November iSg6.] 



PSYCHE. 



445 



seeming tliree or four timus ;is plenti- 

 ful. I have found it in wet, sedgv 

 meadows and busliy swamps, and on 

 mountain-tops. On Greylock it is 

 common in the low bushes and grass 

 of the extreme siunmit ; on Washing- 

 ton in the sedgy area called the " cow- 

 pasture " or '• Semidea ]:)lateau." Its 

 note, a fine, dry '• scape," is the loud- 

 est produced by any of our Tryxalinae, 

 and can be heard at a distance of two 

 or three rods. A description and nota- 

 tion of it will be found in Scudder's 

 Distribution of Insects in N. H. and 

 the 33rd repoit of the Entomological 

 Society of Ontario. 



I have taken it in the following local- 

 ities : Norway, Me.. Aug. 16, 2 J ; 

 Montgomery, Vt.. July iS, 2 <?. i 9 ; 

 Newport, Vt., 3 $ ; Greylock Mt., 

 Adams, Mass., Aug. 17, So J , 22 9 . 

 Mr. Scudder reports it abumlant in 

 Jefierson and other parts of the White 

 Mts., and I have found it not uncom- 

 mon on the summit of Mt. Washington 

 in early Sept. 



15. Mecostethus platypterus Scudd. 

 Figs. 15. 15a, 15b. 



Arcyptcra p/a/ypicra. .Scudder, 

 463. — 1862. 



Sicthcophy7)ia plaivptcra. Thomas, 

 99. 



Stethoplivma pla/vptera. Morse, 

 105. 



This species, while of a darker, less 

 yellowish, brown, is very similar in 

 coloration to gracilis. The proster- 

 num is less elevated than in either 

 lirteatiis or gracilis., being scarcely 



m(5re than strongly convex. In the 

 male, the teeth of the rasp, wliile 

 larger than in liiieaius, are less ele- 

 vated and acutely pointed than in gra- 

 cilis^ and the miil-line of the sternum 

 of segment 9 of the abdomen is black. 

 It is also distinguished from gracilis 

 by the larger head, and longer and 

 more slender antennae. 



Antenna. Hind fern. Teg. Teg. 3> Hind fern, 



c? 11-12.5 15 -16.5 ig-2i I -3 



? lO-ii 17.6-30.6 24-25 — 1.5-0 



Body. Total. 



23-26 26..5-I9 



35-40 34 -40 



The end of the abdomen of the g is 

 usually 2 to 3 mm. short of the tip of 

 hind femora; in one 9 it is of equal 

 length, and in another it exceeds them 

 by 2.5 mm. 



Of this species I have seen less than 

 a score of specimens. Of those I took 

 1 5 (^ , I 9 , at Thompson, Conn., Aug. 

 4, 2^, the 9 on the latter date, and one 

 9 was taken at Sherborn, Mass., by 

 ?vlr. A. L. Babcock. These are the 

 only localities known to me though it 

 will probably be found to occur ovei' a 

 wide area. At Thompson it is found 

 in company with linealns and is im- 

 possible to distinguish from that species 

 when flying, though its flight is some- 

 what less sustained, and it is decidedly 

 more difficult to flush. It is a less shy 

 and active species than lineatus, and 

 the female, while perfectly well able to 

 fly, is very sluggish. — the single one 

 taken personally was secured while en- 

 deavoring to start specimens up out of 

 the long sedge of a swamp, and being 

 seen perched upon the grass was at 

 once swept into the net. 



