174 PROC. ENT. SOC. WASH., VOL. 20, NO. 8, NOV. 1918 



In 1775 Fabricus (Syst. Ent., p. 220) described the species Bu- 

 prestis impressa from "Indiis" and in 1787 (Mant. Ins., Tom. I, p. 

 182) under the same name described a species from "Tranque- 

 bariae." Gmelin (1788, Syst. Nat., Tom. I, Pars. IV, p. 1932) 

 proposed a new name tranquebarica for the species described in 

 1787 by Fabricius. Two years later, Olivier (1790, Enc. Method., 

 Tom. V, p. 232) proposed a new name excavata for the same species 

 and this name was used by Fabricius in all his later works. Fab- 

 ricius and Olivier, either did not see the work by Gmelin, or would 

 not use his name, as the name tranquebarica was not used by 

 either of these writers in their works. Mannerheim in 1837 (Bull. 

 Soc. Imp. Nat. Moscou, vol. X, No. 8, p. 75) described Chryso- 

 bothris fraterna from Porto "Rico and (1. c. p. 74) C. rugosa from 

 an unknown locality. The following , year, 1838, Castlenau & 

 Gory (Mon.B upr., vol. 2, Gen. Chrysobothris, p. 46, pit. 8, fig. 

 62) describe denticulata from Guadeloupe and give an excellent 

 figure of the species, which is the species found in Florida, but 

 (I.e. addenta p. 7) place it as a synonym of fraterna Mann. Gory 

 in 1841 (Mon. Bupr. Suppl. vol. 4, p. 178, pit, XXX, fig. 173) 

 describes denticollis. Horn in his Monograph of the Chryso- 

 bothris inhabiting the United States (1886, Trans. Amer. Ent. 

 Soc., vol. XIII, p. 109, 121) reports this species for the first time 

 from the United States under the name impressa Fabr. and in a 

 footnote gives the following: "The name impressa has been 

 used, although it was preoccupied by Fabricus himself. Later 

 Gmelin changed the name to tranquebarica, and two years after 

 Olivier proposed the name excavata. In accordance with the 

 strictest rules the name proposed by Gmelin should be adopted, 

 although it conveys an erroneous idea of habitat, Inasmuch as 

 the first impressa proposed by Fabricius is now placed in Halecia, 

 it might be as well to allow the Chrysobothris to retain the name 

 proposed for it. It is better at times, to violate the law of prior- 

 ity than perpetuate an annoyance." Kerremans (1904, Gen. 

 Ins., Fasc. 12, p. 186) places the impressa described by Fabricius 

 in 1775 in the genus Halecia, retaining the impressa described by 

 Fabricius in 1787 in the genus Chrysobothris, placing tranquebarica 

 Gmel., excavata Oliv., rugosa Mann., denticulata Cast. & Gory, 

 and denticollis Gory as synonyms of that species, but as this 

 impressa is a homonym, and according to the present nomencla- 

 tural ruling, cannot be used again, we must use the name tranque- 

 barica proposed by Gmelin for the species found in Florida and the 

 West Indies. 



Olivier in 1790 (Ent. II, Gen. 32, p. 44, pit, 5, fig. 42) figured 

 what he supposed was the impressa described by Fabricius in 

 1775, giving the habitat as South America, and Herbst (1801, 

 Coleopt. T. 9, p. 233, pit, 150, fig. 4) figures the same species, 



