188 PROCEEDINGS ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



Male. Length, 12 mm. Barring sexual characters this agrees with the 

 above description of the female. 



Trinidad, West Indies. Described from one male (allotype) 

 and one female (type) collected in June by August Busck, for whom 

 the species is named. One paratype collected at Trinidad, March 

 20, 1913, by T. W. Urich and G. N. Wolcott. 



Type: Cat. No. 16021 U.S.N.M. 



NOTES ON RHIPIDANDRI (GOLEOPTERA). 



BY H. S. BARBER, Bureau of Entomology. 



In arranging the National Museum specimens of Rhipidandrus 

 a number of obstacles were encountered, and it is thought that the 

 following notes may be of use to someone. 



Much confusion has resulted from the assignment of the group to 

 different families. In fact, as Mr. Arrow has pointed out (see 

 below, 1904) three species have been described as Scolytids, one 

 (possibly two) as Scarabseids, and one as a Ptinid, while the discus- 

 sion is still open as to their assignment in the Teiiebrionidse, or 

 in the Cioidse. 



The figure and description of the Melolontha paradoxa of Palisot 

 de Beauvois are very unsatisfactory, and it is hard to accept Salle's 

 statement (see LeConte, 1873) that it is the Xyletinus flabelli- 

 cornis of Sturm. Nevertheless Salle may have seen the type of 

 the former, and it would be unsafe to repudiate the well-known 

 combination (although omitted in Junk's Catalogus) without fur- 

 ther data. Mr. Schwarz and the writer have attempted to asso- 

 ciate Beauvois' name with some other South Carolinian beetle, 

 but have failed. The description differs from our Rhipidandrus 

 in color, shape of thorax, and sculpture, and from the figure in 

 size, form of posterior part of body, tarsi and antennae. It is 

 difficult to know where to stop in allowing for error. 



In almost a century that the group has been known in tech- 

 nical literature, there has been but one comprehensive article. 

 This one appeared only nine years ago (1904) and does not men- 

 tion either of our United States species, although it draws together 

 the species that had been misplaced in other families. The con- 

 tributions to our knowledge of the group, arranged chronologically, 

 but not including various local lists, are as follows: 



1805-1821 PALISOT DE BEAUVOIS (Ins.rec. Afr. etAmer. p. 173. pi. IV. b. 

 fig. 1) describes Melolontha? paradoxa from South Carolina (collected 

 by Bosc) as a species placed in this genus with great uncertainty. 



