1909.] 31 



and Tunis. Under J/, ucidd, l<\)vvlei' ii;ive« also Xorihiunberlaud and 

 Durliani districts, rare ; but he seeuis tt) regard these northern records 

 as doubtful. 



55, Cecile Park, Crouch End, N. : 

 January \bth, 1909. 



HOMALOTA FUSSl, Bernh. {= NITENS, Fuss, nec Makl.) : 

 A BRITISH INSECT. 



BY a. C. CHAMPION, P. Z. S. 



I have long had a peculiar Ilomalota in my collection, taken at 

 Micklehain on September 5th, 1875, that has been an enigma to me, 

 Capt. Deville and Dr. Bernhauer have recently been kind enough to 

 examine this insect, and it proves to be a slightly worn example of 

 HoiuaJota fussi., Bernh. {= nitens, Fuss), and, therefore, as I always 

 supposed it would be, an addition to our list. B.. fussi is of about 

 the same size and shape as Placusa jjumilio, but it is ver}^ shining, less 

 densely punctured, and has more slender antennse. Ganglbauer, fol- 

 lowing Fauvel, places it between H. cjaciatina and H. coriaria, but it 

 is perhaps more like H. clientula and S. orbata,t\\o\xg\i less attenuate 

 behind. Ai)parently he has not seen a specimen of it. 



Fuss's description is as follows : — 



HoMALOTA NiTENS, Fuss (= Tussi, Bernh.*). 



Nigra, suhdeirressa, nitidiila. pedibus fiisco-testaceis, thorace transversa, 

 convexlusriclo, cEqualls, elytris ferriiginels antice infiiscatis, abdomen sujjra 

 segincntis (2 — 4) anteriorihus crebre, posteriorihus parce suhtiliter jjunctatis. 



Long., 1 lin. 



'^cav H. fungi and H. cauta (^parvula). Antennae as long as the head and 

 thorax, moderately stout, pitchy-black, scarcely paler at the base, joint 1 almost 

 one-half as long again as 3, 4 shorter than 3, the following joints becoming very 

 little stouter towards the apex, the outer ones strongly transverse, 11 as long as 9 

 and 10 united. Head moderately large, shining, sparsely, finely punctate. Thorax 

 about as broad as the elytra, with rounded anterior and posterior angles, rounded at 

 the base and sides, narrowed in fi'ont, about one-half broader than long, rather 

 sparsely and finely punctured, black, modei-ately shining, convex, without impres- 

 sions. Eiyti'a slightly longer than the thorax, thickly and distinctly punctured, 

 flat, each elytron more rounded at the sutural angle than usual in Homalota, brown, 

 paler behind. Abdomen shining, black, brownish at the tip, a little narrowed pos- 

 teriorly, segments 2-i somewhat thickly and finely, and 5 and 6 sparsely, punctured. 



Verh- zool.-bot. Ges. Wien, 190S, p. 40. 



