290 



[Xovember, 



and the punctuation : the punctuation of the elytra is really the same 

 throughout the genus; the surface of the elytron is finely reticulate, 

 and the punctuation consists of large punctures with an admixture 

 of smaller ones. "With the exception of those derived ivom the 

 cedeaqus, all the characters before mentioned are liable to a surprising 

 amount of variation in degree, and this is quite independent of sex or 

 species ; more than this, monstrous individuals frequently occur which, 

 by reasou of the accentuation of some character, differ completely in 

 appearance from any of their congeners, and as these specimens are 

 generally females, it is impossible to say with certainty to which 

 species they should be referred. I have two such specimens now 

 before me ; one with distinctly projecting anterior angles to its trans- 

 versely quadrate thorax, which seems to belong to M. li/fhri, the other, 

 in which the thorax is little, if anything, more than one-half as wide 

 as the base of the elytra, seems to belong to H. oleracca. Under 

 these circumstances, it is not surprising that the nomenclature of these 

 insects is in a state of hopeless confusion, but it is clear that the 

 present is not an occasion for any attempt to deal exhaustively with 

 the literature of the group, and for that reason I do not in the matter 

 of names propose to go behind the account of the genus given by 

 "Weise, in "Ins. Deutsch.," vol. vi, pt. v, p. 825, et seq. 



The (Bdeagus, which is formed on the same general plan throughout the genus, is a 

 straight, elongate, parallel-sided, chitinous organ, arising from a short oblique base, and 

 having a length in its straight part about equal to four times its width ; its general 

 contour and proportions may be gathered from the accompanying figures, of which A 

 represents the under surface of the organ in H. Ii/thri, and B the same part in H. oleracea. 

 Its upper surface is mainly occupied by an elongate-triangular excavation, furnished 

 in its basal two-thirds with numerous transverse ridges, and having at the apex an 

 orifice from which the ductus ejac^datorius is extruded ; the under surface, which 

 furnishes the most useful specific characters, may be con- 

 sidered as divided longitudinally into three tracts, namely, 

 a wide and flat smooth central chainiel, flanked on each side 

 by a somewhat raised lateral tract ; these lateral tracts 

 become depressed or excavated, or otherwise altered in form, 

 in their apical third, and arc furnished at about their middle 

 third with a series of deeply engraved short oblique lines ; 

 the number and disposition of these lines {i. e., whether 

 the series extends to the base of the adeagus or not), is not, 

 in the species that I have examined, a matter of any value 

 as a distinctive character. The cedeagus of H. oleracea, L., 

 forms an exception to the foregoing observations, as its apex 

 is rounded instead of apiculate, and the under surface is 

 ^ B divided into five tracts, having a lateral channel at each side 



margin, in addition to the central channel, with its contiguous raised lateral tracts. 



