246 COCCINELLID^!. 



The sordid yellow colour and ill-defined black markings of the three examples before 

 me may be due to their slight immaturity, and the certainly deep and broken style of 

 punctuation in the two from Presidio is perhaps partly due to the same cause ; the 

 black dot on the disk of the elytra is, however, a distinctive character, which prevents 

 my referring this insect to E. circumfiua (a South- American species) or any of its close 

 allies. It is, of course, possibly a form of E. mitis, and can at present only be regarded 

 as a tentative species. It seems probable, however, that there are many closely allied, 

 small, zonate species of Epilachna. 



25. Epilachna virgata. 



Epilachna virgata, Muls. Spec. Col. Trim, secur. p. 855 l ; Crotch, Rev. Coccin. p. 67 2 . 



Hal. Guatemala, Duenas (Champion) ; Panama, Bugaba, David, Volcan de Chiriqui 

 2000 to 3000 feet, Caldera (Champion). — South Ameeica, Colombia 1 , Venezuela 2 , 

 Andes above 9000 feet 2 . 



The elytra have two dark stripes, besides the zone near the margin, and, as Crotch 

 remarks 2 , " the striped appearance due to the arrangement of the pubescence is very 

 characteristic." Some examples from the Volcan de Chiriqui are very dark and suffused, 

 so that the vittae and zone are not conspicuous. Fifteen examples were sent by 

 Mr. Champion. 



