NORTH AMERICAN BUPRESTID BEETLES 109 



joints united. Tarsal claws nearly similar on all feet, cleft near the 

 middle, the outer tooth long and acute, the inner one slightly shorter 

 and broader, and sometimes feebly turned inward, but the tips widely 

 separated. 



Length, 8 mm. ; width, 2.25 mm. 



Female. — Differs from the male in being more robust, front of 

 head broader, with the lateral margins more parallel to each other 

 and not strongly constricted toward the bottom, the first two ab- 

 dominal segments convex at the middle, and the tibiae unarmed at 

 the apex. 



Length, 11 mm. ; width, 3 mm. 



Type locality. — Victoria, Tex. 



Other localities. — Kerrville and Colorado County, Tex., and 

 Kansas (no definite locality). 



Type and paratype. — Cat. No. 40992, U.S.N.M. 



Allotype. — University of Kansas. Paratype in collection of J. N. 

 Knull. 



Described from four specimens, two males and two females. The 

 type collected at Victoria, Tex., March 26, 1908, on oak (Quercus 

 sp.) by J. D. Mitchell; allotype collected in Colorado County, Tex., 

 April 24, 1922, by Mrs. Grace Wiley ; one male paratype collected at 

 Kerrville, Tex., April 12, 1907, by F. C. Pratt, and one female para- 

 type labeled "Kan." (Knull collection). 



This species is closely allied to audaso Horn and vittaticollis Ran- 

 dall. From the latter it can be separated by the propleurae, meso- 

 pleurae, metapleurae and coxae being densely pubescent, and from 

 audax by the head being deeply depressed in front, with only the 

 lower half densely pubescent. In audax the males have a deep, 

 smooth, elongate depression on the second abdominal segment, 

 whereas in benjamini, the second abdominal segment is only feebly 

 depressed. 



I take much pleasure in naming this species after Dr. Marcus 

 Benjamin as a slight acknowledgment of the many courtesies shown 

 the writer. 



33. AGRILUS AUDAX Horn 



Figure 26 



Agrilus audax Horn, Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, vol. 18, 1891, pp. 30O-3O1.— 

 Wickham, Canad. Ent., vol. 35, 1903, p. 70. — Fisher, Proc. Ent, Soc. 

 Wash., vol. 20, 1918, p. 68.— Chamberlix, Cat. Buprestidae, 1926, p. 52 

 (part). 



Male. — Form resembling vittaticollis Randall; head bronzy green 

 in front, becoming cupreous or purplish on the occiput; pronotum 

 purplish red, and feebly shining; elytra black, opaque; beneath 

 aeneous, with a slightly cupreous reflection, and more shining than 

 above. 



