1912.] 125 



LATHBOBIUM BIPICOLA, Czwal. r AN ADDITION TO THE BRITISH 

 LIST OP COLEOPTERA, WITH REMARKS ON ALLIED SPECIES. 



BT E. A. NEWBERT. 



For some time past I have been of opiuion that the insects 

 standing in my collection as L. boreale, Hochh., should properly be 

 referred to the above species. My friend Dr. Cameron was kind 

 enough recently to bring some Continental rijncoln for comparison, 

 with the result that we both agreed as to their identity with mj 

 British examples. To make the matter more certain, he sent a (^ of 

 the latter to Dr. Bernhauer, who has confirmed the opinion we had 

 formed. I do not propose here to give a detailed description of 

 L. ripicola ; a good one has been published ])y Graiiglbauer (Kafer 

 von Mitteleuropa, II, 511), and another, still more extensive, with 

 figures of the male characters of this and the allied species by Mulsant 

 and Rey (Pederiens, 39) , under the name of boreale, Hochh. ; a name 

 which has been dropped altogether, as no insect with the ^ characters 

 given by Hochhuth appears to exist in nature. The separation of the 

 males of the larger species of Lathrobimn is comparatively easy, while 

 that of the females is quite the reverse. The following is an attempt 

 to tabulate the forms which are more or less allied to L. gemimim, 

 Kraatz. The males of this group can be distinguished by having the 

 last ventral abdominal segment trifid, with the middle section longi- 

 tundinally carinate on each side, the inner edges of the side-pieces 

 (often with raised margins) being parallel to these carina. I have 

 failed to discover any satisfactory characters to separate the females 

 of elongahim from those of geminuni, apart from the slight differences 

 of punctuation and colour which are also found in the males. 



1 (2). Middle joints of antennae longer aud more conical; elytra dark with 



more or less of the apex dirty yellow-brown, junction of coloiu's 

 badly defined. (J with penviltimate ventral abdominal segment not, 

 or scarcely, furrowed, nor furnished with longitixdinal rows of black 

 hairs, somewhat bluntly triangularly excised at apex. ? with 

 penultimate dorsal segment broadly quadrangularly excised. 

 Length, 7-8 mm L. fulvipennc, Grav. 



2 (1). Middle joints of antennae shorter and less conical. 



3 (6). Penultimate ventral abdominal segment of i without a row of con- 



verging black hairs on each side of the distinct longitudinal f lu-row ; 

 coxse black or pitchy. 



4 (5). Elytra black ; size larger; penultimate ventral segment of S deeply 



triangularly excised at apex. ? with apical dorsal segment longi- 

 tudinally ridged. Length, 8-9 mm L. hrunnipes, Fabr. 



