146 PHYTOPHAGA. 



colour of the thorax, the latter being also sparingly punctured in C. pulchella. About 

 twenty specimens, which show no variation, are before me, justifying the species being 

 considered a distinct one. 



24. Colaspis plicatula. 



Oblong, piceous below ; legs and basal joints of the antennae fulvous ; bead and thorax obscure aeneous, very closely- 

 punctured ; elytra subrugosely and geminate-striate punctate, fulvous, sutural and lateral margin aeneous. 



Var. a. Entirely obscure fulvo- aeneous. 



Yar. b. Entirely fulvous, only the elytral margins aeneous. 



Length 2 lines. 



Head moderately closely but finely punctured ; clypeus separated from the face at the sides by the distinctly 

 raised smooth callosities in front of the antennae ; labrum testaceous ; antennae more than two thirds the 

 length of the body, rather robust in the male, and with the terminal joints distinctly thickened ; thorax 

 not narrowed in front, the posterior angles obtuse, and, like the sides, rounded, the latter slightly sinuate 

 or obtusely angulate behind the middle, surface very finely and extremely closely subaciculate punctate ; 

 scutellum oblong, its apex somewhat pointed ; elytra parallel at the sides, irregularly subrugosely punc- 

 tured at their anterior half, geminate punctate-striate posteriorly, the punctuation much more strongly 

 impressed than that of the thorax, and the interstices near the sides and apex distinctly costate. 



Bah. Guatemala, Capetillo (Champion). 



This species, of which about twenty specimens were obtained at Capetillo, only 

 deviates somewhat in the form of its thorax from most of the species of this genus, 

 inasmuch as the lateral margin of that part is nearly rounded, and only slightly angulate 

 in some specimens ; but in all other respects I see no reason to separate it from the 

 present genus. I have taken the darker-coloured specimens as typical, although 

 they form but the minority, most of the others being of lighter colour; but the thorax 

 of nearly all of them shows an obscure metallic seneous tint. The species may be 

 recognized by the extremely fine and close punctuation of its head and thorax, and the 

 lateral costse of its elytra ; these latter are much more deeply punctured in the female. 



ALETES. 



Aletes, Chapuis, Genera des Coleopt. x. 1874,, p. 250. 



The compressed, robust antennas, large development of the eyes, and the shape of the 

 thorax are the characteristics of this genus, which in other respect agrees with Colaspis. 

 Since the establishment of the genus, founded on one species, M. Lefevre has described 

 five others, all from Colombia. The three species from Central America before me, 

 although not quite so prominently marked in their generic structure as the type, agree 

 nevertheless well enough to admit of their being included in the present genus. 



1. Aletes mexicanns. (Tab. VII. fig. 5.) 



Suboblong, black below ; basal joints of the antennae and the legs fulvous ; above metallic blue ; thorax finely, 



elytra more strongly punctate-striate. 

 Length 3 lines. 

 Head rather strongly punctured, substrigose at the sides ; space between the eyes impressed with a shallow 



