178 MEMOIRS ON THE COLEOPTERA 



angle and thence along the sides; elytra subequal in width to the 

 prothorax, in outline and in the sinus as in the preceding, the striae 

 unusually coarse, deep and abrupt, the scutellar only moderately 

 long, very deep, the intervals flat or very feebly convex, the third 

 with a puncture at three-fifths, generally not exactly on the stria, 

 and no other except the short apical series on intervals 3-5-7, 

 which are very distinct; hind tarsi slender, the basal point very nearly 

 as long as the next three. Length (cf 9 ) 9.0-10.7 mm.; width 

 3.7-4.2 mm. Mississippi (Vicksburg), Louisiana and Texas. Twelve 

 examples. [^4. (Triplectrus) ellipticus Lee.] dulcicollis Laf. 



Body nearly similar but rather more oval, more convex and more 

 shining, even the female elytra being very shining and barely per- 

 ceptibly alutaceous, except feebly so laterally and also at the sides 

 of the pronotum; coloration similar; head nearly as in dulcicollis, 

 the prothorax nearly similar, but less transverse, being distinctly 

 less than one-half wider than long, the sides evenly though much 

 less strongly arcuate, the apex more deeply sinuate, with less broadly 

 rounded angles, the punctured linear basal foveae larger and more 

 broadly impressed and the basal angles not quite so broadly rounded; 

 elytra nearly similar but with much more convex strial intervals in 

 both sexes; tarsi nearly similar and having the basal joint of the 

 posterior about as long as the next three in the female, though dis- 

 tinctly shorter in the male. Length (cf 9 ) 10.5-11.0 mm.; width 

 4.1-4.5 mm. Texas (Houston). Three examples., .modicus n. sp. 



13 Hind tarsi as in all the preceding species, the basal joint very much 

 longer than the fifth; upper surface similarly without metallic 

 lustre 14 



Hind tarsi much shorter, the first joint subequal in length to the fifth; 

 upper surface with evident metallic lustre 15 



14 Body rather stout, strongly convex, somewhat as in the two pre- 

 ceding, very shining in both sexes, the elytra polished even in the 

 female, deep black throughout; antennae slender, blackish, the first 

 joint much, the second slightly, paler; head evidently more than 

 half as wide as the prothorax, the eyes moderate and not very convex, 

 the foveae subtriangular; prothorax one-half wider than long to 

 somewhat less, the sides evenly and moderately arcuate, narrowed 

 anteriorly, just visibly narrower at base than at the middle, the 

 apex deeply sinuate and much narrower than the base, which is 

 rectilinearly transverse, with the angles slightly obtuse and nar- 

 rowly rounded; surface very steeply declivous at the sides, the margin 

 finely reflexed, unusually narrowly subdeplanate even posteriorly, 

 though rapidly broader at base, the foveae sublinear and with a few 

 punctures, though feeble and broadly impressed, the stria very 

 fine; elytra slightly wider than the prothorax and almost one-half 

 longer than wide, the sides arcuately converging and obtusely 

 ogival behind the middle, the sinus very feeble; striae moderately 

 fine, not so coarse as in dulcicollis, deep and abrupt, the scutellar 

 long, the intervals moderately to rather strongly convex, the third 

 with two or three punctures behind the middle besides the short 

 interstitial series at apex on 3-5-7 ; under surface smooth and shining, 



