THE PLEASING FUNGUS BEETLES. 545 



/*. Head niid thorax nearly smooth; elytra with black crossbars; length 



ll' \r> mm. lo;;i). FASCIATA. 



bb. Head and thorax very coarsely and distinctly punctured; elytra each 



with four black spots; length less than mm. 1041. TLKEI. 



*Hi;i9 (,,21fi). MEGALODACNE FASCTATA Fab.. Ent. Syst., II. 171 IS, 511. 



Oblong-ovate. Black, shining; elytra with two reddish crossbars, the 

 basal one irregular in form and enclosing three black spots, one small 

 round, near each humerus, the other large, quadrate behind the scutellum ; 

 the snbapical bar narrower and interrupted at suture. Thorax short, trans- 

 verse, very finely and obsoletely punctulate ; sides straight, broadly mar- 

 gined ; base with a punctured impression each side. Length 9-15 mm. 



Throughout the State; common in fungi. February 14-Septem- 

 ber 21. Hibernates with the next in dry rotten wood beneath loose 

 bark. Gregarious at all seasons but especially so in winter. 



*1040 (3217). MEGALODACNE HERDS Say, Jouru. 



Phil. Acad. Nat. Sci., Ill, 1S23, 



196; ibid. II. 125. 



Resembles fascia tit very closely in form and 

 color but much larger. Thorax longer with nar- 

 rower side margins and elytra without rows of 

 punctures. P. lack spot at scutellum smaller and 

 more nearly enclosed by the red basal cmssbar. 

 Length 18-21. (Fig. 204.) 



Frequent throughout the State. February 

 3-December 10. Much less common than 

 fasciata and seldom more than two or three 



e -, , , i Fig. 204. >' 2. (Original.) 



found together. 



1041 (321X). MEGALODACNE TI-KEI Crotch, Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc., IV, 1S73, 



353. 



Elongate-oval, rather nan-owed behind. Head and thorax black, shin- 

 ing; elytra brownish-red, each with four black spots, one near the luunerus, 

 two before the middle, and one, the largest, snbapical; beneath black, the 

 sides of aMoinen reddish. Thorax coarsely and sparsely punctate, with a 

 smooth space before the scutellum; elytra with rows of tine but distinct 

 punctures. Front cox;e widely separated, the prosternum forming a broad 

 triangle with distinct margins. Length 5-5.5 mm. 



A prettily marked species of southern range, taken only in Jack- 

 son. Crawford and Posey counties; scarce. April 12-June 7. Oc- 

 curs in dense woods, especially on the fungus P<>1i//>nn<x cuticiihtrix, 

 which is usually found on beech or hickory logs. 



V. ISCHYRTJS Lac. 1S42. (Gr., "robust.") 



One medium sized species, having the antennal club :>-jointed 

 and the eyes coarsely granulate, represents this genus in Indiana. 



