1903.] 275 



HELP-NOTES TOWAEDS THE DETERMINATION OF BRITISH 

 TENTHREDINID.E, &c. (6). 



BY THE REV. F. D. MORICE, M.A., F.E.S. 



CEPHINI. 



The Cepliini, known to me for certain as British insects, fall, 

 according to Konow's system, into five separate genera. Two of 

 these, viz., Janus and Macrocephus^ (= Phylloscus, C), are recognised 

 by Mr. Cameron, but as siibgenera only ; the rest, viz., Calameufa, 

 Gephus, and Tracheitis, he includes in his subgenus Cephus. And he 

 regards the whole tribe as forming but a single real genus Cephus. 



It would be alien from the purpose of these Notes to argue 

 whether or no the rank of " true genera " should be accorded to 

 Konow's groups ; but, genera or subgenera, they are founded on 

 easily appreciable differences of structure. And when once a speci- 

 men has been referred to one or other of them by observation of the 

 characters noted in my 'j'able {ante p. 188), its specific determination 

 will speedily follow, since all Konow's genera, except Macrocephus 

 and Cephus, are represented by a single British species each. 



In my List of Genera (p. 117) I " obelized " Calameuta as not 

 known to me by autopsy. This was a mistake : the obelus (f) should 

 have been prefixed to the following genus, viz., Astatus. This latter 

 is still a mystery to me, for the following reasons. 



In 1776 Moses Harris figured a " Syrex niger," with which both Konow and 

 Cameron identify the species, afterwai'ds described by Fabricius (1787) as iiirex 

 trorilodi/ta, and figured by Panzer as Astatus troglodytus, F. I have received what 

 should be this species from Herr Konow as Astatus niger, Harris, and it certainly 

 possesses the characters on which Konow bases his definition of genus Astatus 

 {ante p. 188). But then I have hitherto altogether failed to discover any real 

 British exponent of the species I have received from Konow. Mr. Cameron 

 describes a species, which he places in his subgenus Ce'phus, as niger, Harris. No 

 such species, however, is to be found in his collection. The only authority he quotes 

 for its occurrence in England is Stephens. But the specimens which, in Stephens's 

 collection, arc called troglodyta (with niqer as a synonym), belong neither to 

 Cameron's subgenus Cephus nor to Astatus, as defined by Konow. They are 2 (J J 

 and 2 $ $ of Macrocephus (= Phyllacus, C.) satyrus, Pz. I have carefully exam- 

 ined them, and feel sure that I am not mistaken. Either, therefore, niger, Harris, 

 is after all not Panzer's troglodytus, but his satyrus ; or, if it be really the Astatus 

 with which it is identified by Konow, it would seem very doubtful whether it can 

 still be considered as an existing British species. Should it, however, really exist as 

 such, the characters given for Astatus in my Greneric Table above should sufiice to 

 distinguish it from any of our other Cephini. 



I shall therefore now pass on to the species which I actually 



