NORTH AMERICAN BUPEESTID BEETLES 37 



Variations. — Size 6 to 9 millimeters in length. The coloration is 

 rather constant in this species, although the pronotum shows a slight 

 variation from bronzy cupreous to reddish cupreous. The median 

 depression on the pronotum is slightly variable in depth, and in 

 some examples of both sexes there is a vague indication of pre- 

 humeral carina?, but these are not sufficiently distinct to be placed 

 with the species having prehumeral carina?. 



Host. — Larvae live near the base of living bayberry (Myrica caro- 

 linensis Miller) and require two years to reach maturity (Fisher, 

 1922). This species has been recorded by Somes (1915) as living 

 in the young twigs of apple in Missouri, but these specimens have 

 been probably wrongly identified. Knull (1922) collected the adults 

 in numbers on sweet fern (Oomptonia peregrina (Linnaeus) Coul- 

 ter), and since the sweet fern is closely allied to bayberry, indicates 

 that this plant is also the host of this species. The adults have been 

 recorded on poplar sprouts by Horn (1891) and on white and post 

 oak by Thomas (1877), but the larvae probably do not live in these 

 trees. 



This species is closely allied to ruficollis Fabricius, and may be 

 confused with that species in some collections. It can, however, be 

 easily separated from that species, since the front of the head is 

 only feebly depressed, the elytra piceous and uniformly clothed with 

 short pubescence, and the underside of the body is aeneous or 

 cupreous, whereas in ruftcollis the head is deeply depressed in front, 

 the elytra and body beneath black, and the elytra are without distinct 

 pubescence. 



8. AGRILUS OBTUSUS Horn 

 Figure 6 



Agrilus obtusus Horn', Trans. Aruer. Ent. Soc, vol. 18, 1891. p. 288. — Cham- 

 berlin, Cat. Buprestidae, 1926, p. 73. 



Male. — Elongate, robust, opaque, uniformly seneous, with a more 

 or less distinct cupreous tinge ; beneath more shining than above. 



Head with the front wide, feebly convex, slightly wider at top than 

 at bottom, the lateral margins feebly, arcuately expanded at middle, 

 and with a rather deep, broad depression extending from occiput to 

 epistoma, the depression narrowly, longitudinally grooved on the 

 occiput; surface densely, coarsely' punctate, coarsely rugose, and 

 sparsely clothed with long, recumbent, whitish hairs ; epistoma rather 

 narrow between the antennae, broadly, arcuately emarginate in front, 

 and the anterior margin transversely truncate on each side of the 

 emargination; antennae short, extending to about apical third oi 

 pronotum, serrate from the fourth joint, and the outer joints wider 

 than long; eyes large, and equally rounded above and beneath. 



