88 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 2 56 



Alcidion cereicola Fisher 



This species was described as new in 1936 from material collected 

 by officers of the Commonwealth Prickly Pear Board in Argentina. 

 It was again found in December 1958. The adult is a rather small 

 stout longicorn measuring 12 to 13 mm. in length by 4.75 to 5.5 mm. 

 in width; the pronotum is light brown; the elytra are dark with a 

 large irregualr light-brown patch at the middle. Material has been 

 obtained at Santiago del Estero, at Tapia in the Province of Tucuman, 

 and at Gtiemes in the Province of Salta. The known host plants are 

 Stetsonia, Cereus validus, Echinopsis shaferi, and Cleistocactus sp. The 

 larvae tunnel in the stems of these plants and have usually been found 

 in small colonies. Large larvae and pupae were collected in August, 

 September, and October, and the beetles emerged in November. 

 The species, which does not appear to be common, is capable of causing 

 serious injury to the attacked plants. 



COENOPAEUS Horn 



Of the two species included in this genus, one, Coenopaeus niger Horn, 

 was not encountered during the investigations. Concerning this form 

 W, S. Fisher of the U.S. Department of Agriculture wrote in Septem- 

 ber 1937: 



I believe that this is a distinct species, as I have not seen any specimens 

 intermediate between it and palmeri. This insect was described from Sierra 

 el Cinche, 2,000 feet, in the extreme southern part of Lower California, 

 Mexico; all the specimens I have seen are from that region. 



Coenopaeus palmeri (LeConte) 



This mottled black and light-grey beetle, attaining an inch in length, 

 is an enemy of Cylindropuntias in southwestern United States, where 

 its distribution extends from west Texas to southern California. In 

 west Texas it has been found at Shafter in the Big Bend country; 

 in New Mexico it occurs rather freely around Silver City and has 

 been taken as far north as Hot Springs; in Arizona its range includes 

 the Globe, Tucson, and Douglas sectors; in California it has been 

 located in the eastern foothills of the San Jacinto and Cuyamaca 

 Mountains. The distribution probably embraces the more northerly 

 portions of Mexico. A single specimen, taken near San Luis Potosi 

 in June 1927, appeared to differ slighdy from typical examples. Dark 

 individuals with very little mottling, collected at Culiacan, in the 

 west-coast State of Sinaloa, were identified by W. S. Fisher as this 

 species. 



