222 [March, 



The European species of this genua stand very much in need of 

 revision. Much uncertainty exists as to the nomenclature and the 

 limits of the species, which appear to vary a good deal in coloration. 

 In this country most of the species are rare, and more or less confined 

 to the southern counties, and, indeed, the genus is more representative 

 of warm than cold regions. Of our species, scrophularice, tricincttis, 

 viennensis, arcuatus, and fenulus are well known and need no remark ; 

 but the others are involved in a good deal of confusion. Schctfferi, 

 Klug, was recorded as British by Newman (Ent., 1809, 217) on the 

 authority of a specimen taken by him in Herefordshire, and named by 

 Mr. F. Smith. I did not, however, include it in my Catalogue, because 

 the specimen I got from Mr. Smith as Schcefferi was not that at all, 

 whatever Newman's specimen may have been. I have, however, since 

 Been a couple of the true Scheefferi taken by Mr. E. A. Butler near 

 Hastings, bo it will require to be inserted in our lists. It is most 

 nearly related to arcuatus, but is somewhat larger, the puncturing on 

 the mesonotum is coarser, and more opaque, the yellow mark on the 

 pleurae is smaller, &c. The $ has the hind tibiae and tarsi thickened, 

 and they are for the greater part black ; the mandibles too are black, 

 instead of yellow, as in the $ ; while the wings appear to be darker 

 than in the other sex ; and the band on the 5th abdominal segment is 

 interrupted in the middle. 



A.JI'ivipes, Fourc, is a very distinct species, and may be readily 

 known by its yellowish wings and legs, and by the whole of the ab- 

 dominal segments being broadly marked with the same colour. The 

 ^ is easily known from all the other British species by having the 

 abdomen marked with red and yellow. 



Two accounts have been published of the life history of this insect. 

 Curtis (B. E., pi. 764) states that the imago appeared in abundance 

 in Battersea fields at the end of June. Wishing to obtain living spe- 

 cimens, he went there, and found two females upon the flowers of 

 Sinapis nigra, along with six larva", which fed on that plant as well as 

 on *S'. alha, eating the leaves, stalks, and flower. Curtis did not rear 

 these larvje, but had no doubt as to their identity. The late F. Smith 

 told me that it was he who discovered the insect at Battersea, and 

 reared the perfect insect from the larva figured by Curtis, so there 

 can be no doubt as to the habits of the insect. According to the 

 figure given by Curtis, the larva was of a grey colour, with PO (? 11) 

 large black marks over the legs, while above each of these again was a 

 small black dot. The head is testaceous. At the last moult the black 

 nmrkfi wore cast off. 



