BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 245 



thorax smaller and less brightly coloured, knees more obscurely 

 coloured, antennae shorter and thinner; and the whole insect is 

 slenderer, 



HeLCOG ASTER VARIUS, n.sp. 



(J. Elongate, depressed, shining. Black; head, except at base 

 and a median line beneath, prothorax, the entire anterior, base of 

 four posterior tibiae, and tips of femora, reddish- testaceous; elytra 

 with the shoulders testaceous, the marking continued on the sides • 

 antennae piceous-black, four basal joints testaceous-red, the two 

 following not as dark as those following them; palpi and tips of 

 mandibles piceous, eyes dark brown. Head with short, rather 

 dense, blackish hairs, longest over excavations; prothorax and 

 el3^tra with a few long hairs, abdomen with sparse hairs, rather 

 long at sides and apex, meso- and metasternum with sparse short 

 hairs, tibiae rather densely pubescent. Head densely and shallowly 

 punctate, base feebly transversely strigose, jDrothorax and elytra 

 obsoletely punctate; scutellum minutely and distinctly punctate; 

 abdomen with sparse, moderately strong punctures; legs densely 

 and minutely punctate. 



Head obliquely quadrate, with six excavations — three occupying 

 the space between the eyes, of which the central one is smallest, 

 the two outer being rounded, a large one in front, the sides of 

 which are sharply margined, a very small one on each side at its 

 base; eyes moderately large and prominent; antenna scarcely 

 reaching apex of elytra, equidistant at their bases with the apices 

 of mandibles and middle of eyes, 1st joint as long as 2nd-3rd 

 combined, 2nd-10th subequal, 11th about once and a half as 

 long as 10th. Prothorax longer than wide, and narrower than 

 head, apex truncate, base feebly rounded, angles almost equally 

 rounded, sides subparallel; a broad transverse impression at the 

 base, base narrowly margined. Scutellum small, broadly trans- 

 verse, apex truncate. Elytra about one and a quarter times as 

 long as head and prothorax combined, wider than head, shoulders 

 feebly rounded, sides gradually widening, and narrowly margined 

 from near the base, apex conjointly rounded, almost truncate 

 Legs moderate, posterior tibia? feebly bent, with two thin spurs at 



