104 SERRICORNIA. [ Sericosomus. 
at sides dark; the breast and base of abdomen is also blackish; some- 
times the whole upper surface is ferruginous or reddish-brown. 
Sandy places; under stones, &c.; oceasionally by sweeping ; local and, as a rule, 
not common ; Chobham, Surrey; Esher; New Forest (where it is more common) ; 
Cannock Chase; Burnt Wood, Staffordshire; Cheshire; Scotland, local, Solway, 
Tay, Dee, and Moray districts. 
The Elater fuygax of Fabricius is evidently the male cf this insect, and 
his EH. brunneus the female, as he distinctly describes the latter as 
“thorace rufo, medio nigro, elytris corporeque ferrugineis” (Syst El. ii. 
%37); Thomson, however (Skand. Col. vi. 97), mentions the E. fiugax of 
Gyllenhal as the female; Gyllenhal’s description, however, of E. fugax 
(Ins. Suec. i. 428) appears to refer to the variety of the male with 
castaneous elytra; he mentions the insect as being found on umbelliferous 
plants, particularly Heracleum. 
SYNAPTUS, Eschscholtz. (Ctenonychus, Stephens.) 
This genus is distinguished by having the third joint furnished with 
a very large membranous lobe beneath; the prosternal sutures are 
dilated in front and excavate, and the tarsal claws are pectinate; it is 
closely allied to Advastus, under which it is included by Thomson and 
other authors; there is only one species belonging to the genus which 
is found in Europe, Armenia, and Siberia; it occurs very rarely in 
Britain. 
S. filiformis, F. (Adrastus filiformis, Thoms.; Ctenonychus hirsutus, 
Steph.). A rather large, elongate, and subeylindrical species, black, or 
pitchy brown, clothed with long and thick recumbent greyish pubescence, 
which gives the insect a leaden grey appearance ; head thickly punctured, 
antenne rather long, pitchy or reddish, with the second joint slightly 
shorter than third; thorax longer than broad, distinctly punctured, more 
thickly at sides, with an obsolete central furrow, posterior angles pro- 
jecting and divaricate, sides rounded and contracted in front, sinuate 
hefore posterior angles; scutellum large, thickly pubescent; elytra long, 
gradually narrowed to apex, with rather fine punctured stri, interstices 
thickly and finely punctured; legs pitehy or reddish, with tarsi usually 
lighter. L. 9-10 mm. 
By sweeping grass at the sides of water, &c.; rare; Bristol (Stephens) ; Tintern, 
Monmouthshire; Gloucester, banks of Newent Canal; South Wales. Mr. Allen 
Harker records it as ‘‘rather common by sweeping long grass under hedges by canal 
banks in Gloucestershire. June.” 
ADRASTUS, Eschscholtz. 
This genus contains nine species, all of which occur in Europe, except 
one from New Caledonia; our common species A. /imbatus bears a 
strong superficial resemblance to Agriotes pallidulus, but may easily be 
