VOL. IV.] The Species of Ainblychila. 219 



description and a figure from Dupont and Reiche, but calls it A. 

 cylhidriformis of Say, though neither the description nor the 

 figure agrees with it. I fear that the author of the " Mono- 

 graphic des Cicindelides " must have been influenced by reading 

 the opinions of our two great coleopterists and copied the 

 description and the figure of Dupont and Reiche without review, 

 lyook at the figure on plate 3, fig. 3 in Thomson's Mono- 

 graph and guess what induced the author to call it A. 

 cylindriformis Say. The two species are abundantly distinct 

 and I feel certain that such eminent men as Le Conte and Horn 

 have not been shown the insect that furnished the figure illus- 

 trated in Thomson's Monograph. Dr. Horn recently wrote me 

 that the French coleopterists considered my A. Baroyii as a small 

 example of A. Picolominii. I had already begun to be of that 

 opinion, and after further consideration I must own that the 

 French opinion is the correct one. I hold that there are two 

 species, viz.: Amblychila cylindriformis Say* and Ainblychila 

 Picolominii Dupont Collection, PL 19 fig. i a6 and Reiche f and 

 that Amblychila Baioni Rivers is the male of .•^. Picolominii. 



It appears to be an impossibilit}' for anyone to write a correct 

 history oi Amblychila and formulate a reliable description, or at 

 least one that will meet with the approval of the coleopterolog- 

 ical fraternit}^ The description by Sa}' is rather terse, there 

 being an omission of the very coarse and distinct punctuation of 

 the apex of the elytrse. Reiche seems to have done some bad 

 work also, for his Picolominii is said to have these coarse 

 puncturings on the apex of elytra, showing that he must have 

 had both species under examination, for the examples from 

 Arizona are impunctate at the apex of the elytra. Reiche says : 

 " de gros points irregulierement places a la base et a Vextremite des 

 HytresP The third form, which I recently received from Peach 

 Springs, Northwestern Arizona, and which I take to be Reiche's 

 Picolomiiiii and the species named Baroyii from Southern 

 Arizona, both have elytral apices free from points or punctures. 

 So that Dr. Horn and others must have some other reasons for 



* Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc. Vol. x Proceed, p. iv. 



t Aiinales S c. Eat. de France p. 557, 1839. 



