38 ADEPHAGA. \^Acupalpus. 



A flavicollis, Sturm. Head black, antennae brownish, base testa- 

 ceous ; thorax reddish testaceous, transverse, as broad in front as behind, 

 posterior angles rounded ; elytra darker or lighter red, with suture and 

 more or less of disc paler, rather wide, sides almost parallel ; legs pale. 

 L. 3 mm. 



Local and rare ; marshy places, amongst debris of reeds, &c. Not uncommon at 

 Luccombe Chine, Isle of Wight, where Dr. Sharp, Mr. Gorham, and I obtained 

 several specimens in April, 1885 ; Lymington Salterns; Deal; Chatham; Esher. 



A. dorsalis, F. {Gyllenhali, Thorns.). Head black, antennae except 

 first basal joint dark ; thorax testaceous with a dusky patch in the 

 middle of disc, sometimes entirely covering it and leaving only extreme 

 margins light, sometimes almost, if not quite, obsolete, transverse, pos- 

 terior angles completely rounded ; elytra oblong, with sides slightly 

 rounded, sometimes testaceous with a dark patch behind on each side of 

 suture, sometimes almost entirely dark, sometimes altogether testaceous ; 

 legs more or less j^itchy or testaceous. L. 3-3| mm. 



Local, but not uncommon ; marshy places, in moss and at the roots of grass. 

 Wimbledon, Wandsworth, Chatham, and many other places in the London district; 

 Deal ; Bournemouth ; Stapleford Common, near Newark ; Holme Fen, Hunts ; 

 Scotland, rare Lowlands, Solway, Clyde. 



A. exigruus, Dej. Entirely pitch black, antennae pitchy, first one or 

 two joints lighter ; thorax narrowed behind, posterior angles very blunt ; 

 elytra somewhat widened behind middle, finely striated ; legs lighter or 

 darker pitchy. L. 2| mm. 



The var. luridus (considered a distinct species by Dawson and other 

 authors) is fusco-testaceous, with the thorax reddish, more or less 

 clouded with black, and the antennae and legs lighter : it is rather 

 larger than the type form, and according to Dawson (Geod. Brit. p. 161) 

 is narrower and more depressed, with narrower thorax which is more 

 contracted behind ; there does not, however, seem to be any real structu- 

 ral difference between the two insects. 



The type form is found on sandy coasts and on hanks of rivers, at roots of grass, in 

 flood refuse, &c. ; it is rather local but not rare in the London district, where it 

 occasionally occurs in abundance unaccompanied by the variety ; it appears not to be 

 met with in the extreme north of England, or in Scotland or Ireland. 



The variety appears to be commoner and more widely distributed than the type ; it 

 is included among the Irish species, and is recorded by Dr. Sharp from one Scotch 

 district, Solway ; it is found under the same conditions. 



A. brunnipes, Sturm. This insect closely resembles A. dorsalis in 

 structure, and has been considered a variety of that species ; in fact it is 

 still doubtful whether it ought not to be so considered, for the punctua- 

 tion of the posterior angles of the thorax, which is the character on 

 which it has mainly been kept separate, has been proved by M. Eedel 

 not to be always constant; except, indeed, that it is rather larger than 

 the type, it seems to bear much the same relation to dorsalis, that 



