104 ADEPHAGA. [Bemhuluim. 



obliterated, apex and sides smooth, third interstice with a pore behind ; 

 underside brownish black or reddisli, legs reddish testaceous. L. 4 mm. 



Sandy places, at roots of grass, and under moss; found also running in the sun 

 on walls, &c. ; London district, not common ; Hastings; Deal; Tonbridge; Brighton; 

 Isle of Wight ; Liverpool (common at West Derby) ; Repton, Burton-on-Trent, and 

 other midland localities ; Lincolnshire ; Yorkshire ; Northumberland ; Scotland, 

 local, Glasgow, Kircaldy, Orkney Islands; Ireland, near Belfast and banks of the 

 Dodder. It has been taken by Mr. T. Wood at Ramsgate in the burrows of saud- 

 hoppers. 



Group II. (PhilocthuB, Stephens.) 



I. Thorax with posterior margin almost straight from cue 



angle to the other. 

 i. Thorax distinctly more rounded in front than behind B. OBTUS0M, Sturm. 

 ii. Thorax evenly roumled in front and behind, 



1. Thorax ut widest distinctly narrower than elytra ; 



subapical elytral spot plain B. GUTTULA, F. 



2. Thorax at widest as broad as elytra ; subapical 



elytral spot absent B. Manneeheimi, Sahib. 



II. Thorax with central portion of base projecting, 



emarginate between this and the posterior angles. 

 i. Legs and first joint of antenntc pitchy brown or 

 reddish; elytral spot well niiirked. 



1. 7th stria of elytra marked by a series of punctures B. BIGTJTTatttm, F. 



2. 7th stria of elytra absent, not indicated . . . B. KirAKiusi, 0/. 

 ii. Legs and autennaj black ; elytral spot Indistinct . . B. inXEUM, Germ. 



B. obtusum, Sturm {Tachys ohtusus, Stcph.). Black, Avith a very 

 slight brassy or greenish reflection ; antennae brownish with the base 

 testaceous ; thorax transverse, convex, with sides rounded in front, 

 broadest before middle, scarcely contracted behind, posterior angles 

 blunt, dorsal furrow slender, base with a deep fovea on either side ; 

 elytra long oval, one and a half times as long as the base of thorax, one 

 or two striae reaching apex, the outer ones finer, becoming gradually 

 obsolete ; legs red, femora generally pitchy. L. 2| mm. 



Common and widely distributed as far north as the Tay district of Scotland, also in 

 Ireland. 



B. g'uttula, F. [hidgnatum, Serv.). Shining bluish black, with a 

 slight metallic rcHection ; antennae brown, first joint red ; thorax short, 

 transverse, rounded at the sides, posterior angles obtuse but evident, 

 dorsal furrow fine, basal foveae large and deep ; elytra rather long oval, 

 broader than thorax, with strongly punctured striae on disc, becoming 

 gradually finer and more obsolete towards sides, exterior margin with a 

 round reddish or testaceous spot a little before apex ; legs reddish 

 testaceous. L. 3 mm. 



One of the commonest and most abundant of British beetles : it is generally 

 distributed over almost the whole of Europe. 



B. Mannerheimi, Sahl. (hccmorrhoiim, Stcph.). Very like the 

 preceding, but black without any Ijluisb tinge or metallic refiection, and 

 without the reddish spot on the elytra, which are at most slightly paler 

 at the extreme apex ; the thorax is broader than in B. guttula, and more 

 strongly rounded at the sides ; the elytra are shorter oval, with the sides 



