90 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



of elytra; scutellum, narrow side margins of elytra from humeri to 

 or beyond the middle, and bases of front and middle femora, also 

 yellow. Antennae strongly compressed, the second joint very small, 

 one-third the length of the third, the latter as broad at apex as long, 

 one-half the length of fourth. Thorax subpentagonal, concave, 

 sides straight, strongly reflexed and slightly diverging from apex to 

 base, the hind angles acute and prolonged beyond the union of 

 basal and side margins; disc irregular, the median line distinct onlv 

 on basal half. Elytra as wide at base as thorax, feebly but distinct- 

 ly widened behind the middle; alternate intervals but slightly 

 elevated; cells small, subquadrate, males with the sixth, ventral 

 widely and deeply emarginate and the antennae more distinctly 

 serrate than in the female. Length 5.5 — 7 mm. 



Described from 14 specimens taken by beating at Dunedin, 

 March 27— April 1; Sanford, April 3; Eustis, April 6; Ormond, 

 April 11—13. 



While our species of Plateros are, in most collections, badlv 

 mixed and, as LeConte says, "are almost undistinguishable," this 

 one is easily separated from all others by the colour as described, 

 especially the yellow scutellum, and by the greatly prolonged hind 

 angles of the thorax. According to Mr. Schwarz, to whom speci- 

 mens were sent for examination, it is "a common Florida species 

 which stands in the U. S. National Museum as P. timidus var.?" 



4821.— Pyractomena borealis Rand. On the evening of Feb 

 19, while at our second camp, which was on an island in Kissimmee 

 Lake, I noted a firefly or two over a damp meadow near the tent. 

 Getting my net, I sallied forth, eager for prey. The only specimen 

 which 1 was able to capture was one which, instead of flashing its 

 light intermittently, turned it on apparently to stay and flew in a 

 wide half circle out over the lake and back within twenty feet of 

 where I stood. I traced its entire flight by the steady constant 

 light. It is a male, the only specimen of its kind I took, and seems 

 to be the same as our northern specimens of the above name. I 

 can find no record of a firefly thus emitting a constant instead of an 

 intermittent light. This it continued to do while in the bottle 

 until it succumbed to the fumes of the cyanide. 

 Attalus zebraicus, sp. nov. 

 Oblong, subdepressed, distinctly dilated behind. Occiput and 



