AMPHICOMA VULPINA. $7 



SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 



Note on Amphicoma vulpina, Hentz. — When in East Flo- 

 rida I received a letter from Count Castelneau, in which, 

 amongst other matters relating to Entomology, he informed 

 me that what he considered the most interesting coleopterous 

 insect he had taken in West Florida was an Amphicoma, or 

 rather an insect of a new genus very closely allied to Amphi- 

 coma. This, he added, was peculiarly interesting, as this 

 group of the lamellicoms was heretofore supposed to be con- 

 fined to the Old World, and in a great measure to the shores 

 of the Mediterranean. 



When at Cambridge (Mass.) last October, I for the first 

 time saw the insect to which I believe the above remark refers; 

 and there learned from Dr. Harris a few particulars with re- 

 gard to its history, which, from their being upon the interest- 

 ing subject of Insect Geography, are of some importance. 



This insect is the Amphicoma vulpina of Hentz, but I am 

 not quite sure that his name is more than a manuscript one. 

 Perhaps it ought to form a new genus, and be considered as 

 the American representative of Amphicoma but I have not yet 

 had leisure to examine the only specimen I brought home 

 with me. Be this as it may, the fact of an insect of this ge- 

 nus, or of one so nearly allied to it, being found in North 

 America, is interesting and important ; and not less so is the 

 fact that its range over that vast continent is extremely wide, 

 extending from the hills of New Hampshire to the Upper 

 Mississipi, and across the Rocky Mountains as far as the 

 shpres of the Pacific, from all which places Dr. Harris knows 

 of specimens : to these we must add West Florida, as its 

 southern limit, and thus we find that it ranges throughout the 

 whole territory of the United States, from east to west, and 

 from north to south. 



A specimen of this insect, which I owe to the kindness of 

 Dr. T. W. Hams, is now in the cabinet of the Entomological 

 Club. It was taken by Dr. Gould of Boston, on the flowers 

 of the American elder, in New Hampshire, I believe in the 

 month of July. 



At present we know but little of the geographical distribu- 

 tion of insects ; our entomological authors being very careless 

 about defining their exact localities. I have been particularly 

 struck with this carelessness in regard to the insects of the 

 United States. Some European entomologists who have 

 written on the insects of that country, appear to think it quite 

 needless trouble to indicate whether their species are from 



Vol. III.— No. 26. n. s. k 



