98 ^^'-''J' 



joint of the maxillary palpi is a conspicuous character in small speci- 

 mens, in which it is of about the same length as the slender fourth 

 joint. 



In one of my two specimens of A. moesta the hind body is as 

 smooth as it is in A. succicola, the punctuation varying a little in 

 both species. 



A. succicola and A. moesta are both widely distributed on the 

 continent, the latter also occurring in North America ; A. succicola 

 extends southwards to Gibraltar and Corsica,* and is also found in 

 Madeira; A. moesta is much more local, and there are specimens 

 of it from Savoy, Cauterets, and Lake Baikal, in Dr. Sharp's 

 collection. 



Horsell, Woking : 



March 29ih, 1897. 



PLATYSTETHUS ALUTACEUS, Thoms., A BRITISH INSECT. 

 BY Or. C. CHAMPIOX, F.Z.S. 



I possess a male specimen of this insect found by myself many 

 years ago in the London district, probably at Morden, Surrey, in 

 1869 ; and Mr. Keys, of Plymouth, has recently sent me two others, 

 females, to name, these latter having been found by him at Slapton 

 Ley, Devon, during the present month. P. alutaceus is closely allied 

 to P. cornutus, Grrav., the two apparently having been regarded as 

 forms of one species by Erichson, Kraatz, and Fairmaire, but they 

 may be separated by the following characters : — 



Upper surface shining, very finely alutaeeous ; the elytra with a more or less distinct 

 testaceous patch ou the disc and very distinct scattered punctures... 



cornutus, Grav. 



scybalarius, Runde. 

 viaxillosus, Peyron. 

 degener, Rey. 



Upper surface dull, more distinctly alutaeeous, the elytra especially; the latter 



black, and with very shallow scattered punctures... a/?<^a6-e(«, Thoms. 



cornutus, Gyll. 

 tristis, Rey. 



The above mentioned British specimens agree well with others 

 from Corfu, Asia Minor, and Morocco {Walker) in my collection. In 

 all these examples the elytra are duller and more distinctly alutaeeous 

 than in any of the numerous British and European examples of P, 

 cornutus that I have examined. The colour of the elytra is perhaps 



• The A. mcesla of my Corsican list (Trans. Eut. Soc. Lond., 1894, p. 233) belongs to A. 

 succicola. 



