CETONIIN^E 325 



The species described by Gory and Percheron under the name 

 Cetonia melancholica is said to be of a bronzed greenish-black color 

 and to have two discal lines of tomentum on the pronotum, besides 

 the marginal lines; it is not mentioned at all by Burmeister or 

 Bates and was founded on a specimen marked "Egypt" in the 

 collection of Dejean. There is never so much as a trace of discal 

 pronotal lines of tomentum in nitens, and the marginal lines are only 

 present in the male, so far as now determinable. I am strongly 

 of the opinion that melancholica G. & P. is a synonym of the 

 Brazilian lurida Fabr. 



The taxonomic difficulties encountered in the sepulchralis section 

 can only be compared with those of the nitida and mutabilis sections 

 in Cotinis. The mesosternal prominence is transverse and generally 

 very broadly rounded in all the various forms here defined, but in 

 many examples of floridana and scolopacea, there is a feeble obtuse 

 angulation, suggestive of the strong angulate point in oxysternum, 

 though not at all similar. Basalis and fascifera are both remark- 

 ably isolated species and might be made the types of distinct groups 

 of the genus with some propriety; there is a notable inconstancy in 

 pronotal vestiture in basalis, which is not due to accidental breaking 

 or removal of the hairs, and the sculpture and vestiture of the 

 pygidium are remarkable. The male and female in this species 

 differ so little that it is very difficult to separate the sexes; there 

 seems, however, to be a very slight sexual difference in the length 

 of the antennal club and hind tarsi, which will enable one with 

 care to recognize the male in most instances. I am unable to prove 

 that the variation in pronotal vestiture is in any way sexual in 

 nature as it is in Stephanucha pilipennis. Among the thirteen 

 specimens at hand, there are only two in which the pygidium is 

 not deep black in color; these two are the most northern, having 

 been taken in Durango by Wickham; in one of them it is pale 

 testaceous throughout and in the other black, with pallescent 

 margins. In all my four examples of crinicauda the pygidium is 

 uniformly very pale testaceous. The characters given above for 

 fascifera Lee., are taken from the original description (Proc. Acad. 

 Phila., 1861, p. 336). It will be observed that the description of 

 LeConte states that the elytra are opaque, but the entire surface 

 is said to be shining in the subsequent description of Horn (Pr. 



