1913.] 151 



As regards No. 1, I have already said that I think we may 

 consider it to be the Cryptobium brevipenne of Mulsant (Opusc. Ent. 

 XII, p. 147). Subsequently Mulsant and Eey (Col. France, Pederiens, 

 p. 8, 1878) treated the insect, Mulsant previously described as a species, 

 as being merely a variety of C. fracticorne. They give no reason for 

 so doing, and the only one I can suggest is that their fracticorne var. 

 jacquelini may be in some respects intermediate ; but I may add that 

 I am inclined to conclude from Boieldieu's description and figure, and 

 from Mulsant and Key's remarks on the subject, that this Mediterranean 

 insect will prove to be a third distinct species of the genus. This, 

 however, is merely conjecture. The only localities given for brevipenne 

 in France are the mountains of Auvergne, Burgundy, and Provence. 

 I may add that I am not certain that our British brevipenne are all one 

 species. 



Brockenhurst : 



May 9th, 1913. 



ON SOME ALLIES OF HOMALOTA FUNGICOLA. 

 BY D. SHARP, M.A., F.R.S. 



As far back as the year 1869 I stated that we had more than one 

 species confounded under H. fungicola. In the long interval I have 

 made several fruitless attempts to satisfy myself as to this, and only 

 last month was I able to obtain si3ecimens that prove my old convic- 

 tion to be well grounded. I am now sure that we have several species 

 confused together, and the descriptions I here offer may be considered 

 a preliminary to a complete analysis of the members of the group. In 

 addition to the four species here diagnosed, a fifth name should be 

 added to our catalogue, as Mulsant and Rey in the year 1873 described 

 under the name of H. fulvipennis (Col. France, Aleochariens, p. 525), 

 a new species founded on a female captured near London. I cannot 

 identify their description with any form I have yet examined. 

 G-anglbauer has fallen into the error of placing H. fulvipennis, Muls., 

 as a synonym of Atlieta crassicornis, which (as misunderstood by Fauvel 

 and himself) is a mixture of various species. There is a description 

 of a Horn alota fulvipennis by Kolenati prior to that of Mulsant, so that 

 it will not be a grave error if one of us should describe this species 

 under some other name, but it is very desirable that we should recognise 

 it. 



