INSECTA MADERENSIA. 497 



fovea on either side behind. Scutellum broader and more transverse than in the T. obscurus. 

 Elytra striated, the strife being obscurely punctured. Antenn(e and legs piceous or rufo-piceous ; 

 the. former, and the anterior pair of the latter, shorter than in the T. obscurus, and the anterior 

 tibia broader. 



A most abiinclant insect througliout Europe, but, apparently, not very common 

 in Madeira. It is found, however, occasionally in and around Fimchal, — either 

 about bakehouses and stables, or in other localities where flour and bran are 

 usually stowed away. There are specimens in the British Museum from nearly 

 all parts of the world ; and it is recorded by Webb and Berthelot in the Canary 

 Islands. 



378. Tenebrio obscurus. 



T. niger opacus creberrime ruguloso-punctulatus, prothorace depresso subquadrato, elytris obsolete 



punctato-striatis, pedibus anticis longioi'ibus. 

 Long. Corp. lin. 7-8^. 



Tenebrio obscurus, Fab. I^nf. 8i/st. i. Ill (1792). 



, GyU. Ins. Suec. ii. 591 (1810). 



, Staph, m. Brit. Ent. v. 8 (1832). 



, Lucas, Col. de VAlgerie, 337 (1849). 



Habitat in locis similibus ac prsecedens, sed paulo frequentior. 



T. black, opake, and exceedingly closely punctulated, and subrugulose, throughout. Prothorax 

 depressed and subquadrate, being more elongated than in the T. molitor, and with the sides 

 straighter ; with an oblique abbreviated fovea on either side behind, and with the space between 

 them (along the hinder margin) distinctly elevated. Elytra striated, the striae being veiy 

 obscurely pxinctured. Antenna and legs very slightly more piceous than the rest of the surface ; 

 the former, and the anterior pair of the latter more elongated than in the last species, and the 

 anterior tibia not so broad. 



Taken with the last species, and under precisely similar circumstances. It 

 would appear to be the commoner of the two in Madeira ; nevertheless, neither of 

 them are very abundant. 



Genus 169. ALPHITOBIUS. 



Stephens, III. Brit. Ent. v. 11 (1832). 



Corpus sat parvum, oblongum : fronte ad latera leviter elevata, ad apicem depressa truncata (vix aut 

 leviter emarginata) : prothorace transverso, ad angulos (prsesertim posticos) acuto : metasterno 

 postice bifido : alis amplis. Antenna, labrum, maxilla et palpi fere ut in Tenebrione, sed articuli 

 antennarum subapicales intus leviter producti, et articulus palporum labialium ultimus minus 

 securiformis. Mandibula validse cornese, apice (prsesertim in una infra apicem unidentata) bifidse, 

 intus profunde fisso-sinuatse coriaceae. Mentum subquadratum basi leviter angustatum, apice vix 

 emarginatum, angulis anticis rotundatis. Ligula subcornea, basi angustata, apice truncata in- 



3s 



