BY JOHN WALTON. 



hundreds of innumerable varieties, of two species, viz. — S. 

 iSpartii, and S. tibialis : the latter was more plentiful than the 

 former, and both always found upon the above-mentioned plant, 

 in Yorkshire, By capturing, setting out, and examining so 

 many of these species, and their surprising varieties, I became 

 familiar with what is technically called their habit, by secur- 

 ing them, as I apprehend, soon after their coming out of 

 the chrysalis : they were in beautiful condition, and covered 

 with shining scales, of a metallic lustre, particularly S. tibi- 

 alis. I was pleased to observe I possessed numerous and 

 very singular varieties, in form, colour and size ; thus I be- 

 came master, if I may use the expression, of these two species. 

 I continued, all the remainder of the year, to collect every in- 

 sect of this genus that I met with. The colour of the scales of 

 S. tibialis is extremely variable, of every shade, from a coppery, 

 silvery, bluish grey, and green : the elytra are generally line- 

 ated, but in many instances concolorous, and therefore entirely 

 without lines. This species is liable to be confounded with 

 S. lineatus ; but the habit is dissimilar, the elytra are shorter, 

 and the eyes more prominent ; the slender bluish grey varieties 

 of the S. lineatm so closely approximate to the same varieties of 

 the S. tibialis, that it is difficult for persons unacquainted with 

 the habit of the two species to separate them. In this case, 

 the sculpture on the thorax, when examined, will at once de- 

 cide the doubt. 



Sitona lineatus. — The scales upon the elytra are generally 

 more or less distinctly lineated, but frequently concolorous, and 

 without lines. The small slender varieties are usually of a 

 bluish grey; and the full, robust forms are often cinereous, 

 brown, and also of a bluish grey colour ; the cinereous, or 

 brown, incline to a coppery red, which, in certain positions, 

 have a brilliant metallic lustre. I have, therefore, been led 

 not to attach much importance to the colour of the scales and 

 the lineations thereof: they are often perfectly useless in decid- 

 ing species, and mislead by their want of uniformity ; they hide 

 the sculpture more or less, and this important character cannot 

 be seen distinctly without scraping them off, which is easily 

 performed with a pen-knife, or some other light instrument. 



The five Protean species mentioned before, vary so consider- 

 ably in size, and assume so many singular variations in form 

 and colour, that it is impossible for language to give a correct 



