THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, 65 



differences might be overcome, as some of the individuals of aphodioides 

 have the margin semi-serrate, and the punctures of the striae nearly as far 

 apart, and a corresponding approximation of the other species in the other 

 line would about cause them to meet. 



Nicagus obscurus Lee. The position of the genus of which this species 

 is the only known representative has been a matter of no little discussion 

 by systematists ; to some it is a Lucanide, while others — among them the 

 authors of the Classification, find the Scarabaeidan characters to prepon- 

 derate. See Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil, 2 s., v. i, p. 86 ; and Classifica- 

 tion, p. 245. 



April 23rd of last year, I took 63 specimens, five only of which were 

 females ; these with one exception differed greatly from the other sex in 

 size and appearance, being much larger, more convex, less hairy and with 

 the elytra evidently striate, resembling some Sericea. The exception, 

 however, differed chiefly from the males by its shorter tarsi and stouter 

 tibiae. In death the joints of the antennal club are mostly open, but in 

 life they seemed capable of being closed contiguously, though the want of 

 a lens prevented me from verifying this absolutely. 



They were all taken on the margin of a creek on a deep deposit of 

 loose, white sand, left on the recedence of the spring flood. The day was 

 very warm, and they were first noticed about 3 p.m. coming seemingly 

 from an adjoining pasture ground, and disappearing suddenly in about 

 an hour on the sun clouding over. They flew very slowly, circling around 

 close to the sand as if in search of something, and alighting in tracks and 

 indentations, they were easily picked up. Just why they resort to sand 

 deposits is not understood ; it may be for sexual purposes, but if so they 

 cannot live there in the larval state, because these sand beds are swept 

 away by every overflow ; it may be for warmth (as in the case of Cotalpa 

 lanigera, several specimens of which I took there that evidently came for 

 the heat), but others have observed them doing the same thing in the heat 

 of midsummer ; or it may be in search of decomposing shell fish, but there 

 were none there, and in fact it is not proven that the larvae live on decay- 

 ing animal substances, though once found near dead Unios, and in the 

 light of other facts I would say such is improbable, were it not that long 

 ago I adopted the motto ^'■Festina lente" in deciding adversely to the 

 opinions of accurate and distinguished observers. The species seems 

 widely distributed in the Atlantic States, from Michigan southward, 



