160 CHARLES W. LENG. 



Jabrb., i, 21 ; ascendens Lee, Aun. Lyr., v, 172; serpents Loc, /. c, 173. 

 Length 11-13 nim.=.44-.52 inch. 



Habitat. — Fla., Ga., Ala., La., Tex. Occurs on the seashore 

 where it is too muddy for dorsalis and on the mud of rice fields. 



Brown above, green or blue beneath ; elytral markings are slen- 

 der and consist of humeral lunule ending in a hook or lump, middle 

 band very long and tortuous, forming an irregular S, apical lunule 

 recurved anteriorly towards the suture and a supplementary margi- 

 nal dot in front of the apical lunule. Head glabrous, finely striate 

 in front of and between the eyes which are very large; labrum 

 short, one toothed ; thorax finely granulate, slightly rounded at 

 sides and narrowed behind with a fringe of hair on each side; im- 

 pressions shallow ; elytra rounded and serrulate at apex ; beneath, 

 the palpi, coxse, pleur?e, flanks of thorax, legs and sides of abdomen 

 are hairy. 



I cannot find any characters by which to separate ascendens and 

 serpens, and I think they must be regarded as synonyms. 



Var. siginoi<lea Lee, I. c, 1848, p. 172. 

 Length 11-13 mm=.44-.52 inch. 



Habitat. — San Diego, Cal., on the seashore. 



Differs in being usually greenish, with the thorax more distinctly 

 granulate and the elytra more coarsely punctate. 



Mr. Fall reports this variety as being very abundant on the 

 beach, and Mr. Chas. Dury in a letter says of tortuosa : "along the 

 sandy shore of Indian River, Fla. ; swarming by thousands, April 

 and May." 



In the collection of Mr. Bowditch there is a specimen collected 

 by Belfrage in Texas, which is very small (7 mm. long), and which 

 presents some other diflTerences, perhaps due to its unusual size. In 

 the absence of more specimens I regard this as also included with 

 tortuosa. 



Dorsalis group. 



Thorax flattened, broadest behind ; palpi pale; elytra depressed, angulated before 

 the middle J ; right mandible "J, armed with a tooth beneath. 

 Mandibular tooth long and acute. 



Larger, markings narrower • • dorsalis. 



Smaller, markings broader var. media. 



Mandibular tooth short, obtuse. 



Still smaller ; markings broader yet Saulcyi. 



Immaculate specimens occur in all three forms. 



