54 Journal New York Entomological Society. [Vol xxx. 



ventral plates of the first segment are roughened and chitinous, the 

 surface is dull. The dorsal plate is marked with an inverted V and 

 the ventral plate is marked with a simple bisecting line. 



The larvae are all wood borers and confine their attack to trees be- 

 longing to the genus Sali.v and Popithis. 



Although rarely common, certain members of the genus are widely 

 distributed in the United States, and specimens have been taken as far 

 north as Yukon. 



Pcecilonota thureura Say. ■ Plate V, figures 9 and 10. 



This species was first described by Say^ and placed in the genus 

 Bnprcstis. The original description follows : 



" B. thureura — Scutel transversely elongated. 



" Inhabits Louisiana. 



" Body brassy greenish, with dilated unequal impressed punctures : vertex 

 with an acute, longitudinal, impressed line : antenns green : thorax with the 

 punctures more confluent each side, and a longitudinal, glabrous line : scutel 

 transversely elongated, subbilobate : elytra with punctured striae : interstrial 

 lines irregularly punctured and with unequal and irregular glabrous spaces : 

 edge not obviously serrate ; tip with narrow subemarginate truncation : be- 

 neath cupreous, anal segment emarginate. Length less than four .fifths of 

 an inch." 



" The breadth of the scutel is considerably more than double its length. 

 It resembles hirida F. (which is carrosa Dej.) but the extraordinary latitude of 

 the scutel distinguishes it ; that the species has also bidentate elytra, and a 

 tridentate anal segment." 



The following is a more complete description of P. thureura, drawn 

 up from a large series. Form oblong oval ; dark cupreous brown 

 above, with numerous elongate, quadrate, elevated, smooth, shining 

 spaces of a dark green color, more or less evenly distributed over the 

 elytra ; on some specimens these spots have a tendency to coalesce, 

 forming irregular patches; vertex with a smooth elevated line extend- 

 ing downward and branched on the front, forming a Y ; an impressed 

 line extends down the center of the stem of the Y; front deeply, 

 rugously punctured; antennae, first joint cylindrical, cupreous; joints 

 2 to 10 dark bluish green, joints 4 to 10 flattened; clypeus triangularly 



1 Thomas Say, New Species of North American Insects — Chiefly from 

 Louisiana, New Harmony (Indiana), 1832, page 3. 



