HEMICEEPIDIUS. 487 



16. Hemicrepidius nitidus. 



Elongate, narrow, rather depressed, shining ; black, with a slight metallic lustre, the antenna? and legs pitchy- 

 brown ; above and beneath sparsely clothed with long, fine hairs, which are yellowish-cinereous on the 

 upper and cinereous on the lower surface. Head sparsely punctured, flattened in front ; antennas rather 

 slender, elongate, extending to fully two joints beyond the hind angles of the prothorax, joint 3 a little 

 longer than 2. Prothorax longer than broad, subparallel, slightly narrowed in front, feebly sinuate at 

 the sides behind ; the hind angles acute and moderately divergent, not carinate ; the surface rather 

 sparsely and somewhat finely punctate. Scutellum flattened, closely punctured. Elytra nearly three 

 times the length of the prothorax, and wider than it, narrowing from the middle, subtruncate at the 

 apex ; punctate-striate, the striae fine, the interstices feebly convex and sparsely punctured. Beneath 

 very sparsely punctate, the presternum with widely scattered punctures. 



Length 8|, breadth 21 millim. ( <$ .) 



Eab. Mexico, Cordova {Salle). 



One male example. Allied to E. amitinus, but more depressed and more shining ; 

 the punctuation of the thorax coarser, and that of the presternum sparser ; the 

 antennas more elongate in the male. From E. longicornis it may be known by the 

 much less produced hind angles of the thorax. 



17. Hemicrepidius cruciatus. (Tab. XXI. fig. 16, s .) 



Elongate, narrow, slightly shining ; black, the prothorax rufous, with a median vitta of variable extent — 

 sometimes constricted or interrupted in the middle, or reduced to a small mark at the base and apex, and 

 sometimes broad throughout, — and the hind angles also in some specimens, black ; the margins of the 

 propleurse, metasternum, and abdomen usually ferruginous; the legs piceous or black, the antenna? 

 entirely black ; the prothorax with a broad patch on either side in front and behind thickly clothed 

 with long, coarse, decumbent, pale yellowish hairs, leaving a large cruciform mark extending to the base, 

 apex, and lateral margins, this portion of the surface being clothed with finer, fuscous hairs ; the scutellum 

 and elytra fusco-pubescent, the elytra in some specimens ( 5 ) with a broad oblique space down the disc 

 of each yellowish-cinereous-pubescent ; the head and under surface sparsely clothed with yellowish- 

 cinereous pubescence. Head triangularly depressed in front, sparsely punctured anteriorly, closely so on 

 the vertex ; antennae about reaching the hind angles of the prothorax in the female, considerably longer 

 in the male, joint 3 slightly longer than 2. Prothorax longer than broad in both sexes, feebly rounded at 

 tbe sides, the latter slightly converging in front, straight or feebly sinuous before the middle, and sinuate 

 behind ; the hind angles long and strongly divergent, acute, not carinate ; the surface densely and finely 

 punctate throughout. Scutellum feebly convex in front. Elytra about two and three-fourths longer than 

 the prothorax, and distinctly wider than it, somewhat rounded at the sides, narrowing from the basal 

 third, the apices subtruncate ; deeply punctate-striate, the interstices rather convex and transversely 

 rugose, granulate on the basal declivity. Beneath sparsely, finely punctate. 



Length 6|-7|, breadth 1|— 2| millim. ( <$ $ .) 



Eab. Guatemala, Purula in Vera Paz 4000 feet (Champion). 



This insect occurred not uncommonly in a forest-clearing near Purula ; the specimens 

 were found sunning themselves upon leaves. H. cruciatus is allied to the Mexican 

 E. pictipes (Chevr.), from which it differs in its narrower and more elongate shape and 

 less opaque surface ; the head is depressed in front and more sparsely punctured ; the 

 thorax has a large patch of coarse pallid pubescence on either side in front and behind, 

 the cruciform space thus left appearing at first sight almost bare, it being clothed with 

 finer and darker hairs. The thorax is rufous ; the black median vitta is variable in 



