20 PEOCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 80 



convex, and more elongate-oval than the typical alutacea from more 

 eastern localities. Perhaps this race deserves being called a separate 

 subspecies, but more material is needed before its status can be 

 established definitely. It must be noted that this very light race is. 

 recorded in the Sierra Nevada in nearly the same localities in which 

 monticola Mulsant (see above) is recorded. In spite of this no inter- 

 grades between these very different races are so far observed. The 

 genitalia of the Calif ornian alutacea were studied and found to be 

 not distinguishable from other specimens of alutacea or from 

 monticola. The whole question certainly deserves further study. 



COCCINELLA DIFFICILIS Crotch 



Coccinella difficilis Crotch, 1873, p. 370. — Leng, 1903, p. 200. — Johnson 1910, 



p. 64. 

 Coccinella monticola Mulsant var. difficilis Crotch, Leng, 1920, p. 216. 

 Coccinella vandykei Nunenmacher, Ent. News, vol. 20, p. 161, 1909. 

 Coccinella iransversoguttata Faldernian var. vandykei Nunenmacher, Leng, 1920, 



p. 216. 



Broadly oval, rather strongly convex. Head with white spots near 

 the eyes, labrum brown, the anterior angles of the pronotum with 

 quadrangular white marks, the anterior angles of the pronotal 

 epipleura with a narrow white margin. Pronotum and elytra non- 

 alutaceous, densely and finely punctulate. Elytra orange or red with 

 a large scutellar spot {%), a small, round, frequently missing spot 2, 

 a large, transversally elliptical spot 3, and a very large transverse 

 apico-marginal spot (4 + 5), tending to break into two separate spots. 

 Mesepimera and metepimera white. Length of the body, 5.4-6.3 mm. 



Male genitalia (figs. 9, 16). — Penis only slightly longer than the 

 paramera, gradually widening from the base in the distal direction, 

 sharply narrowed at two-thirds of its length, and extended into a 

 fingerlike process. Basal plates longer than wide. Sipho very long 

 as compared with the size of the penis. Siphonal capsule angulate. 



Female genitalia (fig. 26). — Receptaculm seminis short and wide; 

 ramus rudimentary. Infundibulm similar to that of Coccinella 

 nivicola Menetries. 



This species is surprisingly close to Coccinella tian^hanica Dob- 

 zhansky from middle Asia. The external structures as well as the 

 genitalia are similar, though not identical, in the two species. They 

 differ in the sculpture of the elytra, in the form of spot 4 + 5, in the- 

 form of the penis, and that of the receptaculum seminis. Among the 

 American species of Coccinella the only close relative of difficilis is C. 

 suturalis Casey. The two species just mentioned, and the Asiatic 

 species tianshanica Dobzhansky and iranica Dobzhansky, form a sep- 

 arate section of the genus Coccinella. C. nivicola Menetries belongs, 



