78 [April, 



CATOPS SERICATUS, Chaud., A BRITISH INSECT. 

 BT G. C. CHAMPION, P.Z.S. 



Two recop^iiised species are confused under the name Caiops 

 sericeits, Panz., in our collections, one of them being C. sericatus, 

 Chaud., an insect not hitherto recorded as British. In Chaudoir's 

 description of the latter [Bull. Mosc, xlv, 2, p. 199 (1845)], he states 

 that it is very much smaller than C. sericeus, and has the elytral rugae 

 less marked, the terminal joint of the antennse less obtuse, &c. Dr. 

 Seidlitz, in his table of the species of the genus Ptomaphagus [= 

 Catops] (Deutsch. ent. Zeitschr., 1887, pp. 90-02), and Ganglbauer 

 [Die Kafer von Mitteleuropa, iii, p. 142 (1899)], both place G. sericatus 

 in a group having the posterior tibiae straight in both sexes, whereas 

 C. sericeus is included in the section with the posterior tibiae excavated 

 or crooked in the (^ and straight in the ? . The character derived 

 from the form of the posterior tibiae of the male of C. sericeus applies, 

 however, to well-developed specimens only ; nevertheless, the two 

 forms may be separated thus : — 



Larger and more convex ; elytral rugas very distinct ; anterior tarsi of ^ broadly 

 dilated, as wide as or wider than the antennal club ; posterior tibiae of well- 

 developed S s more or less hollowed below the base (and appearing widened 

 thence to the apex), straight in feebly developed $s, as in the $ ... 



sericeus, Panz. 



Smaller and more depressed ; elytral rugae very fine ; anterior tarsi of tiie J much 

 less dilated, naiTOwer than the antennal club ; posterior tibiae straight in both 

 sexes ; pubescence of the upper surface finer and more silky... 



sericatus, Chaud. 



C. sericeus is extremely variable in size, the small individuals with 

 straight posterior tibiae in the ^ being intermediate in this respect 

 between it and C. sericatus, but the two forms can be separated 

 without difficulty by the structure of the anterior tarsi of the male 

 and the finer sculpture ; C. sericatus is constantly of the same size as 

 very small examples of C. sericeus, and the silky texture of the pu- 

 bescence is particularly noticeable. Murray, in his " Monograph," 

 treats Chaudoir's insect as a var. minor of O. sericeus ; the ^ characters 

 he ignored altogether. G. sericatus has been recorded from Eussia, 

 G-ermany, Austria, the Pyrenees, Spain, &c. ; I have specimens of it 

 from Sanderstead, Catei-ham, Gomshall, Chatham, Sheppey, Brighton, 

 etc., and the species is no doubt widely distributed in Britain. 



Horsell, Woking : 



March 5th, 1904. 



