248 I October, 1912. 



Food plants. — The most usual appears to be Ballota nigra, but it 

 lias also been taken on species of Stachys in England. Foudras and 

 Bedel add Marritbium vulgar e. 



The species is not very uncommon in the south of England, 1)utwe 

 have no records from further north than Norfolk. It is very probable, 

 however, that its real range is much more extensive than our present 

 meagre list of records would indicate. 



L. MEMBRANACEUS, Foudr. [Mon., p. 222] ; Weise [Nat. Ins. Deutschl. 

 VII, p. 991]. 



Syn. teucrii. All. [Mon., p. 139]. 



(Allard himself makes his T. teucrii synonymous with mimiscula, 

 Foudr. The text of the latter author, however, would rather lead to 

 the inference that T. mmuscula was more probably a pale form of 

 L. hiridus, Scop). 



Of a short and rounded oval form, of the same size and shape as, and super- 

 ficially very similar to, L. ballotx. Head : usually ferruginous, but sometimes 

 pitchy or almost black, exceedingly finely and closely punctured between the 

 eyes. Antennae .- testaceous, with the last four or five joints fuscous. Thorax : 

 usually of a rather redder testaceous tlian the elytra, transverse, very finely 

 bordei'cd, faintly alutaceous, punctuation not close, moderately strong, sometimes 

 weakly and conflviently rugose. Elytra paler or darker testaceous, somewhat 

 translucent or gelatinous, nearly always with indistinct traces of a darker 

 lineation, veiy finely alutaceous, punctuation shallow and remote, sometimes 

 somewhat seriate but very variable in this resjDect [Under a high magnification 

 the elytral surface of this, as of many of the apterous species, appears to be 

 thickly covered with lighter points or dots. This appeai-ance has nothing to do 

 with the proper elytral punctuation, but is probably due to a refraction of light 

 caused by the irregular under surface of the wing sheaths and the vacant space 

 which exists between them and the abdomen] ; suture veiy narrowly and faintly 

 rufescent ; apices plainly separately rounded, and more or less dehiscent, making 

 visible the short white cilia with which the pygidium is clothed. Legs testaceous, 

 except the last tarsal joint, which is fuscous, posterior femora hardly darker 

 than the rest of the legs ; posterior tibial spurs shorter and thicker than those 

 of either L. waterhousei or L. ballotm (" enforme d'ergot " as Bedel describes them) ; 

 first anterior tarsal joint not enlarged. Underside testaceous brown. Com- 

 pletely or semi-apterous in all the specimens we have examined. Length, 

 1^ — 1^ mm. 



The British species to which L. memhranaceus comes nearest are 

 L. ivaierhousei and L. hallotie. The distinctions already given under 

 L. waterhousei will separate it from that species, while from L. hallotse 

 it may be knowni by the weaker and more remote elytral punctuation, 

 the much lighter coloured posterior femora, the more rounded elytral 

 apices, the distinctly shorter and thicker posterior tibial spurs, and the 

 different food plant. 



