THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



No. 14.] MAY, MDCCCLXV. [Price 6d. 



Revision of the Genus Necrophorns, as far as regards the 

 British Species. By J. A. Power, M.D., F.R.G.S. 



On a recent visit to Cambridge I found my friend Mr. 

 Crotch busily occupied in collating the different groups of 

 insects contained in his own extensive collection, and those 

 of Messrs. Janson and WoUaston, which he has recently 

 acquired, constituting no doubt by far the most extensive 

 accumulation of British Coleoptera which exists. He was 

 then occupied with the Silphidae, and called my attention to 

 two species of banded Necrophorus, which were not long 

 since separated from the others by MM. Duval and Thom- 

 son. He had detected one of them in his own collection, 

 and requested me to try if I could find it and the other in 

 mine. I have succeeded in doing so, and have the pleasure 

 of sending you a few notes upon the subject. 



In the genus Necrophorus we have hitherto recognized 

 seven species, two of them being black, and five of them 

 banded with red. They all agree in presenting a peculiar 

 emargination of the clypeus, which is fitted with a bright 

 orange-coloured marking, varying in different species and 

 also in the sexes. The posterior trochanters also exhibit 

 sexual characters, and differ with the species. Their ex- 

 ternal terminations are in some cases simple, in others 

 armed with two short spines, and in others one of these 

 spines becomes elongated, or converted into a large recurved 

 hook. 



'I'hese trochanteric characters seem to be constant and 

 important in other insects of this tribe, as in some of the 

 Cholevas, where they afford satisfactory means of diagnosis 

 between some cognate species. 



By means of the orange-coloured emargination, and the 

 variation of the trochanters, the two new species may be 

 separated from the other banded ones ; easily enough in the 



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