213 



a name should have to yield to novemstriafus, which is not char- 

 acteristic of the species. This is by far tiie most common spe- 

 cies, though confined to certain localities. I have examined 

 specimens from New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New 

 York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Alabama. The base 

 of the antenniD and the tibi;e vary in being more or less tinged 

 with brown, and consequently in being lighter or darker in dif- 

 ferent individuals. In some of my specimens there is a faint 

 and almost obsolete, rufous, oblique spot near the tip of each 

 elytron. 



Having examined a good collection of European Notiophili, I 

 feel confident in pronouncing our American species distinct 

 therefrom. Some years ago I drcAv up the following tabular 

 formulas of the species ; — 



one abbreviated stria neai* the scutel; 



dorsal striae obsolete behind the middle; 



legs entirely rufous, 1 . porvectus Say. 



legs black, 2. horealis Ilarr. 



dorsal stria3 continued to the tip, ... 3. americanus Harr. 

 two abbreviated strife near the scute! ; 



each elytron -with one foveole, ... 4. semistrialtis Say. 

 each elytron with two foveoles, . . 5. quadrifovcatus Harr. 



W 



N. horealis and americanus appear to be unknown to you, and 

 I regret that I have not now any duplicates of them^. I hope, 

 however, to get horealis next July or August, when I propose 

 going to the White Mountains, where the species has been 

 found by Dr. Pickering and Mr. Tuckerman. 



Considering how much the synonymy of our species has been 

 confused, I venture to suggest whether it Avould not be better 

 to name the five foregoing species thus: 1. a-tieus Herbst; 



1 This N. bor talis was described by me undar the name punctatus; it scarcely differs 

 from the Asiatic sibirkus Motsch. I think americanus is merely an individual varia- 

 tion. No. 5 is the most abmidant species, and agrees with Say's description and I have 

 regarded it as semistrialus. No. 4, by Dr. Harris's comparison, is my confusus, and dif- 

 fers by the more coarsely pmictured elytral strijB. [J. L. L.] 



