270 ,^ . 



[November, 



been made to our insect fauna for many years. Myrmecoris gracilis 

 IS a rarity everywhere, and a very striking insect, so that it could 

 hardly escape notice ; it is very like an ant in form, and was found 

 on heathy ground not far from a nest of Lasius niger, L. This ant, 

 however, is much smaller than the bug, so that it would only resemble' 

 the larval conditions of the latter. 



The larva of Alydus calcaratus is well known to possess an aut- 

 like appearance, and is fairly abundant on our Surrey Commons. 



Myrmecoris has a considerable superficial resemblance to this 

 larva, and Mr. Butler brought me a specimen of each to examine. 

 Both have the large headed appearance of an ant, but as he remarked, 

 this is represented in the two insects in a different way -in the 

 Alydus larva the actual head is large and the thorax narrow behind it, 

 but in the Ilyrmecoris to get the effect of a large formiciform head 

 the thorax is much widened in front, so that the produced base of the 

 head behind the eyes, so characteristic of most ants, is represented 

 by the front part of the thorax. 



The genus is a small one, only two species being included in 

 Puton's Catalogue, 1899, where the distribution oi gracilis is given as 

 North Europe and France ; it should be placed next to Pithanus in 

 our list. The genus was created by Gorski in his "Analecta " (1852), 

 p. 167, and the species was described by him under the name " agilis;' 

 and figured as lituanica, which name he withdraws in a footnote to 

 his description ; both these names, however, sink to that oi gracilis 

 Sahib. (Monog. Geocor. Fenniae, 1848), described under the genus' 

 Olohice2:)s. 



The following is a short diagnosis of its characters :— 

 In general form very much like a Formica, and about the length of I'ithanus 

 Markeli, but much uarrower, dark blackish-brown, legs and antenn* paler, second 

 jomt of the latter darkened on its apical lialf. Elytra (form, braeh.) with the base 

 and apex whitish, (form, macr.) with a triangular spot at the base, and a posterior 

 transverse band white. Abdomen with the sides of the connexivum with white 

 triangular spots at tlie joints of the segments. Head with the eyes large, projecting 

 beyond the sides of the pronotum, which they touch posteriorly ; face elongate, 

 triangular. Antennae as long as the entire insect, rostrum reaching beyond the in- 

 termediate coxa). Pronotum slightly convex, its anterior margin rounded, sides 

 converging to the base. Mesonotum short, very convex, its sides very rapidly 

 diverging posteriorly. Elytra (form, brach.) hardly longer than the mesonotum 

 (form, macr.) longer tlian the abdomen, without any distinct cuneus. and with only 

 a single cell in the membrane. Abdomen somewhat spherical, strongly constricted 

 at the base. Legs long, especially tl>e huid pair. Tibia, with very fine inconspicuous 

 hair-hke spines on their outer, and with stronger spines on their inner sides. 



Long., 4-5 mm. 



