THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



33 



I 



Meloe, Linn. 



A most difficult genus to treat. The species are clumsy insects 

 with short elytra, which do not cover the large, unwieldy abdomen. They 

 may be found crawling about on low herbage during the cooler portions 

 of the day, or sometimes on flowers ; apparently they are most common 

 in autumn and spring. When disturbed they emit a disagreeable fluid 

 from the joints 



As one of the species is lacking in our collection, we have applied to 

 Dr. Horn for the synopsis serving to separate the four Canadian forms 

 among themselves. 

 Thorax evidently longer than wide, sparsley and irregularly punctate. 



Elytra rather finely strigose and subopaque; general colour dull blue; 



head scarcely punctate americanus, Leach. 



Thorax not longer than wide. 



General colour black, dull ; thorax coarsely punctured and with an 

 impression on basal half of median line Impressus, Kirby. 



Blue-black, slightly shining ; thorax moderately densely punctate, 

 disk not impressed ; elytra not roughly sculptured. ..niger, Kirby. 



Decidedly blue and rather shining; thorax very coarsely, deeply, not 

 densely punctured, disk not impressed ; elytra rather coarsely 



sculptured angusticollis, Say. 



Macrobasis, Lee. 



Contains only one 



Canadian species, M. uni- 



(:<?/d?r, Kirby. (Fig. 2.) The 



body is black, covered 



with whitish hairs which 



give an ashen appearance 



to the insect. The male 



differs from the female in 



having the second antennal 



joint longer than the third and fourth together. Length, .32-. 64 in. 



Often occurs in such numbers on potato vines as to do considerable 



mischief 



Epicauta, Redt. 



Four species recorded from Canada are included here. They re- 

 semble only the preceding genus in form and may be readily separated 

 from it by the antennal characters. Li habits they also resemble Macro- 



FlG. 



