1917] HololeptincE of the Umted States 379 



Key To Hololepta. 



1. Elytra witliout entire striae; prosternal apex slightly emarginate; lateral 



pronotal punctures sparse, indistinct or absent 2. 



Elytra with an entire stria; prosternal apex broadly and evenly rounded; 

 lateral pronotal punctures coarse, in a distinct band lucida Lee. 



2. Elytra without an apical appendix to second stria, tristriate; pygidial 



punctures large; inilexed portion of elytra not rugose; prostcrnum not 



punctate aequalis Say. 



Elytra with an apical appendix to the second stria, bi- or tristriate; pygidial 

 punctures fine and sparse; inflexed portion of elytra slightly rugose; 

 prosternum finely punctate 3. 



3. Narrowl}' oblong, almost parallel; upper surface impunctate, (except under 



extreme magnifications); propygidium not bifoveolate populnea Lee. 



More narrowly oblong than preceding; upper'^surface distinctly punctate 

 with minute punctures; propygidium bifoveolate at apex. . .var. punctata no v. 



Hololepta asqualis Say. Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc. V, p. 47. 1S25. 



fossularis Say. Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc. V., p. 47. 1S25. 



fossularis cf Mars. Men. p. 147, t. 4, fig. 5. 1S53. 

 Elongate, oblong, almost parallel. Front flat, smooth, without 

 strias; precctilar tooth not prominent. Mandibles as long as the head 

 (cT), slightly shorter (9), stout. - Pronotum very slightly bisinuate at 

 base, with a median longitudinal stria half extending from base half 

 way to apex; marginal stria strong, entire, slightly sinuate behind the 

 middle; sides of pronotum distantly and sparsely punctate, distant 

 from margin. Elytra the width of pronotum, narrowing slightly 

 posteriorly; tristriate, the first stria about one-third the length of the 

 elytra, the second about one-third the length of the first, the third a 

 trace, sometimes barely visible; sub-humeral deep, almost reaching the 

 base, abbreviated at apex on the apical sixth. Inflexed border of the 

 elytra impunctate. Propygidium smooth on disk, laterally bordered 

 with sparse, coarse punctures. Pygidium usually evenly, rather sparsely 

 punctate, but occasionally var3dng to smooth at middle and apex. 

 Mentum transversely concave (cf), slightly concave with the center 

 raised ( 9 ), sparsely punctate. Gula with a broad V-shaped excavation 

 (cf ), with a .small impressed V ( 9 )■ Prosternum broad, apex truncate, 

 margin slightly emarginate. Length (apex of thorax to apex of 

 suture*) 5-6 mm. 



Variant forms. Three specimens in miy series vary from 

 the typical form by the presence of a very short apical appendix 

 to the first stria. 



New York to Michigan and Eastern Kansas, south to 

 Florida, Texas and Louisiana. 



*This system of measuring, which gives a constant measure, and is not affected 

 by the retractility of the head and propygidium, will be used throughout this 

 paper. 



