46 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. 



The genus may be characterized as follows: Head, together with 

 the eyes, wider than elytra at base; vertex transverse, cre.-centiform ; 

 ocelli on the face between the eyes; antennae long, inserted under a 

 feeble ledge, their bases partly visible, clypeus longer than wide, nearly 

 rectangular; face as long or longer than width across eyes; pronoium 

 long, anterior margin strongly rounding and extending forward below 

 the eyes, side margin short or obsolete; elytra without an appendix; 

 five apical and three anteapical cells; second transverse nervure some- 

 times present; marginal nerve of wing continued around apex, forming 

 a supernumerary cell ; color varying from whitish to dark fuscous, 

 scarcely ever more than a trace of red, \ ellow or green, two round 

 black spots on vertex rarely wanting. 



The North American representatives of the genus may be readily 

 divided into three groups, easily seijarable on adult characters, but 

 which are even more strongly marked in those of the larvae and in the 

 life histories. 



The species of the first group have the pronotum finely granulated 

 without transverse striations, ornamented with two large spots near the 

 posterior margin ; the vertex is nearly parallel, the front expanded on 

 the basal part; elytra brownish with light nervures, the base of the 

 apical cells in a transverse line. The known larvae are compact, red- 

 dish brown forms with long wing pads and compressed, dorsally, ser- 

 rately carinate abdomen. Eyes much wider than the pronotum, which 

 they partly enclose. The vertex is nearly flat above with two lobe- 

 like projections arising from the anterior margin against the eyes and 

 extending forward, or forward and inward, giving the insect a very 

 grotesque apjjearance They are found in the rubbish around the base 

 of different plants, but only in moist and shady places. Of the group, 

 4-punciata and consfricta are typical representatives in their respective 

 habitats and are closely related to the European sinuata. 



In the second group the jjronotum is finely granulated as in the first, 

 but the two round spots are near the middle. The posterior margin 

 of the vertex is elevated and carried forward between the eyes, appear- 

 ing as a transverse line in the middle, front wedge-shaped, broad but 

 not distinctly lobed above. The elytra are long and narrow and the 

 apices of the anteapical cells are nearly in line. The larvae are red- 

 dish-brown in color like those of the first group and are similar in form 

 except the vertex. The entire posterior margin of the vertex is ele- 

 vated and carried obliquely upward and forward before the e\ es on 

 the same plane as the face, the upper carinate margin being shallowly 



