270 Journal New York Entomological Society. t^'o'- ^^• 



Sierra Co., Lake Co., Contra Costa Co., Los Angeles, Pasadena, San 

 Diego and Poway, California; also from Johnson's Caiion, Prescott 

 and the Huachuca Mts. in Arizona, and Ft. Wingate, New Mexico. 



With the possible exception of insulatiis no other species in our 

 fauna is so generally misunderstood as the present one. As every 

 4-maculate species of the Pacific Coast and Southwest goes as histrio 

 in one collection or another, it is of course sometimes correctly identi- 

 fied. Erichson's description is very brief, and Horn's remarks are 

 still briefer and misleading, his tabular character " thorax densely 

 finely punctured and opaque " being based on an extreme variant of 

 the species and not warranted by Erichson's description, which 

 states that the thorax is shining. At the time I described argutus 

 my conception of histrio was based upon Horn's statement, and I 

 was not then aware of the fact that the sculpture of the prothorax in 

 Collops may vary greatly within specific limits. I am now con- 

 vinced that argutus is identical with, and in thoracic punctuation not 

 very far from the true histrio, the type of which probably lies between 

 it and Horn's "histrio verus." In the LeConte collection, which I 

 have recently examined, the label histrio is placed on a typical 

 argutus ?, and with it is the Lower California specimen alluded to by 

 Horn, and which bears the label "histrio verus" in his handwriting. 

 There is a third specimen — a ? — mixed with piilchellus. Histrio and 

 pidchellus are very closely allied and the antennal characters in both 

 sexes are virtually identical. The latter species is rather smaller and 

 less robust, of a bright red color, with elytral spots as a rule much 

 smaller and never confluent — so far as I have seen ; the abdomen is 

 red and the legs are entirely or predominantly so. In histrio the 

 legs are black and the abdomen is usually heavily maculate. 

 C. scutellatus Schaef. Can. Ent., 19 12, p. 186. 



Pale reddish yellow, metasternum black, head with a small central bluish 

 spot, elytra each with a basal and large oval posterior spot, blue, the spots 

 narrowly separated ; scutellum rufous. Head distinctly but finely punctate, 

 prothorax finely rugulose at sides, polished and subimpunctate at middle ; elytra 

 feebly shining, closely rather finely punctate. Basal antennal joint ((^) fully 

 Yz longer than wide, feebly dilated outwardly, subcylindrical in apical half, 

 not impressed posteriorly; second joint subtriangular as viewed from beneath, 

 about as long as wide, appendix long; outer joints feebly serrate. Length 

 zYa mm. 



New Braunfels, Texas. 



