DERMESTES. 643 
Subfam. DERMESTIN 2. 
DERMESTES. | 
Dermestes, Linn. (ex parte), Syst. Nat. i. 2, p. 561 (1767); Erichson, Ins. Deutsch. iii. p. 424. 
This genus includes upwards of fifty species, but how many of these are really valid 
it is impossible to say, the synonymy being very difficult on account of most of the 
descriptions being inadequate. Some of the species are extremely variable. Five 
have been detected in our region. 
1. Dermestes marmoratus. 
Dermestes marmoratus, Say, Journ. Acad. Phil. iii. p. 197'; Jayne, Proc. Am. Phil. Soc. xx. 
p. 849, t. 1. fig. 10 (1882) * 
Hab. Nortu America!, Western and Pacific States 2.—Mexico, Villa Lerdo in 
Durango ( Hége). 
This North-American insect is represented as Mexican by a series of seventeen 
specimens. It is a very distinct species, larger than any other, and with the sides of 
the thorax much converging in front, but straight behind the middle. 
2. Dermestes mannerheimi. 
Dermestes mannerheimii, Lec. Proc. Acad. Phil. 1854, p. 107°. 
Hab. Norra America, California!, Texas (coll. Sharp)—Mexico, Villa Lerdo in 
Durango, Vera Cruz, Cordova (Hége), Santecomapan (Sal/é). 
The specimen from Santecomapan agrees almost exactly with one of the individuals 
from California named for me many years ago by Dr. Leconte as D. mannerheimi. 
Jayne says the species is not distinct from D. marmoratus, but this is apparently an 
error. Reitter, on the other hand, says that D. mannerheimi is probably (‘sicher ”) 
D. caninus, Germar. That species is said by Jayne to be D. murinus, L.; but this 
also may be assumed to be an error arising from badly-named examples, as our 
common European J. murinus does not agree with Jayne’s description. We have 
received only a small series of six specimens of this insect. 
LD. mannerheimi may be distinguished from all our species (except D. marmoratus) 
by the thorax being mottled with numerous spots of black, fulvous-yellow, and grey. 
3. Dermestes carnivorus. 
Dermestes carnivorus, Fabr. Syst. Ent. i. p. 55'; Reitter, Verh. Ver. Brinn, xix. p. 29 (1881) ’*. 
? Dermestes sobrinus (Lec.), Reitter, l.c.*. 
Hab. Noxtu America, Arizona.—Mexico, Ventanas to Jalapa (Forrer, Hoge, &c.), 
Yucatan ; British Honpuras; GuaremaLa, San Gerénimo, Volcan de Atitlan (Cham- 
pion); Nicaragua; Costa Rica. 
| 4N*2 
