BRUCHUS. — 473 
lamina; the sculpture of the interstices of the wing-cases is aciculation rather than 
punctuation, and the scutellum is minute, and clothed with white pubescence. The 
front legs are red, but with the tarsi more obscure, and the bases of the femora dark. 
One example. 
74. Bruchus piger. 
Brevis, subovatus, niger, subtiliter albido pruinosus ; antennarum basi pedibusque anterioribus rufis; prothorace 
elytrisque densissime punctulatis; femoribus posterioribus dente elongato armatis. 
Long. 2 millim. 
Hab. Mexico, Guanajuato (Sallé); Nicaragua, Chinandega (Sallé). 
This obscure little insect is very closely allied to B. monachus, but is considerably 
smaller, and has only four joints red at the base of the antenne, and is further distin- 
guished from the allies by the extreme diminution of the coarse punctuation on the 
metasternum. The lamina between the apex of the front coxs is excessively minute. 
One example from each locality. 
§ 5. Ventral rings elongate; pygidium oblique or subhorizontal ; size never very small, 
in a single species only does the length descend to 2 millim. Femora only 
moderately dilated, armed usually with a tooth and two denticles; rarely one 
denticle, and still more rarely both, may be absent. 
This group is heterogeneous, but as it contains comparatively few species it would be 
of no use for the purposes of this work to subdivide it. I may mention, as additional 
characters, that the head is very short, the eyes widely separated, the antennz feeble 
and subserrate; the thorax is conic, with the sides convex, or in B. oblongo-guttatus of 
peculiar subtransverse form. An important peculiarity of the group is that in several 
species the femora of the male are deeply channelled beneath nearly or quite to the 
base, while in the female they are of the normal form. This character, however, is 
found only in certain of the species. 
75. Bruchus humeralis. 
Bruchus humeralis, Gyll. in Schoénh. Cure. i. p. 39°. 
Hab. Mexico!, Ventanas 2000 feet (Forrer), Almolonga (flohr), Cordova, Capu- 
lalpam, Yolos, El Cameron (Sallé), Oaxaca (Hoge); GUATEMALA, near the city 5000 feet 
(Salvin), San Gerénimo, San Joaquin in Vera Paz (Champion). 
The extension of the red colour in this species is subject to a great deal of variation. 
In the male the hind femur is very deeply channelled quite up to the trochanter; there 
is not much difference in the last abdominal ring in the sexes, though in the male it is 
a little emarginate in the middle. The armature of the hind femur is rather peculiar, 
BIOL. CENTR.-AMER., Coleopt., Vol. V., December 1885. 3p 
