52 COLEOPTERA. 



about half a dozen specimens, under the same circumstances, 

 on Ben Lomond, during last August. 



It resembles T. humeralis rather closely, but the following 

 characters are pointed out by Kraatz, as distinguishing it 

 from that species. It is, as a rule, somewhat smaller ; the 

 hinder margin of the thorax is scarcely perceptibly bordered 

 with lighter brown colour; the elytra have (with the excep- 

 tion of a more or less conspicuous triangular mark about the 

 scutellum) a dark brown tone, and the punctuation is finer 

 and somewhat obsolete. The antennae, moreover, are a little 

 shorter, the second and third joints usually blackish on the 

 upper side. Besides these, Mr. Sharp remarks, that the 

 elytra appear constantly to be shorter in T. p7'oximus. 



As is the case in all members of the genus Tachimis, the 

 sexual characters afford good diagnostic assistance. 



In this respect T. 'proximus^ compared with T. humeralis, 

 exhibits the following differences. 



In the male, the sub-apical segment of the abdomen has 

 a scarcely perceptible emargination at the extremity of the 

 produced middle plate on the upper side, so that, instead of 

 two small middle teeth, there is merely a slightly projecting 

 middle plate, rather in the shape of a truncate cone, with its 

 small end not quite straight ; and on the underside the two 

 lateral prominences are not quite so long and less curved 

 upwards : the fifth segment also, beneath, has its wide cen- 

 tral notch rather less deep. 



In the female, the sub-apical segment above has the two 

 lateral teeth more developed, and the middle plate is broad 

 for the greater part of its length, but ends in a narrow, rather 

 long point, wdiich slightly projects at its apex beyond the 

 lateral teeth. Beneath, the two little prominences (set with 

 short bristles) in the middle are rather more developed, the 

 central rounded emargination being a little deeper. 



