40 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 290 



Distribution. — The 52 individuals in the USNM collection were 

 taken in the southern fourth of Texas. 



Cryptocephalus calidus Suffrian 



Figures 73, 117 



Cryptocephalus calidus Suflfrian, 1852, p. 241. 



Cryptocephalus carinatus Leconte, 1880, p. 202. [New synonymy.] 



Pronotum: Orange to dark red, usually with two light, oblique 

 basal spots and with lateral and apical margins yellowish or lighter, 

 light markings usually not sharply delimited. Punctation dual, larger 

 punctures small to (infrequently) moderate in size and coarse. 



Elytra: Creamy yellow to (sometimes) orange with dark vittae. 

 Each elytron with two longitudinal black to (occasionally) dark red- 

 dish vittae as follows: from base of second, third, and fourth intervals 

 to or near apex of second interval (vitta always complete, rarely ex- 

 panded); from humerus to apex of fourth and combined fifth, sixth, 

 and seventh intervals (vitta infrequently interrupted once, sometimes 

 expanded). With eight rows of punctures, fifth, sixth, and seventh 

 rows confused, sixth sometimes greatly reduced, punctures as large, 

 dense as usual, distinctly finer to apex; inner and outer rows distinct 

 at apex and usually clearly meeting. 



Prosternum: Anterior margin in both sexes evenly arcuate, not 

 produced. 



Length: 4.2 to 5.6 mm. 



Discussion. — Schaeffer (1934, p. 458) synonymized calidus with 

 insertus on the basis of the inadequacy of the characters presented by 

 Leconte (1880, p. 202) as distinguishing the two. In the USNM series, 

 I find two distinct species mixed under the two names. In the one 

 species, the elytral vittae are nearly consistent in development, and 

 the outer are rarely interrupted. This species I interpret as Suffrian's 

 calidus on the basis of agreement with his description and notes. He 

 described calidus as very similar in color and color pattern to venustus 

 F. and makes no mention of the vittae as being interrupted (as they 

 are in the other species in the series). In the second species, the inner 

 vitta of each elytron is complete and often expanded (especially in 

 the male), and the outer vitta is interrupted once, twice, or nearly 

 absent. In some males, the interrupted outer vitta is confluent with 

 the inner. This condition best fits Haldeman's description of the 

 elytra of his insertus as follows: "extreme margins and disk black with 

 two confluent vittae, leaving the exterior margin, apex, and a few 

 streaks of flavous." I interpret Haldeman's name as referring to this 

 species. Males of insertus range in length from 3.8 to 4.4 mm., and the 

 inner elytral vittae are often expanded and confluent with the spots 



