214 



2. horealis ; 3. striatus ; 4. semistriatus ; and 5. americanus 

 (rather than novemstriatus^. The fifth species being the most 

 widely diffused, seems to merit the name americanus, rather 

 than the third, which is very rare, and appears to be local ; and 

 I am perfectly willing to drop the name quadrifoveatus if I have 

 your consent also to drop novemstriatus. 



Last August I went to Blue Hill to catch Cicindela Hentzii. 

 I could find only five specimens. I have again compared 

 the species with others, and conclude that it is a genuine 

 species, intermediate in marj\ings between punctulata and ru- 

 fiventris, but with far more distinct spots than either. Like 

 the former it has a distinct subsutural row of ocellated punc- 

 tures, visible even to the naked eye. Compared with rufiven- 

 tris the thorax is more nearly quadrate, is almost straight at 

 the sides, and the punctures on the elytra are smaller and less 

 distinct, — besides the difference in color and markings. If C. 

 Hentzii and C. rufiventris constitute but one species, then C. ru- 

 fiventris should be the variety ; and other individuals, having 

 the elytral spots larger and more distinct than in the variety, 

 but smaller and less clearly marked than those of Hentzii, 

 ought to be found. Such never having occurred, and other con- 

 siderations moving me, I go back to my first opinion that C. 

 Hentzii is a genuine species, distinct from the southern C. ru- 

 fiventris. 



In adverting to the confusion of the synonymy of the JVbtio- 

 phili, . . Say himself began it by confounding his semi' 

 striatus and porrectus under one name ; and Dejean has made 

 the matter worse, by referring all the American to European 

 species, Avhich evidently he had not carefully studied. In fact 

 the European JVotiophili, as characterized by Dejean, require 

 revision just as much as the Amarce. 



Have you not been led to mistake Say's Notiophilus semistri- 

 atus on account of the name ? If you will look at Say's descrip- 

 tion, you will find that the name was not intended to denote the 

 want of elytral strias behind the middle, but the want of them 



