406 Mr. D. Sluirp's Contributions to the 



Obs. II, — It is only after a good deal of hesitation that 

 I have decided to consider this insect a new species. 

 P. capricorjiis, Lap., Er., must be closely allied to it if not 

 the same species. Laporte's figure represents an insect 

 ■with less transverse thorax, and his words, "abdomen 

 finement ponctue," are singularly inapplicable to the 

 species I have described above as P. frontalis. Erichson's 

 description of P. capricornis agrees much better ■with the 

 P. frontalis. Nevertheless, though Erichson gives a 

 detailed description of the mandibles of his species, he 

 omits any notice of the remarkable transverse spine-like 

 tooth which exists on the inner side of each mandible in 

 P. frontalis, this being one of the most striking character- 

 istics of the species. 



5. Piestas rectus, n. sp. Kufescens, antennis (basi 

 exceptis), capite abdomineque piceo-rufis; capite vertice 

 imifoveolato, antice utrinque curvatim lineato; abdomine 

 segmento 6° toto dense pimctato. Long. corp. 3 lin. 



Antennas 1 $ lin. in length, the basal joint red, the two 

 following pitchy red, the rest pitchy; the 1st joint not 

 swollen on the upper side, but Avitli a rough spot bearing 

 a few long hairs, the other joints with sparing seta?. Head 

 on the upper side blackish, shining, the middle part nearly 

 on a level with the antennal elevation, on the inner side 

 of this latter is a curved impression ; these impressions 

 are much abbreviated behind, so that they are far from 

 meeting; the vertex is quite flat and bears a distinct fovea 

 in the middle ; the sin-face is sparingly sprinkled with fine 

 punctures. Thorax strongly transverse, reddish, A'ery 

 shining, channelled along the middle; the surface Avith 

 excessively obsolete, sparing, fine punctures, only to be 

 detected on a careful examination with a high ]iower; the 

 hind angles obtuse, the impression near the hind angle 

 small. Elytra just as broad as the thorax, about f lin. in 

 length and f lin. in breadth, shining red, with the suture 

 and outer and hind margins indistinctly blackish, each 

 Avith five moderately fine striaa, which are indistinctly 

 punctured. Hind body broad and parallel, pitchy, rather 

 coarsely and closely jnmctured; segments 2 — 4 each with 

 a smooth sj)ace in the middle behind, the punctures on 

 the corresponding part of the 5th segment more sparing 

 than at the base, the Gth evenly and distinctly punctured 

 throughout; its extreme hind margin reddish, as are the 



