2 [Jauuary, 



only, a matter iu which liis experience differs from my own. I believe, 

 however, that this discrepancy arises from the fact that m the cus- 

 tomary dorsal aspect the punctulation is more easily seen on the 

 subapical slope of the elytra ; one has to reniember that this punctu- 

 lation consists of very minute depressions, and that unless the lighting 

 is such that the walls of the depressions cast a shadow, the punctulation 

 remains invisible, in short, the incidence of the light is of as much 

 importance as the degree of magnification. Mr. Newbery (I.e.) says 

 that the females (presumably of all the species in the group) have the 

 elytra " alutaceous." The latter term, which I understand to express 

 the condition found on the interspaces of the thorax in certain species 

 of Laccobius, i.e., covered with minute cracks like mud or mosaic (Rye, 

 Brit. Beetles, 1866, 16), is quite inapplicable to any female Haliplus 

 with which I am acquainted; its vise probably arose through incautious 

 adoption from Bedel, Faune Col. Bass. Seine, i, 222, 223, where 

 " alutacee " replaces the " ausserst feine Punktirung " and " sub- 

 tilissime punctulatis " of G-erhardt. Notwithstanding M. Bedel's 

 statement that he had a series of females exhibiting every degree of 

 elytral punctulation from presence to absence, it appeared to the writer 

 that Gerhardt's work might be found worthy of investigation. 



Exceptionally it may become necessary to examine the male 

 genitalia, in which case one need only concern oneself with the 

 sedeagus and its attendant side-lobes. The a^deagus is more or less 

 characteristic in shape for each species, and lies, when in sitil and at 

 rest, with its concave edge to the left of the insect. The right side- 

 lobe is merely a concave scale, usually oblong or subtriangular with 

 rounded apex. The left side-lobe has a more complicated contour ; 

 viewed from the outside it is usually elongate triangular with a long 

 curved spine at the apex, and bears on the distal half of its left edge 

 a fringe of long, more or less coherent, hair-like strips of delicate 

 membrane ; in H. immaculatus there is, instead of the membranovxs 

 fringe, a large triangvdar tooth ; in H. striatus also the fringe is 

 wanting. I am indebted to Dr. Joy for the opportmiity to compare 

 with my own preparations his dissections of the male genitalia in 

 H. rujicolUs, JiuviatiUs, immamdatus, and wehnckei ; the two latter are 

 especially interesting, the immaculatvs being a specimen from Colwall 

 of the species distributed by Mr. Tomlin imder that name, and the 

 wehnckei one of the specimens from Bury St. Edmund's determined as 

 immaculakhs, Gerh., by Mr. Newbery. I am also indebted to the 

 latter for the loan of a set of specimens illustrative of his paper 

 before referred to, as well as his separate copy of Gerhardt's paper, 



