INSECTA MADERENSIA. 383 



liills above the Allegria and Sao Roque, I hare observed it, from November 

 until April, in the utmost profusion, — congregating beneath stones, in company 

 with other alpine insects which delight in similar localities. As already stated, I 

 do not view it as a true Omias ; and have merely placed it in its present position, 

 as being u.nwilling . to multiply genera more than is necessary in these obscure 

 departments of the smaller Ci/clomides : and I may repeat, that it is far from 

 improbal)le that intermediate specific links will be brought to light to connect it 

 with Atlantis, and that so it may eventually be found desirable to regard it, along 

 with the O. ceiiescens, as a minute aberrant member of that group. 



293. Omias senescens, Woll. 



O. ovatus senescenti-nigro-piceus subnitidus, pube senescenti-cinerea robusta depressa parce tectus, 

 pi'othorace subcylindrico profunde punctate, elytris subconvexis punctato-striatis, pilis lougis 

 moUibus erectis undique dense obsitis, antennis pedibusque rufo-ferrugineis vel fere testaceis. 



Long, coi-p. lin. l|-lf . 



Habitat in locis similibus ac O. ventrosus, una cum illo degens, sed multo rarior. 



O. ratber rounder and more ovate than the O. ventrosus, also generally more piceous, and with a 

 distinctly Eeneous tinge, slightly shining, and rather sparingly clothed with a robust, decumbent, 

 subcinereous, or brassy-cinereous pubescence. Rostrum and prothorax as in the last species ; 

 except that the eyes are perhaps a little less prominent, and the latter somewhat more cylindrical, 

 — being less rounded at the sides, and not quite so broad in the middle. Elytra more inflated 

 and convex than in that insect, and widest about, or just before the middle ; punctate-striated ; 

 densely beset all over with rather long, soft, or silken, erect additional hairs (very much softer 

 and longer than those of the O. ventrosus) ; the alternate interstices with, apparently, scarcely 

 any tendency to be longitudinally tessellated. Antenna and legs pale rufo-ferruginous, or occa- 

 sionally almost rufo-testaceous ; the latter a little robuster, in proportion, than those of the last 

 species. 



The alcove comparative description will l)e sufficient to point out the distinctions 

 between the present insect and the last, — its more ovate and convex body, added 

 to its more shining and perceptil^ly brassy surface, the denser, softer, and longer 

 erect pile with which it is beset, its somewhat cylindrical prothorax, and its paler 

 limbs, at once separating it, apart from minor differences, from that species. It is 

 apparently extremely rare, and is found in company with the O. ventrosus, — the 

 few specimens which have come beneath my observation having lieen captm-ed by 

 myself, during the winter and spring of 181-9, on the lofty upland ridges between 

 the Fonte das Mo9as and the Pico dos Arieros (from about 4000 to 5000 feet above 

 the sea). In its great scarcity indeed it offers a striking contrast to its ally, — 

 which, as ah*eady stated, is not only universal, but exists in literal profusion 

 throughout most of the exposed alpine districts of the island (but amongst the 

 large numbers of which, however, it is not impossible that it may have been 

 occasionally overlooked). 



