124 GEO. 11. HORN, M. D. 



Rh. pootiiiatlis Fab. Syst. Ent. p. 263; sexmaculatus, Fab. loc. cit; Oliv. 

 Eut. III., G5, p. 7, pi. 1, fig. 6; nigricornis, Fab., humeratus, Fab., tristis, Fab. 

 Syst. El. II., p. 119; ventralis, Fab. loc. cit. p. 120: sanguinohntuH, Germ. Ins. 

 Spec. iiov. IS24, p. 169; dubius, impi-essus. maxillosua, Mels. Proc. Acad. II., p. 

 316; niger,/asciatus, ambiguus, longipes, thoracicus, Mels. loc. cit. p. 317 ; vari- 

 color, Gerst. MonoEj. Rhip. p. 25. 



General Characters. — Body beneath rather sparsely punctured, punctures 

 distant from each other at least equal to their own diameter, surface scarcely 

 visibly pubescent. Thoracic lobe not elevated, transversely notched at tip. 

 Second joint of hind tarsus shorter than the third and flattened above. 



Male. — Vertex in front convex, very sparsely punctured, shining. Antennae 

 rufous with black rami. 



Female. — Vertex less convex, more distinctly punctured. Antennae black, 

 two basal joints rufous. 



Length .14— .32 inch; 3.5—8 mm. 



The varieties are so numerous as to be entirely beyond description 

 in a paper with the scope of the present. A. few of the more import- 

 ant may be mentioned without names. 



Var. 1. — Body entirely black above and beneath, abdomen 9 red. 



Var. 2. — Body as above. Thorax rufo-testaceous. 



Var. 3. — Body black, elytra rufo-testaceous. 



Var. 4. — As in 3, elytra tipped with black. 



Var. 5. — As in 4, with a median elytral spot. 



Var. fi. — As in 5, with a humeral spot. 



Var. 1. — Black, abdomen red, thorax rufous, elytra black with sub-basal spot 

 red. 



The form described by Fabricius as tn'stis {/asciafus, niger Mels.) 

 is composed of the more diminutive specimens which occur more 

 especially in the Northern States. They are of a generally darker 

 color. 



This species is distributed over our entire country south of a line 

 from New York to Kansas. 



It will be noticed that this species varies in a manner similar to the 

 preceding. The only diflFerence that I can discover between the two 

 is in the punctuation of the under side of the body. 



Rli. criicntus. Germ. Ins. Spec. Nov., 1824, p. 168; Gerst. Mon. p. 27; 

 rufun, Lee. Proc. Acad. VII, 1854, p. 225. — Thoracic lobe not elevated nor 

 notched. Elytra contiguous for nearly half their length, narrowed in a cur- 

 vilinear manner and not acuminate at tip. Second joint of hind tarsus longer 

 than tlie third and sub-cylindrical. 



Male. — Head moderately convex in front, shining, very sparsely punctured. 

 Antennae black. 



Female. — Similar to the male, antennae black, basal joint testaceous. 



Var. cruentus, Germ. — Body and legs entirely black. Abdomen % black, 

 very rarely red, abdomen 9 red, rarely black. Elytra red, apex and narrow 

 basal margin black. 



Var. . — Body as in the preceding. Thorax rufo-testaceous. Elytra 



with tip and base very narrowly black. Head black. 



