1914.] 81 



Both fuscipennis and melanocephalus vary a good deal, and as the 

 two forms are very closely allied, those entomologists who object to 

 " splitting " will no doubt consider that they are variations of a single 

 species. 



The following particulars as to the series in my own collection 

 will therefore have some interest. As regards the variation I should 

 state as a preliminary, that the male in several species of Philydrus 

 tends to differ from the female by a greater extension of the pale 

 colour of the head. 



Sixteen specimens taken at Garelochhead, on the Clyde, are all 

 fuscipennis, exhibiting little variation, though one specimen has the 

 elytra less tinged with black colour than the others. 



Eight specimens from Morton, Dumfries-shire, April 24th, 1868, 

 are all clearly fuscipennis ; the coloration of the elytra is more variable 

 than in the Clyde series ; in three of them the front of the head is 

 completely black, in the others the small yellow mark on each side is 

 quite definite. 



Four specimens from Keir, Dumfries-shire, May 4th, 1868, are 

 all ftiscipennis. Three of them have the head entirely black, one has a 

 very obscure small yellow mark on each side of the clypeus, and only 

 one of the four has the elytra strongly tinged with black. 



One specimen from the Moor at Keir, October, 1867, agrees with 

 the four last mentioned, except that the small yellow mark on the 

 clypeus is distinct as in some of the Morton examples. 



These redder examples are vexy similar to P. nigricans, and may 

 not improbably be mixed with it in collections. 



Two specimens from Eannoch, May, 1866, are typical fuscipennis, 

 with the head entirely black. 



One specimen from Padstow (C. Gr. Lamb) is an undoubted fusci- 

 pennis, though a crippled deformity, it has the yellow mark on the side 

 of the head slightly larger than any Scottish example has. 



New Forest, one specimen ^ , September, 1909. This is a most 

 unsatisfactory example ; it has a large yellow mark on each side of the 

 head, and the labrum is yellow, but the apex of the palpi is black, both 

 the labial and maxillary palps being so coloured. As regards this 

 character therefore this example is fuscipennis, though the head is 

 coloured as in melanocephalus. I believe it will prove to be an 

 interesting aberration of the latter species. 



