1919.] 125 



that enable the species to be recognised with ease. The object o£ my 

 note is to emphasise the coiTectness of Dr. Joy's valuable observation, 

 and to give a few additional particulars resulting from the examination 

 of 100 British examples of the genus. 



I will not repeat Dr. Joy's brief table of the characters, for his 

 paper must be referred to, not only because of its originality, but also 

 because of his figures of the apex of the median lobe of the aedeagus. 

 It appeared in this Magazine in April 1914, pp. 83 and 84. 



I endeavoured to investigate the point last year, but as my material 

 -pas not quite satisfactory, the matter was left over till the present 

 spring, and on the 8th of this month noticing that Sphaeridium was 

 running in some numbers on the fresh cowdung here I caj)tured 

 26 examples. On examination it was found that 17 were males, and 

 that all the three species were present, there being 9 scarabaeoides, 

 8 guadrimaculatum, and 9 bipiistulatum. 



The aedeagus of mi>st of the specimens has been studied, and the 

 result is to leave no doubt of the certain distinctness of the species. I 

 will now give some brief particulars as to each of them. 



1. S. scarabaeoides L. 



This is the blackest species, the side margins of the thorax and the 

 hind femora being entii'cly black, which is not the case in either of 

 the other two forms. 



The median lobe of the aedeagus is very parallel-sided, and its apex 

 subtruncate, being only slightly rounded, with a very small acumen in 

 the middle, the size of which is exaggerated in Joy's figure. The lateral 

 lobes clasp the median lobe very closely, and are very slender and delicate 

 at the apex. The peculiarities of the male front feet are very strongly 

 developed. 



The species varies a good deal in size, but only a little in colour, the 

 red coloration near the shoidder of the elytra is generally very indefinite, 

 but occasionally it is fairly well limited and distinct. 



S. scarabaeoides is found both in England and Scotland, r - t 



2. ^S*. quadrimaculatum Marsh. 



Dermestes quadrimaculafus Marsham, Ent. Brit, i, p. 65. 



This species on the Continent is apparently universally confounded 

 with the preceding, but, as stated by Joy, it is distinguished from 

 S. scarabaeoides bj^ the sides of the thorax being (at any rate in front) 



