1914.] 167 



DORCATOMA PUNCTULATA Muls., IN ENGLAND. 

 BY D. SHARP, MA., F.R.S. 



Our list of British Coleoptera at present includes only two species 

 of Dorcatoma, viz., chrysomelina and flavicornis. Mr. C. J. C. Pool 

 has, however, just detected the existence near London of B. punctulata, 

 Muls. 



Although much confusion has occurred about the species of this 

 genus, the three forms found in England are easily distinguished. 



B. chrysomelina has a rough irregular pubescence and a compli- 

 cated system of punctuation on the elytra, some larger, shallow ellipti- 

 cal punctures being mixed with the general fine punctuation ; while 

 in the other two species the larger punctures are not present. 



B. flavicornis has a dense, confused, somewhat rugose sculpture of 

 the elytra, and the antennae are much smaller than in either of the 

 other two species, It varies a good deal in size and colour. An in- 

 different figure of it is to be found on the plate of the Entomologist's 

 Annual, 1858. 



B.punctulata is as a rule larger than flavicornis, and has a definite, 

 distinct, fine punctuation, and a splendid development of the antennae, 

 which in the male are truly remarkable. 



As regards the nomenclature of the three insects there has been 

 much confusion, and the synonymy is to some extent uncertain. In 

 Gr. E. Waterhouse's Catalogue of British Coleoptera (date 1858), two 

 species of our genus Borcatoma are included, the names used for them 

 being flavicornis, Fabr., and dresdensis, Herbst ; and in 1860 (Proc. 

 Ent. Soc, Sept. 3) the same authority introduced B. chrysomelina as a 

 British insect. Subsequent to this the name of dresdensis entirely dis- 

 appeared from our catalogues in consequence of the belief that the 

 insect was merely one of the sexes of B. chrysomelina (c/. Entomolo- 

 gist's Annual, 1861, p. 69) . Nevertheless, it is possible that Mr. Water- 

 house may have had satisfactory evidence of the existence of B. 

 dresdensis as British. 



How the facts may have really stood 60 years ago it is now 

 very difficult to say, but it is satisfactory to find that we really have at 

 least three species as natives of this country . 



It is possible that as our collections improve, we may find still 

 other species, these insects being only rarely met with. 



Brockenhurst : 



June Iteh, 1914 



