G. A. K. Marshall. It was quite unlike any Tenebrionid known to me, and I was much puzzled to know even where to place it in the family. Two further specimens having been since obtained by Mr. S. A. Neave, and my efforts to find a published description of the insect being still fruitless, I now venture to describe it as new. CATOBLEPS, gen. nov. Oblong-ovate, plano-convex ; head deflexed, completely concealed beneath the prothorax; face ventral, flat, strangulated in front, the clypeal suture running directly across the narrowest part; clypeus widely emarginate ; labrum transverse; maxillary palpi stout, the last joint elongate, subcylin- drical, truncate at apex; eyes long, narrow, arcuate round base of antennae, moderately approximate above. Antennae stout, the basal joint large and distinct, the rest very compact, transverse (except the 3rd joint and the apical one), without constrictions between them. Thorax evenly convex from side to side, broadly and evenly rounded in front, without a trace of anterior angles, sharply truncate at the base, which slightly overlaps the base of the elytra; the sides and front with a fine marginal line, beneath which the edge is 150 (July, strongly thickened, this thickening gradually decreasing towards the posterior angles. Scutellum rather elongate, triangular, its sutures very fine and not easily discernible. Elytra subparallel, evenly convex from side to side broadly rounded behind; epipleura complete to apex, invisible from above. Wings well developed. All the coxae narrowly separated; prosternal process lanceo- late, projecting a little beyond the coxae. Femora broad and flat, bean-shaped, deeply excavate beneath in the distal half for the reception of the proximal half of the tibiae; tibiae stout, slightly compre-sed, apical spurs well de- veloped. Tarsi stout, their joints closely compact, without constrictions between them, more or less tapering from base to apex. Type, C. blattotdes, sp. n. : A highly aberrant genus. In many respects it furnishes a curious parallel with the Australian genus Adelotopus (fam. Carabidae), and in all probability like this is myrmecophilous or termitophilous in habit. The species of both genera have the same elongate plano-convex form, so that the insect on contracting its limbs and “sitting tight” presents an absolutely unassailable front, or rather back, to its ehemies ; in both of them the antennae and tarsi exhibit the same compact build, without constrictions between the joints. In other respects they attain the same result by different means, e. g. in Catobleps the head is com- pletely hidden beneath the carapace of the prothorax, but in Adelotopus it forms the anterior part of the general shield, fitting accurately into the prothorax. In Catobleps each side of the femur is produced into a plate-like expansion which receive the tibia between them, like the blade of a clasp-knife into its handle; but in Adelotepus only the outer side is so produced, the dorsal side, 7. e. that which hes against the body, being quite normal. The American Carabid genus Pseudomorpha, allied to Adelotopus, exhibits somewhat similar adaptations, but to a less degree. The most evident clue to the affinities of Catobleps is furnished by the genus Stemmoderus Spin., which links it with the termitophilous sub- family Rhysopaussinae of the Tenebrionidae, particularly with the genus Gonocnemis Thomson (= Acastus Péring.). The structure of the an- tennae and tarsi in both is very similar, and the cephalic structure of Catobleps is an evident modification of that of Stemmoderus.* The elytral sculpture is peculiar. The striae appear to be com- pletely wanting, but fine raised lines represent the median carinae of the intervals; these, though well developel in C. chatanay?, are scarcely indicated in C. blattoides. Syccessive stages in this degeneration of * §. singularis Spin.. the only known species of this genus, has a wide range in Tropical Africa. It was origmally described from Senegal, and [ have recorded its capture at Salisbury, Mashonaland, by Dr. G. A. K. Marshall (Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (8) x1, 1913, p. 305); another specimen has lately been received from Dr. G. D. H. Carpenter from Lulanguru, near Tabora, East Africa. 1918.] 151 the striae are furnished by the genera Gonocnemis, Stemmoderus, and Catobleps. Catobleps blattoides, sp. n. Dark reddish piceous, nitid, dorsal surface without hairs or punctures. Front of the head flat, glabrous, and nitid, almost semicircular above the clypeal suture, which is not at all impressed; clypeus transversely cordate ; eyes moderately approximate above. Thorax about as long as wide, feebly arcuate at the sides, the base broadly but feebly emarginate ; the latero-anterior carina completely marginal, the thickened edge beneath it most developed in \ Catobleps blattoides, oblique ventral and lateral views, enlarged. froat and gradually diminishing towards the posterior angles. Elytra about 1 times as long as broad, feebly tapering towards the bluntly rounded apex, convex, nitid, without punctures or striae, except for a faint raised line visible for a short distance near the suture about the top of the declivity; under a moderately high magnification the whole surface is seen to be covered with minute transverse, anastomosing scratches or rugulosities; the humeri broadly rounded; there is a fringe of short stiff hairs immediately beneath the lateral carina, and a similar row of hairs along the middle of the epipleuron. Legs and underside clothed with a not very dense reddish pubescence; the femora moderate strongly, asperately punctured, the tibiae alinost impunctate. Length 7, breadth 3 mm. Hab. Nyasatanp, Mlanje (S. A. Neave: 24.11.1913); Masnona- LAND, Salisbury (G. A. K. Marshall: at light). The deflexed head with the horizontal and flattened face, together with the colour and shining appearance of the insect, is curiously sugges- tive of a Blattid. . 152 (July, Catobleps chatanay), sp. n. Shorter and more robust than C. dlattoides, the whole surface asperately punctate, and clothed with moderately dense, long, reddish pubescence. The thorax is slightly broader than long, with the base truncate, feebly narrowed from the base forwards; the lateral line is thrown on to the dorsal surface from the posterior angles until close to the middle of the anterior margin. The elytral costae take the form of fine raised lines, the intervals being flat, each with three regular rows of setigerous asperate punctures ; humeri obtuse, but distinctly angulate. Iyes almost contiguous above, the front of the head more uneven, with a broad transverse impression across the clypeal constriction, which extends upwards towards the eyes in the middle line; this depressed area, and the part in front of the eyes, strongly asperately punctate, leaving a broad, smooth area above the insertion of each antenna. The anterior femora are rather more slender than the others. Length 53, breadth 24 mm. Hab. ? (type in Mus. Brit. ex coll. Bakewell, without locality). This species is named in honour of the late J. Chatanay, who fell in action at Vermelles on October 15th, 1914. He was one of the younger French entomologists, and had accomplished much sound and useful work on this family of Coleoptera. British Museum (Nat. Hist.), 5. W. 7. May 1918. A NOTE ON THE SYSTEMATIC POSITION OF THE GENUS TRETOTHORAX Lea (COLEOPTERA). BY k. G. BLAIR, B.Sc., F.E.S. (Published by permission of the Trustees of the British Museum.) In describing Tretothorax cleistostoma Lea (Proc. R. Soc. Victoria, xxi, 1911, p. 211, pl. xxv, fig. 13), its author, being unable to include it in any existing family of Coleoptera, was compelled to erect for it a new family, Zvetothoracidae, which he considered intermediate between the Colydiidae and the Rhysodidae. Dr. Gestro, judging only from the description and figure, and from its termitophilous habits, has assigned the genus to the Rhysopaussidae (Ann. Mus. Genova, xlv, 1911-13, p. 5, fig.); but with this family (=TZenebrionidae, subfam. Rhysopaussinae of Gebien in Junk’s *Coleopterorum Catalogus,” 1911) Tvretothorax certainly has no connexion. The heteromerous tarsi and closed anterior coxal cavities assign it to the Tenebrionidae; but the lack of visible connecting membranes be- tween the posterior abdominal segments, and of visible trochantins to the i 1918) 153 ‘intermediate coxae, together with the large mentum filling the gular cavity, place it among the early groups of this family far removed from the Rhysopaussinae. The anterior coxal cavities are placed.very far back and are almost’ contiguous, being separated by a very narrow partition, which is sunk between the coxae and scarcely visible without dissection; and the antennae are apparently 10-jointed, the 11th joint being sunk within the 10th. In these features, as well as in the deeply- excavated thorax, Tretothorax agrees very closely with the American genus Dacoderus Lec. In the latter the anterior coxal cavities are described as contiguous, but having no specimen to spare for dissection I am unable to satisfy myself whether this is really so, or whether there is not a narrow sunken division between them. In either case Zvreto- thorax undoubtedly finds its nearest described ally in Dacoderus, and may well be included with it in the subfamily Dacoderinae. An affinity between two such specialized genera, each so isolated in its peculiar fauna, is somewhat surprising, but the resemblance between them, extending even to such superficial details as the character of the elytral sculpture, is really remarkable. Dacoderus striaticeps is described as living under bark, nothing being said of its having any association with ants or termites, though it is not improbable that such may exist. There are three described species of Dacoderus—one from Cali- fornia and N. Mexico, one from Texas, and one from San Domingo. The British Museum possesses a fourth and very distinct species from Colombia, viz. :— Dacoderus acanthomma, sp. n. Elongate, reddish castaneous, nitid; genae not produced behind the eyes, but enclosing them beneath, and visible from above as a narrow external border, which is produced opposite the posterior part of the eye into a tooth directed a little forwards. Front of head deeply excavate between the antennary bosses, the vertex strongly, longitudinally suleate. Thorax strongly sulcate before the transverse excavation, the median furrow in this area not strongly pronounced. Elytra elongate ovate, flat on the disc, the sides perpen- dicular, separated from the disc by a carina, which is strongly pronounced on the shoulders, but obsolete towards the apex; suture raised; the first stria distinct, its interval uniseriately punctate, the rest of the elytral surface with irregularly disposed elongate punctures. Length 4 mm. Hab. Cotomsta (ex coll, Fry). One example. Closely allied to D. striaticeps Lec., next to which it comes in Horn’s synopsis of the genus (Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc. xx, 154 (July, 18938, p. 139). It is smaller, and may readily be separated by the genal spine outside the eyes, as well as by the carinate junction of the flat discal portion of the elytra with the vertical sides. In this species, as in D. striaticeps, the eye is invisible from below, being almost horizontal in position on the dorsal surface of a lateral projection of the gena; in _ D. dominicensis Horn, and presumably in D. laevipennis Horn, which is unknown to me, it is completely lateral and almost cireular in outline, with a considerable interval between it and the neck. British Museum (Nat. Hist.), S.W. 7. May 1918. ON GYNARCHY IN COLEOPTERA. BY D. SHARP, M.A., F.R.S. The predominance of the female sex is well known and thoroughly ascertained in some of the Orders of Insects, though particulars as to its extent are still much wanted. In Hymenoptera the phenomenon is specially well known, and we need only mention, to illustrate this, the eases of the Hymenoptera Phytophaga and Parasitica, as well as the peculiar cases that occur in the Aculeata. But in Coleoptera, so far as I know, but little attention has yet been given to the subject; it may therefore be of some value for me to record some observations I have made: for-though limited in extent, they may interest others, and induce them to give us the benefit of their experience. Rhynchophora.—Some years ago the Russian entomologist, Silantjev, discovered that Otiorrhynchus turca is parthenogenetic, and to such an extent that 1000 specimens proved when examined to be all females, and since then it has been found that O. ligustici and O. cribricollis are both gynarchic (cf Marshall, Faun. Brit. India, p. 25). I have no experience of these species, but I have examined a fair number of speci- mens of O. picipes during the last three years, and have not yet been able to find a male. .I have tried some of the largest and some of the smallest specimens, but all are alike in the sexual characters. The spermatheca of the female is very easily discovered and recognizable, and it is well to observe it, because the 9 spiculum and ovipositor may give rise to some misconception as to the sex of the individual. Strophosomus coryli.—This in Britain is one of the most abundant of the Rhynchophora. Three years ago I attempted to find a male, but without success, and since then I have dissected about one hundred speci- mens, and all of them have proved to be females. -1918.] 155 Chrysomelidae.—The genus Haltica presents a very interesting field of inquiry. The difficulty of discriminating species in it is well known, so that recourse to the male structures has frequently been made. In Britain, however, males are often rare. H. ericeti is a species to which I have paid particular attention, and though it is rare, I have been able to examine-about 100 specimens, all of which are females. In the species we call palustris Weise, I have not been able to obtain a male for my collection. In H. brittent the male is rare in comparison with the female, and this is the case, I believe, with some other species of the genus. Staphylinidae.— Amzscha analis is one of the most abundant of the Coleoptera in Britain. Some years ago I wished to examine the male characters, so I went to my collection, and found that the indi- vidual I made the type of the male sex, when I described the British species of Homalota, fifty years ago, bore a label querying its sex. When I became doubtful as to this point I cannot now recall; but I set to work to examine specimens to settle the point, but all A. analis, and the other species of that group of Amischa, prove to be females. Males are readily found in the cavifrons group (where the species are all rare), but in the profusely abundant aza/lis all are females, the specimens with a larger notch on the penultimate dorsal plate being all females of other species which are passing among us as males of H. analis! The spermatheca of the female is easily found in this genus, and as I have dissected some hundreds of specimens I have no doubt as to the gynarchy of this section of the genus Amischa. These notes, it will be observed, refer to some of the most abundant species of British Coleoptera, and it would therefore appear that partheno- genesis is, in the long run, favourable to a species. Why, then, do males exist? An answer to this question cannot be given till much more is known of the physiology of sex than is at present the case. Brockenhurst. June 17th, 1918. ATOMARIA ZETTERSTEDTI Zxett. (=SALICICOLA Kraatz), A BRITISH INSECT. BY G. C. CHAMPION, F.Z.S. Mr. J. Collins, of the Hope Department of the University Museum at Oxford, has recently sent me for determination a number of examples of an Atomaria found in sallow catkins in that district, calling attention to the well-marked characters of the male. The insect is undoubtedly 156 (July, referable to A. zetterstedti (Schénh.) Zett. (= salicicola Kraatz), as might be suspected from the specifie name given by the last named author; but I should have hesitated to identify it with Zetterstedt’s species in the absence of Continental examples for comparison. Fortu- nately, a male from E. Finland, received from Dr. J. Sahlberg, agreeing with the Oxford specimens of the same sex, is contained in my own collection, and the difficulty is thus solved. A. zetterstedti has been described at some length by Zetterstedt (under the generic name Cryptophagus), Kraatz, Thomson (under Anchicera), Ganglbauer, and Reitter; but they do not give the sexual characters, which are more pronounced than in any other species of the genus known to me. The insect is uniformly testaceous or rufo-testaceous in colour (the black eyes excepted), and separable from pallid examples of the closely allied A. fuscata Schonh. by the more rounded sides of the prothorax (which . is relatively wider at the middle), the finer puncturing of the entire upper surface, and the broader ninth and tenth joints of the antennae; the anterior tibiae are curved in both sexes, strongly so in d (almost straight in A. fuscata), armed with a small tooth at the inner apical angle in d, and in well-developed examples of that sex they are slightly widened in their apical fourth, appearing angulate on their inner edge at the commencement of the dilatation; and the metasternum bears a small compressed tubercle before the middle. Mr. Collins first met with A. zetterstedti at Weston-on-the-Green, Oxon, in April 1914, when beating sallows for Acalyptus rufipennis ; subsequently, he took it at Yarnton, in May 1916, from sallow catkins, and again, in some numbers, in the same place, on May 15th, 1918, by beating the ripe cottony or downy seed-heads of 2 sallows which were breaking up and ready to fall. The insect is recorded from Finland, Germany (Cassel) ete.; but though its occurrence in sallow-blossom is mentioned by nearly all the Continental writers, it does not appear to have been taken very frequently, and the ¢ may thus have escaped their : observation. Horsell. June 13th, 1918. CHORTOPHILA PILIPYGA YVILLENEUVE IN BRITAIN: BY PERCY H. GRIMSHAW, F.R.S.E., F.E.S. Among the number of Anthomyiidae recently sent to me for determination by Professor J. W. Carr, M.A., of University College, Nottingham, I was pleased to find two male examples of Chortophila 1918.] 157 pilipuga, a species described as new by Dr. J. Villeneuve just about a year ago (Parasitology, vol. ix, No. 3, May 1917, p. 440). The only specimens hitherto known are two males taken in France (at Rambouillet and near Bordeaux respectively) and a female, presumably of the same species, taken under the same circumstances as the Bordeaux male. Professor Carr’s examples were taken at Warsop, Notts, 28.vii.1915, and Bulwell Park, Nottingham, 7.vi.1916, respectively, and he has very kindly agreed to my suggestion that the occurrence of the species in Nottinghamshire should be published without delay. The following brief description, founded upon that of Villeneuve, may serve to distinguish C. pzlipyga from C. brassicae Bouché, with which it may be easily confounded. Size less than that of C. brassicae (length 6 mm.), general form and chaetutaxy identical; coloration lighter, of a clearer ashy-grey, with the three longitudinal thoracic stripes of a pale brown; face whitish with dark reflections. Abdomen with a narrow blackish median longitudinal stripe, but the incisures not or scarcely darkened, while the bristles at the margins of the segments are not quite so long; the lobes of the 5th ventral segment are narrow, adpressed to the ventral surface and slightly projecting when seen in profile, and furnished with long vertical hairs whose appearance is quite characteristic of the male of this species. The hind tarsi are appreciably longer than the corresponding tibiae, while the latter are furnished on their anterior sides (antero-ventral as well as postero-ventral) with a series of erect rigid setae, which, however, are decidedly less numerous than in C. brassicae. Lastly, the hind femora are clothed with short hairs beneath, without the tufted appearance so characteristic of C. brassicae, Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh. May Ast, 1918. ON TWO NEW SPECIES OF CAMPODEA. BY RICHARD S. BAGNALL, F.L.S. Since publishing my notes on the British species of this genus I have had the opportunity of examining two more new species which may now be briefly diagnosed. They both fall into Section I, though the macro- chaeta at each hind angle of the metanotum in C. meinerti may be regarded by some as an abnormally-developed minor seta, in which case it would fall into Section II. For all practical purposes it should be regarded as falling in the first section. Campodea meinerti, sp. n.* Length 35-4-2 mm, Antennae 22-23 segmented, about 0°5 the length of body. Cerci 9-11 segmented, about 0:6 the length ot body ; somewhat as a * Dedicated to the distinguished Danish zoologist the late Dr. Fr. Meinert. 158 (July, in C. westwoodi, the longer distal joints being furnished with 3 whorls of upstanding specialized setae; the outer setae basally are strongly feathered, but on the inner side they are modified, and are more or less clavate, with a minute tooth near apex. The longer macrochaetae of pronotum, mesonotum “feathered” with a double row of “points.” ‘The macrochaetae of anterior margin of pronotum only about 0:3 the leneth of those at each angle; the anterior macrochaetae of mesenotum 0 45-0°5 the length of the one at each hind angle ; the macrochaeta at each hind angle of the metanotum short and stout, seemingly a well-developed pair of the modified minor setae of the posterior margin. Abdominal tergites 1-7 each furnished with a pair of anterior, and 8 and 9 with a pair of more widely separated posterior, sub- median macrochaetae ; 5-7 with lateral, and 5-9 with posterior, sublateral macruchaetae present. Stylus much as in C. staphylinus, etc. Minor setae slightly longer and not so stout as in dudbbocht. Hab. I first detected this interesting insect in a small batch col- lected by Miss Evans at Fallowfield, Manchester, in April 1918, but later I rediscovered some of my older material containing the same species from Gibside, Co. Durham, June 1916, and a single example from the shore at Grange-over-Sands. Swanage, Dorsetshire, May 1918. d This species comes nearest to C. lubbocki, from which it differs in the large macrochaetae at each hind angle of mesonotum, the smaller anterior submedian (found on 1-7 only), and the larger and differently formed lateral macrochaetae of the tergites, the form of stylus, ete., and chiefly in the very different type of cerci, the distal jomts each having the appearance ot being composed of 3 subsegments. The larvae described as that of C. lubbocki by Silvestri is referable to this species. Campodea wallacez, sp. n.* This species closely resembles C. giardi Silv., and a detailed description is unnecessary. The macrochaetae at hind angles of both meso- and metanotum are longer (aud more slender) compared with the postero-marginal series of minor setae. The most careful research fails to show the presence of either anterior or posterior submedian setae on the abdominal tergites. The apical seta of stylus is furnished with 2-4 branches on the inner margin, and the sub- apical seta is branched near middle. The long macrochaetae of the prothorax and abdomen are much more regularly “feathered.” Cerci with the distal joints longer and more slender, about 0°7 as long as the body. Hab. Heaton, near Newcastle-on-Tyne, May 1918 (4. 8. Wallace and R. 8. B.). Mr. Wallace suggested that the species was associated * I have pleasure in naming this species after my friend Mr. H. 8. Wallace, F.E.S., who discovered the first example and who has of late made many interesting Arthropod “ finds. OO ———————— 1918.] 159 with dead beech-leaves, and at the moment of writing I have discovered quite a colony of C. wallacei under stones lying in amongst dead and fallen beech-leaves at Fenham, near Newcastle, 21.v.18. Rydal Mount, Blaydon-on-Tyne. May 21st, 1918. Some notes on Suffolk Coleoptera.—The publication by Mr. Claude Morley in 1915 of his first supplement to ** The Coleoptera of Suffolk” caused me to look up my notes of such captures as [ have made in the County at various times. I had no opportunity of embodying them in the supplement, as I was not aware of Mr. Morley’s intention until immediately before publication. The following belated records may be of some little interest if read in cunjunction with the original list and supplement. ‘The species marked with a star (*) are additions to the County list. Amara anthobia Villa: the specimens standing in my collection above the label A. familiaris Dufts. are referable to the first-named insect; they were taken in the vicinity of Oulton Broad in 1898; I also met with it at Corton in 1904. Bembidium normannum Dej. is apparently not a common Suffolk species, but in June 1909 it was abundant on the muddy banks of Lake Lothing. Dromius sigma Nossi: since my original capture in 1898 I have taken over sixty specimens of this species; it is extremely local, and may be found by pressing down the dead sedge at the edge of a ditch and then removing the pressure, when the beetles run swiftly up the stems. Pelobius tardus Herbst is not uncommon in a roadside pond at Somerleyton. Noterus clavicornis De G. is a very common species in the ditches below Oulton Church, and in my experience is generally common throughout the Broad districts. Hydroporus umbrosus Gyll and H. angustatus Sturm: both occur at Oulton Broad. Hydrophilus piceus L. appears to be very scarce in Suffolk, judging by the lack of records, but in April 1903 I found it in pro- fusion in one particular ditch at Barnby Broad. Laccolius minutus L.: I captured a single specimen of this insect at Oulton Broad on August 31st, 1905, thus confirming Stephens’s record; the species is omitted from Mr. Morley’s original list though he refers in a footnote to the above record. Cercyon littoralis Gyll., abundant on the banks of Lake Lothing. C. obdsoletus Gyll., two specimens at Oulton Broad in February 1899. C. terminatus Marsh., Oulton Broad, June 1909, with C. nzgriceps Marsh. Aleochara algarum Fauv., common on the banks of Lake Lothing. Thamiaraeu cinnamomea Gray., not uncommon in Cossus borings in the Lowestoft district and usually accompanied by Athetu euryptera Steph., A, vestita Grav., and A. halobrectha Sharp, abundant under débris on the banks of Lake Lothing. *A. monticola Thoms, at Oulton Broad, August 1905. *A. paradoxu Rey, in a mole’s nest at Barnby Broad in March 1907. *A. evilis Kr., Oulton Broad, December 1907. *A. subsinuata Er., Corton, June 1907. Myrmecopora uvida Er.,in large numbers under pieces of board and an old sack on the edge of Lake Lothing. Autala rivularis Gray., not 160. {July, | uncommon at Brandon in June 1906, and Oulton Broad, 1909. *Silusa rubdi- ginosa Kr., Oulton Broad, one specimen in a Cossus burrow, December 1908. Megacronus cingulatus Mann., Barnby Broad, February 1907, and subsequently sparingly. *Heterothops niyra Kr., abundant in moles’ nests in the Lowestoft district. Philonthus trossulus Nordm.: in view of Dr. Sharp's revision of the Gabrius group I think it well to record this somewhat scarce species, of which I took a single example at Oulton Broad in March 1907. Morley records the insect as common throughout the county, having probably failed to dis- tinguish it from P. nigritulus Gr. *P. pennatus Sharp also occurred at the same place in 1898. P. proximus Kr. was found in Cossus burrow in an alder on Oulton Marshes in August 1902, and P. longicornis Kr. in sedge refuse at the same place in July 1905. P. qutsguiliarius Gyll. was not uncommon at Oulton Broad, August 1905, and Herringfleet, June 1909. Lathrobiwm Sulvipenne Gray. turned up on the Corton cliffs in June 1909, and LL. quadratum Payk. at Oulton Broad in February 1909, thus confirming another of Stephens’s records for the County. Cryptobiwm glaberrimum Herbst I first found at Benacre Broad in 1899, and subsequently at Oulton and Barnby Broads in abundance. Lvaesthetus scaber Grav. was not uncommon at Barnby Broad in September 1911, by carefully sifting sedge-refuse at the edge ofa ditch; the species does not appear to have been recorded for the County since Spence’s record in 1809. Stenus guttula Muls. is not uncommon in damp - spots on the Corton cliffs, and S. subaeneus Er. occurred sparingly with it in June 1909. Three specimens of S. ater Mann. were taken from reed-refuse at Oulton Broad in December 1903, and S. znerassatus Er. at Herringfleet in 1909. Bledius opacus Block, an uncommon Suffolk species, occurred at Brandon in June 1906. Platystethus cornutus Gyll. was common at Corton and Herring- fleet in 1904 and 1909. Trogophloeus foveolatus Sahlb. was unearthed from a reed-bed at Benacre Broad in September 1906, and 7. elongatulus Er. was not uncommon at Oulton Broad in flood-refuse in December 1907. Coprophilus striatulus F,: this insect, though often common-enough in London streets, is apparently a rarity in Suffolk, the only two specimens I have seen in the County having been found by myself at Oulton Broad in March 1900. Philorhinum sordidum Steph. was abundant on furze-bushes at Brandon in June 1906. Homalium excavatum Steph. turned up on the Corton cliffs in June 1909. H. punctipenne Thoms. was found under fir-bark at Herringfleet in September 1906, and H. vile Er. at Oulton Broad under oak-bark in June 1909. Bythinus puncticollis Denny was fairly numerous at Barnby Broad on various occasions, but very local; no specimens with incrassate femora were, however, to be found. Bryaais helfert Schmidt occurred in profusion at Benacre Broad, where also a single specimen of B. haematica Reich. was found in September 1906. *Neuraphes minutus Chaud.: two examples of this little rarity put in a very welcome appearance at Barnby Broad on September 18th, 1911, by sweeping at dusk. Choleva tniermedia Kr., Barnby and Oulton Broads, in moles’ nests, in 1907, and C. nigricans Spence at the same places in 1901 and 1908. C. morio F. at Oulton Broad in 1902 and 1903. C. grandicollis Er., also at Oulton Broad in September 1898. *C. fuliginosa Er. at Barnby Broad 1901, Corton 1904, and Oulton Broad 1908. Ptomaphagus sericatus Chaud., under a dead fish on the banks of Lake Lothing in June 1909. Sericoderus lateralis Gyll., Oulton Broad, September’ 1918.) 161 1906. Phalacrus hybridus Flach, Oulton Broad, August 1902, and Herring- fleet, September 1906. *Scymnus testaceus Mots., three specimens in haystack- refuse at Oulton Broad in December 1903. Olibrus bicolor F., Benacre Broad August 1902, Oulton Broad April 1908, and Corton June 1904. Cryptarcha strigata F, and C. imperialis F., not uncommon in a Cossus-infested oak at Herringfleet in 1906. Tenebroides mauritanicus L., in a Lowestoft flour-mill, August 1905. Orthocerus muticus Ji., Brandon and Herringfleet in 1906, Psammoechus bipunctatus F., common in sedge at Oulton Broad. Monotoma picipes Herbst, Barnby Broad, April 1900. Cartodere ruficullis Mazsh., in large numbers in a stack of marsh-hay at Oulton Broad in 1901 and 191], with C. elongata Curt. and Corticaria elongata Gyll. Cryptophagus cellaris Scop. fairly common in a Lowestoft flour-mill. Aphodius scybalarius ¥'., Oulton Broad, December 1903. Oayomus porcatus F., common at Brandon in June 1906. Corymbites tessellatus F., in sphagnum on Flixton Marshes. Telephorus oralis Germ.. at Oulton Broad in June and July 1898. 2Rhizupertha pusilla I. not uncommon in a Lowestoft flour-mill. Cvs alni Gyll., abundant in fungus aud boring in the wood of a dead, uprooted elder-bush on Kessingland beach in September 1906, also at Herringfleet. Rhagium bifasciatum F.: this species appears to be uncommon in Suffolk, but in December 1901 I found a number of dead specimens and living larvae in fir logs and stumps at Barnby Broad. Donacia braccata Scop. is not uncommon at Oulton Broad by sweeping reeds. Lema cyanella L., one specimen by sweeping on the river-wall at Oulton in September 1900. Phyllotreta tetrastigma Com., Oulton Broad, 1898, and Barnby Broad, 1901. Mantura chrysanthemi Koch, abundant at Herring- fleet in September 1906. Hippuriphila modeeri L., by sweeping Equisetum at Flixton Decoy in August 1915. Psylliodes marcida I11., Kessingland, 1902. and abundant on Cakile maritima at the foot of the Corton Cliffs in 1906 and 1915. *Palorus ratzeburg: Wiss. and *P. subdepressus F., sparingly in a flour- mill at Lowestoft. Yetratoma fungorum F., abundant in fungi on alders at Barnby Broad. Apion viciae Payk., abundant at Oulton Broad and Cove near Beccles in 191] and 1915. A. difforme Germ., Oulton Broad, 1906. A. trifold L., Oulton Broad, 1902, and Corton 1915, by sweeping clover. A. dissimile Germ. and A. livescerum Gyll. at Herringfleet, September 1908. *A. minimum Herbst, Oulton and Barnby Broads, 1911. A. spencet Kirby, Oulton Broad, September 1906. Sitones griseus F., Herringfleet under Erodium, September 1906, with Hypera fasciculata Herbst. Tychius tibialis Boh., Brandon, June 1906, and LT’. pygmaeus Bris., Herringfleet, September 1906. Sibinia primita Herbst, Kessingland sandhills, April 1900. Gymmnetron villosulus Gyll., Oulton Broad, September 1900. G. dabidis Herbst, Brandon, June 1906. Orthochaetes setiger Beck., not uncommon at Herringfleet in September 1906. Acalles ptinvides, Marsh., Brandon, 1906. Ceuthorhynchidius pyrrhorhynchus Marsh., Oulten Broad, 1900. C. horridus F., two specimens on flowers in my father’s garden at Lowestoft on September Ist, 1906. Amalus haemorrhous Herbst, Brandon, June 1908. Phy- tobius quadrituberculatus F., Oulton Broad, September 1900. Codiosoma spadix Herbst, not uncommon in timber of breakwater at Corton in June 1907, Hylastinus obscurus Marsh., abundant in the dead stems of old broom-bushes at Oulton in August 1915; the insect is usually to be found in large numbers O 162 (July, just below the ground-line. Phloeophthorus rhododactylus Marsh. occurred sparingly with the last named.—E. C. BrepwELt, Bruggen, Brighton Road, Coulsdon, Surrey: May 1918. Silpha niyrita Creutz. in Co, Durham.--On April 27th a single speci- men of this beetle was captured walking on a pathway by the side of the River Derwent, and a second example was turned up from grass-roots. The insect had previously been recorded by Bold (‘Transactions of the Tyneside Naturalists’ Field Club,” i, p. 80) as the commonest species of the genus, although I have by no means found it so. However, on the 4th and the 18th of May, the beetle occurred in fair numbers, accompanied. by one or two S. granulata Thunb. Without exception, all were taken running on paths, fre- quently hauling at dead insects or devouring dried-up worms, on the bodies of dead bees (Andrena, Halictus), oil beeties (Meloé proscarabaeus Linn.), or even of members of their own species. Nota single specimen occurred in the carcases of two dogs, which nevertheless contained numbers of 7hanatophilus rugosus Linn., as well as of Hister cadaverinus Hoftm., H. strivla Sahlb., and Creophilus maxillosus Linn., both type and variety ciliaris Steph —Gzo. B. Watsu, 166 Bede Burn Road, Jarrow-on-Tyne: June 7th, 1918. The embryonic period of Meloé proscarabaeus Iinn.—On April 27th this beetle occurred in large numbers on the banks of the Derwent, copulation readily taking place in the brilliant sunshine. A few pairs were taken home and placed in a large glass trough containing damp soil and some growing plants; this was kept in a warm sunny place without any covering. No further copulation was observed to take place, but during the night of April 30th—May Ist three large batches of yellow sausage-shaped. eggs were laid in small cavities, about the size of a filbert, at a depth of one inch. The parents were then removed, and the plants were, for ease of observation, replaced by a number of upright sticks. The eggs gradually showed signs of development, and on May 3l1st all the triungulin larvae emerged, thus giving a period of embryonic development of thirty-one days. At first the larvae remained huddled together, but after a while they became extremely active, crawling up the sticks in enormous numbers and forming large yellow masses at the top. While I was removing specimens for preservation and micro- scopic preparation, numbers crawled up my hands and wandered over my anatomy, giving me for some time a kind of imitation “trench feeling.” The specimens left alive remained active for five days, after which I saw no more of them. Their bodies were at first packed with oil globules which showed up clearly under the microscope, this doubtless serving as a supply of food during the long period a larva must often have to wait before a bee comes within reach_—G. B. WALSH. ‘ I ophocateres pusillus Klug, a cosmopolitan beetle, in London.—The above- named insect, not previously recorded, I believe, as having been fcund here, has occurred in several samples of the butter-beans of commerce, in company with other destructive beetles. The infested beans may be known by a minute hole in or near the hilum. The other species found were Lasioderma serricorne 1918.] 163 Fab. and Tribolium navale Fab. The last European Catalogue (1906) gives tne following synonymy: JZ. pusidlus Klug = yvani Allib. = africanus Motsch., and places the insect in the Ostomidae immediately before Thymalus, a genus to which it bears no resemblance.—E. A. NewsBery, 13 Oppidans Road, London, N.W.3: May 13th, 1918. Corticaria eppelsheini Reitt. at Gomshall, Surrey.—There are but few records of this species from Britain.* It is therefore worth while to note the capture of it in some numbers at Gomshall on June Ist. The insect was detected in a curious way. While resting from {the heat of the sun in the middle of the day, in a very shady spot beneath some lofty pines and beeches, LT amused myself by watching a small patch of ground, perhaps a yard square, illuminated by a penetrating gleam of sunshine, and to my astonishment a specimen of O. eppe/sheimz was soon seen running amongst the thin layer of falien beech blossoms, etc., at the foot of a pine. Other examples kept on appearing from time to time, till the ray of sunshine shifted from the spot, but from whence they came [ was unable to ascertain. The insect used to occur freely in the Woking district, in powdery fungus on pine-stumps, with Sphindus dubius, but only odd specimens have been seen here during recent years.— G. C, Caampron, Horsell, Woking: June 1918. Hoplocampa alpina Zett. (pallida Steph.) on Pyrus aria.—Cameron records the capture of this small pallid sawfly on Pyrus (Sorbus) aucuparia, and Enslin mentions it as being found on Crataegus in Germany. On June Ist I noticed it in some numbers flying round the flowers of Pyrus aria, on the Chalk Downs above Gomshall. This capture is recorded mainly to call the attention of Coleopterists to the “ possibilities’ of the white-beam tree, when in flower, though the only beetles seen on it on the present occasion were of the com- monest species. On the Continent, in such places as Brides, in the French Alps, I haye beaten a great variety of Coleoptera from the flowers, certain Omaliids (Amphichroum hirtellum, Anthobium spp., etc.}, Telephorids, Longi- cornes, ete., evidently having a special liking for Pyrus aria. The tree is common enough on the North Downs and elsewhere in the south of England, but the flowers are not always within reach. The Rev. F. D. Morice has kindly determined the Tenthredinid for me.—G. C. Cuampion. Parasites of the hawthorn Trichiosoma.—Dr. T. A. Chapman has at length settled a moot point. In my “Ichneumonologica Britannica,” iii, 1908, p- 93, doubt is expressed respecting the parasitism of the large and common Ichneumon, Pimpla instigator Fab.,F upon aught but Lepidoptera, from the larger kinds of which it is constantly bred throughout the more temperate parts of the Old World. This was in spite of two records by competent * Of. Ent. Mo. Mag. xliv, p, 125, xlv, p. 249. + The var. porsia Cam. of this species, which has the scutellum maculate, is not unlikely to occur in Britain, and should be looked for here, since it has been recently redescribed as new in Prussia. Its synonymy is:—Pimpla poesia Cameron, Mem. Manches'er Phil. Soc. xliii, 1899, p. 176, Q; P. instigator var. scutellaris Ulbricht, Mitt. Ver. Natk. Krefeld, 1909, p.20; P. instigator var. poesia Morley, Faun. India, Hym. Ichn. i, 1913, p. 156, ¢ 2. The known distribution is; Germany, India, Assam, and Ceylon.—C.M. Pt 164 (July, observers: Ratzeburg, in 1852, bred a small male, 3 mm. in length, from Nematus (Pteronus) salicis Linn, (Icha. d. Forst. iii, p. 99), and Brischke raised it from NV. (P.) perspicillaris (dimidiatus Lep.) (Schr. Nat. Ges. Dantzig, 1880, p. 111). I have to-day received a fine, live female, 16 mm. in length, from Dr. Chapman, just emerged from the cocoon of Trichiosoma “tibiale”—-Mr. Morice has not yet cleared up the synonymy of this sawfly. Its exit had been effected through a small and irregularly oval hole, entirely bitten away and very unlike the neat circular cap excised by the emerging sawfly itself. Inside the parasitic larva had, as is always the case when within sufficient shelter, simply pupated in the indurated skin of its host- larva, whence it had emerged through the capital extremity. While examining this cocoon I discovered, in a small separate cocoon of its own construction near the capital extremity of the host and firmly affixed thereto, another Ichneumon. This was an isolated ¢ of the Cryptid, Panargyrops claviger Tasch., by no means a common species here or upon the Continent, though known to attack the sawflies, Lophyrus pini and Emphytus ecinctus. This is a small and fragile insect; and, I think, we may suppose our single ¢ to be the survival of the fittest: ¢. e. that the remainder of the brood—for Cryptids are usually gregarious—had met an untimely death through starya- tion owing to the exigent appetite of the great Pimpla larva.—CLauDE Monrtey, Monk Soham House, Framlingham, Sutfolk: May 7th, 1918. Odontomyia argentata F. at Oxford.—As so few records of this Stratio- myid tly have been made for many years,* its occurrence here in some numbers may be of interest to other Dipterists. On the 4th of the present month I was sweeping, during the late afternoon and evening, the old and partially dried-up stems of last season's Juncus in Hogley Bog, and to my surprise found a 2 O. argentata in the net. This capture acting as a stimulus, I continned to sweep for an hour or more, and eventually secured two @ specimens in addition. On May 11th I again visited the same locality and by patient and persistent sweeping of the Juncus as before, succeeded on this occasion in taking three g and two 2 examples all from the partially dried stems of the plant. One ¢ was disturbed in sweeping and was netted on the wing, when the glistening silvery pubescence was seen to perfection, making it a beautiful object in the sunshine and reminding one of the Dolichopodid Argyra argentina, but more conspicuous owing to its larger size.—A. H. Hamm, 22 Southfield Road, Oxford: May 17th, 1918. Sorieties. Tur Soutn Lonpon ENTOMOLOGICAL AND NATURAL History SocreTy: March 28th, 1918.—Mr. Srantey Epwarps, F.L.S., President, in the Chair. Mr. Ashdown exhibited Lister’s edition of Goedartius “ De Insectis,” 1685, Mr. Newman, a very long fine series of Cosymbia pendularia var. decoraria (subroseata), bred from ova in January and February, including almost all combinations and permutations of the dark grey and rosy areas. Mr. H. J. * “ British Flies,” Verrall, 1909, vol. v, p. 131, and Kirkpatrick, Ent. Mo. Mag. 1914, p, 244. i 1918.) 165 Turner, a series of Phigala pedarva (pilosaria) from Sherwood Forest, with a series from other localities for comparison, He pointed out seven phases of variation in the specimens exhibited. Mr.S. Edwards, Papilio nox with its forms noctis and noctula, P. paradova v. caunus, a mimic of a Luploea sp., P. ilioneus vy. amynthor, and P. encelades, all from the Malayan region, Reports were made as to the numbers of Gunepteryx rhamni, Vanessa 10, Agiais urticae, Pieris rapae, and Diurnea fagella seen during the fine and warm weather of the past week. Larvae of Arctia caja were reported as abnormally abundant, those of A. rillica very scarce. Brephos parthenias was in profusion. April 11th, 1918.—The President in the Chair. An exhibition and discussion of the genus Spifosoma. The President made some general remarks on the distribution of the genus in the Palaearctic Region. Mr. Ashdown’s exhibit included an example of the rare uwnicolor form of S. lubricipeda with only one slight dot on the costa, from the Wye Valley. Mr. R. Adkin, series of various local races of the species and series of crossings between the type and var. zatima of S. lubricipeda, very fine, smoky, and heavily spotted S. menthastri, etc. Mr. Mera, bred series of the species, including many var. radiata and intermediates, some fine var. fasciata and aberrations with dark bodies, of S. lubricipeda. He said that the zatima form was originally bred from Lincolnshire larvae. Messrs. Kaye, Sperring, Leeds, Turner, and Edwards also showed series. Mr. B. W. Adkin then exhibited his long series and read a paper, “The Genus Spilosoma.” April 28th, 1918.—The President in the Chair. Mr. Ashdown exhibited Lepidoptera bred this year indoors, including © Diaphora mendica, Amphidasys betularia, Amorpha populi, Hylophila prasinana etc. Mr. H. Moore, the S. American Nymphalids Catonephele acontius and C. batesti, pointing out their extreme sexual dimorphism. Mr. Edwards, living larvae of Hepialus humul: and of a species of Geotrupes (Coleopt.), both dug up at Blackheath. Mr. Main, living larvae of Timarcha tenebricosa (Coleopt.): Mr. Turner, series of Teras contaminana, with var. ciliana, var. rhombana, var. dimidimma, and a much less common form recently pointed out by Mr. Sich (Ent. Record). Mr. Bunnett, a photograph of a raid of locusts approaching a farm in S. Africa. Messrs. Edwards, Leeds, Frohawk, and cthers reported on the season: Vanessa io and Gonepterya) rhamni were in abundance, and Luvanessa antiopa had occurred in Aberdeenshire. May 9th.—The President in the Chair. Mr. E, E. Green, F.E.S., of Bearsted, Kent, was elected a member. Annual Exhibition of Orders other than Lepidoptera.—Mr. Ashdown, a large number of Coleoptera taken in Surrey and Hants, 1917, including Leptura nigra, L. sexguttata, Conopalpus testaceus, Orsodacna cerast, Limonius minutus, Cychrus rostratus, Serica brunnea, ete. Mr. Frisby, two cases of Exotic Hy- menoptera, one with large species of Solitary, Fossorial. and other Wasps, the other with Bees from many parts of the world, including a large Megachile, 166 d (July, which burrows in the mounds of Termites in S. Africa. Mr. West, his collection of British Dytiscidae, Gyrinidae, and Hydrophilidae (Coleopt.), with nearly all the species represented, including the rare Spercheus emarginatus from W. Ham. He also showed his British Orthoptera, including Platyceleis roeselii, and Nemo- bius sylvestris from the New Forest. Mr. Main, a living larva of Cicin?ela cam- pestris (Coleopt.), from Epping, iu its burrow, and the burrow and aerial tube of the British trap-door spider Atypus affinis. Mr. Mocre, a number of species of Orthoptera, and read notes on the colours found in the Order. Mr. Buckstone, a collection of Hymenoptera, Orthoptera, and Coleoptera made on a voyage to Australia some years ago. Mr. Talbot, living examples of Pediculus humanus, which carried the bacillus of trench fever, and Stegomyia fasciata, the carrier of yellow fever, and showed the ova of the latter hatching. Mr. Edwards, large species of Exotic Coleoptera. Mr. West, for the Society, drawers of British Odonata, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Carabidae (Coleopt.) —lly. J. Turnkr, Hon. Editor of Proceedings. ENTOMOLOGICAL Society oF Lonpon: The Annual Meeting took place on Wednesday, January 16th, 1918, Dr. C. J. Gauan, M.A., President, being in the Chair. Mr. W. G. Sheldon, one of the Auditors, read the Treasurer’s statement of Accounts, which was adopted on the motion of Mr. S:anley Edwards, seconded by Mr. Frisby. The Rev. G. Wheeler, one of the Secretaries, then read the Report of the Council, which was adopted on the motion of Mr. O. FE. Janson, seconded by the Rev. F. D. Morice. No other neminations in addition to those of the Council having been received, the President declared the Fellows to have been duly elected as Officers and Members of Council for the ensuing year as printed in our March number, pp. 66-67. The President then delivered an Address, after which Mr. Simes proposed a vote of thanks to him, which was seconded by Dr. Eltringham; the President, in returning thanks, spoke of the neglect of the biological sciences on the part of the Government. Mr, Collin then proposed a vote of thanks to the Officers, which was seconded by Mr. Donisthorpe, both of whom made special allusion to the regret felt by the Society at the retirement of Mr. Jones from the Treasurership after so long a period of very efficient work in the Society’s interests. The two Secretaries said a few words of thanks, the Treasurer and the Librarian’ being absent. Wednesday, February 6th, 1918.— The President in the Chair. The President nominated Dr. Eltringham, Mr. A. H. Jones, and Mr. 8. A. Neave as Vice-Presidents for the ensuing year. Dr. John Adams Comstock, Curator of the South-Western Mussa 1275 Bellevue Avenue, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., and Mr. James W. Munro, Lieut. R.A.M.C., 2nd Sanitary Coy., Duke of York’s Headquarters, Chelsea, 8.W., were sleokst Fellows of the Society. Mr. Donisthorpe exhibited a g¢ and Q of Cuenocara subglobosa Muls., a beetle new to Britain, which he had bred from a “ puff-ball” (Lycoperdon nee diel Se; 3 1918.) | 167 gemmatum) found at Barton Mills, Suffolk, on September 9th, 1917, together with a specimen (?) of Cuenocara bovistae Hoftm. ; also specimens of Crypto- phagus Igevendali Ganglb., which he had found in large numbers in a nest of Vespa germanica in a tree in Richmond Park cn November 20th, 1917, a species of which only two specimens had been taken in Britain before. Mr. E. A. Butler, ova of the following species of Hemiptera: two species of Penta- tomidae, Piezedorus lituratus Fabr., and Pentatuma rufipes L.; Chorosoma schillingi Schml., a Coreid bug; two species of Berytus ; three Reduviids, Coranus subapterus L., Nabis major Costa, and N. rugosus L.; a Capsid bug, Miris laevigatus: and three water bugs, Naucoris cimicordes L., Notonecta glauca L., and Nepa cinerea L. Mr. Kaye, from Mr. Joicey’s collection, series of the two Catagramma species pastazza and excelsior, with races and forms of each, pointing out that the two groups of insects were at once separable by the differences in the tips to the antennae; also a new species of Dynamine (D. ayatha) from Bolivia. Lord Rothschild, a series of Pseudacraeas, in illustration of a paper on the mimetic associations of these butterflies. Prof. Poulton, a new form of Pseudacraea pogge. Dew., mimicking the dorippus Klug form of Danaida chrysippus L., in ex-German East Africa; also examples of 66 males and 80 females of Musca autumnalis, captured December 14th, 1917, in the cistern-loft of St. Helen’s Cottage, St. Helens, Isle of Wight. The loft had not been examined in the winter since January 4th, 1915, when far greater numbers of the flies were present. Prof. Poulton said that he owed to Mr. J. J. Joicey the opportunity of exhibiting the type of the West African Z. urania, from the collection of the late Mr. H. Grose-Smith, and of comparing it with the series of posthumus in the British Museum. He read extracts on the habits of Ethiopian species of Sarangesa and other Hespe- ridae from a letter written by the Rev. K. St. Aubyn Rogers, from Kongwa, in ex-German [ast Africa. Prof. Poulton said that he wished to draw attention to an unfortunate misconception in the recently issued part of Mr. Charles Oberthiir’s beautiful work, “Etudes de Lépidoptérologie comparée,” Fase. xiv, 1917, since the Sesias are mimics and not models of the Hymenoptera. He also said that he had just received a letter from Mr. C. O. Farquharson, dated December 13th, 1917, from Ibadan, describing Harpagomyia and other Diptera being fed by Cremastugaster ants in 8. Nigeria. Wednesday, March 6th, 1918.—The President in the Chair. Col. Wilfrid Wm. Ogilvy Beveridge, R.A.M.C., C.B., D.S.O. (on active service), c/o J. H. Durrant, Esq., Natural History Museum, 8. Kensington, S.W., and Messrs. Patrick Aubrey Hugh Smith, Sconner House, St. German’s, Cornwall, and 28 Bruton Street, Berkeley Square, W., and Lionel Julian Walford, The Cavalry Club, Piccadilly, W., were elected Fellows of the Society. Prof. Poulton exhibited the Myrmecophile Diptera and the Culicid Toxorhynchites referred to in Mr. Farquharson’s notes communicated to the last meeting of the Society and received at a later date. He said that he had recently received a letter from Dr. G. Arnold, in Bulawayo, correcting the statement that he had bred Osmiéa aurulenta trom whelk-shells, on the Wallasey sand-hills; the shells were a species of Helix, probably nemoralas. Og, TO eee > 168 He also drew attention to “ Observations on “Protective Adaptations and Habits, mainly in Marine Animals,” published in English, as one of the papers on Dr. Th. Mortensen’s Pacific Expedition, 1914-16 (Vidensk. Medd. fra. Dansk naturhist. Foren., Bd. 69, pp. 57-96, pl. i), and especially the “ Observations on Insects” (p. 83). Mr. W. J. Kaye exhibited, on behalf of Mr. J. J. Joicey, an apparently very rare Dioptid moth, Dioptis pellucida Warr., and contributed notes on its mimetic association with a group of small Ithomiine species. Mr. Frisby, an ant’s nest, and also three cells of Zefhus cyanopterus, a wasp of the family Eumenidae, sent by Mrs. M. E, Walsh, F.E.S., from Soekaboemi, Java, and read notes. The President, a Coleopterous larva, — together with the box in and on which it had been living for some years; he said that it was the larva of a Longicorn beetle, but was unable to state the species, and observed that similar instances of longevity were on record. Dr. Turner read a note on Mr. Tillyard’s discovery of the jugo-frenate wing structure in certain Australian Micropterygidae. Wednesday, March 20th, 1918.—Dr. T. A, Cuapman, F.Z.S., in the Chair, 2nd Lieut. William Proctor Smith, F.Z.S., Wadden House, Ashton-on- Mersey, and Messrs. John Henry Watson, 70 Ashton Road, Withington, — Manchester, and Ronald Senior White, Suduganga Estate, Matale, of the Board of Agriculture, Ceylon, were elected Fellows of the Society. Dr. Paul Marchal, President of the Entomological Society of France, 89 Rue du Cherche- Midi, Paris, was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Society. Dr. A. J. Turner gave an abstract of his paper, entitled “ Observations on the Lepidopterous Family Cossidae, and on the Classification of the Lepi- doptera,” illustrated by drawings of neuration, shown in the epidiascope. | Wednesday, April 3rd, 1918.—The President in the Chair. Dr. Allan Chilcott Parsons, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., D.P.H., Sanitary Officer — West African Medical Staff, and Temp. Capt. R.A.M.C., School of Army Sanitation, Aldershot, was elected a Fellow of the Society. On behalf of Mr. Prideaux, the Secretary exhibited two black and two green living pupae of P. megaera, and read notes. Mr. Bacot gave an account of experiments as to the distribution of trench fever by lice. The Rey. F. Die Morice inquired whether androconial scales were known in insects other than Lepidoptera; he thought that he had discovered them among the Sawflies in the Australian genus Perga. The President said that he had found Kirby’s ~ authority for the “tapping ” of Anobiwm striatum with its mandibles, but sus- pected an error in the identification of the species; also that the Danish naturalist Jensen Haarup spoke of A. pertinax as tapping most vigorously before a storm and being regarded in Jutland as a weather prophet. As this was described as taking place specially in autumn and winter, the President considered it pro- bable that the tapping was really made by the book-louse. Comm. Walker oe . felt sure that he had heard A. striatum tapping where no X. tessellatum were , present.—Gro. WHEELER, Hon. 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Students. of= the * anatomy. and one -de éyelopmént of insects are much indebted-to him for providing in this con-' ook. a scnioatf form a trustworthy. guide to’ the external aud interval structure of 2 -~ dragonfties ay various eee of their life-histories.’ = Natire 2 ee Re a <-Prospectus.on application: - ayes, € ent de University Press, Fetter. Lane; London, E, C. 4, C FE: Cay Manages CAR ABIDAB. See Prick $1. . Se “ penpostionus oe = depidus Leske:” =~ > eylindricus: Hrbst.« ~ eupreus Linn. ea tela Creutz... -puncticollis. Dej. ABAX “crenata Dej. ater Vill: *-barbarus Dej,-. ovals Duft.. <> “earbonicolor Sols. - a —¢-— Sehuppelii Pall.” _- =. Tnacer. Marah: <<. 2¥, rendschmidtii Germ, = aterrimus Hrbet, eet ._ corsicus Dej. wes S ratu Dutt. : ke S “MyAs 5 ss “eblongopunctatus: Fabre, . “ olialybacx s Pall ~~ angustatus Daft. us at _ Melanoseelis Chand. S =a “AMARA : : << niger Schall. = =» > ingenua Date = pigritus Fabr- =. ZABRUS> =~ ininor-Gyll, ----_ ~ . Ghalceus Fald, > interstinetus Sturm. — heros Fald, ~~. =~ > neghigens Sturm. seidlitzii Schaum. Seer subsinuatus Dej., = gTaecus De}. : ~=5 brevis Duft, ~ ~_blapoides Creutz, = *' caspius Men. -- J » cognatus Daj. Cn : ANisODACTYLUS . “aethiops Panz. binotatus Dej. ee ~ globorus Hane, ii ge bier: Panz. ACCUR TE Beuinon PEN DRAWINGS, “UNIFORM e SIZE, SS ag Ae Sut § Pe i: ‘ “" -_ - ; " eae iy ~ M § =! — a ae PLS. 17 Pe ie oo eM saeuree es oPiar - J os tr x "= 4) a . . j rr: Pe tee : . i RO Se | os eS eae E % Sf An ae ae ry al Seiki othe COt oe ae “ Me ~~ ¥ ere th . oe Bo wd a} ‘New and little: known alii Da “(with fguizsy —K. G. Blair; BS A note on the Snot ie POSH of the; ad PLS. vee Boa Chortophila pilipyga Villeneuve i in Brit On two new species of Gampoden, =a The embryonic hae of Melos ane jinn I Lophocateres: pisilhis Klug, @-eoamopolitan’ oti, in, PA Corticaria eppelsbeimt Reith, 7 ae prey -Paragites of the iawthors scndaiee a Cl Odontomyin argentata Fat Oxford-—A. 2 Soottinrms—South London ‘Entomological So ocisty ses: pein Sooiety a Danan: | meee “NATUKAL. HISTORY. Pon: TRE XC - is aed Pe Ve ‘ 7 , ee ee = 5 r fe ea The Sournca ry “ane Cag Se: back to been dl and ices | Si ubscription for. ia is: o. eae = ie Sees {See p. 2 of Wrapper. AUGUST, 1918 Ay Ta as ee aes ae ee a oe STOOLS rey iy we . a a ASAT Le ST ee st SNS NY OT — : 3 een " : . 3 % a . ~ ; M — NS RY s 7 F | ws A, . , ; GR EO PARI OW ee REL PST, 8 Fe Rett Ate r teat & D Re Ne ores . B wasgy? a o 2 ef S., HA, ELS. = ore es a PORRIT?, BLS. 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The Chingford Local Branch’ meets at the 1 ety Chingtord Station, at 8 p.m, on the and mS in each: beni + od ey ae ant” ‘ 2 ie eth ae ae AA ty te oe 4 a ag < , Head narrower than thorax. e*. Basal median cell narrow; wings about half the length of the . tegmina, apex rounded .......... PROUTISTA. e’. Basal median cell broad; wings considerably less than half the length of tegmina, apex acute. jf’. Mesonotum with three distinct carinae. ba A CaMMA. J*. Mesonotum without carinae, or carinae very indistinct. fa yah DioSTROMBUS. ce’. Third median sector, sometimes apparently the second, furcate. gy’. Face in profile round, not greatly produced between the eyes. aS oul PAMENDANGA. g°. Face in profile conically produced ...... HELcIrTA. e. * Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Experiment Station, Entomological Bull. 12 (1913); Philippine Journ. Sci. D, xii, 2, pp. 49-104 (1917), 174 (August, b*, Antennae as long as face or longer, cylindrical or flattened, arista sub- apical; 4 to 6 cubital veins reaching the hind margin; female genital styles normal. kh‘, Vertex quadrate, broader than long; face wide; antennae large, FLGE, «pins tgs pin be ie 6 SIRI Ge sels 5) MINDANA, h*, Vertex not broader than wide ; face narrow or linear. k*, Hind margin of tegmen angularly produced between the apex of clavus and the cubital veins. ”, Hind margin of .tegmen serrate......LOSBANOSIA. ?. Hind margin of tegmen not serrate ..ZORAIDOIDES. k°, Hind margin of tegmen not angularly produced between the apex of clavus and cubital veins. Costal margin produced on the basal fourth. Se PEGGIA. m, Costal margin not produced on basal fourth. n', Face in profile produced conically between the eyes. sreieiabee PSEUDOHELCITA, g. n. n°’. Face in profile round, not produced conically. o'. Hind margin of pronotum straight, not emarginate. et NEODIOSTROMBUS, g. n. o°. Hind margin of pronotum angularly emarginate. ty ZORAIDA. a’, Eyes in front reaching to the base of the clypeus ; subcostal cell very short ’ or absent ; female genital styles abortive ....(SIKAIANINI). p'. Cubitus arising from the base of the tegmen, basal median cell present. q'. Basal median cell broad and short, not reaching half-way along tegmen. 71, Antennae much shorter than thorax and head together, cylindrical, slightly constricted about middle ..SIKAIANA. r’?, Antennae as long as head and thorax together, or nearly so. “hin cae ame, aac ke Mourria. g°. Basal median cell very narrow, reaching to about middle of tegmen. abet LEOMELICHARIA. p*. Cubitus arising from media some distance from base. ery DISTANTINIA, m, List of Species in the British Museum Collection. 1. Drosporis Westwood = Philadelphia Kirkaldy. D. (Cicada) * elongata Fabr.=P. pandani Kirk.; D. annetti, sp.n. 2. Proutista Kirkaldy = Afakia Kirkaldy = Arfaka Distant. P. (Derbe) fritillaris Boh.; P. (Phenice) australis Dist. ; P. (Arfaka) decisa Dist.; P. pseudodecisa, sp. n.; P. (Phe- nice) moesta Westw.= Thraeia albipes Walk.=Derbe maculata Westw. * The generic names within brackets indicate the genus the species was originally described under 1918.] 175 533 £6 10. ay. Camma Distant. C. (Phenice) abdominalis Dist.; OC. (Thracia) biclavata Westw.; C. (Phenice) lunulata Dist.; C. (LThracia) dilatata Westw. . Drostrompus Uhler = Drona Distant. D. (Derbe) carnosa Westw.; D. (Drona) pennata Dist. ; D. (Drona) grahami Dist.; D. (Derbe) lanius Stil; D. (Drona) gowdey? Dist. . Pamenpanea Distant = Paraproutista Muir. P. (Phenice) majuscula Dist.; P. (Phenice) nealei Dist. ; P. (Phenice) superba Dist.; P. (Derbe) punctativentris Kirby ; P. (Phenice) pullata Dist.; P. (Phenice) ferruginea Dist. ; P. rubilinea Dist.; P. (Thracia) fasciata Walk.; P. (Thracia) abscissa Walk.; P. pseudoabscissa, sp. n.; P. distanti, sp. n. ; P. graham, sp. n. . Hexcrra Stil = Jada Distant. HL. wahlbergi Stil; H. (Derbe) nitagalensis Kirby. . LosBpanosra Muir. L. (Zoraida) vuilleti Dist. ZORAIDOIDES Distant. Z. malabarensis Dist. . PSEUDOHELCITA, gen. n. P. (Zoraida) walkeri Dist. NEODIOSTROMBUS, gen. n. NV. (Thracia) basalis Walk. ZARAIDA Kirkaldy. a‘, Six cubital veins reaching the hind margin of the tegmina. eswaddiate Subgenus Neozoraida nov. Z. ugandensis Dist.; Z. motschoulskyi Dist.; Z. gilva Dist. ; Z. (Thracia) obsoleta Kirby; Z. fletcheri Dist. ; a’, Four cubital veins reaching hind margin of the tegmina, £. Antennae flat and thin .........+--.. Subgenus Peggiopsis Muir. Z.(Thracia) punctipennis Walk. ; Z. (Thracia) nivifera Walk. ; Z. (Thracia) rufifinis Walk.; Z. spectra Dist.; Z. singa- porensis, Sp. Ni. ; 6°. Antennae cylindrical or only slightly flattened, not thin. ae Subgenus Zorarda Kirk. ce’, Wings one-third to one-half the length of tegmina. Z. nyasensis Dist.; Z. distanti, sp. n.; Z. (Derbe) sinuata Boh.; Z. (Thracia) pterophoroides Westw.; Z. picturata Dist. ; 176 {August, Z. evansi Dist.; Z. (Thracia) costalis Walk.; Z. (Thracia) scutellaris Walk.; Z. (Thracia) sexnotata Walk.=Z. cydista Dist.; Z. borneensis Dist.; Z. erythractis Dist.; Z. cyanoptera Dist.; Z. eupoecila Dist.; Z. consanguinea Dist.; Z. (Thracia) Juscipennis Walk.; Z. rufivena Dist.; Z. ridleyi, sp. n.; Z. kirkaldyt, sp. u.; Z. (Lhracia) eumulata Walk.; Z. tnsulr- cola Wirk.; Z. pattersont Dist.; Z. (Thracia) varipennis Walk.; Z. aburiensis, sp.n.; Z. (Lhracia) essingtonia Westw. ; Z. (Thracia) albida Walk. ; c?. Wings one-seventh to one-tenth the length of the tegmina. Z. ceylonica Dist.; Z. lankana Dist.; Z.(Thracia) ephemeralis Walk.; Z: histrionica Dist.; Z. (Thracia) limnobialis Walk. ; Z. flavocostata Dist.; Z. picta Dist. 12. Srkaiana Distant = Jguvium Distant. S. (lyuvium) albomaculata Dist. Diospotis Westwood. I have examined the two female specimens of Cicada elongata Fabr., one of them without a head, in the Banks collection in the British Museum, upon which Westwood founded this genus, and they are synonymous with Philadelphia pandani Kirkaldy. On the right tegmen of one specimen and the left tegmen of the other there is an aberration of the neuration, forming a small cell at the base of the fourth median sector; this has been figured by Westwood in both tegmina. The head and eyes are not figured wide enough. D. annetti, sp. n. - Quite typical in structure, the face being slightly broader, especially the © apical portion ; wings one-third the length of the tegmina. Bright yellow over clypeus between the carinae, face, vertex, middle of pronotum, and mesonotum; a broad mark down abdominal dorsum, over the lateral portions of abdominal tergites, and hind margin of abdominal sternites ; lighter yellow over the antennae, lateral portions of pronotum, and legs; dark brown over rostrum, lateral portions of clypeus, genae, eyes, medio-lateral marks on pronotum, and lateral portions of mesonotum ; black on basal portion of abdominal sternites, preyenital plates, and two broad medio-lateral bands down dorsum with a few small yellow spots in them. Tegmina light fuscous, darker over radial cell; seven dark spots in costal and subcostai apical cells ; subcosta and radius light brown or yellowish; media and sectors, cubital and claval veins brown; wings slightly fuscous with brown veins. Anal segment very short, anal style long, narrow ; pregenital plate about as long as broad, in profile slightly concave, hind margin produced on lateral fourth, truncate in middle half ; genital styles abortive. é 1918.) 177 Length 4°5 mm.; tegmen 8 mm. Hab. Nicerta (Dr. Annett, 1903). One female, in the B.M. coll. This is the second species of the genus, the type being Australian. Provrista Kirkaldy. This genus is quite distinct from Phenice Westw.; the latter does not belong to the Zoraidinae. P. pseudodecisa, sp. n. Light stramineous, red on clypeus and middle of pronotum, fuscous on apex of rostrum and tarsi; abdominal dorsum light fuscous and slightly mottled with light marks. Tegmina and wings hyaline, veins brown. The medio-ventral process of the pyygofer forming a small, acute spine, the lateral edges angular beside the anal segment and produced into an acute point; genital styles with the ventral edge entire, convex on the apical half, apex produced into a long point curved inward, dorsal edge produced into a small curved spine on the basal half, roundly produced in the middle and strongly concave to the apex. Length 45 mm.: tegmen 7-8 mm. Hab. AvstTRALIA, Stapleton, N.T. (G. # Hill, x. 1913). Three males, including the type, in the B.M. coll. (To be continued.) ON SOME CYNIPID OAK-GALLS NEW TO THE BRITISH FAUNA. BY RICHARD S. BAGNALL, F.L.S., AND J. W. H. HARRISON, D.Sc, Our Cecidological researches have naturally led us to pay some attention to the gall-wasps of the British Oaks, but, believing that the Cynipidae had been so well worked in comparison with other gall- causers, such as the Cecidomyiidae or Eviophyidae, we must plead guilty to having somewhat neglected this branch in the past few years. It did not seem to us that many discoveries remained to be made in the gall-wasps, nor did we realize that one generation or another of those exhibiting that most peculiar phenomenon, an alternation of generations, remained to be discovered or proved. For instance, the placing together of Andricus rhyzomae and A. nodifex as the generations of one species in the following notes has yet to be proved: we have taken this step because of the analogies of A. rhyzomae with the other bark galls 1 18 {August, radicis and steboldi on the one side, and of A. nodifex with trilineatus and testaceipes (the known sexual forms of radicis and sieboldi) on the other. We now realize that much interesting work remains to be done as regards our Oak gall-wasps, and much may be achieved by those who have but little spare time, so long as they reside within easy reach of oak woods or shrubberies. In the following notes we bring forward 11 forms previously unknown, so far as we are aware, as British. One, however, is the _ sexual generation of a common British species previously only known from the agamous form. 1.—Cynips corruptrix Schlecht. Schlechtendal, Stett. ent. Zeit. xxxi, p. 339 (1870); Dalla Torre & Kieffer, Cynipidae in “ Das Tierreich,” xxiv, p. 422 (1910). A small and somewhat variable mammillated twi ig-gall, which is well illustrated by Houard and Dalla Torre & Kieffer. Hab. Dunnam, Team Valley (J. W. H. H.). Previously known from Germany, Hungary, Serbia, Italy, Mote Minor, and North Africa. 2.—Andricus canthopsis Schlecht. Sehlechtendal, Jahresber. Ver. Zwickau, 1882, p. 1 (1883); Dalla Torre & Kieffer, Cynipidae in “ Das Tierreich,” xxiv, p. 518 (1910). A glabrous yellow catkin-gall, somewhat like that of A. amentz, terminated by a conical point of a duller colour, a close examination showing two pads formed by the parts of the anther. Hab. Durwam, Bewick Main, June (J. W. H. H.); Norruum- BERLAND, Ovingham (&#. S. B.). Recorded by Houard from Austria and France. 3.—Andricus occultus 'Tschek, Tschek, Verh. zool.-bot. Ges, Wien, xxi, p. 797 (1871); Dalla Torre & Kieffer, Cynipidae in “ Das Tierreich,” xxiv, p. 517 (1910). This is of the sexual generation and the gall occurs on the flower. It is somewhat intermediate between the galls of 4. nudus and A. pilosus, being larger than nwdus, with the hairs (which are confined to the anterior half) long. 1918.] 179 Hab. Duruam, Gibside, May 1915 (#. S. B.), Winlaton Mill (#&. 8. B.) and Bewick Main, June 1918 (J. W. H. H.); Norruvum- BERLAND, Ovingham (2. S. B.). It is recorded by Houard from Central Europe and by Dalla Torre & Kieffer from Lower Austria and Portugal. 4.—Andricus trotteri Kieffer. Kieffer, Bull. Soc. Ent. France, 1898, p. 148; Dalla Torre & Kieffer, Cynipidae in “ Das Tierreich,” xxiv, p. 505 (1910). This is a Cynipid of the agamous generation, producing a gall of most distinctive position, type, and coloration. It reaches 2-3 mm. in length, is more or less ellipsoidal, and may be longer than broad or broader than long in its longitudinal axis, and, being furnished with a basal piece, it has the appearance of an egg lying on its side or end (as the case may be) upon a pedestal. It lies at right angles to the twig upon which it is situated, and the colour is dark reddish-brown with at least one white or yellowish-white transverse band. Hab. Duruam, Ravensworth Woods near Lamesley, June 1918 (#. S. B.). The discovery of this species in the north of England is most unexpected, being previously known from Verona in Italy only. 5.—Andricus sufflator Mayr. G. Mayr, Eur. Arten gallenbew. Cynip. p. 22 (1882); Kieffer in André, Spec. Hym. Eur. vii, p. 401 (1899); Dalla Torre & Kieffer, Cynipidae in “ Das Tierreich,” xxiv, p. 507 (1910). This gall belongs to a Cynipid of the sexual generation and takes the form of a pustule of about 3-0 mm. diam. in the leaf, differing from the gall of Newroterus vesicator in that the two faces of the gall are alike, the upper being without the pointed centre and the radial stria- tions. When the gall is opened a small internal gall is found, as in Andricus curvator. It is suggested by Dalla Torre & Kieffer that the Andricus gallae- urnaeformis of Fonscolombe may be the corresponding agamous form. Hab. Somerset, two old examples of the gall from the neighbour- hood of Bath, Nov. 1917 (R. S. B.). Abroad the species is known from Central Europe, France, Italy, and the Balkan Peninsula. i80 [August, 6.—Andricus rhyzomae (Hartig). Cynips rhyzomae (lapsus ?) 'T. Hartig in Germar’s Zeitschr. 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PTEROSTICHUSB "PTEROSTICHUS __ lepidus Leske eylindricus.Hrbet. ‘Ss cupreus Linn melas Crentz. _ infuscatus Dej = puncticollis Dej. cates ete —>~ @renatus Dej - ater Vill. «. pbarbarns De}. ovalis Duft. =. =. earbanicolor Sole. | ~ Sehuppelii Pall. _..-maeer Marsh. -y. rendschmidtii Germ. yes aterrimts Hrbet. corsicus Dej. > elongatas Duft.: ~. ae _- oblongopunetatus Fabr, 2 aan eon Pall -- angustatus Daft. .. «~ os > melandscelis® Chaud. ‘AMARA oe niger Schall; . ingenua D : ‘-wulgaris. Linn, . : ity ut -nigritus Fabr. - ZABRUS minor Gyll. chalceus Fald. interstinctus Sturm. heros Feld: negligens Sturm, seidlitzii Schaum. » gubsinuatus Dej. graecus Dej, . » brevis Duft. blapoides Creutz. 1 > Gaspius Men. . - Gognatus Dej. ANISODACTYLUS ..-- aethiops Panz. binotatus De}. Me dae a Fabr. signatus Panz. 4 “ENLARGED PEN DRAWINGS, UNIFORM - IN SIZE, COLEOPTERA. TELUSTRATA will te mailéd opon receipt of Price: ee Howar Nomeayy, 136 JoRALEMON STREET, BRooKLtyyn, NiY,, USA oe = . 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ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIBTY OF LONDON, 11, Chando est eet; Ce - Square, WW ednesday, October 2nd; 26th; November 6th: Se ee “3 The Chair will be-taken at:8: o'clockin the evening precisely. 25 = “The Library is open -daily from 9-a.m. to 6 pan. perme aturdays, w ar donee Le ee See cs a ae =? "gus SOUTH LONDON ENTO “AND NATURAL Bist SOCIETY, Hibernia: Chambers, London Bridge “The. Second Fourth “This in-each month; at 7 p.m. The Jantemn wall hewat the Snee e fer exhibition of slides. BRT S oF SA eee The ic ips bala be ye kon pkey at 8 oelodk, <2 e 2s Pate ieee See te ie ee oe a ee, peeerEs te ; I 2 = ba = | THE LONDON NATURAL. HISTORY. ee which aoe: on the Ist dnd-3rd“Tuesdaysin.each men Room 20, Salisbury ‘Honse, Circus, E.C.; will be-plad*to welcome at. ita feetings —any French: or Belgie ologists now staying in this €o , and to’give the benefit of its -seollections. Communiéations “5 eo: bes address: «to the. eS retary, . House, B.C. es ate ae a ee ee ae (fee Hon. Bec, + J, Ross; 18; Queen's Crago a i ove Réad, ‘Chingtora, N. B.. = Chingford Branch,* ~ The-Chingford™ “Loe: i: - = oposite sean g ‘OF? Station, at 8 P: Bs on poe. Monday i in, ach ‘month > ee = Sacre . Signs : SS z et ; a is Fo ete ER es s ae Se oo jet ehh — ore et Be 1918.) AFRICAN SPECIES.* ' Upper posterior tibial spur simple ............--.gsseeeees Upper posterior tibial spur subulate at tip. «1. see sees eee 18.—Scirtes subcostatus, n. sp. 2. Oblong-oval, broad, shining, thickly pubescent ; fusco-testaceous or brownish-piceous, the head and prothorax darker in one example, the antennae _ piceous, the three basal joints, the legs, and under surface testaceous ; densely, finely, the elytra a little more coarsely, punctate. Antennae long, slender, joint 3 distinctly longer than 2, 4-11 elongate. Prothorax very short, rapidly, arcuately narrowed from the base, bisinuate in front. Elytra long, sharply margined, feebly tricostate. Posterior coxal plates transverse, arcuato- emarginate behind, angulate at the outer angle. Posterior tibiae widened, feebly curved, sharply carinate, the upper spur strongly curved, stout, shorter than the first tarsal joint. Length 53-6, breadth 33 mm. Hab. Uaanpa, Entebbe (S. A. Neave: 11.ix.1911; C. C. Gowdey: x11.1912, and ii.1913). Described from two females; a third example taken by Mr. Gowdey, probably 3, is somewhat injured. A large, broad, oblong-oval, brownish insect, with the elytra feebly tricostate, not unlikea Microcara. SN. costu- latus Waterh., from Penang, and SN. costulipennis Fairm., from Tonkin, are somewhat similar forms, with more densely sculptured elytra. 19.—Scirtes zambesianus, n. sp. 2. Oblong-oval, broad, shining, pubescent ; rufo-castaneous, the elytra becoming a little paler towards the apex, the antennae, legs (the infuscate posterior knees excepted), and under surface testaceous or rufo-testaceous ; densely, finely, the elytra more coarsely, punctate. Antennae long, slender, joints 2 and 3 short, subequal in length, 4-11 elongate. Prothorax rapidly narrowed from the base, the anterior angles prominent. Elytra long, with an indication of four almost obsolete costae on the disc, narrowly margined. Posterior coxal plates arcuato-emarginate behind, angulate at the outer angle. Posterior tibiae widened, sharply carinate, the upper tibial spur long, shorter than the first tarsal joint. Length 53, breadth 3-33 mm. Hab. Zampest (Mus. Brit.). Two examples, in somewhat decayed condition, received by the Museum in 1877. Very like S. swbcostatus from Uganda, rufo- castaneous above; the antennae rufescent; the elytra less rounded at the sides, and the costae only just traceable. * Of the seventeen recorded African forms, one only, S. giganteus Champ., is known to me. The eight here enumerated are treated as new. One other before me, from N yasa, is too imperfect for description. R 194 (September, 20.—Sceirtes validus, n. sp. Oblong-oval, robust, somewhat depressed, shining, rufo-testaceous, the eyes black; clothed with rather long, coarse, flavous pubescence ; closely, finely, the elytra more coarsely, punctate. Head broad, the eyes large; antennae long, slender, joints 2 and 8 short, subequal in length, 4-11 gradually decreasing in length. Prothorax convex, rapidly narrowing from the base, deeply hollowed in front opposite the eyes, the anterior angles prominent. Elytra oblong, arcuately narrowed posteriorly, flattened on the disc, with an indication of a sutural groove, the disc without costae. Posterior coxal plates rectangular. Legs long; posterior femora very broad, the tibiae stout, sharply costate, the upper tibial spur thickened, considerably shorter than the first tarsal joint. Length 53, breadth 3 mm. (¢?) Hab. WuitE Nie, Roseires (Dr. G. B. Longstaff, in Mus. Oxon.: 18.11.1909). One specimen, in excellent condition. A large, robust, elongate, rufo-testaceous form, narrower than 8. swbcostatus from Uganda, and larger and more robust than S. africanus from Natal, the elytra not costate as in the former, the antennae longer and more slender than in the latter. 21.—Scirtes africanus, n. sp. Oblong-oval, robust, shining, coarsely flavo-pubescent ; brown, the head and prothorax slightly infuscate, the antennae piceous, the joints 1-3 and 11 at the tip, and the legs and under surface, testaceous; densely, finely punctate. Antennae moderately long, not very slender, joints 2 and 3 short, equal in length. Prothorax short, rapidly narrowed from the base, deeply hollowed in front opposite the eyes. Elytra long, sharply margined anteriorly (the dilated margin conspicuous from above to about the middle), and with a faintly im- pressed sutural line down the basal third. Posterior coxal plates transverse, arcuato-emarginate behind, angulate at the outer angle. Posterior legs long, stout, the tibiae widened, sharply carinate, the curved upper spur moderately elongate, shorter than the first tarsal joint. Length 41, breadth 2mm. (d?) x Hab. Nata, Malvern (G. A. K. Marshall: vi.1907). One specimen, in perfect condition. Extremely like S. japonicus Kies., but larger and more elongate, the elytral margins more expanded anteriorly, the upper posterior tibial spur much shorter. The elytral sculpture and coxal plates are similar in the two insects. From S. elongatus Waterh., from Hong Kong, etc., the present species may be separated by the shorter tibial spurs and broader elytral margins. S. sericeus Waterh., from Siam, etc., is another very similar insect. 1918.) 195 22.—Scirtes vittifrons, n. sp. 2. Elliptic, robust, somewhat convex, very shining, sparsely, finely pubes- cent ; head with a broad sharply-detined space on each side (including the eyes) black, the central portion, prothorax, and scutellum flayo-testaceous, the antennae (except the extreme base, w ich is black), legs, and under surface testaceous or rufo-testaceous, the elytra reddish brown; the head, prothorax, and scutellum rather sparsely, minutely, the elytra closely and somewhat coarsely, punctate. Head without foveae; antennae long, slender, joints 2 and 3 short, equal, the others elongate, 4 longer than 2 and 3 united. Prothorax convex, arcuately narrowed from the base, deeply hollowed in front opposite the eyes, the anterior angles prominent. LElytra without trace of grooves or costae, sharply margined. Posterior coxal plates transverse, angulate, hollowed behind. Legs stout; posterior femora very broad, the tibiae widened, moderately long, almost straight, sharply carinate, the upper spur nearly as long as the first tarsal joint. Length 44, breadth 3 mm. Hab. Guinea, Sierra Leone (ex coll. Fry). One specimen. A robust, rather convex, shining insect, with a flavo-vittate head, yellowish prothorax and scutellum, reddish-brown, rather coarsely punctured elytra, and testaceous limbs. It has the facies of a Halticid. The only described Sczrtes from Sierra Leone is S. subapicalis Pic (1913), which must be a very different insect. 23.—Scirtes nigeriensis, n. sp. Elliptic, rather broad, robust, moderately convex, shining, sparsely, finely pubescent ; head, prothorax, and scutellum rufous, the eyes and elytra black, the reflexed apical margin of the latter and the antennae, legs, and under surface, testaceous; closely minutely, the elytra sparsely and a little more distinctly, punctate. Head broad, unimpressed, the eyes rather large ; antennae moderately long, joint 3 small, not longer than 2, 4 and 5 elongate (the outer joints wanting). Prothorax short, rapidly narrowed from the base, feebly holiowed in front opposite the eyes, the anterior angles somewhat obtuse. Elytra sharply’ margined laterally, with an indication of a faint sutural groove down the apical half, unimpressed on the disc. Posterior coxal plates angular, rather small. Posterior legs stout, the femora greatly developed, the tibiae sharply carinate, the upper spur nearly as long as the first tarsal joint. Length 34, breadth 24mm. ( nas Se Les . c = = <"s — . Ly: ey = SEER SEs , px — ahead ore / f as Serdes : ee “1 =: ee pee ers 2 oe ° a =" wy ~¢ ‘ES og =a : ys ~ at 2 yr i enh PSIS OF. THE: BRITISH sIPHONAPTERA, by: the ~Hon.-N. Crarues ‘Rorascump,. M.A., P.L,S.; “illustrated by et Plates da the Ent’ Mar Mee. Lo ae 1915, pp. ‘9-12, aay o ~/ Apply to THE BIOLO | ios #3 © (ODONATA 0 or PARANEUROPTERA) ~ 2a ae Bee TILLY ARD, M.A. BSe, PGS; EE. $= a es Dae With 4 nists and 188 textures igo + Campkmee ZooLocidan SeRmes, ~~~ Bs a the group: received such’ detailed and- svollsbalehoed= ae ¢ Tillyard has given... Students of the anatomy-and p>” lopment. tot insects are much indebted to him for providing in this con- _| a team a trustworthy guide to’ the external. ‘and internal” etnactneg cf ali Bh various stages of their life-histories,’ ‘Nature ye a ioe Prospectus de ahr oe ie “ atraniar, oe Price ot. __PTEROSTICHUS © _» eylindrieus Hrbst. 3 “melas Creutz. ABAZX = ater Vill. - =. sevalis Duft. - ==" ~ gchuppelii Pall. 2 ove rendschmidtii Germ. ey _corsicus ex Fig ao ae yi es * dhalybacus Pall _*- melanoscalis Chand. “AMARA. | = niger Schall. ee aingenta Dutt. Senta toe ne itus. Fabr,- = ~ ZABRUS. Ss; chaloeus Fald, hs eae <--heros Faldso* <= = - seidlitzii Schaum.” Se eee SOF graecus. r es a blapoides Creutz, siete ANISODACTYLUS : = aethiops Panz,= ~-Diniotatus Dej~ SU ares Fabr..—= zn Panz.- - 7 > ~ =. = +e Se = RE D. PEN. DRAWINGS, UNIFORM EN size) i: 33 aoe one 70. A PAGE 80. ee =e ety anh ae BRA» TLUSTRATA eit bs teAslay apon receipt of aie % = naa ey, 3 136 JonanE won. ‘STREET; Brooxnyny, RYy USA. ‘ irae Yeo ete + re, TWoe 1 and 2, #1 gach. Pope eere A ike Sa eS Lo > ‘+ op “Sat 5p z Soe > 2S Mi ad aN F.Z8, “Plusia moneta i in, Seon pe S oto eve | ‘The Buropean epooies, of eo 2 ew and litte. aeghe 5 Reopen fuipressus, Tae “0 BAS Newbery. xia ae A-note on the habits of a ‘Mel sr —_H. G, Champion; he valle Notes on some Aphides: ool) Howilind Tr] gn is | a . ad 1918.] yA ws Antennae elongate, a little thickened towards the apex, the first four joints and the last testaceous yellow, the rest black. Legs reddish-testaceous. Length 6-65 mm. Head rather large, transverse, deeply inserted in the thorax, eyes large ; colour yellowish, black on the temples, and occasionally ‘the disc with one or two pitchy spots ; puncturation very fine and moderately close ; pubes- cence five and yellow. Antennae with the lst and 3rd joints of equal length the 2nd shorter than these, the 4th longer than the 38rd, the Sth, 6th, and 7th eradually becoming shorter, the 8th, 9th,and 10th much narrower at the base, about as long as broad, the 11th oval, about as long as, but narrower than, the 10th. ‘Thorax convex, transverse, widest at the base, the sides evenly rounded and narrowed to the produced acute anterior angles; the anterior border emarginate; the posterior angles briefly rounded, the base feebly bisinuate ; the colour as previously indicated; puucturation very fine and rather close ; pubsscence yellowish. Scutellum small, reddish, with three or four punctures. Elytra transverse, scarcely as long or as broad as the thorax, obliquely truncate at the apex ; the suture broadly, aud the central part of the base more narrowly, reddish-testaceous, the rest of the surface, including the humeral angles, black, so that a reddish T-shaped pattern is formed; puncturation fine and rather asperate, closer than that of the thorax ; the pubescence similar to that of the fore-parts ; the sides furnished with eight rather long black setae. Abdomen pointed, and of the colour previously indicated, finely and moderately closely punctured, rather more sparingly on the last two segments; the pubescence ~ moderately close, fiue, and yellow; the sides and apex furnished with long black setae. Under surface entirely reddish-testaceous, with the exception of the last four sezments which are black. d. Eighth dorsal segment truncate; 6th ventral segment with a deep, broad, triangular excision, the apex of which is rounded. Q. KEighth dorsal segment divided by three very narrow excisions into four blunt digitiform processes, of which the centrai pair are a little longer than thie lateral. Hab. Borxzo, Quop, W. Sarawak (G. EB. Bryant). Conosoma laterale, n. sp. Rather robust, convex, black; elytra transverse, the sides setose ; the base of the thorax narrowly, the base (except externally), the suture and apical margins natrowly of the elytra, and the posterior margins of the abdominal Segments narrowly, dull red; antennae short, reddish-testaceous, the legs similarly coloured ; abdomen clothed with golden pubescence. Length 3 mm. (in retracted example). Rather more convex than C. breve Fauy., with shorter and broader thorax, much shorter antennae, and different coloration. Head exceedingly finely and rather sparingly punctured. Antennae short, the 2nd, drd, and 4th joints of about equal length, the 5th a little shorter, the 6th and 7th a little longer than broad, the 8th, 9th, and 10th slightly transverse, the 11th oval, pointed. Thorax exceedingly finely and not very closely punctured ; pubescence fine, golden. Elytra of the length of the thorax, transverse, the base (except the external angles), and the suture and apical margins narrowly, dull red; puncturation coarser and closer than that of the thorax ; pubescence = 218 [October, golden-yellow; the lateral margins with five lone setae. Abdomen rather closely and finely punctured, except posteriorly, the 7th segment being im- punctate, rather closely covered with golden-yellow pubescence ; the sides and apex furnished with long black setae, the dorsum also with a few erect black setae. Hab. Borneo, Quop, W. Sarawak (G. E. Bryant). Olophrinus octolineatus, n. sp. Black, shining, convex, robust; each elytron with eight rows of large regular punctures; first four joints of the antennae, mouth-parts, and legs reddish-testaceous. Length 62 mm. MHead black, the front reddish- testaceous ; eyes large and prominent; puncturation wanting, ground- sculpture exceedingly fine and strigose. Antennae long, slender, the Ist, 3rd, and 4th joints of about equal length, the 2nd shorter, the 5th to the 10th, elongate, very gradually diminishing in length, the 11th elongate, as long as the 10th. Thorax twice as broad as long, widest at the base, the sides strongly convergent and gently arcuate to the rounded anterior angles ; anterior border emarginate, posterior border feebly bisinuate, the posterior angles obtusely rounded ; impunctate and glabrous, with the ground-sculpture similar to that of the head. Scutellum semicircular, impunctate. Elytra broader than and half as long again as the thorax, transverse, narrowed posteriorly, each marked with eight rows of regular punctures (which do not quite reach the apex), five between the suture and the humeral callus, and three between this and the margin, one row being actually in the marginal groove itself; the three inner rows consist of finer punctures than those forming the outer ones; apart from these there are three or four small punctures at the postero-external angles, otherwise the surface is impunctate and with similar ground-sculpture to that of the head and thorax. Abdomen narrowed behind, puncturation fine, super- ficial, and sparing, pubescence scanty. 3. Eighth dorsal segment divided by five excisions into six pointed, triangular processes, of which the central pair extend furthest back, and the outermost are the least produced; the central excision is narrower and more pointed, not extending so far forwards as the lateral ones. Sixth ventral seg- ment with a broad, deep, triangular excision in the posterior margin, lateral margin with a short dentiform process on each side. Fifth ventral segment with a rather broad emargination (which is finely crenulate) of the posterior margin, in front of which is a shining quadrilateral impression extending nearly to the anterior border, studded with shining granules. Fourth ventral segment with a narrower, less deep emargination, the edge of which is finely crenuiate. Hab. Borneo, Quop, W. Sarawak (G. E. Bryant). Male only known. Leucocraspedum nigromaculatum, n. sp. teddish testaceous, the elytra blackish, the base broadly, the suture, apex, und sides narrowly, reddish-testaceous; the second dorsal segment with an 1918.) 219 indeterminate black spot in the middle of the dise ; antennae and legs reddish- testaceous, the last joint of the former infuscate. Length scarcely 2mm. Of about the size and build of LZ. pulchellum Kr., from Ceylon. Antennae with all the joints to the 7th longer than broad, the 8th to 10th transverse, the 11th as long as the two preceding together. Thorax very finely and rather closely punctured, pubescence yellow. Elytra transverse, finely and closely punctured, pubescence yellow. Abdomen pointed, finely and closely punctured and pubescent throughout, more sparingly on the last two segments. Hab. Cryton, Kandy (G. E£. Bryant). NEW AND LITTLE-KNOWN SALTATORIAL DASCILLIDAE. BY G. C. CHAMPION, F.2Z.S8. (Continued from p. 198.) 28.—Scirtes bipustulatus, n. sp. 2. Hemispherical, convex, shining, rather coarsely pubescent ; black, the elytra each with a large, rounded rufous spot near the suture at the base, the antennae, palpi, lees, and under surface rufo-testaceous ; closely, finely, the elytra more coarsely, punctate. Head broad, short, the eyes convex ; maxil- lary palpi stout; antennae moderately long, slender, joint 3 slightly longer than 2, 4-11] filiform, very gradually decreasing in length. Prothorax rapidly narrowed from the base, deeply hollowed in front opposite the eyes, the anterior angles obtuse, the margins slightly explanate. Elytra with a shallow groove along the suture, sharply margined. Posterior coxal plates transverse, hollowed behind. Posterior femora extremely broad, the tibiae curved, broad, sharply carinate, the upper spur stout, and about as long as the first tarsal joint. Length 42, breadth 3} mm. Hab. Borneo, Sarawak (A. R. Wallace, in Mus. Oxon.). One example. This remarkable insect has exactly the facies of a Coccinellid, a resemblance accentuated by the sharply-defined red spot on each elytron. Hxochomoscirtes Pic (1916),* based upon three allied forms from Java, is said to have the sides of the prothorax very prominent in front, a definition not applicable to the Bornean Scirtes. Compared with 2. binotatus, which is similarly coloured (except that the sides of the prothorax are rufescent in the latter), S. bépustulatus would appear to be a more convex insect. | 29.—Scirtes flavocinctus, n. sp. Oval, rather convex, robust, shining, finely pubescent ; testaceous or rufo- testaceous, the palpi (except at the tip), the antennal joints 4-11 (the tip of 11 excepted), and the elytra black, the elytra with a narrow space along the basal margin, extending for some distance down the suture and still further along * “ Description al régée,” in Mélanges exot.-entom. xx, p. 7 (July 1916). 220 [ October, the outer edge, a median fascia (not reaching the suture), and a large oval spot adjacent to the suture near the tip, flavous, the tarsal joints 2 and 3 mure or less infuscate; densely, finely punctate. Head broad; antennae rather stout, moderately long, shorter in 2, joint 3 short, not longer than 2, 4-10 gradually decreasing in length. Prothorax hollowed in front opposite the eyes, arcuately narrowed from the base. Elytra with an indication of an impressed line along the suture. Ventral segment 5 arcuato-emarginate at apex in g. Posterior coxal plates subquadrate. Legs stout; posterior femora very broad, the tibiae widened, sharply carinate, the spurs strongly curved, the upper one one-half longer than the lower one, the first tarsal joint longer than the others united. Length 33-43, breadth 22-3 mm. (do Q.) One pair. Distinguishable by the sharply maculate elytra, convex, oval form, etc. S. flavocinctus might easily be mistaken for a Halticid. 30.—NSeirtes flavoguttatus, n. sp. ¢. Rather broad, elliptic, feebly convex, shining, closely fusce-pubescent ; nigro-piceous, the knees, tarsi, and posterior tibiae paler, the antennue testa- ceous, with joints 8-10 and the basal half of 11 infuscate ; the elytra with an irregular, narrow, transverse fascia below the base (not reaching the suture or outer margin, and formed by three transverse confluent patches on each elytron), four small, arcuately arranged spots on each beyond the middle, and a larger rounded spot before the tip, pale yellow; densely, finely, punctate. Head broad, the eyes large; antennae long, not very slender, joint 3 not longer than 2, 4-6 elongate, 7-11 shorter than those preceding. Prothorax broad, slightly hollowed in front opposite the eyes, the sides arcuately converging from the base. LElytra with very faintly impressed grooves on the disc, a sutural stria visible in certain lights. Posterior coxal plates subquadrate. Legs long, rather stout; posterior tibiae feebly curved, sharply carinate, the upper spur nearly twice as long as the lower one; joint 1 of posterior tarsi longer than the others united. Length 4, breadth 23 mm. Hab. Borneo, Mt. Matang, W. Sarawak, alt. 1000 -ft. (G. Z£. Bryant: 291.1914). One male, in perfect condition, the sex indicated by the,slender protruding aedeagus. The peculiarly arranged stramineous markings on the elytra—a narrow fascia, followed by a transverse arcuate series of small spots, and a larger spot at the tip,—and the long legs and antennae, the latter with the intermediate joints unusually elongated, characterize the present species, one of several interesting new forms captured in Borneo by Mr. Bryant. 31.—Scirtes decemguttatus, n. sp. Elliptic, rather broad, somewhat convex, shining, finely cinereo-pubescent ; black, the legs in great part, and under surface, piceous, the antennal joints 1-3, 1918.] PPA knees (the posterior pair excepted), and tips of the tarsi, more or less testaceous $ the elytra with ten sharply-defined, rather large yellow spots—five oblong, transversely arranged, a little below the base (two on the outer part of the disc, the external one triangular, and one, common to the two elytra, post- scutellar), two en the disc of each elytron beyond the middle, angular, and obliquely placed, and one, elongate, along the suture at the apex; closely, finely punctate. Head broad, the eyes moderately large; antennae slender, not very elongate, joint 3 small, scarcely as long as 2. Prothorax broad, short, arcuately narrowing from the base, hollowed in front opposite the eyes, the hind angles obtuse. Elytra without impressed lines on the disc. Posterior coxal plates small, subrectangular. Posterior legs moderately elongate, the tibiae widened, sharply carinate, the spurs stout, the upper one nearly as long as the first tarsal joint. Length 31, breadth 22 mm. Hab. S. Inpta, Kodaikanal (Campbell). One specimen in perfect condition, its sex not ascertained, recently presented to the Museum by Mr. E. A. Butler. Shorter and a little more convex than the Bornean S. flavoguttatus ; the legs less elongate ; the antennae slender, much shorter, with joints 4-11 black and 3 quite small; the flavous spots on the elytra larger, less numerous, and differently arranged. The Brazilian S. favomaculatus is not unlike S. decemquttatus. 32.—Scirtes maculatus. Scirtes maculatus Waterh. Cist. Ent. ii, p. 568 (1880). Seirtes maculatus Bourg. Bull. Soc. Ent. Fr. 1896, p. 120. Scirtes bourgeoisi Pic, L’Echange, 1913, pp. 164, 165, and in Junk’s Col. Cat. 58, p. 41. ; Hab. Inxvta [type of Waterhouse], Kanara, Bombay (Bell). Bourgeois was not aware that the species described by him had been named long before by Waterhouse, the Kanara insect, lent me by Mr. Andrewes, simply differing from the latter im its smaller size, the elytral markings being exactly similar. The new name given by Pic is therefore not required. 35. Scirtes tetrastigma, n. sp. Subhemispherical, convex, shining, thickly pubescent; testaceous, the prothorax (except along the sides and apical margin}, two large transverse patches on each elytron (one just before, the other beyond, the middle), the antennal joints 4-11, and the posterior femora in part, black or piceous, the head slightly infuscate; closely, minutely, the elytra more distinctly, punctate, the punctures on the latter well separated one from another. Head broad, the eyes small; antennae moderately long, slender, joints 2 and 8 short, equal in length, 4-11 subfiliform. Prothorax very short, rapidly narrowed 222 [October, from the base, slightly hollowed in front opposite the eyes, the anterior angles obtuse. Elytra convex, rounded and sharply margined at the sides, without trace of impressed lines. Posterior coxal plates rectangular. Posterior femora enormously developed, the tibiae broad, curved, sharply carinate, the upper spur stout, strongly curved, and about as long as the first tarsal joint. Length 3, breadth 24 mm. Hab. Assam, Patkai Mts. (Doherty, ex coll. Fry). One specimen, sex not ascertained. ‘The subhemispherical, convex shape, testaceous elytra, each with two large black transverse patches, and the unusually stout, hooked, upper posterior tibial spur, render S. tetrastigma easy of recognition. The system of coloration is common to various Halticids and Coccinellids. 34.—Scirtes ephippiatus, n. sp. ¢. Broad, subhemispherical, rather convex, shining, closely cinereo- pubescent ; black, the elytra with a common, transverse, sharply defined, saddle-shaped patch on the disc before the middle, and the antennae and legs in great part, testaceous or rufo-testaceous, the outer joints of the antennae and the posterior femora at the base infuscate; densely, finely punctate, the punctures on the elytra a little coarser than those on the head and prothorax. Head broad; antennae moderately long, slender, joint 3 very small, much shorter than 2, 4-11 long, subequal, filiform. Prothorax very short, hollowed in front opposite the eyes, the anterior angles prominent. Elytra rounded at the sides, without trace of impressed lines or costae on the disc, the margins sharply carinate, narrowly explanate, the intra-humeral callosities prominent. Posterior coxal plates subquadrate. Posterior legs stout, moderately long; femora very broad ; tibiae sharply carinate, the upper spur twice the length of the lower one, as long as joint 1 of tarsus, the latter slightly longer than joints 2-5 united. Length 3, breadth 23 mm. Hab. Borxzo, Quop, W. Sarawak (G. E. Bryant: 27.41.1914). One male. Easily recognizable by its subhemispherical shape, the common, sharply defined, saddle-shaped testaceous patch on the elytra (the rest of the body being black), and the stout posterior legs. From S. bipustulatus, also from Sarawak, the present species differs in its smaller size, less convex form, distinctly stouter antennae, with shorter third joint, and less rounded, dissimilarly marked elytra. 35.—Scirtes flavonotatus, n. sp. Oblong-oval, shining, closely, finely pubescent ; nigro-piceous, joints 1 and 2 of the antennae, the basal margin of the prethorax, knees, tibial spurs, and apices of the tarsi testaceous; the elytra with ten sharply-defined yellow spots—four, transverse, subangular, forming a common, interrupted fascia 1918.] 993 below the base, four, similar, beyond the middle, and two, triangular, near the apex; densely, finely, uniformly punctate. Head rather small, unimpressed, the eyes not very large; antennae pilose, moderately long, rather stout, joints 2 and 8 short, equal in length, thuse following subequal in width. Prothorax convex, short, arcuately narrowing from the base, feebly bisinuate in front, the anterior angles obtuse. Elytra with an indication of a sutural groove, narrowly margined. Posterior coxal plates small, rectangular. Posterior legs moderately long, the tibiae feebly curved, the upper spur shorter than the first tarsal joint. Length 32, breadth 2mm. (dd?) Hab. N.W. Borneo, Kuching (2. Shelford, in Mus. Oxon.). One specimen, slightly injured by pinning, labelled as having been captured by a Dyak on August 11th, 1899. A very distinct form, recognizable by its rather elongate shape, nigro-piceous colour, and the ten sharply-defined yellow spots on the elytra. The following species from Perak and Penang is nearly related to it. 36.—NScirtes decemnotatus, n. sp. 6. Oblong-oval, shining, closely, finely pubescent ; nigro-piceous or piceous, the head obscurely rufescent, the prothorax with the outer margin and a rather broad space on each side at the base (leaving a broad, cruciform, dark patch on the disc), and the elytra with the juxta-scutellar margin and ten sharply-defined, transverse, angular spots—four forming a common, interrupted fascia below, four, similarly arranged, beyond the middle, and two (transverse or triangular) on the disc near the apex,—yellow, the anteunal joints 1-3, and the legs and abdomen in part, testaceous; densely, finely punctate. Head broad, unimpressed, the eyes moderately large; antennae pilose, long, stout, tapering at the tip, joints 2 and 3 short, equal. Prothorax convex, short, arcuately narrowing from the base, feebly bisinuate in front, the anterior angles obtuse. Elytra with an indication of a sutural groove, nayrowly margined. Posterior coxal plates feebly developed, angular. ‘Posterior tibiae widened, arcuate, the upper spur curved, rather slender, much shorter than the first tarsal joint, Length 23-23, breadth 13 mm. Hab. Perak (Doherty, ex coll. Fry: type); Prenane (G. 2. Bryant: 11.xi.1913). Two specimens, assumed to be males, simply differing zter se in the shape and development of the yellow spots on the elytra, the two near the apex transverse and angulate in the Perak example. The anterior margin of the prothorax is much less sinuate than usual in Scortes, and the {posterior coxal plates are feebly developed. Smaller and less elongate than the Bornean S. f/avonotatus, the antennae very 924 [October, different and with jomts 1-3 testaceous, the prothorax broadly flavous on each side at the base, the elytral markings larger. The Perak speci- men had been placed by Fry amongst his Halticids. 8. dichrous (No. 47) is similarly shaped, but wants the spots on the elytra, ete. 37.—Scirtes andamanus, n. sp. 2. Broad oval, robust, moderately shining; obscure testaceous, varie- gated with black, the dark mottling on the elytra partly or entirely enclosing various well-defined testaceous markings—a transverse patch at the sides below the base extending forward along the outer margin to the humeri, an oval spot on the disc just before the middle, an arcuate fascia near the tip, a small apical patch extending forward for some distance along the suture, and numerous small spots ; the antennae (joints 1-3 excepted) and maxillary palpi black, the legs testaceous, the posterior femora infuscate at the apex; the upper surface thickly pubescent (the pubescence partaking of the ground- colour, and thus accentuating the elytral markings), and densely, minutely punctate. Antennae with joint 3 slightly longer than 2, 4-11 elongate, very slender, filiform. Prothorax arcuately narrowed from the base, deeply hollowed in front opposite the eyes. Elytra narrowly margined, with three distinct costae on the disc, the suture also slightly raised. Posterior coxal plates.rectangular. Posterior femora enormously thickened, the tibiae feebly curved, broad, and sharply carinate, the upper tibial spur nearly as long as the first tarsal joint. Length 4, breadth 23 mm. Hab. ANDAMAN Is. (G. Rogers). One specimen, received by the Museum in 1906. Smaller and less robust than S. 4-maculatus Waterh., from Burma, the Andamans, and Nicobars ; the elytral markings very different, the costae more distinct; the antennae still more slender, the third joint longer than usual in the genus Scirtes. The palps projecting from the ovipositor are unusually elongate. 39.44 Sciries elegans. Scirtes elegans Waterh. Cist. Ent. ii. p. 567 (1880).! ? Scirtes albomaculatus Bourg. Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 1890, p. 163.7 Hab. Penane! [type]. Described by Waterhouse from three specimens from Penang, varying uthe development of the elytral markings, and in the colour ot the prothorax. An example captured by Mr. G. E. Bryant, at Lundu, Sarawak, Borneo, on January 8th, 1914, is doubtless another form of the species; it has the prothorax testaceous and the elytra 1918.] OD y nigro-piceous, the latter with a broad oblique fascia before the middle (not reaching the suture), and a large spot on the disc towards the apex, flavous. SS. albomaculatus Bourg., from Cambodia®, may be another variety of the same species ? (To be continued.) 2 FS (2 On Gynarchy in Coleoptera.—I was very much interested in Dr. Sharp’s note on this subject (antea p. 154), more especially as I have been working at the physiology of sex, in connection with ants, for some time fast. In the ease of the latter insects, where under certain circumstances we have now shown that workers will lay parthenogenetic eggs which produce workers, one might well repeat Dr. Sharp’s question, “ Why, then, do males exist?” The following Coleoptera may be added to Dr. Sharp’s list :— Malthodus atomus Th.—I only know of three males of this beetle: one taken by Dr. Power at Wicken Fen, one by the late E. A. Waterhouse at Wokingham, and one by Commander Walker at Wytham Park, Berks. I have swept the species freely at Dulwich Wood, Wimbledon Common, Richmond Park, Wicken Fen, the Isle of Wight, etc., but have never taken a male. Ylus elongatus L.—The male of this insect is considered to be more rare than the female. I have taken the species at Oakham (Rutland), Owston Wood (Leicestershire), Bradfield, Streatley, Oxford district, Epping Forest, and frequently in the New Forest; but I only once found the male, when it occurred in some numbers with females on a dead tree in the New Forest. Other species in which I have found the male much less common than the female are: Anthocomus terminatus Mén., Crypiocephalus sexpunctatus L., Cteniopus sulphureus L., and Xyleborus dispar F.; these latter insects, how- ever, may represent only my individual experience.—HoracE DONISTHORPE, 19 Hazlewell Road, Putney Hill, S.W. 15. [| Malthinus -balteatus Suffr. is another insect of which the ¢ is extremely rare.—G. C. C.] Hammaticherus lacordairet Gahan at Swansea.—Several examples of this fine Longicorn were picked up alive in Swansea docks earlier in the War. It was ascertained that they came from a cargo of South American logwood on board a German prize which was brought into the docks. I am much indebted to Dr. Gahan for identifying the species—J. R. te B. Tomitn, Lakefoot, Hamilton Road, Reading: Sept. 18th, 1918. Early appearance of Macroglossa stellatarum.—On March 21st I saw in the public park here in the morning, about eleven o’clock (new time), a speci- men of Macroglossa stellatarum—quite perfect. I-had a good opportunity of observation, as it attracted my attention by its usual flight, and then settled on a piece of earth on the border, and rested there for some minutes, and then ‘ook tlight to another quarter. I have never experienced this before, and a 926 ([October, query came to my mind: had this moth hibernated?* I turned up what information I poxsess on Entomology, without result. I may add that I took a M. stellatarum in a wood near here on July 15th, 1917, when looking for Limenitis sibylla.—T. RatpuH Hypr, Worthing. {From the ‘‘ Selborne Magazine,” Vol. xxix, No. 340, p. 38.—Ebs. } Nomada furva K. and tts hosts— About the middle of August I noticed a colony of Halictus minutus Kirb. in a hedge-bank at South Brent. Many males of the bee were flying in and out of the burrows, but no females were to be seen. On digging out a few burrows I unearthed a fully developed female of the small Nomada furva K. When the weather became wet and colder in September, I dug out many burrows and found numerous female Halictus, but males were now scarce. The Nomada was not infrequent, all the examples being fully mature, and no larvae or pupae were found. I had supposed from my first observation that the only Halictus present in this colony was minutus, but on examining those which I took away, I found that H. nitz- diusculus K. was also present, perhaps in the proportion of one to ten of the minutus. It therefore remains still uncertain whether the Nomada is asso- ciated with the latter or only with nztidiusculus, which is certainly its common host. I have taken it from pure colonies of this Halictus at Oxford, in Mon- mouthshire, and in many Devon localities, as well as in Somerset and elsewhere. Smith gives H. minutus and morvo as the hosts, but he was not able to distinguish between mnutus and nitidiusculus, and in his collection most of the supposed specimens of the former are really the latter. Where I have found WN. furva at colonies of morio, careful examination has always shown that nitidiusculus was mixed with these and was the real host of the Nomada. However, I now feel almost certain that it will be found to live with mznutus, as well as with the commoner and closely allied species. In the Journal of the Torquay Natural History Society for 1918 I have given a list of all our species of Nomada and their hosts. This differs considerably from that of F. Smith, and I believe that Saunders, too, is not always correct in assigning hosts to these parasites. I might add that I have been able to ascertain recently beyond doubt that N. soltdaginis is a parasite of Andrena denticulata, as well as of A. fuscipes, the former having been given as probably an additional host in my list above mentioned. To return to N. furva, the earliest date noted in Devon is May Ist, and worn females may be sometimes seen still busy about colonies of Halietus in July. Those found by me this August in the burrows would therefore remain torpid, though fully developed, for eight or nine months—in fact, until the hibernated female Halicti are busy storing their cells.—R. C. L. PERKINS, Paignton: Sept. 17th, 1918. The Bionomics of the Common Earwig.—In his latest contribution to our knowledge of Forficula auricularia (Proc. Cambridge Phil. Soc., vol. xix, part 4), Mr. H. H. Brindley gives the results of further researches into the effects of parasitism and of experiments made with the object of determining the nature of the food consumed. The examination of the alimentary canal in 46 males has been undertaken, for the purpose of testing the validity of the suggestion that the “low” and “ high” condition of their forcipes may be due * Almost certainly an immigrant.—J. J. W, 1918.] aa] to the presence or absence of gregarine parasites. An equal number (23) of “low” and “high” males, from a large batch obtained in the Scilly Isles, were carefully examined, and it was found that about half the specimens of each description were free from parasites. The remaining half in each case were infected by the gregarine Clepsydrina ovata, the average number of gregarines per individual being 29 in the case of the “low” males and 20 in the case of the “high” males. The author concludes that “the evidence so far obtained is that the dimorphism of the forcipes in /. auricularia g is not a result of or influenced by gregarine infection.” Other parasites, both animal and vegetable, are known to attack earwigs, and affect the health of their hosts in a greater or lesser degree. It has been a subject of debate for many years as to whether earwigs actually feed upon the plants which they frequent, or whether they merely prey upon the other insects which are found there. While a con- siderable body of evidence exists to show that earwigs occasionally, or even habitually, select animal food, Mr. Brindley has demonstrated, by experiments with adult individuals kept in captivity, that they can be maintained in health for several weeks, without any animal food beyond that accidentally afforded by the decease of one of their number. Three different kinds of vegetable food, taken haphazard, were offered at a time, and it was noticed that a decided preference was manifested for the leaves of vegetable-marrow, beet, and cabbage, the flowers of Anchusa and Oenvthera, and unskinned plums. Mr. Brindley concludes his paper with a very useful summary of what has been published concerning the capture of earwigs by birds. Domestic fowis always eat earwigs readily, but not more than i4 species of wild birds have been recorded as feeding upon them, and then only very sparingly in most instances. This list is likely to be extended as further observations are made, for certain notoriously insectivorous birds, such as the Blue Tit and the Tree Creeper, are not yet included in it. At the same time, of course, earwigs enjoy more or less protection from their foes by reason of their nocturnal habits, and probably also on account of the well-defined odour which they are known to emit.—HERBERT CAMPION, 58 Ranelagh Road, Ealing, W.5: September, 1918. Orthotylus virens Fall.—This bug has occurred abundantly during the present season on Cumwhitton Moss, where the original British specimens were found in 1917 (vide Ent. Mo. Mag. 1917, p. 251), and some care was taken to ascertain the particular species of sallow to which it was attached, this proving to be Salix pentandra—the Bay Willow. Noting the same plant on Hayton Moss, a few miles away, Mr. Routledge looked out for the bug and at once found it freely. The Bay Willow, according to Bentham’s “ Handbook to the British Flora,” is found chiefly in northern England and southern Scotland, which may account for O. rirens not having been met with by our southern Hemipterists.—F. H. Day, 26 Currock Terrace, Carlisle : Sept. 7th, 1918. Society. Tue Souru Lonpon ENTOMOLOGICAL AND NATURAL History Socrety: August 8th, 1918.—Mr. Srantey Epwarps, F.L.S., President, in the Chair. Ue) Mr. Ashdown exhibited a variable series of Malacosoma neustria, and a dark Notodonta dromedarius, vy. perfusca from the New Forest. Mr. Neave» 228 (October, bred Hyles euphorbiae from the “ Front’’ in France, and a Vespa norvegica from Rotherhithe. Mr. Ashby, a long series of Cetonia aurata from Portland, and a Lasiocumpa quercus near v. caliunae from the same place. Mr. W. West, the Neuropteron Osmylus chrysops from the New Forest. Mr. Blair described the pairing habits of the “swift” Hepialus sylvinus, referring especially to the folding-down of the hind wings of the females. Mr. Bunnett exhibited larvae and pupae of the Coleoptera Cassida equestris, Cionus blattariae, Chrysomela polita,etc. Mr. Sims, ova of Prezodorus lituratus (Hemipt.) on furze. Mr. Edwards, exotic Pieridae, including Callosune zoé, C. ialone, Pieris charina, etc. Myr. Sich, read a paper, “ Species in the Genus Cerostoma.” August 22nd, 1918.—The President in the Chair. The death from wounds of a member, Mr. C. P. Emmett, F.E.S., was announced. Mr. Court, of Market Rasen, was elected a member. Mr. Turner exhibited a copy of “ Exotic Moths,” Jardine’s Library, 1840, and referred to the portrait and memoir of the great French naturalist Latreille contained in it. Mr. Edwards, Papilio lama from Tibet, and v. plutonius of P. alcinous from Tibet. Mr. Ashdown, larvae of Notodonta dromedarius. Mr. Barnett, undersides of Agriades coridon, (1) with all discal markings obso- lete, (2) with markings much emphasised and dark, from Royston, and a pale Anaitis plagiata from Colley Hill. My. Neave, a living Trichiura crataegi and three aberrations of Arctia caja, (1) and (2) with discal markings on hind wings mainly obsolete, (3) a yellow form. Mr. Holden, three aberrations of Arctia caja, (1) a salmon-pink form, (2) with discal markings on hind wings obsolete, (3) a rich yellow form, and a Mimas tiliae with costal blotches only. Mr. Carr, several series of Abraxas sylvata (ulmata) from Chalfont, Wye, and Delamere. Mr. Bunnett, a very pale Wiltochrista miniata from Crowborough. —Hy. J. Turnrkr, Hon. /ditor of Proceedings. NOTES ON THE DERBIDAE IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM COLLECTION.—I. DERBINAE. BY FREDERICK MUIR, F.E.S. The four sections, Derbinz, Rhotanini, Cenchreini, and Otiocexint, have the anal area of the wing large and the cubital and anal veins normally developed; except in the genus Symidza, the wings are more than half the length of the tegmina, and the tegmina are not propor- tionally long and narrow. They thus constitute a group in contrast to the Zoraidinae. Elsewhere I have treated them as four subfamilies, but, after examining the material in the British Museum collection, which includes many forms previously unknown to me, it will be better, in my opinion, to consider them as four sections under one sub- family. The Cenchreini and Otiocerini are two well-defined groups, 1918.] 229 but the Derbint and Rhotanini are more difficult to define and have only three or four genera each. Zeugma Westw., which I place in the Derbini, has little or no affinity with the other two genera; the genera under Fhotanini are all nearly related. Symidia is of interest, as its tegmina have the first median sector with three branches (the neuration approaching the cubital system of arrangement), thus leading to the Derbini; the wings are slightly less than half the length of the tegmina, and the anal area is not greatly developed (although there are two cubital veins), Symzdza in this respect leading to the Zoraidinae. It is interesting to note that none of the Zorazdinae have been reported from the American continent or the West Indies, and the two genera, Derbe Fabr. and Mysidia Westw., are confined to America south of the United States and to the West Indies, with the exception of one species in Australia. The four sections can be separated by the following characters :— a‘. The cubital veins ending in the hind margin of the tegmen, the claval cell closed, or if narrowly open then the claval vein reaching no further than the last cubital vein. 6’. Cubitus with four or more veins reaching the hind margin. ae DERBINI. 6°, Cubitus with less than four veins reaching the hind margin. c'. Cubitus simple or furcate, reaching the hind margin direct, not running into the first median sector ....,....... CENCHREINI. e*. Cubitus connected with the first median sector, forming an angular or diamond-shaped cell; sometimes with a cross-vein near the base of the first median sector forming a triangular cell; Re mNET NL OWE 5 ata. Aas wtih ai igo) als Saja Nty wnd see Saheb a RHOTANINI. a*, Clavus open, the cubital veins not reaching the hind margin but meeting the extended clayal vein which extends to the last apical cell. PEE Oe OTIOCERINI. DERBINI. a‘, Six or more median sectors; shoulder keels very large.......... ZEUGMA. a’, Five or less median sectors; shoulder keels absent or very small. b*. Cubitus with four veins reaching the hind margin, the second vein bifurcate ; the female genital styles generally small or very small. Sd ore Mysrpia, b?. Cubitus with six or more veins reaching the hind margin, the second vein not furcate; female genital styles well developed ..DErbr. DERBE Fabr. Derbe westwoodi Fowl. Biol. Centr.-Am., Rhynch. Homopt. i, p. 71 (1900) (part., nec figs. ). 230 (October, Under this name there are six specimens, three of which I consider typical, one is D. longitudinalis Dist., and the other two are here described as D. fowleri and D. championi. D. championi, sp. n. Derbe westwoodi Fowl. loc. cit. t. 8, figs. 16, 16 a (1900) (part.). @. Yellow tinged with reddish-brown. Tegmina and wings hyaline slightly tinged with yellow, veins brown ; a narrow fuscous mark down the middle of each cell, except the costal, subcostal, and some of the apical cells of the tegmina. Genital styles small, short; anal segment small, sunk into a quadrate emargination of the pregenital tergite, the ventral edge of anal segment drawn out into a small lip, two small, thin, flat processes arise from beneath the lip and project slightly beyond the edge; pregenital plate large, in profile the basal portion convex, the median third of the hind margin produced into a subquadrate flat plate, the sides of which are short and slightly converging, the apex broadly angular. Length 45 mm.; tegmen 1] mm. Hab. Panama, Bugaba (G. C. Champion). One specimen. D. fowleri, sp. n. @. Similar in coloration to D. westwoodi Fowl. Light brown, darker over the mesonotum and abdomen, anterior tarsi and apex of tibiae dark brown. Tegmina and wings yellowish with brown veins, fuscous at the middle of sub- costal, radial, and median basal cells, a small brown mark at apex of clavus and another on the hind margin and over the cubital cross-vein, slightly fuscous at the apex of the wings. Genital styles large, long; anal segment large, the ventral edge projecting as a wide quadrate lip, which is produced into two long narrow processes reaching to near the apex of the genital styles; pregenital plate large, the hind margin produced into a large plate much longer than wide, the base wider than the apex, the apex truncate, and the sides convex in the middle. Length 7 mm.; tegmen 14 mm. Hab. GuareMata, San Isidro, Pacific slope (G. OC. Champion). The locality was not quoted by Fowler (J. ¢.). D. nervosa Burm. Under this name there is one female specimen, which is a Myszdia. Mysrpr1a Westw. Mysidia elatior Fowl. (op. cit. p. 73, t. 8, fig. 22) is a Heronax. Mysidia (?) spreta Fowl. (op. cit. p. 74) is a Basileocephalus. 1918.] | Bar RHOTANINLI. a. A triangular cell present at the base of the first median sector. b'. Face not linear, carinae of face not contiguous .......... DEcorRa. b?. Face linear, carinae of face contiguous to near apex. c'. Shoulder keels present ........... scence cerees ..- LEVU. c?, Shoulder keels absent or very small ............. ... RHOTANA. a?. No triangular cell at the base of the first median sector,..... SUMANGALA. Decora Burm. The following three species, placed under Fhotana, I consider to belong to this genus:—L. ramentosa Dist., I. septemmaculata Dist., R. quadrimaculata Dist. Levu Kirk.= Atara Dist. The following three species I consider belong to this genus :— Alara dux Dist., Rhotana tridipennis Mel., Rhotana opalina Dist. SuMANGALA Dist.= Mrecynoruyncuus Muir. GENESTIA Stal. I have not seen this genus; it appears to come near Ehotana Walk. CENCHREINLI. a’. Subantennal process absent or very small. 6’. Shoulder keels absent or very small. c'. In profile the face and vertex meeting at an angle. d'. Subcostal cell long. e'. In profile vertex and face forming an acute angle, head con- BIGEHILY ITGGWERG ..... 40 4cseenees PERSIS. e*. In profile vertex and face forming an obtuse angle, head not PREECE ee gene fe ass oo ns oe GONEOKARA. Meeempcostal €elh shorts a... os ss. s scan ek alae VEKUNTA. ce. In profile vertex and face forming a curve, not meeting at an angle. jf’. Antennae large, reaching beyond the apex of head, flattened. g. Face linear, carinae contiguous to near apex of face; vertex SESE LPIA UAT) » i. so iain se ee PATARA. g’. Face narrow but not linear, carinae not contiguous, awa me AQUIRRA. f?. Antennae small, not reaching to apex of head. (atabei ad DAWNaARIA. 6°. Shoulder keels well developed. h‘. Face with a median carina ...............06. SYNTAMES, 232 {October, h?, Face without a median carina. t'. Subcostal cell short; face not linear, carinae not touching, width of vertex at base subequal to length ...... CENCHREA. t?, Subcostal cell long. k'. Face linear, carinae contiguous to near apex. aisowe SYMIDIA. k*. Face not linear, carinae not contiguous. “2, Length of vertex subequal to width at base. »....+PHACIOCEPHALUS. 2’. Vertex narrow, much longer than wide. -+..++DASILEOCEPHALUS. rok Subantennal process well developed. m'. Shoulder keels absent or very small.* n'. Subcostal cell long. o'. Face without a median carina. p’. Vertex longer than broad, subantennal process forming a semicircular plate below the antenna .. PHENICE. p’. Vertex broader than long, subantennal process forming a keel below the antemma ...)....-.....0.. st ERPNS: o*. Face with a distinct median carina ........EOCENCHREA. n*. Subcostal cell short. : q’. In profile face meeting vertex at an angle, subantennal process forming a keel below the antenna. rs Antennae small ........ 002.508 -s-0> «a x". Antennae laree “i. 25 urs oes © =e .....-NEOLAMENTA, gq’. In profile face and vertex forming a curve, subantennal process semicircular ; antennae ovate, not reaching to apex of head. ...CYCLOMETOPUM. m’*. Shoulder keels very well developed. s', Face very narrow, carinae touching to near apex. ---+.»HORDICIDIA. s?. Face broader, lateral carinae not touching. t!. Subcostal cell starting slightly before middle of tegmina; tegmen long, apex pointed, middle considerably wider than base across middle of clavus,....... ote votes snes NEOOVCD ONES t?. Subcostal cell longer, starting much nearer to base, apex trun- cately rounded, sides of tegmina subparallel, base across middle of clavus not much less than across middle. nos» oe VEKUNTA Dist.= Parapinina Dist. V. tenella (Melichar)= P. typica Dist. Patara Westw.=AQuaELicum Dist. DaWNARIA Dist. = Cycroxara Muir. ee * In Herpis the shoulder keel is sometimes comparatively large and the species might run down to Neocyclokara, but the tegmina are distinct. 1918.) 235 Patara Westw. P. pattersoni, sp. n. d. Antennae large, broad, flat, compressed together at the middle. Face, antennae, pro- and mesonota, and abdominal tergites brown; clypeus, legs, and abdominal sternites light yellow. ‘Tegmina reddish-fuscous, darkest over the base of costal cell and apical third of tegmina, veins concolvrous with mem- brane, whitish at the apex of claval suture and at the apices of all the apical veins ; wings fuscous with dark veins. Ventral and lateral margins of pygofer entire ; anal segment small, anus at the apex, each apical corner produced into a small point; genital styles large, narrow at base, ventral edge convex, dorsal edge concave, apex large, round, produced considerably on dorsal edge. Length 2 mm.; tegmen 3°5 mm. Hab. Gotp Coast, Aburi (W. H. Patterson, 1912-13). Described from one male specimen: This is the first species of the genus described from Africa, but there is another, from Nyasaland, (represented by a single female specimen) in the collection. SynTaMEs Fowl. S. chiriquensis Fowl.=S. nigrolineatus Muir. Syntames delicatus, var. chiriquensis Fowl. op. cit. p. 189, t. 13, fig. 22 (1905). | This insect is specifically distinct from S. delicatus Fowl. (fig. 21), under which it was placed as a variety. 3. Medio-ventral process of the pygofer small, angular, lateral margins entire, slightly arcuate ; anal seement long, narrow, tubular to anus near apex, apex beyond the anus broadened, apex roundly emarginate, each lateral corner forming a curved broad spine; genital styles large, reaching apex of anal seg- ment, ventral edge straight with a narrow, long, flat process about the middle, dorsal edge produced subangularly to middle, apex of projection extended into a flat process longer than broad and turned inward, slightly basad of this the edge is produced into a more angular process, apex acute, curved inward. The male here described is from Bartica, British Guiana. WS. deli- catus Fowl. has the genital styles broader; the dorsal edge is produced near base, then straight and entire. S. sufflavus Muir. The male genital armature of this species differs from that of 8. chiriquensis in having the genital styles sublanceolate and curved, the ventral edge is slightly produced and turned inward, with a spine-like projection near the base, the dorsal edge is roundly produced in the middle, with a small projec- tion and an emargination near the base, apex pointed and turned slightly inward, U 234 A (October, SYMIDIA, gen. n. Head narrower than thorax; vertex triangular, small, face linear to near apex, formed by the two contiguous carinae which diverge slightly near apex ; no subantennal processes ; antennae small, globose ; clypeus lonyer than face, feebly tricarinate, rostrum reaching to near the end of the abdomen. Pro- notum widely angularly emarginate on hind margin, shoulder keels large, lateral margin turned up and, together with the shoulder keels, forming an antennal chamber; mesonotum tricarinate. Tegomen with the subcostal cell long, cubitus bifurcate, both veins entering the hind margin, clavus narrowly open, media with three sectors, the first sector with three branches and appearing as if part of the cubitus. Wings slightly less than half the length of the tegmina (1-2°2), two distinct cubital veins, anal area small, without veins, the margin striate, forming a “ stridulating ” area. This genus approaches the Zorazdinae in the structure of the wing, but it cannot be placed among them, as the cubital veins are distinct and the cubital and anal areas are not sufficiently reduced. The tegmen is not unlike that of Myszdia. Type, 8S. flava Muir. S. flava, sp. n. do. Light yellow, a small spot of brown in front of the eyes at the junc- tion of the vertex and face. Tegmina white, hyaline, veins yellowish, with some irregular light brown markings, six small marks in costal cell, an irregular mark in the middle of the cubital area, an irregular broken band from the apex of subcostal cell to apex of cubital veins, slight fuscous marks over the apical portions of the median sectors; wings hyaline, a small fuscous spot in the middle, an irregular transverse mark near apex, and a small spot at apex. Both tegmina and wings opaque with white, powdery, waxy secretion. Medio-ventral edge of pygofer forming a small triangular proj ection: anal segment large, narrow at base, widened to the middJe and then slightly narrowed to apex, which is angularly emarginate, anus at base ; genital styles large, narrow at base, widest in middle, ventral edge entire, gradually pro- duced to middle, then more abruptly reduced, dorsal edge with a semicircular projection near the apex, apex bluntly pointed and slightly turned inward, a keel runs from near the base to the apex near the dorsal margin. < Length 2 mm. ; tegmen 4:1 mm. 2. Genital styles exceedingly small; anal segment very small, sunk into” the pregenital segment, ventral edge slightly angularly produced ; pregenital plate large, the median third of the posterior margin produced into a sub- lanceolate process with a wide base, the production concave along the middle, the concavity extending to near the base of the pregenital plate. Length 2 mm.; tegmen 4:25 mm. Hab. Brirrisn Guiana, Demerara River. Described from five males and five females. 1918.] 235 PHENICE Westwood (1842), Trans. Linn. Soe. Lond. xix. pp. 10, 11. Type, Phenice fasciolata (Boh.), pl. 2, figs. 3, 3 a—e. See my remarks on the type of this genus, ante p. 207. I have not seen the type of Derbe fasciolata Boh., and the specimens standing under that name in the British Museum do not agree in certain points with Westwood’s figures, but I shall consider them as typical until I can examine the type or someone redescribes it, if the insect is still in existence. ‘These specimens have the clavus narrowly open; the cubitus with four veins, but only three reach the hind margin; media with four sectors ; subcostal cell long, commencing about one-third from the base. Derbe fritillaris Boh. is represented by several specimens which are congeneric with Phenice moesta Westw., and they belong to the genus Prouwtista Kirk., subfamily Zoraidinae (cf. antea, p. 177). P. tessellata Westw. The two specimens standing under this name have tegmina similar to those of P. fasciolata (Boh.), but as the subantennal processes are very small, they come nearer to Dawnaria Dist. P. stellulata (Boh.). The two specimens placed under this name are congeneric with P. fasciolata (Boh.), as represented in the collection. P. neavet, sp. n. d. Structurally the same as P. fasciolata Boh., as represented in the British Museum collection by two female specimens, but the face is slightly narrower. The subantennal plate is large, about as long as broad; shoulder keels very small. Head, prothorax, and legs yellow, mesonotum light brown, carinae lighter, abdomen darker brown, anal segment and genital styles yellowish. Teemina hyaline; subcosta, radius, and media yellow; median sectors, cubitus, and claval veins brown, light fuscous mottling over basal third, more markedly so in clayus; light fuscous over most of the rest of the tegmina, with lighter patches between the median sectors and over radial cell; four small dark marks in the middle of costal cell and a larger one at apex, darker in the narrow subcostal cell and in the subcostal and median apical cells. Wings light fuscous with dark veins. Anal segment of medium length, broad, narrowest at base, apex rounded and subsinuous, broadest slightly beyond middle, lateral margins sloping down- ward and rounded in outline, anus in the apical third; genital styles large, jonger than anal segment, ventral edge entire, convexly rounded, dorsal edge 236 : {October, produced into a narrow edge on the basal half, with a small curved spine at the distal corner of the production, apical dorsal edge with a slight notch near apex, apex broadly rounded. Length 3:7 mm.; tegmen 6°8 mm. @. Similar to fg. Length of anal segment subequal to width, bluntly conical, broadest at the base, ninth tergite produced into a small stout spine at the sides, pregenital plate broader than long, posterior edge straight with a small triangular production in the middle, a longitudinal groove from the posterior edge to near the base. Length 4 mm.; tegmen 7 mm. Hab. Nyasatanp, Mlanje (S. A. Weave). Described from one male and one female specimen in the B.M. coll. In P. fasciolata the anal segment of the female is considerably longer than wide, subconical, evenly and slightly enlarged from base to a third from the apex; the ninth tergite not produced ina spine; the pregenital plate longer than broad, posterior median area swollen. Herpis Stal. HI. aburiensis, sp. n. Shape of the tegmina and the neuration as in typical Herpis, but the shoulder keels are more pronounced than is usual in this genus, Vertex broader than long; subantennal process longer than broad. Ochraceous. Tegmina and veins ochraceous; wings hyaline, veins dark. Both the tegmina and wings covered with white waxy secretion. Ventral and lateral edges of pygofer straight, entire; anal segment long, narrow, subcylindrical, apex produced into a fine point and curved ventrad ; genital styles large, broad, reaching beyond the apex of anal segment, base narrow, apex broadly rounded and produced into a small spine on inner margin, ventral edge slightly convex, entire, the median third of dorsal edge produced into a large quadrate plate about as long as broad. Length 2:2 mm.; tegmen 3'7 mm. Hab. Gown Coast, Aburi (W. H. Patterson). b This is the first of this genus to be described from Africa; there is a second species from the same district represented by a damaged female. FEScENNIA Stal. I have not seen the type of this genus, and the two species, F. bimaculata Dist. and F. aurea Dist., standing under the name Hescennia, I do not think belong to it. They are very near Weocyclo- kara Muir. | 1918.] ri | OTIOCERINI. a‘, Media not arising from radius or arising before the forking of the subcosta from the radius. b'. First median sector arising before the apical third of the tegmen.* c', First joint of antenna short, length subequal to the width or shorter. d'. Forking of subcosta and radius at or before the middle of the tegmen (subcostal cell long). e'. Subantennal process absent or very small; shoulder keels absent or very small. f'. In profile vertex and face forming a curve, or subconical 5 face not wider at base than at apex. g'. In profile head not produced much in front of eyes, margin subparallel to eye ..PYRRHONKURA. g°. In profile head considerably produced in front of eye. i}, Antennae not reaching to the apex of head. ..+...PHANTASMATOCERA (in part.). h?, Antennae reaching to the apex of head. a‘. Face and vertex in profile rounded. te ee KURANDA. 2”, Face and vertex subconical or narrowly rounded. gaae 2 ANOTIA. Jf’. In protile vertex and face forming a distinct angle, or the face wider at the base than at the middle. k‘. Face at base as wide as, or wider than, at the apex. ’. In profile head widely produced before the eyes, vertex slightly concave .. PHANTASMATOCERA, (in part.). /, In profile head considerably and narrowly produced in front of eyes and curved upward. ESE SWEZEYIA. k’?, Face narrower at base than at apex. - > > . m', In profile vertex sinuous .... KAMPULOKARA. m?. In profile vertex not sinuous. 1. In profile vertex and face meeting at an angle of OE ADS. 3: «0. cranny NICERTOIDES. 2. In profile vertex and face meeting at an angle of 45° to 80°; face not strongly curved. weitiaes KAMENDAKA. 3. In profile vertex and face meeting at an angle of about 90°; face strongly curved, especially on apical half -., cov tccutmea EOsACCHARISSA, e*. Subantennal process well developed. n', Shoulder keels absent or very small. o'. Vertex and face in profile round; vertex not ascending, aie NEsOCORA. * Banksiella has the first median sector in the apical third, but is included in this group. 238 ; (October, o°. Head in profile with vertex ascending. p'. In profile vertex ascending and curved backward. By na4 tae NESONIPHAS. . In profile vertex ascending, but not curved back- WHI eerLG te ee ek NESONEURA. n°, Shoulder keels well developed. q'. Subantennal process spatulate, attached to the gena by a slender stalk. r', Face considerably produced in front of eyes; an- tennae in some species small with large “sense organs,” in others with the second joint produced and bearing large “scales” and appearing as if irregularly pectinate, ofttimes differing in the BERDE Ts tre were a be Se WEN r°, Face not considerably preduced in front of eyes; antennae larger with smaller “sense organs,” never with “scales” ...... NESOKAHA. - Subantennal process not spatulate, attached to the gena by a broad base. s'. Vertex truncate at apex; lateral carinae of face not COnMENONE eels ee eee LyRIcEN s*. Vertex acutely angular, carinae meeting at apex and continued on to face, face linear, carinae contiguous’... 22.5... . PARALYRICEN. d*. Forking of subeosta and radius beyond fe middle of the c—— (subcostal cell short). t'. In profile vertex and face meeting at an angle. u'. Costal margin entire. 1. In profile vertex and face meeting at an angle of RRO SEO Rane pee fe Sane oie NICERTOIDES. - 2. In sapede vertex and face meeting at an angle of 45° to 80°; face not strongly curved. “ae Die KAMENDAKA. 3. In profile vertex and face meeting at an angle of about 90°; face strongly curved, especially on apical half. ee EosaccHaRISSA. u?, Costal margin not entire, more or less sinnous and broken by an angular projection; a distinct precostal area in basal third of tegmen ........ BANKSIELLA. t?. In profile vertex and face forming a curve, not angular. Ses to MAKULA. foes joint of antennae long, length more than twice the width. . No subantennal process. w'. In profile head round, not greatly produced in front of eyes. SE eae DENDROKARA. w*. In profile vertex and head meeting at an angle or uarrowly rounded, considerably produced in front of eyes. Ne ite OTIOCERUS. v?, Subantennal process present............,.-NEODENDROKARA. 1918.] 239 b?. Median sectors confined to the apical third of tegmen. z', Length of head twice the length of the pro- and mesonota together. ea VIVAHA. a?, Length of head less than twice the length of pro- and mesonota together. y'. Subcostal cell short. z', Antennae large, flat ...... int ones ..LEPTALEOCERA. = Antennae cylindrical <«'.... 4 ces see => RoBIGus. . Subcostal cell long ; antennae cylindrical, in some species simple, in others with a knob at base or horseshoe-shape. a‘. In protile vertex and face forming an angle, or narrowly rounded, produced in front of the eye more than the Width Of Bmieye Ew res aot es INrERAMMA. a’. In protile vertex and face forming a curve, not produced in front of eye so much as the width of an eye. 6’. Head as broad or nearly as broad as the thorax, vertex quadrate, apex truncate, base broader than apex, keels of vertex and face very large, not contiguous on face or only so along the edges...... MEGATROPIS. b>. Head narrower than thorax, vertex triangular, face narrow, keels of vertex and face large, contiguous OMRCR ne Aare aa: we Peter hm i> NICERTA. a?. Media not separating from radius until after the forking of subcosta and radius. c', Subantennal process absent or very small. d', Antenna with first joint much longer than wide. eat ae Se ERA, d@. Length of the first joint of antennae subequal to width. e’. Antennae longer than face .............. PLATOCERA. e?. Antennae not longer than face.......... . HERONAX. e’, Subantennal process present .........0...5005. .. MYSIDIOIDEs. PyRRHONEURA Kirk. Kirkaldy treats Pyrrhoneura as synonymous with Makula Dist., but the latter has a short subcostal cell and the head somewhat differently shaped. The type of Pyrrhoneura has a very small shoulder keel. Otiocerus rubescens Fowl. (B. C.-A., Rhynch. Homopt. i, p. 76, t. 9, fig. 2) I consider comes into this genus. P. mlanjensis, sp. n. 6. Face narrower than in the genotype, the carinae touching or closely approximate until near apex. Head, legs, and ventral aspect of thorax yellow, abdomen and dorsum of thorax reddish brown, slightly lighter over the median portions of pro- and mesonota, genital styles and thoracic pleura lighter and redder. Tegmina fuscous, a white mark in apical half of costal cell, a smaller one in subcostal apical cells, another at the apex of second and third median sectors, a larger one from hind margin at the end of the clavus to the forking 240 [October, of the cubital veins, and a very small spot in the middle of the basal cubital — cell, veins reddish brown, the apical veins bright red; wings fuscous with dark veins. Ventral edge of pygofer straight, entire, lateral edges angularly produced in the middle; anal segment long, narrow, in dorsal vein subparallel-sided, anus at apex, basad of anus dorsal surface sloping from the middle, distad of anus slightly narrowed, apex truncate; genital styles narrow, slightly longer than anal segment, ventral edge entire, slightly sinuous, dorsal edge widely and shallowly emarginate in middle with the margin turned inward, a minute curyed spine on the apical margin of the emargination. Length 2'4 mm.; tegymen 4°8 mm. Q. Similar to male. Anal segment minute ; pregenital plate large, hind margin widely angularly produced from sides to middle, apex of production rounded, sides slightly sinuous; medio-basal portion constricted off from, and turned ventral at an angle to, the remainder of the plate. Length 2°6 mm.; tegmen 4°8 mm. Hab. Nyasauand, Mount Mlanje (S. A. Weave). Described from one male and four females. KAMENDAKA Distant. The five genera Kamendaka Dist., Eosaccharissa Kirk., Tapoosa Dist., Chaprina Dist., and Nicertoides Matsumura, are very closely related, and depend, as far as I can see, upon the shape of the head for their separation. As there isa specific difference in the shape of the head, the genera grade into one another. At one extremity we have the vertex and face in profile forming an angle of about 90°, and the face strongly curved, especially so on the apical portion (Hosaccharissa) ; at the other extremity we have the face and vertex in profile forming an angle of about 45°, and the face not so strongly curved (Wicertoides) ; Kamendaka, Chaprina, and Tapoosa approach Kosaccharissa. The slight differences in the shape of the vertex are equally unreliable for generic separation. I therefore consider it best to regard them all as one genus, which will have to take the name Kamendaka Dist,; the extreme forms on one side can be regarded as a subgenus, Hosaccharissa, and the extreme forms on the other side as another subgenus, /Vicer- toides, while the intermediate forms would form a third, Kamendaka. Both Chaprina and Tapoosa will then sink under Hosaccharissa. One specimen standing under the name Brixia nivea Walk. is a Kamendaka. BaNKSIELLA Muir. Originally, this genus was placed by me in the Wicerta group, as ‘the median sectors are confined to the apical third of the tegmina; but WATKINS & BONCASTER, Haturalists, Keep in stock all Articles for Entomologists, Ornithologists, Botanists, &c.: Umbrella Net, 7/-; Folding Cane or Wire, 3/6, 4/-, 4/6; Plain Ring Net, 1/3, 2/-,3/-; Pocket Boxes, 6d., 9d., 1/-, 1/6; Store Boxes, with Camphor Cells, 2/6, 3/6, 4/-, 5/-,6/-; Zine Pocket Boxes, 9d., 1/-, 1/6, 2/- Setting Boards, from 5d. to 1/10; Complete set of 14 boards, 10/6; Breeding Cages, 2/6, 4/-, 5/-, 7/6; Sugaring Tins, 1/6, 2/-; Sugar- ing Mixture, ready for use, 1/9 per tin; Setting Houses, 9/6, 11/6, 14/-; Glass ‘Topped and Glass Bottomed Boxes, from 1/- per doz.; Zine Killing Boxes, 9d., 1/- ; Coleoptera Collecting Bottles, 1/6, 1/8; Collecting Box, containing 26 tubes (very aseful for Coleopterists, Microscopists, &c.), 4/6; Brass Chloroform Bottle, 2/6. 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Mo,Mag, for March, 1915, ppy 49-112), euite Ie. ‘Gd. ~ Apply to eaten as Sane ee: aor Sa | leone ong THE ‘BIOLOGY OF DRAG NEUES 48. AG ae fae pie ae ca TTLLYARD, M.A,, BSc. BLS, FERS. «Dany Bvo. pp- zil+ 598. With 4 plates and 188 ‘text- figures: Toe net Apr anct CAMBRIDGE ZOOLOGICAL’ Srnres- ee LA ie vee ‘Never: before as the group received such detailed. ant ‘wolke tla t fooatmnapit as Mr>Tillyard. has given-. Students of the” anatomy and =; “development of insets are tnuch: indebted to: bia for providing in this con- — venient form a trustworthy guide to the external and internal ‘strictire® of. nits “\dragoniies at varions stages of their life-histories, pi Natures 3 gee pe se Prospéctis ont application: - Set ae He aloes University: Sor Fetter a sae B.C.4; C.F. ‘Clay; Manager.’ Oe ene “Vol. 1, Wo. a ey | CARABIDAR, ‘ P: Pinte Ble “6 ° Bye ae eo) N oo ee ie / ss Prick $1: ep winntie wacks oS pamEO ¥ ae " PURROSTICHUS ~-¢ylindricus Hrbst, x, a = vat ‘melas Creutz. De. 5 ABAR ; ~ => ater Vill. ~~ ovalis Dates: - schuppelii Pall, . ~ ¥. rendschmidtii Germ, aoe ee nase oe -corsieus Dej.. Be ae in - -elongataie Dutt. OM YAS: a +. -oblongopunctatus Pabr, A> angustatag Batts eS | ‘Ghalybaeus Pall Spi ee Chand. AMARA ee niger” : eae Dutt; vulgaris Linn. > ‘nigritus Fabr. “gapRus: ' . * .. aminor Gy, “* @haleeus Fald. <-> / oe © Anterstinctus Sturm, “+ = herds Faldee “<-~ oemegligens Sturm. i* © seidlitzii, Schaum, He subsinuatus Dej; ~gtaeous De}. me > “brevis Daft. Ses hiapaides Creutz. *‘easpius Men. ek he Dej. _ ANISODACTY LS: ea ops Panz, binotatus De}, ?, inca Fabr. . tng signatus Lae ; 7%)4 ~ or 4 ago Ee ONE £0 A PAGE ovo, are bate. 3 “counorrEnic TELUSTRATA will bé imailed spon, receipt ona Sgette: WARD: Nomtan, 136 JORALEMON STREET, BROORL YN): BS: USiAs Bas = Voli I, Nos. 1 and 2, $1 ca. ee fe ~ a md am. Py . > Ss ae Red: pee s. 6, prabplns aes ad 5 y sei Ps : 4 . ¥, ae . be Ss > oe i> ay « ! 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Se gt Chingford Station, at 8° P: pote Sipe Monday i in" ‘each sae vr Wrgee 4 the Goo ‘ = Ser ds. 4 a, be nef fr. y waaty who e ON 8 e . ~" aay - - ie ated SS ENE eS on oxtee ea 7s Sr re Foes ‘e yo : ; .* oy oe Wt eae ss ‘ Tees Le ey ao - Pond Yi he ee ae gige f cab es Ga tcts - oe eerie C E. come to Ss greatly increased ‘ost. lof Saiiee?: aes printing, etc,, the Editors. a Mapazine are. compelled to ao Taise. the subscription to 9s. oe um (post free), “Sibscriptions it > for. the 1919 volume should: be, litted as soon’ as: Base Sore ‘R: PW. LLOYD, 1. 5, sees t oes Agee ‘The price of a Sage o1 iin 3 4 AUTHORS requiring” panes i copies of thee papers. (hich can Lis cupped at small cost) are Fags to mark the number ranted om their Ms." SB SAL artis tah ees ae Mtr cra oe el cits Distant. ch 9 Brizia testacea Walk. is a Phactocephalus, and\ prctipennis Walk. is a Basileocephalus; they have both been wrongly placed under Makula. ~~ Lenosit INTERAMMA Walker. I. ascendens Walk. must be the type of this genus, as it is upon that species the generic description was based. J. angusta Walk. differs from the type, and J. swhvaria Walk. was placed by him in a different section. Nicerta and Megatropis are closely allied, and the species placed under them require further study. Rogievus Distant. This genus is stated to have the costal margin “ distinctly broken by an irregular, raised, longitudinal, cellular interspace,” and is figured with the costal margin broken atthe apex of the subcostal cell. The specimen upon which Robigus is founded has the tegmina bent slightly _ at this point, the left more so than the right, but there is no such raised cellular interspace as described. Both the wings and the tegmina of the specimens are badly crumpled, as if they were not fully developed. h. pattersoni, sp. n. Tegmina typical of the genus, the subcostal cell short. Head wider and in profile more produced than in the type species, the antennae reaching slightly beyond the apex of the head. Light yellow; genae before eyes, face, antennae, and base of clypeus bright red. Tegmina yellow with a broken, irregular, longitudinal, bright red mark down the middle, a broken fork proceeds from the first median sector tu the apex of the subcosti1 cell with a small spot between the forks, a small spot on the hind margin slightly beyond the apex of the clavus, veins concolorous as in membrane ; wings white with white veins, covered with a fine, powdery, Waxy secretion. Ventral edge of pygofer straight, entire, lateral edges entire, slightly curved; anal segment large, convex on ventral aspect, concave on dorsal aspect, slightly narrowed at base, wide at apex, which is shallowly, roundly emarginate, each apical corner is produced into a stout spine curved yventrad ; genital styles large, wide, ventral edge curved, entire, dorsal edge sitaaial, with a small, flat, curved process trom the middle, apex pointed and turned dorsad. Length 4 mm.; tegmen 6 mm. _— = —_ 249 [ November, Hab. Gotp Coast, Aburi (W. H. Patterson). Described from one male specimen. There are also in the Museum two similarly coloured females, with the head in profile distinctly helmet- shaped—one from Durban, Natal (F. Leigh), and the other from Mount Mlanje, Nyasaland (S. A. Neave). They probably represent another species, but I refrain from naming them in the absence of a male. Pura Distant. The type of this genus, P. amplificata Dist., is represented in the collection by two females in damaged condition, and neither of them agrees with the generic description or the figures. The description says that the antennae are “‘ short, robust,” and are so figured, but the speci- mens have the first joint long and the second jomt complex, somewhat as in Otiocerus. The figures of the head show a very large subantennal plate, but the specimen possesses none. I shall look upon the insect marked type as the correct type, and ignore the description and the figures of the head. The specifie description founded upon colour agrees with the dorsal view of the insect as figured and with the type. The second joint of the antennae is composed of two parts: a short thick portion on which the arista is situated and a ribbon-like appendage. . P. atromaculata Dist. This species is represented by one male specimen which is congenerie with P. amplificata Dist., but the second joint of the antennae consists of three parts: a small short process on which the arista is situated and two more or less ribbon-like appendages, one much longer than the other. P. pictipennis Dist. This is represented by one female specimen, which ‘has well- developed shoulder keels and subantennal plates, and is a Myszdioides Mats. (= Neocyclometopum Muir). ArcHa Distant. This genus differs slightly in the shape of the head from Heronagr Kirk., but otherwise is the same, and I consider them to be synonymous. Archa has the apical joint of the labium longer than usual m the Derbidae, nevertheless, in my opinion, it cannot be excluded from that family. 1918 .| 243 VinatTa Distant. This genus should be placed in the Cixiidae. I have one species from the Philippines in which the males have the large antennae charac- teristic of the genus and the females these organs much smaller and almost normal. The genera Kermesia Dist., Alara Dist., Inxwala Dist., Suva Kirk., and Nisz Melichar, I reject from the Derbidae. They have the _ median ocelli and the glandular surface on the female pygofer common to many Cixiidae. I have not seen authentic specimens of the following genera :— Deribia, Persis, Fescennia, Nebrissu, Flaccia, Labicerus. NOTE. The following description was omitted under Proutista in Part I, ante p. 177 :— P. wilemani, sp. n. Typical of genus, the second joint of rostrum slightly widened and flattened. Ochraceous, face and keels of thorax lighter. Tegmina hyaline, slightly ochraceous over basal third, darker ochraceous brown or fuscous over subcostal and radial cells, reaching radial cross-vein and extending in apical median cell and over the base of each median sector, a large mark at the apex of each vein along the hind margin and afuscous mark on each side of each gradate cross-vein of median sectors and cubitals but not touching the cross- veins, five pairs of small dark marks in apical portion of costal cell, veins ochraceous ; wings lightly fuscous with darker veins, Anal segment long, narrow, anus about one-third from base, basad of anus there is a small conical process, distad of anus the dorsal side excavate, apex pointed and turned slightly ventral, at the point where the apex turns ventrad each side is produced into a small point, making the apex three- pronged ; genital styles long, narrow and curved, widest on basal third, the apex of the right style is truncate or slightly excavate with each corner produced into a small projection, the left style with apex pointed. Length 3 mm.; tegmen 6 mm. Hab. Formosa, Anping (4. 2. Wileman). Described from one male specimen in the B.M. coll. London. July 1918. 944 [ November, MELANOPHILA ACUMINATA De G. IN BERKSHIRE. BY W. E. SHARP, F.E.S. This Buprestid beetle took its place in the British fauna owing to its discovery at Woking by Mr. G. C. Champion in August 1909. In his record of its capture (Ent. Mo. Mag. 1909, p. 249) Mr. Champion tells how he took the insect on the trunks of pines charred and blackened by fire, how quickly it took to flight, and how great was the variation in its size. Further specimens were taken in the same district during the two or three following years, and it was also found by Dr. Sharp and Mr. Ford in the New Forest about the same period. The similarity of the pine-wooded country round Crowthorne to that of Woking had long suggested the possibility of the presence of Melanophila here, but, so far as I am aware, it was only in 1917 that its existence was actually verified by the quite accidental capture of two or three specimens by one of the students of Wellington College. Now, before proceeding to a relation of the discovery of the beetle here this year, it should be premised that in this district of heathery wastes, mosses, and woods of comparatively young pines, after periods of dry, hot summer weather, fires, originating perhaps from the discarded match of some careless smoker, which often destroy before they are extinguished many acres of heather and young trees, are of no infrequent occurrence. It was over ground so devastated by some former fire that Mr. Bedwell and myself one day towards the end of last August com- menced our search for WZ. acuminata. A single specimen only taken on a charred pine stump by the pertinacity of Mr. Bedwell had been the result of our labours, when, guided by the blue haze of distant smoke, we arrived at a spot where a fire was actually in progress, and there on a smoking pine stump Mr. Bedwell at once detected the object of our search ; others were soon seen, and there, scorched by the burning peat, and half choked by the blinding smoke, we added a quite novel episode to our experiences of collecting beetles, for on ground on which it was too hot to place one’s hand, many Melanophila were running. They were settled, often “in cop.,” on pine stumps actually glowing, or flying under a blazing August sun through drifts of acrid peat smoke, as though such fiery conditions completely satisfied them. Indeed, I am convinced that these beetles thoroughly enjoyed a temperature too high for the existence of any living thing, except a Dipteron which appeared to share their habitat; and congregated in that small area of, at the most, a few acres, probably attracted by the far-reaching smell of burning peat and pine stumps, were these insects bred and born over perhaps many square miles of the rough country around. 1918.) i 245 We especially noticed, in corroboration of Mr. Champion’s state- ment, the extreme variation in their size and their remarkable agility, for our shadow falling on one settled on a log or stump was quite sufficient to make it instantly take to wing, thus making their capture exceedingly difficult. This infatuation of the Melanophila for a situation which suggests the precincts of Tartarus, is of course no novel discovery. Mr. Champion quotes (Ent. Mo. Mag. 1913, p. 109), from a paper by Mr. A. H. Mann, the almost exactly parallel case of IZ. notata Lap. & Gory in N. Caro- lina ; and the publication of the observation of a similar habit of another Melanophila in India by Mr. H. G. Champion in the September issue of this Magazine was curiously coincident with our experience of MW. acuminata here. Now the interest of this narration lies, perhaps, not so much in the evidence it affords that this beetle is extending its range in the South of England, as in the biological problems which it evokes. We must, in the first place, certainly admit that JZ. acuminata offers a remarkably good example of cryptic protective resemblance, for the wrinkled dull 9 or somewhat shining d elytra so exactly match the charred surface of the pine bark on which they usually rest that detection until they move becomes almost impossible. Thus we may explain its morphology and colour, but not the development of the singular attraction which heat has for the insect. That of simply charred wood is a different matter, and such insects as Pterostichus angustatus, Agonum 4-punctatum, Sphaeriestes, and others, may find in such places conditions which are favourable to their own larval existence because they have been cleared by former heat of other subcortical enemies or competitors. But no such factors are involved in the attractive influence of heat alone. We found pairs of this beetle “in cop.” on timber whose com- plete destruction by fire seemed imminent,—and if oviposition took place in such a situation it is evident that instead of any advantage a very serious risk of a similar fate would be run by any resulting progeny. One can only conjecture that the females flew to some safer spot, where although the trees might be charred they were not actually alight, before they commenced to deposit ova. The utility therefore in the ontogeny of the beetle of the heat attraction still remains unexplained, and as such I must leave it. “The Bungalow,” Crowthorne, Berks. October 7th, 1918. \ 246 { November, THE BUTTERFLIES OF THE OXFORD DISTRICT. BY JAMES J. WALKER, M.A., R.N., F.L.S. The varied geological formation of the country immediately adjacent to Oxford, and its rich flora and extensive tracts of woodland, some of them dating from very ancient times, are eminently favourable to buttertly-life; while the number of able resident collectors and observers, as well as the constant succession -of enthusiastic young entomologists supplied by the University up to the commencement of the present war, has ensured its being one of the most thoroughly worked districts in the British Islands. Unfortunately the only fairly complete list of the local Lepidoptera, published in the Report of the Ashmolean Natural History Society for 1898, gives no details beyond the initials of the captor or observer of each species; but I found it of much service when, in 1912, I compiled a sketch of the insect fauna of the Oxford district for the use of the guide-book issued to the members of the International Congress of Entomology held here in that year, and of this the present paper, as far as the Rhopalocera are concerned, may be regarded as a reproduction, amplified and brought up to date where requisite. The list of Lepidoptera in the Victoria County History of Berkshire (1905), mainly compiled by Messrs. A. H. Hamm and W. Holland, though dealing with only a portion of the district, has also been of very material assistance in compiling these notes. Of our 67 species of butterflies regarded as truly British, we now have definite records of 44 as having been observed in recent times within a radius of 10 miles from Carfax, the centre of Oxford, in addition to two or three species which may have formerly occurred within these limits. This tract of country is about equally divided by the Isis between the counties of Oxfordshire and Berkshire, and attains its highest elevation, 562 feet, at Shotover Hill, about three miles east of the city. It is well within sight of the beautiful and productive chalk ranges of the Chilterns and the Berkshire Downs, but does not include any portion of either; though one or two of the characteristic butterflies of the chalk, as Agriades corydon and (possibly) Zizéra minima, have wandered from thence and have established themselves in outlying stations in the District. On the whole, our Oxford butterflies appear to hold their own very well from year to year, despite the fact that much of our old woodland has been drastically thinned out, and in great part replanted with uninteresting and unproductive Conifers. Both Pieris brassicae and P. rapae are of course plentiful through- out the district, but, especially the former, vary greatly in that respect 1918.} 247 in different years ; and their abundance here is no doubt largely affected by the vigorous crusade against them by school children, ‘‘ head-money ” for no fewer than 6000 “white” butterflies having been paid to one parish school alone, during the present year. In the autumn of 1917 the larvae of P. brassicae were most abundant, but were infested with the parasite Apanteles glomeratus to such an extent, that it is doubtful whether 1 per cent. of the whole number were able to reach the pupa state. P. napi is the commonest butterfly of our flowery water- meadows and river banks, and as usual exhibits a great range of variation in intensity of markings; in July 1910 I took at Cothill, Berks, an albino example of a clear creamy-white colour, without a single black scale in any part. Huchloé cardamines is also plentiful in most years, and is a conspicuous and beautiful feature of our grassy lanes and wood openings in May and June, specimens in good condition being sometimes seen well into July. Colias edusa and C. hyale are very uncertain in their appearance, and are never as plentiful as on the South Coast, but the former occurs sometimes in fair numbers, as was the case with C. hyale in the lucerne fields near Cowley in 1901 and 1902; and a fine specimen of the latter species was observed by Mr. J. Collins and myself in August 1911 at Weston-on-the-Green, Oxon (Ent. Mo. Mag. 1911, p. 217). Gonepteryx rhamni is common throughout the District, and specimens newly awakened from their winter sleep may often be seen in the main thoroughfares of Oxford on bright days in February and March, while tbe larva may be found readily enough on the buckthorn bushes at the proper season. Apatura iris is by no means common, but has been taken at intervals in Bagley and other large woods, and Mr. A. H. Hamm on one occasion saw a fine 2 on one of the roads near Shotover Hill; and on August 10th of the present year I saw a battered @ in a wood near Forest Hill, Oxon, where the butterfly had been previously seen by Mr. Collins, who also reported Limenitis sibylla from the same wood; the latter species has also occurred at Bagley Wood and near Radley: Polygonia c-album is also a rare visitor to the District, but it appears to be not uncommon at Wychwood Forest, Oxon; I saw two specimens, and caught one, on bramble-blossom near Tubney Wood, Berks, on August 12th of this year, and my friend Lieut. E. G. R. Waters took a fine example at Wytham Park on September 27th. Eugonia poly- chloros has been found in both the larva and perfect states in the immediate neighbourhood of Oxford, but is decidedly rare, and my experience of the butterfly is confined to the sight of a specimen in one of the main roads in 1911. Aglais urticae is usually plentiful, but in 948 {November, some years, as in 1916, is quite scarce, while Vanessa to is generally abundant—much more so, in fact, than I used to find it in Kent. I have no definite record of V. antiopa from Oxford itself, but in the University Museum collection there is a very fine specimen taken by the Rev. J. W. B. Bell in August 1900 on a sugared post at Pyrton, near Watlington, and just outside our limits. Pyrameis cardui and P. atalanta are as irregular in their appearance here as elsewhere, the latter being the more “ dependable,” but during the present year it has been most markedly rare, as I have not seen a single specimen myself, and have heard of but one or two at most as having been observed. Dryas paphia is common in the larger woods, but I saw a specimen in my own garden in July last, and on August 10th of this year, though then mostly in worn condition, it was as numerous near Forest Hill as in the New Forest a few weeks earlier. Argynnis adippe also abounds in Bagley and Tubney Woods, and in 1905 I took at the latter locality a beautiful variety of the d, having the basal and central black markings of both wings almost entirely suppressed. 4. aglaia is decidedly rare, but has been observed this year in the large woods beyond Forest Hill by myself and others. Brenthis euphrosyne is abundant in most of our woods in May; a curious variety of a clear pale ochreous ground-colour above and beneath, now in the University Museum, was taken in Tubney Wood by the Rev. C. F. Thornewill on .May 29th, 1916. B. selene is less common and more local, but occurs freely in damp spots in Tubney Wood; in the very hot summer of 1911 a partial second brood of small specimens appeared in August, of which there is a good series in the Museum. Jelitaea aurinia, which for- merly occurred at Bagley Wood, Headington Wick, and other localities in the district, now appears to be confined to a limited area near Cothill, Berks, where it varies greatly in numbers in different years. Although constantly on the spot from 1905 onwards, I did not see a specimen before May 22nd, 1909, when I found it flying in abundance, and very fine and variable ; for several seasons afterwards it continued to appear more or less plentifully, but had become very scarce, or apparently absent from about 1914 until the present year, when it reappeared in something like its former abundance on May 25th. Melanargia galatea is distributed over a considerable area of level country between Abingdon and Tubney, where it is found in abundance in grassy lanes, sandy and boggy fields, and is even a common roadside butterfly ; it also occurs commonly in several places in Oxfordshire, as at Holton stone-pits near Wheatley. On the other hand, Pararge aegeria is singularly scarce, as I have heard of the occurrence of only 1918. ] 7 249 one or two examples in our-neighbourhood, though some of our woods appear eminently adapted for it. P. megaera is in some years also rather scarce, though in others, notably in 1917 and the present season, it has been exceedingly numerous, especially in the second — brood. Epinephile tanira is abundant throughout the District, and a partial second brood of richly coloured specimens is sometimes observed in hot summers. J. fithonus is abundant in lanes and on roadsides, and Aphantopus hyperanthus in most years is very plentiful at bramble- blossoms in the woods; the var. avete is occasionally met with at Bagley, and I have taken a curious pale fuscous form at Cothill. Coenonympha pamphilus is, as usual, plentiful in dry places, but I have seen no striking variations of this species. Zephyrus betulae is somewhat uncommon, but has been observed in more than one of our woods, and has its headquarters at Bagley ;. Z. quercus being much more common and widely distributed, and occurring occasionally in numbers (cf. Ent. Mo. Mag. 1918, p. 211). The entomological event of the present year is the discovery by a schoolboy, Walter Burrows, of Strymon prunt on June 23rd in a remote and not very accessible wood near the limits of our District; he kindly disclosed the locality to the Museum staff, and in consequence: I had the pleasure on July 8rd of seeing this very interesting little: butterfly alive for the first time, and of taking three or four good speci- mens on the blossom of the privet. Thecla w-album is fairly common | about elms, and on bramble and privet-blossom at Radley, Besselsleigh,. and Tubney. and Callophrys rubi is plentiful in woody places. Rumicia phlaeas, abundant in most years (especially so in 1911) sometimes: presents very interesting variations, the var. radiata Tutt having occurred to me more than once at Tubney, and in the Museum is a beautiful example of the silvery-white form usually known as schmzdtii,. which was taken by Mr. W. Holland at Hen Wood, Berks, in August: 1908. 5 Rake 88 Kine Street, Covent Garden, London, W. C9 Ape 2: ¢ "4. “TGESDAY .nd WEDNESDAY, DrcemBER 10th and 11th, ar 12,30 pac Dat ES . 2eP Mr. J, C. Stevens will sell by auction as above— Sea. < The M iceut Collection of British Noctuae, Geometers, and Micros, forma by Saas PER« ) Br icHT, Esq., containing many unique varieties and scarce and extinct roe specics, including its: series of Evulis; Subrosea, Barettii, Viduaria, Alpina, and a ee o" cries of Grossulaviata varieties. 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CHampion, Broomhall Road, Horsell, oe ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. ements oa A forty-eight page illustrated magazine, issted monthly, except in August. and September, devoted to the study of INSECT LIFE. It contains a resumé of the proceedings of a number of Entomological Societies, and also articles by the leading _ Entomologists in the United States and Canada. Valuable information for the ~~ beginner, the economic entomologist, and the systemist. TWO DOLLARS a year In advance. Single.copies, 25 cents. Address— aie EntTomoLogicaL News, . The Academy of Natural Sciences,» = 4° 1900 Race Srreet, PHILADELPHIA, Pa. hs; A c THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. ee 4 | A MonTuuy MaGazinv: DRYOTED To THE Srupy oF SCIENTIFIC Enromoxogy. y Pd Volume 50 is now in coursé of publication. Back volumes can be- supplied. — “ee it is the oldest established Magazine of the kind in America, and has a world-wide sirculation. Subscription, $2 per annum, payable in advance, which ‘includes a copy of the Annual Report of the Entomological Society of Ontario to the Legislature. Editor, Dr. KE. M. Welke Biolozgieal Deverimenty University of “ey Toronto, Toronto, Canada. nea Be aR ee Address: Entomological Society of Ontario, Guelph, Canada. WICKEN FEN.—The ‘Gusibaitns the National Trust, Leger: Entomologists for assistance towards the providing of the Watcher who guards — the Fen against abuse. This expense, which is absolutely necessary, is provided by voluntary subscriptions, and I am desired to ask for Contributions, which will Se be gratefully received, however aon: —W. G. SHELDON, Honorary Treasurer ms * ay the Wickez Fund, Youlgreave uth Croydon. (YSSYNOPSIS OF THE BRIPISH SIPHONAPTERA, by the Bet ue ion. N» Cnantzes Rorascuup, MA. F.L,S.,- ted by. Bight Plates tied in the aa Mo. ee Masel 1915, pp. 49-11 ek eps $d... Apply to THE. eat OF DRAGONFLIES “= & (ODONATA or PARANEUROPTERA) 3 * Spe: Patt vs tee J TILLYARD, M.A. BSc, F.LS, FES ee ¥ aD. DP. xii +398, With 4 plates and 188° ere eR 1d ‘conti cae CAMBRIDGE ZOOLOGICAL Serres: - sas as Mr Tillyatd has given. ». > Students of, the anatomy and #.) development of insects aré. much indebted ‘is him: for providing j in this con- no -yenient: form a trustworthy. guide’ to’ the external and mternal -structure of 4 ; ‘dragonilies at various stages of their life-histories.”—Nature ~.--* Py ee _ Prospectus on application ce, eae 3 Gs mbridge University Locara! Fetter Lane, csi E. C.4; O2F, flay, Manager ne (3) * TWN ce. S. ES = S 5 tig a | PEBROSTIONUS ae ~-pPRROSTICHUS . =>, = slepidas. Leské.. “<-> eylindrieus Hrbst: ms hove - Cupreus-Linn. ~~ “melas Crentz. Sk ea ee <) infuscatus De}. SREP Ss Se Ste = 5 & = puncticollis Dei a ree ABAX ‘f en ee Serenata, Dej= e ~~ -_ovalis Dnft. er Sree: ~ >) earbonicelor Soles “_ sehuppelii Pall. ee amacer Marsh: af eS 2 rendsehmidtit Germ: Ss aterzimus Brbsts - == corsions’ Dej,. Pee Cet Meee pues Se ee p20) 903. eee suing peacestas Webs Ae =: . facciolatum Duft.. =~. > --angustatus Duft. ge pee Saag ae » articulatom Gy _ inelanoscelis Chaud. AMARA : -ZABRUB -“ghaleeus Fald heros Fald ~* sedlitzit Schaum: ~ graeeus Dej. A, : peers. Create: | ANOPHTHALMUS —— — cognatus De}. ANISODACTYLUS Sra nes ie * -~-gethiops Panz. + dbinotatus. Dej. = REED. PEN DRAWINGS; UNIFORM IN SIZE, . _ y) rostratt ae 5 See: globose Fabr. 2 signatus Panz.. ae OND TO. A PAGE 8yo. = eer < ‘ 136. 96 Jonarzwow Srcehon Brooxtrs; x aa a4, | one Land 2, 1 cack, ‘Saree has. the: group reogived. stich detailéd and. well-balanced A, _ as ae * wees = ac eoptera in the.” | Geotrupés typlipens in Sore. capture 3 ay ‘he Butterflies of the Oxford I E tos dige ya a6 aN re. be } 2 ’ L , AM aan hb * - . —_— —— : 0 AID TS ry RE RT * . ——— ee ee eee te te ae . mn - 2 a BA. es KG S se9 as ‘ a. Vee % ? re? Oe iis rare S: Hei eRe Poh . = os a Vol. li (1915) contains 23 Plates (one coloured), a complete. Mon: aa +: Rate graph of the British Siphonaptera, ead numerous extra} 3 off Zt : OX = Shae. Sealy othe Publishers. ese a Spek sere ayes Bae ee Sas —- Sie oath ce Beste wae 3 at [= Cnt IP eee 3 MEETINGS “OF ‘SOCIETIES. + ara PS eed De Suess ae ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF. LONDON, ‘11, “Chinilo’ fa mn dish JARS Square, W.— Wednesday, December 4th, January 15th, 1919. (Annoal festa). ee | The Chair will be taken at 8 o'clock i in the evening precisely, aoe gE ae The Library is open daily from-9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (except om aturdays, when if ~ ae pte ea One ore Bec. ee Meting Pipe: : Be oan! So RET Teeter sho SOCIETY, Hibernia Chambers, London. e. The:Second & Spn3 ih Tharsdays in’ each month; at 7pm. - The. Jantern will ‘be at the Soest fei nbers. for the ries exhibition Of slides. “~ St ee he eT a ee ; The Chair will be taken eset oo Meg THE. LONDON. NATURAL 3 ts on the 1st and-3rd Tuesdays in each n r Circus, E.C., will be glad’to welcome at’ e€ ologists now staying in this country, and to givethem tho tts Libs collections. oetanuationss Loe e addressed to the Secretary, 8: ~ House, E.C, Ut ope 9 pee age 2 Hon, Sec.: J, Bie: 48. Geese Chingford Branch* ~The Chingford é wee Chingford Borer ak 8 Poli oa aio = ban Sone : ; = Ce aS , Pe as eee pide acta Se gee: 1, at Room 20, Salisbury House, ae a eae 1918.) 5 B% : 104 56.—Scirtes retusus, n. sp. 530694 Broad, elliptic, rather convex, shining, thickly pubescent, dione il ian © 0g - the eyes black, the sides of the elytra indeterminately, and the posterior knees, infuscate, the antennae with joints 4-11 distinctly darker than the others; densely, finely punctate. Head broad, the eyes large; antennae long, slender, joint 3 very small, not longer than 2. Prothorax very broad, short, arcuately narrowing from the base, slightly hollowed in front opposite the eyes, the anterior angles obtuse. Elytra rounded and sharply margined at the sides, bluntly rounded at the tip, without grooves or costae. Fifth ventral segment transversely depressed in the middle. Posterior coxal plates rect- angular. Posterior femora very broad, the tibiae stout, widened, not very elongate, and sharply carinate, the spurs thickened, the upper one curved, and nearly as long as the first tarsal joint. Length 33, breadth 2 mm. (<.) . Hab. Ceram (A. R. Wallace, in Mus. Oxon.). One specimen, obviously ¢. Near the Bornean 8. wniformis Waterh., the elytra more finely punctate, shorter, less acuminate, and bluntly, conjointly rounded at the apex; the antennae and posterior legs not so long; the prothorax relatively broader. It is the first Sczrtes to be recorded from Ceram. 57.—NSeirtes atrifrons, n. sp. . Oval, somewhat depressed, shining, rather coarsely pubescent ; brownish- testaceous, the head and prothorax black, the antennae piceous, with the three basal joints obscurely rufescent, the legs (the slightly infuscate posterior knees excepted) and under surface testaceous ; closely, conspicuously punctate, the punctures on the elytra rather coarse. Head short, the eyes large; antennae long, rather slender, joint 3 perceptibly longer than 2, those following elon- gate, filiform. Prothorax very short, convex, rapidly, arcuately narrowing from the base, hollowed in front opposite the eyes. Elytra long, rounded and sharply margined at the sides, with an indication of a shallow Haat groove Posterior coxal plates transverse, hollowed behind, sharply angulate. Posterior legs long, stout, the tibiae widened, almost straight on their inner edge, sharply carinate, the upper spur very long, about equalling the elongate first tarsal joint. Length 53, breadth 32 mm. (6?) Hab. Sumatra, Sungei Kumbang, Korinchi, alt. 4500 ft. (Robinson- Kloss Expedition: iv.1914). One specimen. Larger than the Bornean S. uniformis Waterh., the head and prothorax black, the elytra more elongate, the antennae piceous, the upper posterior tibial spur longer, less curved, and not so stout. The very short, black head and prothorax, and the long testaceous elytra, are the chief characters of this insect. : 266. (December, 58.—Scirtes acuminatus, un. sp. 3. Acuminate oval, depressed, shining, thickly, rather coarsely pubes- cent ; rufo-testaceous, the scutellum and elytra, and the posterior femora in part, nigro-piceous or piceous; densely, very finely punctate. Head. broad, the eyes large; antennae long, slender, joints 2 and 3 short, equal, those following elongate, filiform. Prothorax arcuately narrowing from the base, deeply hollowed in front opposite the eyes, the anterior angles prominent. Elytra long, rapidly narrowing from a little below the base, becoming narrow at the apex, sharply margined. Posterior coxal plates angular. Posterior femora very broad, the tibiae stout, curved, the two spurs very long, the upper one about one-third longer than the other, and almost as long as the first tarsal joint. Length 4, breadth 23 mm. Hab. Borneo, Sarawak (A. R.'Wallace). One male, injured by pinning, with the genital armature extruded. It is advisable to name this insect, as the long, acuminate elytra, and the greatly developed lower posterior tibial spur, render S. acwminatus easy of recognition. 59.—Scirtes pathainus, n. sp. Oval (¢'), a little widened posteriorly (2), rather broad, robust, shining, finely pubescent; obscure castaneous, piceous, or nigro-piceous, the antennal joints 1 and 2, the tips.of the tarsi, and the tibial spurs testaceous; closely, minutely, the elytra much more distinctly, punctate. Head broad, the eyes large; antennae long, joints 2 and 3 short, equal in length, 4-11 elongate, moderately slender, filiform. Prothorax arcuately narrowed from the base, hollowed in front opposite the eyes. Elytra with very faint impressed lines on the disc, the one along the suture the most distinct, rounded and sharply margined laterally in ¢, more oblong in 9. Posterior coxal plates rectan- gular. Legs long; posterior tibiae feebly curved, bread, carinate, the long upper spur much shorter than the first tarsal joint, the latter elongate. Length 33, breadth 23-2} mm. (d 9,) Hab. Assam, Patkai Mts. (Doherty, ex. coll. Fry), Described from two males and one female, A larger male (length, 4 mm.) from the same locality, with the antennae a little more slender, probably belongs here. The chief characters of S. pathainus are, the shining, obsoletely grooved, conspicuously punctured elytra, without apical foveae in @, the fine pubescence, the long antennae with the joints 3-11 infuscate, and the elongate basal joint of the posterior tarsi, 60.—NScirtes curvipes, n. sp, Oval, rather convex, finely pubescent, shining, piceous, the two basal joints of the antennae, the tips of the tarsi, and the tibial spurs testaceous ; the head and prothorax sparsely, minutely, the rest of the upper surface closely and conspicuously, punctate. Head broad, the eyes large ; antennae very long, 1918.] | 267 rather stout, joint 3 small, a little shorter than 2. Prothorax rapidly, arcuately narrowed from the base, hollowed in front opposite the eyes, the anterior angles deflexed. Elytra without trace of impressed lines or costae, narrowly margined. Posterior coxal plates rectangular. Legs long, the posterior pair especially, the latter with widened, carinate, arcuate tibiae, and the upper spur much shorter than the tirst tarsal joint. Length 23, breadth 1}? mm. (do?) Hab. Assam, Patkai Mts. (Doherty, ex coll. Fry). One specimen. An oval, shining, piceous insect, with unusually long legs and antennae, arcuate posterior tibiae (as in the Bornean S. matan- ganus, No. 66), the head and prothorax much smoother than the elytra, and the marginal carina of the latter not very prominent. 61.—Scirtes malayanus, n. sp. Oblong oval, finely pubescent, shining, piceous, the head, prothorax, and humeri obscurely rufescent in one example, the antennal joints 1-3, and the legs in part, testaceous; closely, finely, the elytra much more distinctly, punctate. Head broad, the eyes large; antennae rather slender, moderately long, joint 3 small, about as long as 2. Prothorax arcuately narrowed from the base, feebly hollowed in front opposite the eyes. Elytra without grooves or costae, narrowly margined. Fifth ventral segment emarginate in the middle in ¢. Posterior coxal plates rectangular. Posterior iegs long, the tibiae moderately curved, the upper spur shorter than the first tarsal joint. Length 23-3, breadth 13-12 mm. Hab. PERAK (Doherty, ex coll. Fry). Three specimens, one of which is assumed to be ¢. Separable from the nearly allied S. curvipes, from Assam, by the shorter and more slender antennae, the closer and stronger puncturing of the prothorax, that of the elytra being also distinctly coarser, the less rounded sides of the elytra, and the relatively narrower and less curved posterior tibiae. The stronger puncturing of the upper surface, much smaller size, etc., distinguish S. malayanus from the similarly coloured 8S. patkainus. S. consobrinus and S. ovatulus Lewis, from Japan, and S. nigricans -Waterh., from China, have the elytra more finely punctate. 62.—Scirtes melas, n. sp. Oval, shining, finely fusco-pubescent ; black, the antennal joints 1-3, the knees, apices of tarsi, and tibial spurs testaceous, the under surface piceous ; densely, finely punctate. Antennae long, rather slender, joint 3 small, barely as long. as 2. Prothorax arcuately narrowed from the base, hollowed in front opposite the eyes. Elytra transversely depressed on the disc below the base, and with a distinct groove along the suture, sharply, narrowly margined, the apices unimpressed. Posterior coxal plates angulate externally. Posterior legs long, Z2 268 (December, the femora very broad, the tibiae arcuate and rather broad, the upper spur much shorter than the first tarsal joint, the latter thickened. Length 2-3, breadth 14-2 mm. (6?) Hab. Invtra, Nilgiri Hills (H. L. Andrewes). Three specimens. Broader and a little less elongate than the insect identified by me as S. fowqgueti Pic, from Saigon, the upper surface more finely punctured, the posterior coxae with distinct angular plate. The transverse depression on the elytra below the base is broader and deeper than usual in the females of certain allied forms, and may be common to the two sexes. The surface-puncturing is coarser than in the Bornean S. sulcigerus, which has the elytra suleate near the apex in 9, and finer and closer than in 8. patkainus and S. curvipes from Assam. S. fouqueti is here placed under the genus Ora, antea, p. 144. 63.—wScirtes nigricans. Scirtes nigricans Waterh. Cist. Ent. ii, pp. 567 (1880). Short oval, convex, finely cinereo-pubeseent, very shining; black or piceous, the antennae (except towards the tip), palpi, and legs (the femora in part excepted) testaceous; closely, minutely, the elytra more distinctly punctate. Head broad; antennae long, a little shorter in 2, slender, joints 2 and 3 very short, equal. Prothorax rapidly narrowed from the base, hol- lowed in front opposite the eyes. Elytra narrowly margined, conjointly rounded at the tip. Posterior coxal plates rectangular. Posterior legs moderately long, the tibiae broad, curved, sharply carinate, the upper spur shorter than the first tarsal joint. Length 23, breadth 13-2 mm. (¢ @.) Hab. Cutna, Hong Kong (J. C. Bowring), Tygosan Island (J. J. Walker). The type of S. nigricans, an imperfect 9, was from “ China” (Bowring), the second specimen from ‘“‘ Java,” probably belonging else- where. Four other examples in the Museum—one from Hong Kong, two from “China” (Bowring), and one from Tygosan Island ( d ?)— are doubtless referable to the same species. These Chinese insects are almost intermediate between the Japanese S. ovatulus and WS. conso- brinus Lewis, differing from the first-named in the rather more slender antennae and less oblong shape, and from the latter in the less rounded sides of the elytra. More material is required to establish the status of the Japanese forms. 64.—Scirtes holosericeus, n. sp. Oval, moderately shining, testaceous, the head, prothorax, and posterior femora sometimes infuscate, finely sericeo-pubescent ; densely, minutely punctate. Head broad, the eyes large; antennae moderately long, joint 3 1918.] ; 269 very small, shorter than 2, 4-11 filiform, elongate, not very slender. Prothorax rapidly narrowing from the base, hollowed in front opposite the eyes. Elytra with an indication of a faint sutural stria, feebly margined laterally, the reflexed margin only just visible from above. Posterior coxal plates rectan- gular, Posterior tibiae broad, feebly curved, sharply carinate, the upper spur shorter than the elongate first tarsal joint. Length 23-3, breadth 14-2 mm. Hab. Borneo, Pengaron (Doherty), Kuching (J. #. A. Lewis). Four specimens, varying in the colour of the head and prothorax, the three from Kuching almost certainly including the two sexes. The feebly margined, densely, minutely punctate elytra, filiform antennae, with minute third joint, and broad posterior tibiae, are the chief characters of this pallid Scirtes. It is nearly related to the Javan S. pellucidus Waterh., which is a more elongate insect. 65.—Scirtes cyphonoides, n. sp. Oblong-elliptic, somewhat convex, shining, thickly, rather coarsely pubes- cent; testaceous, the head, a bread space on the disc of the prothorax, a large, oblique, indeterminate patch at the sides of the elytra at about the middle, and juints 5-1] of the antennae in part, piceous or infuscate ; densely, minutely, the head and prothorax a little more sparsely, punctate. Head broad, the eyes moderately large; antennae long, rather slender, joint 3 very small, short, barely as long as 2. Prothorax areuately narrowed from the base, hollowed in front opposite the eyes. Elytra rather convex, narrowly margined, without grooves or costae. Posterior coxal plates rectangular. Legs long; posterior tibiae feebly curved, widened, sharply carinate, the long upper spur much shorter than the first tarsal joint. Longth 3, breadth 2 mm. Hab. Burma, Ruby Mines (Doherty, ex coll. Fry). Two specimens, sex not ascertained. Near the Bornean 8S. holo- sericeus, and mainly distinguishable therefrom by its somewhat oblong shape (due to the less rounded sides of the elytra), the coarser pubescence, the smoother head and prothorax, and the infuscate outer joints of the antennae. The oblique infuscation of the sides of the elytra is indefinite, as in various species of Cyphon, and may not be constant. The only described Sczrtes from Burma is S. guadrimaculatus Waterh.* 66.—NScirtes matanganus, n. sp. Short oval, somewhat convex, shining, thickly, rather coarsely pubescent ; reddish-brown, the eyes black, the legs, antennae, and palpi testaceous, the under surface rufescent; closely, conspicuously punctate. Antennae long, slender, filiform, joint 1 stout, 3 very small, narrow, not so long as 2, 4-11 * There are two others, from Tharrawaddy, in Mr. Andrewes’s collection, too imperfect for description. 970 [December, elongate, more than twice the length of 3, filiform. Prothorax rapidly nar- rowed from the base, hollowed in front opposite the eyes. Elytra without grooves or foveae, the lateral margins rather broad, conspicuous from above. Posterior coxal plates rectangular. Posterior legs very long, the femora greatly developed, the tibiae curved and sharply carinate, the first tarsal joint much longer than the upper tibial spur. Length 22, breadth 13 mm. Hab. Borneo, Mt. Matang, W. Sarawak (G. EH. Bryant: xii.1913). One specimen, possibly male. A small, oval, rather convex form, with the upper surface conspicuously punctured, the elytral margins prominent, the antennae very slender, and the posterior legs much elon- gated, their tibiae arcuate. Smaller and shorter than S. holosericeus (from Kuching and Pengaron), the upper surface more shining and not so finely punctured, the elytra more broadly margined, the antennae much more slender, the posterior tibiae narrower and more curved. 67.—Scirtes sumatranus, n. sp. Q. Short oval, rather broad, shining, thickly pubescent, testaceous, the head and antennae (joints 1-3 excepted) infuscate; densely, minutely, the elytra much more distinctly, punctate. Head broad, the eyes large ; antennae long, joint 3 very small, shurter than 2, 4-11 elongate, flattened, comparatively stout. Frothoiax very short, rapidly, arcuately narrowed from the base, hol- lowed in front opposite the eyes, the anterior angles deflexed and somewhat obtuse. Elytra strongly rounded at the sides, sharply margined, without grooves or foveae, a faintly impressed sutural line excepted. Posterior coxal plates rectangular. Posterior legs long, the tibiae feebly curved, widened, and sharply carinate, the upper spur about as long as the first tarsal joint. Length 24, breadth 2 mm. Hab. Sumatra, Engafio Island (Doherty, ex coll. Fry). One female, with the tip of the ovipositor exposed. A short oval, ‘shining, testaceous form, with the elytra strongly rounded at the sides and conspicuously punctured, the antennae unusually clongate and com- paratively stout. Broader and more robust than the Bornean S. matan- ganus, the posterior legs less elongate, the posterior tibiae less curved, the antennae much thicker. 8. pallidus Schauf. (1887) (nec pallidus Waterh., 1880, from Penang), diagnosed in six words, and recorded doubtfully as from Atchin, Sumatra, cannot be conspecific with S. swmatranus. 68.—NScirtes marginatus. Scirtes marginatus Waterh. Cist. Ent. 11, p. 570 (1880). Hab. Ixpvta, Bombay (Capt. Downes: type), Sunderbans, Bengal (F. W. Champion); Nicopar Is. (Roepstorff). ——————— -1918.] 271 The type of this insect, 2, is labelled “ Bombay,” India only having been given for it by Waterhouse. Three specimens—two females and one male—have recently been sent me from Bengal, and there are two others from the Nicobar Is. in. the Museum. An oblong-oval, depressed form, piceous or blackish above, with the lateral margins of the pro- thorax, a broad stripe down the dise of each elytron (the two stripes confluent along the suture in the type), the legs, basal joints of antennae, and under surtace in part, testaceous. The example from Bengal assumed to be ¢, with longer antennae, has joints 4-11 black. 69.—Scirtes longiusculus, n. sp. d. Oblong-oval, shining, rather coarsely pubescent; brownish-piceous, the antennae, palpi, basal and lateral margins of prothorax, elytral suture, legs, and under surface testaceous ; closely, conspicuously punctate. Antennae slender, joint 3 very small, narrow, not longer than 2, the following joints moderately elongate. Prothorax rapidly arcuately narrowing from the base, hollowed in front opposite the eyes. Elytra long, without definite grooves or foveae, sharply margined. Fifth ventral segment emarginate at the apex. Posterior coxal plates rectangular. Posterior legs long, the tibiae feebly curved and sharply carinate, the spurs strongly curved, the longer upper one sherter than the first tarsal joint. Length 23, breadth 15 mm. Hab. Borneo, Mt. Matang, W. Sarawak (G.#. Bryant : 31.1.1914). One specimen, assumed to be ¢. More elongate and slightly narrower than S. matanganus, in great part infuscate above, the basal joint of the antennae not so stout, the elytra less rounded at the sides, the posterior legs shorter, the tibiae straighter, the spurs strongly curved, the puncturing of the upper surface perceptibly finer. 70.—Scirtes melanurus, n. sp. Elliptic, depressed, shining, closely, finely pubescent; testaceous, the eyes, antennae (joints 1-3 excepted), palpi,-a broad space along the outer margin of the elytra from the middle to the apex, the under surface, and the legs in part, black or piceous; densely, minutely punctate. Antenuae with joint 3 small narrow, not so long as 2, 4-10 slightly longer than broad. Prothorax hollowed in front opposite the eyes, arcuately narrowing from the base. Elytra with traces of longitudinal grooves on the disc, narrowly margined. Posterior legs long, the femora broad, the tibiae rather narrow and feebly carinate, the upper spur twice the length of the lower one, and shorter than the elongate first tarsal joint. Length 23,, breadth li mm. (?<¢.) Hab. Borneo, Mt. Matang, W. Sarawak (G. 2. Bryant: 28.1.1914). One specimen. Recognizable by the pallid, densely, minutely punctate upper surface, the elytra broadly bordered with black along 272 [ December, their outer posterior half; the antennae black, except at the base. One of nine species of Scirtes obtained by Mr. Bryant on Mt. Matang, and very different from the rest, the present insect having the general facies of a small Psylliodes, fam. Halticidae. Compared with 8. difficelis Waterh., from Penang, etc., 8. melanurus may be known by its much less elongate shape, the more slender, darker legs, and the laterally extended blackish apical patch. | 71.—Scirtes difficilis. Scirtes difficilis Waterh. Cist. Ent. ii, p. 571 (1880). Hab. Penane (Bowring); Cutya (Bowring), Pwanche, Chusan . Archipelago (J. J. Walker: 17.vii.1892). A narrow, elongate form, testaceous in colour, with the apex of the elytra infuscate or black. The specimen from Pwanche agrees well with the type. The posterior coxal plates are rectangular, as in S. hemi- sphaericus. The two examples in the Museum from the Bowring collection are labelled Penang (the type) and China respectively, the Penang locality requiring confirmation. 72.—Scirtes nilgiriensis, n. sp. Short oval, rather convex, shining, closely pubescent; variable in colour— piceous, with the basal and outer margins of the prothorax, or the prothorax entirely, the elytral suture or humeral margin in some examples, two or more of the basal joints of the antennae, the legs in great part or entirely, and occa- sionally the head and basal half of the elytra (indeterminately) also in g, testaceous; closely, minutely, the elytra a little more distinctly, punctate. Antennae slender, moderately long, joint 2 very small, shorter than 3. Prothorax arcuately narrowed from the base, hollowed in front opposite the eyes. Elytra with an indication of a faint groove along the suture, narrowly margined; in 2 with a shallow depression at the apex just within the sutural angle, which is more acute than in ¢. Posterior coxal plates rectangular. Posterior tibiae moderately widened, the elongate upper spur shorter than the first tarsal joint. Length 2-21, breadth 11-22 mm. (¢ Q.) Hab. Invta, Nilgiri Hills (H. L. Andrewes, Sir G. F. Hampson). A long series, varying in colour, including numerous females with the ovipositor protruding, apparently all referable to one species. An obscure, small form, not unlike the equally variable 8. swborbiculatus, from Central America, but narrower, and with more slender antennae, ete. Compared with S. pallidus Waterh., from Penang and Siam, the present insect is a little more conxex and has less densely punctate elytra. SS. nilgiriensis would perhaps have been better placed in the group including Nos. 39-46. 1918.] AUSTRALIAN SPECIES. 73.—NScirtes exoletus. 273 Scirtes exoletus Waterh. Cist. Ent. ii, p. 573 (1880). Hab. W. AUSTRALIA. Waterhouse omitted to note that his type of 8. ewoletus was a female. The elytra having’ each a large shallow fovea near the suture towards the apex, a character indicative of that sex, and corroborated by the extruded ovipositor. No other specimen has since come to hand, One other species from Australia has been described, S$. helms: Blackb., the type of which is now in the British Museum. Alphabetical numbered list of the species of Prionoscirtes, Ora, and Scirtes enumerated in this paper, the generic names indicated of those placed under Prionoscirtes and Ora; the new names marked with an asterisk :— *acuminatus 58. *africanus, 21. *andamanus, 37. *angularis (Ora), 24. *antiqua (Ora), 15. *atrifrons, 57. *atrosignata (Ora), 17. *auriculatus, 40. *bifoveatus, 45. *pifoveifrons (Ora), 13. *bipustulatus, 28. *bituberculata (Ora), 6. brevenotata (Ora), 5. *buckleyi, 7. *calcarata (Ora), 9. canescens, 53. *cassidiformis (Ora), 10. cayennenis, 5. *cincticollis, 4. *cinnamomea (Ora), 7. complanata (Ora), 2. *compressa (Ora), 21. *coronata (Ora), 22. *crassicornis, 48. *curvipes, 60. *cyphonoides, 65. *decemguttatus, 31. *decemnotatus, 36. *dichrous, 47. difficilis, 71. *dispersus, 15. elegans, 38. elongatus, 50. *ephippiatus, 34, *excavatus, 42. Horsell, Woking. April 1918, exoletus, 73. *flavocinctus, 29. *flavoguttatus, 30. *flavomaculatus, 2. *flavomarginatus, 13, *flavonotatus, 35. *floresianus, 55. *forticornis, 12. fouqueti (Ora), 23. *oramma (Ora), 4. *oibbosa (Ora), 20, grandis, 52. grayi, l. *helodinus, 24, *helvolus, 14. *holosericeus, 64, *lacunosus, 41. *laevicollis, 17. *longiusculus, 69, *lutens, 6. lutescens, 43. *macropus (Ora), 11. maculatus. 32. *malayanus, 61. marginatus, 68. marmorata (Ora), 3, *matanganus, 66. *melanurus, 70, *melas, 62. *multiguttatus, 3, *nigeriensis, 23. *nigrans, 8. nigricans, 63. nigricornis (Ora), 8, *nigrolimbatus, 26, nigropunctata (Ora), 18. *nilgiriensis, 72. *patkainus, 59. picta (Ora), 16. *quadrifoveatus, 46. *reliquus (Prionoscirtes), 1 *retusus, 56. *rufotinctus, 51. *rugipennis (Ora), 14. *rugosissima (Ora), 19. *scaphiformis, 49. *sexfoveatus, 44. *sphaericus, 27. *strigosus, 16. *subcostatus, 18. *subulatus, 25. *sulcigerus, 39. *sumatranus, 67. testaceicollis, 9. *tetrastigma, 33. thoracicus, 11. *trinitatis, 10. *triradiata (Ora), 1. uniformis, 54. *validus, 20. *vigintiguttata (Ora), 12. *vittifrons, 22. *zambesianus, 19. SYNONYMS. albomaculatus, 38. bourgeoisi, 32. irregularis (Ora), 18 sericeus, 53. sexmaculatus, l, 274 (December, ON SOME SPECIES HITHERTO ASSIGNED TO THE GENUS CERCYON (COLEOPTERA, HYDROPHILIDAE), BY D. SHARP, M.A., F.R.S. The little insects to which I am calling attention differ from the other species of Cereyon by a character that has hitherto escaped atten- tion. The Cercyons possess a peculiarity in having on the metasternum an area in the middle differently sculptured from the rest of the sternite. In the C. minutus group, this area becomes much elevated in front, and stretches forwards to the strongly-elevated mesosternal lamina, with which in most of the species it comes in contact, thus leaving above the point of conjunction a peculiar lumen, or little vacant space. In order to appreciate this character it is necessary to view the under surface of the insect in profile. In addition to this peculiarity of the structure, there is also a distinction from ordinary Cercyon inasmuch as the diffuse punctuation of the elytra is reduced to vestiges of a few obsolete punc- tures irregularly placed. Also the species are never found in dung. These points would justify us in separating the group as a distinct genus. Rey placed them in his subgenus Cerycon, of which he says: “ce sous- genre remarquable se distingue, en outre, par son aire mesosternale plus brusquement et plus fortement relevée” (“ Palpicornes,” p. 344). But he missed the important points of a similar elevation of the metasternum, and the correlative relations of the two parts. He also placed C. bifene- stratus in the subgenus, but as I have never seen that species I cannot speak of it. On the whole it appears to me that it will be best to treat Cerycon as a distinct genus, amending Rey’s definition and leaving it doubtful whether C. bzfenestratus belongs to it. Rey gives the meso- sternal lamina as being “ovale ou naviculaire,” but he missed the fact that it is narrow in C. lugubris. C. minutus may be taken as the type, it being the best known of the species, though structurally it is the least advanced of the genus, the little C. sternalis being the most differentiated. I desire to thank Mr. Champion and Commander Walker for lending me their collections of these rare little insects. 1.—Cerycon minutus, Fabr. This species is easily enough distinguished from all the others by the obsolescence of the striae towards the extremity of the elytra; the sutural stria is continued to the apex, but the others quite fade away; the apex is very indefinitely and obscurely paler than the last ; the striae at the base are well-marked and their punctures distinct. The palpi are piceous, or flavo-piceous. The mesosternal lamina is rather broad, very \ Vw g f 1918.} 275 prominent, and is longitudinally convex, and it is separated from the strongly-elevated front point of the raised metasternal area by a distinct chink: this character and the elytral striation separate the species absolutely from all the following forms. The length with the head extended is usually quite 24 mm., but the species is a ‘little variable, some specimens being rather smaller, and more pointed behind, and the metasternal chink somewhat: reduced. At present it is unnecessary to distinguish these by a separate name. The male is distinguished by the dilatation of the apices of the lateral lobes from that of C. lugubris. The name minutus by which this species was known for several generations has been changed on insufficient grounds by some authorities, but the proposal to do so does not appear to meet with general acceptance, being rejected by Seidlitz, Kuwert, and Rey. Though far from abundant C. minutus is widely distributed in England and Scotland. 2.—Cerycon granarius, Ey. Readily distinguished from small C. minutus by the more shining elytra, the serial punctuation of which is distinct at the apex. The species is very like small C. analis, though the structure of the sterna is very different in the two, and in granarius the diffuse punctuation of the elytra is wanting. On the under surface the mesosternal plate is shorter than in C. minutus; it is oval, rather broad, and pointed behind ; the metasternal anterior point very nearly touches the mesosternal lamella, indeed the two appear to be in contact, but a careful examination shows that there is a distinct gap between them. | From the following species C. granarius is distinguished by the shining elytra and the more inflated second joint of the palpi, as well as by the broader mesosternal lamella; the palpi are piceous-yellow. I have only one specimen, which was given to me by G. R. Crotch at the time the species was first distinguished in this country (Ent. Annual, 1869, p. 38); it is a female, and has the elytra vaguely paler on the apex. There is no reason to doubt the distinction of granarius from lugubris. CC. J.Thomson was the first to point out the difference in the mesosternal lamina of the two (Skand. Col. ix, 1867, p. 126). 3.—Cerycon lugubris, Payk. Extremely like the smallest specimens of C. minutus, but besides having the elytra striate at the tip, the structure of the sterna is quite 2 76 (December, different. The mesosternal lamina is comparatively narrow, about three times as long as broad, the advanced angle of the metasternal area touches it, though seen in profile there is a minute lumen, or space, above the point of contact. In the male the lateral lobes are not dilated at the tip, the median lobe is blunt at the apex; the encasement is robust, and one of the lateral chitinisations is more sinuate than the other. | Hammersmith Marshes, Dec. 80th, 1862; New Forest, Aug. 10th, 1908; Lee, Kent, a long series (Champion); marsh, near Greenford (LE. A. Newbery in coll. Walker), Cerycon lugubris, var. intermixtus, var. n. Ovalis, valde convexus, minus latus; niger, palpis fusco-testaceis, antennis, pedibus elytrorumque apice testaceis; mesosterni lamina angusta, contigua ad apicem metasterni. Long. capite extenso fere 2 mm, Extremely similar to typical C. lugubris, but narrower, very convex, head especially narrower; the sternal structure almost the same. The male characters are a little different, being more delicate in intermizxtus, the median lobe narrower and therefore more pointed, and the chitinisa- tions, or sclerites, of the encasement very slender. Weybridge, June 30th, 1864, two specimens ; Turner’s Wood, Hamp- stead, Jan. 24th, 1864, two specimens ; with /wguwbris in several localities. In Champion’s collection there are two specimens of a doubtful species very near the var. zntermixtus, but even smaller and narrower, one from Lee, the other from Walton-on-Thames. 4.—Cerycon sternalis, sp. n. Ovalis, convexus, niger; palpis, antennarum basi, pedibus elytrorumque apice sordide testaceis, elytris sericeo-subopacis, striatis, striis ad apicem pro- fundis ; mesosterni lamina sat protuberante, sat lata, apice ad metasterni apicem coutiguo. Long. capite extenso 2 mm. Very similar to the smallest specimens of C. minutus, easily dis- tinguished by the striation of the apex of the elytra and by the sternal structure. The front of the metasternal area is strongly elevated and overlaps the tip of the mesosternal lamina, hence the lumen, or space, above their conjunction is large. The mesosternal lamina is broad and, like the metasternal area, strongly punctured. From C. lugubris and var. intermixtus this species is easily dis- tinguished by the structure of the sterna, the mesosternal lamina being markedly broader. 1918.] 277 Hammersmith Marshes, Feb. 25th, 1863; also two specimens given to me by Dr. Power as C. lugubris, and probably from the same locality ; Sheppey (Walker). Five specimens from Slapton Ley (J. H. Keys in coll. Walker) may be a variety of C. sternalis, but they have the mesosternal lamina a little smaller. 5.—Cérycon pumilio, sp. n. Ovalis, angustus, valde convexus, niger, palpis antennarum basi, pedibus elytrorumque apice testaceis ; elytris sericeo-subopacis, striat:s, striis ad apicem profundis; mesosterni lamina sat protuberante, sat lata, basi ad metasterni apicem contigua; pedibus gracilibus, Long. capite extenso vix 1} mm. This minute insect is only as large as Cercyon pygmaeus; though closely allied to C. sternalis, I do not think it will prove to be a variety of that; it is only one-fourth the bulk thereof, is of a slightly different shape, and the mesosternal lamina is not quite so broad. Hammersmith Marshes, March 9th, 1863, one specimen. Brockenhurst. October 30th, 1918. ON A NEW SPECIES OF CAMPODEA (C. DEVONIENSIS, sp. nN.) FROM SOUTH DEVON. BY RICHARD S. BAGNALL, F.L.S. Amongst a small collection of Campodea I had recently the oppor- tunity of making in the neighbourhood of Torquay is a smallish species which cannot be identified with any described form. It belongs to the third section of the genus, which is distinguished by the absence of the macrochaetae at the hind angles of both the meso- and metanotum. This section may be further subdivided, the one group containing those wherein both pairs of the anterior (submedian and sublateral) macro- chaetae are present in the mesonotum and the submedian anterior pair present in the mesonotum, and the other group containing those in which the submedian anterior pair of macrochaetae is absent in both the meso- and metanotum. In this second group Silvestri places two species, C. emeryi, which retains the sublateral anterior macrochaetae in the mesonotum, and C. ribauti, wherein both anterior pairs in the mesonotum are lost. Campodea devoniensis, sp. n. Length 2°5-3:°0 mm. Belonging to the second subdivision of the third section vf the genus and having the notal maciochaetae numbered as in 278 (December, C. emeryt Silv. Pronotal macrochaetae much as in emery?, but with only 3-4 points: normal microchaetae moderately long and pointed. Abdominal tergites without submedian macrochaetae ; segments 8 and 9 with lateral, and 7-9 with posterior, sublateral macrochaetae present. Cerci 8-10 segmented, similar to those in C, emery, but with the upwardly directed macrochaetae broadly bifurcated at apex, and, in the basal cercal joints, usually with a further bifurcation of the main arm in addition to two or three subsidiary branches or points below the secondary arm. Antennae 17—20-jointed (I have only seen young examples with perfect antennae, my mature specimens being mutilated in this respect). Apical seta of stylus as in C. staphylinus. Hab. Torquay and neighbourhood, October 1918. This species can only be compared with C. emery, from which it differs sharply in the arrangement of the abdominal macrochaetae; in the structure of the macrochaetae of the pronotum, abdomen, and cerci, and in the type of stylus. Rydal Mount, Blaydon-on-Tyne. October 26th, 1918. HORMOPEZA OBLITERATA ZETTERSTEDT ASSOCIATED WITH MELANOPHILA ACUMINATA Dr G. ON BURNING PINES IN BERKSHIRE. BY J. E. COLLIN, F.E.S. Mr. W. E. Sharp in his paper on “‘ Welanophila acuminata De G. in Berkshire” in the last number of this Magazine (p. 244), referred to a Dipteron as being the only other living creature besides the beetle, capable of living in, and apparently enjoying, the very high temperature caused by the immediate proximity of burning peat and glowing pine- stumps. Two specimens of this fly, both of them males, were sent to me for identification, and I was surprised and delighted to find that they were representatives of the very little known Empid genus Hormopeza. This genus was erected by Zetterstedt in 1840 for the new species obliterata from Lapland, and there is still no other known Palaearetic species. It has been recorded from Finland by Bonsdorf and Frey, while the “Novum Empidarum genus” described and figured (but not named) by Becker in 1900 in his “ Beitrage zur Dipteren Fauna Siberiens” (Acta Soc. Sc. Fenn. xxvi, No. 9) from a single damaged male specimen taken by Sahlberg on the Island of Nikander, was undoubtedly Hormopeza obliterata. I know of no other record of its “occurrence. The genus may be recognised by its venation coupled with the shape of the antennae. 1918.) 279 The venation somewhat resembles that of Hilara, but the branches of the cubital fork widely diverge; the subcostal vein is not thickened towards its end and there is no darkened “ stigma” below the tip of this vein; the lower branch of postical fork is more angulated at its junction with the anal vein; costal pubescence only microscopic except at extreme base, where there are a few yellow hairs and astrong yellow bristle. The antennae are short; the first two joints very much fused together, third joint large, ovate, but rather more convex below than above; style very short, three jointed, the first two joints stout (first joint very short and indistinct), third joint shorter than second and spine-like. The eyes are closely approximated though not actually touching on the frons in the male, with the facets of equal size. Proboscis short, normally directed diagonally forwards and sliyhtly projecting. Thorax longer than broad, not much arched, dusted greyish. All bristles and hairs yellowish. Acrostichals short, biserial; dorsocentrals rather longer, uniserial, ending in 2-3 pairs of longer bristles behind; scutellum with a fringe of yellow bristles of. which six are long. Hypopleura bare. Abdomen longer than thorax, not very broad, slightly narrowed before the hypopygium, black and shining. Pubescence yellowish, short and scattered on disc, longer on hind margins, especially at sides. Hypogyzgium globular, shining black with an opening above between the two side lamellae, from the base of this opening two long flattened papillae, placed close together and clothed with short hairs, project upwards; side lamellae bearing several long yellowish bristles. . Wings longer than the abdomen; veins yellowish, those about tip and on lower half of wing faint. Halteres yellow. Legs simple and rather elongate, dark brownish-black and rather shining, end of coxae, the trochanters, tip of femora, and base of tibiae, yellowish brown, most distinctly so on anterior pairs. Femora short-haired. All tibiae with short yellowish-brown bristles, longest and almost spinose on hind tibiae. Tarsi all slightly longer than their respective tibiae and short-haired. The dusted thorax with its yellow hairs and bristles, together with the shining black abdomen, makes the insect superficially somewhat resemble a species of Tachydromia, from which, however, it is of course abundantly distinguished by the venation. Zetterstedt placed the genus in his Hybotinae (which also included what are now known as the Ocydrominae) between the genera Trichina (which he afterwards called Microphorus) and Iteaphila. In Kertesz’s “ Katalog ” it is placed in the Empidinae between Iteaphila and Rhagas, followed by Hilara. I feel convinced that its correct position is in the Ocydrominae, to which subfamily, indeed, fthagas. should also be transferred ; but I hope to deal more fully with this question on some future occasion. Finally, my thanks are due to Mr. W. E. Sharp for enabling me to 280 (December, 1918. | become acquainted with this interesting Empid genus and remarkable addition to our List of British Diptera, also for generously placing the specimens unreservedly at my disposal. Sussex Lodge, Newmarket. November 14th, 1918. Amarochara bonnairet Fauv. (glabriventris Rye) at Box Hill.—Among some beetles sent to me to look over by my friend Mr. W. West were a few specimens of the above-named rare Staphylinid. They were taken by sweeping between 5 and 6 p.m. in July 1916. Mr. West tells me that there was a bees’= nest in the vicinity, but this may or may not have any connection with the Ama- rochara, which, according to Continental authorities, is associated with Lasius Fuliginosus and drwnneus, and is very rare. First taken in Britain by Dr. Power in the runs of Lastus fuliginosus at Mickleham in May and June 1863, and described in February 1865, by Rye, under the name of Oxypoda glabriventris (Ent. Mo. Mag. i, p. 212), its rediscovery near the old locality is very inte- resting, since Fowler (Col. Brit. Isls. 11, 1888, p. 47) states that “it has not since been captured,” nor have I any recollection of any subsequent record *. The insect is remarkable on account of the short 4th antennal joint, which is a flat plate more than twice as broad as long.—E. A. NEwsery, 13 Oppidans Road, N.W.3: Nov. 13th, 1918. | Vanessa antiopa in the north of Essex.—Mr. Guy Maynard, Curator of the Museum at Saffron Walden, has kindly supplied the following particulars of the capture of a “ Camberwell Beauty ” last spring. The butterfly was seen | on April 8rd, 1918, sunning itself on the pavilion in the playing-fields of the Friends’ School at Saffron Walden. It was captured by C. F. and P. W. Tebbut, boys of the school, by whom it has been presented to the Saffron Walden Museum. It measures 33 inches across the wings. The surface is slightly rubbed and dull, and the border blanched to a creamy white, indicating a hibernated specimen, and probably an immigrant from the Continent. Mr. Maynard adds that, knowing the school and the science master in charge of the boys, he has every faith in the account given, and r there is, consequently, no evidence against the assumption that the specimen __ was a genuinely wild one. (The parts of the coast nearest to Saffron Walden lie more or less south of east, and from 35 to 45 miles distant.—Ebs. ] hs — * Mr. E. G. Elliman (Ent. Mo. Mag. xxxiii, p. 279) mentions the capture of two specimens of “ Tlyobates glabriventris ?’ on June 6th, 1897, by sweeping in a wood in the Chilterns district.—EDs. END OF VOL. 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