45 



and No. 90 apparently differs only in size from Pcederus 

 riparius of the same author, yet it may prove to be a dis- 

 tinct species from his which I have received from Russia. 

 [It is marked Pcederus Uttorarius in Hentz's mss. Catalogue.] 

 This reminds me that the Russian specimens of Dermestes 

 lardarius are very inferior to ours in size. Gmelin describes 

 a Bruchiis gleditschice; and has called the Brentus you sent 

 me Brentus Druryanus ; it is found here under the bark of 

 prostrated logs. 



December 21. 



P. S. On Saturday afternoon I received between five and 

 six hundred Coleoptera from my friend, Mr. Leonard, of Dub- 

 lin, N. H. Among these is an Elater which nearly corresponds 

 with your 133 ; it has, however, only one oblique line of yel- 

 lowish scales on each elytron. I think it is the male of the first 

 described in this letter, having an oblong indentation on the 

 posterior disk of the thorax, and a small round one on each side 

 in front of it, and mucli more conspicuous than in the other sex. 

 I forgot to notice that in the first five species, the feet were 

 more or less brown, and in the last blackish. I have reexam- 

 ined Hehps ohliquatus and the allied species, compared them 

 together, Avith another specimen from Dublin, and with several 

 Helopi^ and have come to the conclusion that they neither belong 

 to Halloinenus^ nor are strictly admissible into the genus Jlelojjs, 

 though Fabricius and Latreille include one of them in the 

 latter. They seem to possess characters requiring the forma- 

 tion of a new genus for their reception. Some slight differ- 

 ences are visible in the sculpture of the elytra of these two 

 species, but they are easier seen than described. The female 

 of the one with naked scutel, has antennae precisely similar to 

 those in the same sex of IT. ohlkpiatus. Beauvois has justly 

 remarked that there is no sense in this specific name imposed 

 by Fabricius, there being no obliquity observable about this 

 insect. The above mentioned insects from the New Hampshire 

 hills are valuable acquisitions, and many of them are new to 



