286 Mr. F. Bates's descriptions of 



underside dark shining Eeneous ; legs and antennae 

 pitcliy-brown. 



Long. 6f lin. 



Antananarivo. 



I know only the 2 . 



Dolichoderus atro-CBnescens, Fairmaire. 



This species — briefly characterized by Fairmaire in the 

 " Petites Nouvelles Entomologiques," June 1, 1877, 

 No. 173, p. 137 — is of a beautiful golden geneous, 

 strongly suffused with violet colour, most nitid on the 

 elytra.* The head is rather strongly, closely and slightly 

 rugosely punctured; the epistoma is convex, its suture 

 well marked ; antennary orbits moderately convex and 

 narrowly rounded; eyes normal; the prothorax is convex, 

 rather finely and closely punctured and faintly rugulose ; 

 the sides are but little narrowed anteriorly; the base is 

 wider than the apex ; the lateral margins are faint but 

 visible throughout ; the fi-ont angles prominent and acute ; 

 the elytra are gently convex, widest before the middle, 

 the apex a little produced and slightly divaricate ; the 

 lines of punctures are fine, somewhat irregular, and are 

 placed in very lightly-impressed strias, the intervals being 

 very delicately rugulose ; the legs are pitchy-brown, with 

 a tinare of violet colovu' on the femora. 



Long. 9 lin. 



Precise locality unknown. 



Nycteropus IcBvisternus, Fairmaire. 



" Pet. Nouv. Ent." No. 173, June 1, 1877, p. 137. 



Very near N. antlir acinus, Klug. The form is rela- 

 tively narrower, more cylindrico-elliptic ; the sides of the 

 prothorax more gradually narrowed anteriorly ; the lateral 

 margins apically more expanded and flattened; the base 

 more strongly bisinuate, so that the angles appear more 

 prolonged, and repose on the shoulders of the elytra ; 

 scutellum less rounded behind ; the lines of punctures on 

 the elytra are almost obsolete, but the intervals are dis- 

 tinctly punctulate and very delicately rugulose ; the legs 

 are stouter and are violet-black, the upper surface is 

 entirely dark shining green, the underside shining black ; 



* M. Faii'maire has it " siipra niger, ohsr.iire cyancsceiiit, modice 

 nitidusy Suspecting the colours to be obscured by stains, I gave the 

 specimen a bath of chloroform, when the true colours became revealed. 



