12 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



roughly punctured; mentum very small, not placed on a 

 gular peduncle; maxillas exposed; protborax widely lobed 

 in front at the sides, so as to conceal the eyes when the head 

 is deflexed, deeply excavated beneath for the reception of the 

 beak ; cavity closed behind in Thecesternus by a triangular 

 plate of the prosternum, but by the front coxae in the other 

 genera; coxae small, globose, contiguous; elytra connate, 

 widely extended on the flanks, declivous behind, rough ; 

 lateral groove of inner face narrow and well defined; 

 scutellum not visible ; humeri in Thecesternus prolonged 

 forwards, so as to extend along the sides of the prothorax ; 

 dorsal segments membranous, last one large, corneous, 

 divided into two in the male ; ventral segments unequal ; 1st 

 and 2nd very large, more closely connected, suture arcuated ; 

 3rd and 4th short, sutures deep ; 5th as long as the two 

 preceding; lateral extension moderately wide, wider behind; 

 pygidium articulating with both 4th and 5lh ventrals; legs 

 slender; tibiae truncate ; spurs small ; tarsi 4-jointed, narrow, 

 setose beneath. Several species of Thecesternus are found in 

 the interior regions of the continent, from Illinois to Utah, 

 under dried buffalo excrement, 'and similar objects. 



John L. Leconte. 



Abundance of Larv(B near Plymouth in June, 1872. By 

 Gervase F. Mathew, Esq., R.N., F.L.S. 



A FEW days before I left Plymouth, in 1872, I went with 

 my friends, Messrs. Bignell, Bishop, Gatcombe, and Jones, 

 for a farewell entomological ramble in the woods in the 

 neighbourhood of Bickleigh Vale ; and, as I have seen no 

 account of this day's expedition in the 'Entomologist,' I 

 send it to you now, in the hope that it may be interesting to 

 some of your readers at this time of the year, when so little 

 out-door work is doing. 



The 28th of June, 1872, was a delightful day in every 

 respect, — bright, warm, and fresh, — one of those days we so 

 often get in Devonshire at that time of the year, when every- 

 thing looks joyous, and all living creatures seem to possess 

 twice the amount of vitality they usually have. We left 



