332 PHYTOPHAGA. [Sermyla. 
posterior tibiw are armed with a distinct spur, and the tarsi are broad, 
and the claws are appendiculate ; two species are at present known. one 
of which is locally abundant in Central Europe, and the other has been 
described from Japan. 
S. halensis, L. Obovate, rufo-testaceous, with the antenne and 
scutellum black, and the vertex of head and the elytra bright metallic 
green ; legs testaceous with the tarsi and apex of tibie as a rule blackish ; 
head rather large, antenne long with the third joint longer than second 
and shorter than fourth ; thorax transverse, rectangular, almost smooth 
in middle, distinctly and rather strongly punctured at sides, often with 
a trace of a central furrow; elytra widened behind middle, confusedly, 
thickly, and rather strongly punctured; legs long. L. 55-7 mm, 
On flowers, especially of species of Galiwm, and by sweeping in grassy places, 
especially near the coast; sometimes in great numbers ; generally distributed and 
common from the Midland districts southwards ; not so common in the north; Scot- 
land, only recorded apparently from the Tweed district, “ Berwick-upon-Tweed,” 
Dr. Philip McLagan, Murray’s Cat. 
HALTICE. 
The members of this division are distinguished from the Galeruce by 
having the posterior femora thickened and formed for leaping, and the 
anterior cox not conically prominent at apex ; they are, as a rule, very 
small insects, which vary much in shape, being usually more or less oval 
or oblong oval, but sometimes subglobose ; the colours are often very 
brilliant, but a large number of species are of a uniform dark colour or 
testaceous ; they feed on leaves, and in some cases do an immense amount 
of damage to various crops both in the larval and the perfect state; the 
larve do not call for any particular notice; they are elongate, linear and 
subcylindrical, more or less closely covered with outstanding fine hairs, 
as a rule yellowish, with small dark spots or patches; the head is of 
moderate size and rounded, with no visible ocelli; the thoracic segments 
much resemble those of the abdomen, except that the prothorax is 
furnished with a corneous scutum; the abdominal segments are nine in 
number, and together with the meso- and metathorax are covered with 
small scaly setigerous plates; the anal segment is narrow and rounded, 
and is furnished beneath with a bifid prolongation serving as a proleg ; 
the beetle deposits its eggs either on the surface of the leaf, or under the 
outer pellicle, according to the species ; the young larve in the first case 
feed on the outside of the leaves (Haltica), and in the second form 
galleries beneath the surface (Phyllotreta) ; when the larve that feed on the 
outside of the leaf desire to change into a pupa, they sometimes fix them- 
selves by their anal segment to the under-side of the leaves, or occasionally 
bury themselves in the earth ; those that feed beneath the surface undergo 
their changes in their galleries. (See Chapuis et Candéze, Cat. des 
Larves des Coléopterés, p. 266.) The sexes in the Haltice are, asa rule, 
easily distinguished ; in some species the male has the first joint of the 
