63 



DESCRIPTIONS OF SOME NEW SPECIES OF MASTO- 

 STETHUS (PHYTOPHAGOUS COLEOPTERA). 



By Martin Jacoby F.E.S. 



The species described here are contained in my collection, 

 and seem to be new ; these insects are proportionately rare, 

 and form generally but a very small proportion in collections 

 received from tropical South America, where they are principally 

 found. 



Mastostethus nigrovarians, sp. n. 



Narrow and parallel, flavous ; the head with two spots ; thorax 

 impunctate, with an M-shai)ed mark ; scutellum black ; elytra closely 

 punctured, a transverse band before the middle extending up the 

 shoulders, the extreme basal margin and another band below the 

 middle, black ; breast and the flanks of the thorax spotted with black ; 

 femora flavous, with black streaks. Length, 8 mill. 



Head closely punctured near the eyes, pale fulvous, a spot at the 

 base of the vertex and a larger more elongate one between the eyes 

 black ; clypeus separated from the face by a deep transverse sulcus ; 

 antennae black, the lower four Joints shining, the basal joint flavous 

 below ; thorax nearly twice as broad as long, entirely impunctate ; a 

 black mark in shape of an M extends across the entire disc ; elytra 

 rather strongly and closely punctured, flavous, with two narrow trans- 

 verse black bands, one before the other below the middle, both with 

 their margins deeply indented, the anterior band extending with a 

 narrow streak upwards at the shoulders, and connected with the black 

 basal margin, the flavous portions dividing these bands of about the 

 same width, the apical portion of the elytra more broadly of the 

 ground colour, and more finely punctured than the rest of the surface ; 

 below flavous, the flanks of the thorax and the anterior coxte with two 

 black spots, the upper portion and the sides of the breast as well as 

 the metasternum black, femora with a black band above, tibias and 

 tarsi entirely yellow. 



Hah. Prov. Goyaz, Brazils. 



I possess two exactly similar specimens of this species, which 

 seems most nearly allied to M. aurantiacus, Lac, but the head 

 with two black spots only, the elytral bands connected, not com- 

 posed of spots, the second one not at but below the middle, and 

 of regular transverse, not oblique shape, but with its outer por- 

 tion slightly widened at the lateral margins. 



Mastostethus funereus, sp. n. 



Black ; thorax nearly impunctate ; elytra very closely and finely 

 punctured, flavous, the extreme basal margin, the apex, and four small 

 spots at the middle black. Length, 11 mill. 



Head black, finely punctured in front of the eyes, the anterior 

 margin of the clypeus and that of the labrum fulvous ; antennae black, 



