1920.] 59 



tour miles from tlie Yorkshire County l)onii(lary), in Bleasdale near 

 Garstang, on May 20th, 1919. 



The species was described first (in 1S18) from Germany (Pomerania), 

 bnt has verj' seldom occurred there since. Dr. Enslin states that Konow's 

 great collections contained onl}' one German example of the species, and 

 it is entire!}' unrepresented in our own National collections at South 

 Kensington. According to Thomson it is widely distributed over the 

 whole of Sweden but nowhere common. Otherwise it seems to be 

 known only from Siberia, and to be less rare there than anywhere in 

 Europe. Konow considered the Siberian form to be a distinct species, 

 which he named ornatulus. But Enslin, I feel sure, is right in identi- 

 fying it with gilvipes. A pair from Siberia given to me as ornatulus 

 by Konow are, I cannot doubt, conspecific with Dr, Fonlham's specimen. 



So far as can be inferred from our as yet very imperfect knowledge 

 of its distribution, Loderus is a thoroughly boreal group. Only our 

 two commonest species range southwards into Italy, where thej' occur 

 very rarely and only in the mountains. In Asia only one species 

 (the Siberian ornafulus, i. e. (/ilvijjes) is recorded ; but the so-called 

 " Dosytlieus'''' Jcashmirensis Cam. from Kashmir really belongs to this 

 genus, and no doubt other forms exist in Northern Asia, but are over- 

 looked. Two species are recorded from N. America, viz. alhifrons 

 Norton (from Canada and the States) and niger liohwer (from Cali- 

 fornia). These I have never seen, and can suggest nothing as to their 

 possible affinities with Old World forms. Of kashmirensis, howeveiv 

 two S s])ecimens (both luavkt'd as types!) from Cameron's C(jllection ai-e- 

 at South Kensington, and these seem to differ ^vo\\\ ovly pratorum o\\\x 

 in having a red pro- and mesothorax. 



Absolutely nothing is known of the life-history of L. gilvipes, or 

 indeed of any of its congeners. L. jmlmatus and vestigialis I have 

 seen, along with other Dolerids, visiting blossoming willows, and resti- 

 gialis '\s said also to frequent tiie flowers of Frunus padus\ but there is 

 no reason to think that they oviposit on these plants. The few Dolerids 

 whose larvae have been recognised seem ti> be attached to grasses, rushes, 

 Ecpciselum. etc. But even of the most abundant and universally dis- 

 ti'ibuted forms the vast majority are known only as imagines. 



L. gilvipes is very easily distinguishable from any other Dolerid. 

 It is far smaller than any of them except pratorum, from which it 

 diifers inter uliu l)y having an entirely black abdomen. (Dr. Fordham's 

 specimen is only abuut G inni. long!) It differs from all — pratorum 

 included — by its particoloured stigma, black with a white base. All the 

 legs have more or less of the tibiae yellow, so that Klug defines it as 



