BEETLE GENUS ONTHOPHAGUS — HOWDEN, CARTWRIGHT 115 



tion, Colorado Co., Columbus, Lake Corpus Christ! State Pk., Dallas, Doncette, 

 Goliad, New Braunfels, Paris, Somerset, Willis. 



Remarks. — This species can be separated from closely related 

 species by the uniform purplish blue or green color and by the hairy 

 tuberculate pronotum with almost circular tubercles separated by a 

 distance usually greater than their diameter. The pronotal protuber- 

 ance in the male major is also quite distinctive because the apical 

 median portion lacks the downwardly protruding teeth usually charac- 

 teristic of the male majors of 0. hecate and 0. blatchleyi. Also charac- 

 teristic are the irregular double rows of small tubercles on the elytral 

 intervals and the lack of spots on the elytra. 0. concinnus is very 

 close but has a bright green head and pronotum and bicolored elytra. 



Onthophagus medorensis has been found in some numbers in Okla- 

 homa and eastern Texas. Numerous adults were fomid in mid-June 

 at Bastrop State Park, Tex., feeding on rotten watermelon rind 

 and on human feces. Most of the specimens were taken in low, 

 well-shaded sandy areas. Several pairs were kept alive, placed in a 

 soil filled 12-inch flower pot on Jmie 16, and supplied with fresh cow 

 dmig. On June 26 the flower pot was examined; it yielded a single 

 brood cell 16 mm. long by 10 mm. wide. Near the upper end of the 

 cell was a cavity, 5 mm. in diameter, containing a single yellowish- 

 white egg, 1.8 mm. long, which was attached at one end to the side of 

 the cavity. Subsequent examination on July 5 yielded four more 

 cells at depths ranging from 2 to 5 inches. The cells all contained 

 eggs, one of which hatched on July 9, the fii'st instar exhibiting the 

 prominent conical dorsal wart on the thnd abdominal segment 

 typical of Onthophagus larvae. Unfortunately, in some way eggs of 

 Aphodius lividus (Olivier) were included in each of the brood cells 

 and the resulting Aphodius larvae destroyed the Onthophagus egg or 

 larva in all five cells. This parasitism of the Onthophagus brood 

 cells by the Aphodius was described in a 1955 paper by Howden. 

 No additional mformation was obtained concerning the life cycle of 

 0. medorensis because all the adults died without having constructed 

 additional broods cells. 



Brown (1926; 1928) stated that 0. medorensis (guatemalensis) 

 is abundant during the spring months in Payne County, Olda., beneath 

 excrement in very sandy localities. "It does not occur where there 

 is httle or no sand." 



Onthophagus hecate hecate (Panzer) 



Plate 8, Figures 70-72 



Scarabaeus hecate Panzer, 1794, p. 5. — Melsheimer, 1806, p. 3. 

 Onthophagus hecate (Panzer) Sturm, 1843, p. 107. — Haldeman and LeConte, 1853, 

 p. 54.— Lacordaire, 1856, p. 108. — LeConte, 1863, p. 36.— Gemmiuger and 



