122 Mr. F. Holme on the Habits, 



in an anomalous manner : for instance, in a specimen of Ph. politus 

 in my cabinet, instead of a double quadripunctate series, there 

 are six punctures on one side, and only two on the other. I have 

 an extraordinary monstrosity of this last species, with a raised 

 tubercle in the centre of each elytron : this insect, which I took 

 in Gloucestershire, stood for some time in my cabinet as a new 

 species by the name of Ph. mucropennis ; but on showing it to 

 Mr. Stephens, he pronounced it merely a variety of Ph. pol'itus. 



Most of the localities which I possess of this genus have been 

 already given in my catalogue of the Penzance Coleoptera : I shall 

 here therefore only remark that the species with spotted elytra, 

 (P/«. lituratiis and its allies,) which do not usually make their 

 appearance in the midland counties till the middle of August, are 

 found in abundance near Penzance in June : the mildness of the 

 , climate in Cornwall probably occasioning their earlier exclusion 

 from the pupa. Ph. himaculatus and Ph. aciculaius are much 

 rarer than the other species of this section : the latter I have 

 never taken ; of the former I found a few specimens near Pen- 

 zance, and in the autumn of 1835 I took in Christ Church Mea- 

 dow, Oxford, an insect, pronounced a variety by Mr. Stephens, in 

 which the elytra had no regular spot, but a strong gloss of dull 

 red pervading the apical half in some lights. 



Ph. micans, which Mr. Stepiiens notices as rare, is taken not 

 uncommonly in Christ Church Meadow, Bagley Wood, and the 

 neighbourhood of Oxford generally : some specimens greatly 

 exceed the length of 2g lines assigned by Mr. Stephens. 



The beautiful species comprised in the genus Raphirus bear so 

 much greater affinity in habits and general appearance to Qaedius 

 than to Philonthus, tliat I am surprised the latter genus should 

 have been interposed between tliem ; for it appears to me that the 

 chain of affinity in forms would be more obvious and complete, if 

 the Raphiri were made the link between the smaller Quedii and 

 the more slender species of Philonthus, as Ph. marginatus, litura- 

 Uis, m'lcans, &c., now placed at the end of the genus, while the 

 species with broad heads, as Ph. ceratus, punciicollis, ser'iceus, &c.j 

 would more naturally conduct to the B'miii, Cqfil, and other large 

 headed genera arranged towards the end of the Staphyl'midce : — 

 but this suggestion is made with all due deference and submission 

 to the opinion of more scientific entomologists.* 



The great attenuation of the abdomen, (i-esembling tliat of the 



* The above was written before the appearance of Mr. Stephens's " Manual," 

 in which Raphirus is placed between Quedius and Philonlhus. 



