66 PHYTOPHAGA. 



Head very finely and closely punctate, black ; clypeus fulvous ; labrum yellow ; antenna3 about half the length 

 of the body, black, the first five or six joints fulvous ; thorax not -more than twice as broad as long, very 

 closely and equally but rather finely punctate, black, the posterior half in the shape of a transverse band, red, 

 this colour extending higher at the sides than at the middle, and the anterior margin of tbis band deeply 

 sinuate ; elytra widened behind, much deeper and more irregularly punctate than the thorax, the inter- 

 stices partially transversely wrinkled, the extreme lateral margin anteriorly and the apex yellowish white ; 

 each elytron with a longitudinal band which widens towards the apex, but does not quite extend to the 

 latter, reddish ; this band commences directly below the shoulder, and is situated close to the lateral 

 margin ; underside and legs black, closely pubescent ; base of the femora reddish. 



Eab. Mexico, La Parada (SalU). 



There are sufficient distinguishing characters to separate this species from P. subfas- 

 ciatus, which it closely resembles in shape. The much finer and closer punctuation of 

 the thorax in the present species, together with the entirely different position and shape 

 of the red colour, will make it recognizable at first sight. 



6. Pachybrachys bajulus. 



Pachybrachys bajulus, Suffr. Monogr. vii. p. 175. 

 Hab. Mexico, Jalapa. 



Suffrian says : — " Again very closely allied to P. infaustus, Hald., and only distin- 

 guished by very fine but acute characters ;" but Suffrian very much doubts the specific 

 distinction of P. infaustus, and thinks that this species may be identical with P. atoma- 

 rius, Melsh. The principal difference of the species before us consists, first, in the 

 coloration of the thorax, which is divided by two longitudinal yellow stripes extending 

 from the anterior to the posterior margin ; secondly, in the evenly rounded lateral 

 margin of the thorax, which in other species is more angulate ; and, lastly, in the colour 

 of the pygidium, which has two yellow spots instead of being entirely black. Suffrian's 

 species was described from a single specimen. The type in the Berlin Museum is now 

 before me ; but, instead of the thorax being, as stated by Suffrian, divided into three 

 longitudinal spaces, I find the surface covered with irregularly-distributed yellow spots 

 of different shapes ; in other respects it agrees with the description. 



7. Pachybrachys scenicus. 



Pachybrachys scenicus, Suffr. Monogr. vii. p. 194. 

 Eab. Mexico. 



Not unlike P. histrio (Oliv.), but with the thorax more sparingly punctured and the 

 longitudinal elytral costae distributed over the entire surface. The type, kindly lent to 

 me by Dr. Peters, is distinguished by the large white spots of the elytra, which are 

 surrounded by black lines, of which three, placed triangularly on the disk and the apex 

 of each elytron, are especially prominent. 



