1885.] 261 



o. Anterior margin of forehead emarginate. 



of. Body long-oval ; punctuation of elytra plainly stronger 

 than that of thorax. 



M. difficUis, Heer. — Deep black, shining, usually with a greenish reflection, of 

 rather long-oval shape ; antennae reddish-brown, with first two joints lighter ; an- 

 terior legs yellow or reddish-yellow, posterior pairs slightly darker, with outside 

 margins- of tibise usually dark brown, rounded ; anterior tibisa furnished at apex 

 with three or four rather conspicuous sharp teeth ; male with metasternum strongly 

 depressed, with a tubercular prominence on each side of the depression about the 



middle ; the female presents the same characters to a less degree. 



Length, | — 15 lin. 



Local, but by no means uncommon on Lahiatce, especially Lamium 

 album and Stachys sylvatica. Mancbester, Eastry and Bearsted (Kent), 

 Amberley, Caterbam, Esber, Horsell, Tbames Ditton, Lincoln, Eepton ; 

 Putney, on Sytnphytum officinale, Mr. Newbery. 



M. Brisout (I. c, p. 30) says that be possesses a male from Naples, 

 wbicb differs from tbe type in baving tbe last segment of tbe abdomen 

 tbiclrened into a transverse smootb tubercle ; tbis is interesting, as 

 sbowing tbat tbe male characters may not always be quite constant. 



var. Kunzei, Er. — Yery like the type, but larger, with the anterior tibise less 

 strongly toothed, the punctuation of the elytra more diffuse, and the first three 

 joints of the antennae lighter red, instead of two only : the colour is black, and 

 never shows a trace of the greenish reflection which is so noticeable in M. difficilis j 

 the pubescence, which is very scanty, is whitish instead of blackish, as in the type. 



Length, li lin. 



Rare ; on Lamium album, StacTiys sylvatica, AgrapJiis nutans, and 

 Melampyrum pratense ; according to M. Brisout it also occurs on Mer- 

 curialis perennis. Horsell, Eastry, Amberley, Micklebam, Caterbam, 

 Eeigate, Llangollen, E-epton. 



Ericbson, altbougb witb some doubt, considered tbis insect a 

 separate species ; Eeitter and many others, however, hold it as a 

 variety. Brisout makes it a good species, because of the male cha- 

 racters, the metasternum of tbe male being without the two tubercles, 

 which are conspicuous in M. difficilis. 



)3. Body short-oval ; punctuation of elytra not much stronger 

 than that of thorax. 

 M. morosus, Er. — A very difficult species, concerning which there seems to be 

 considerable doubt ; it comes very close to M. memnonius, from which it is distin- 

 guished by having the anterior margin of the forehead emarginate, and the punctua- 

 tion not quite so strong, and also by having the first and second joints of the antennae 

 reddish instead of the second only : this character, however, can by no means be de- 

 pended upon, as is plain from Mr. Gr.E,. Waterhouse's notes (Ent. Ann., 1874,61), taken 

 at the time he examined Erichson's collection at Berlin, " Morosus and memnonius 



