I 



21Q [February, 1885. 



These divisions have been given at length, because they have 

 been employed by many English entomologists ; at the same time, 

 although the emargination of the forehead is in many cases a most 

 useful character, it is hardly one on which to found primary divisions ; 

 in the first place, some of the species belonging to the first division 

 have the anterior margin of the forehead emarginate to a certain 

 degree (vide Eeitter, I. c, p. 31), so that a person working the group 

 from descriptions might not know, in some instances, whether they 

 were to be placed in the first or second division, the phrase " straight 

 or almost straight " used by Eeitter being in itself misleading : in the 

 second place, unless the insect is placed with its forehead quite flat 

 under the microscope, the emargination, especially where it is slight, 

 may be passed over altogether ; this is, of course, a very minor ob- 

 jection, but it will be found a practical one. In examining Meligethes 

 as they are ordinarily set, with the head almost at right angles to the 

 thorax, it is often very hard to see the anterior margin to begin with, 

 and if a species can be placed in a group without reference to it, it is 

 much more convenient ; after all the character is not of great im- 

 portance as far as our fauna is concerned, for the first division contains 

 twenty-one species, the second only four, and the third only six, and 

 the species of the third division, at all events, are easily distinguished 

 w^ithout reference to it, so that there are very few species towards the 

 separation of which we are helped by it, if we make it a primary 

 character ; it is true that, in some instances, it is exceedingly useful 

 as a help for separating species that are otherwise closely allied, e. g., 

 difficilis and hrunnicornis, erythropus and obscurus, but in one way 

 this very point forms one of the strongest objections to the use of: 

 this character for the formation of divisions, for by it forms that are 

 evidently very closely connected, if not actual races of the same 

 species, are placed not only in different groups, but in different divi-||^^-' 

 sions, and separated very widely from one another. 



In the following division of the genus all the above characters! "''''^f 

 have been made use of to a greater or less degree ; it is, however,; 

 almost impossible to divide Meligethes satisfactorily, as, whateveij|'*"fii! 

 arrangements may be made, there will always be some species that! 

 will not fit in, and whose position it will be hard to determine. 



I may say that I have before me at present the whole of Mr 

 Eye's almost perfect collection of the genus (kindly lent me by Mr 

 Mason), and also Dr. Power's (the latter containing about 1000 speci- 

 mens), besides Mr. Wilkinson's and my own. I must thank Mrj 

 Champion and Mr. CO. Waterhouse for their kindness in sending 



