Phleotrya.] HETEROMERA, 45 
gufipes, Thoms.). Elongate, convex, subcylindrical, very variable in 
size, slightly shining, clothed with fine silky pubescence, colour nigro- 
fuscous, or brownish, in somewhat immature examples more or less 
castaneous; head sunk in thorax as far as eyes, very closely sculptured, 
antennze moderately long, reddish-testaceous, with the apical joints or 
centre often darker ; thorax longer than broad, very closely and rugosely 
punctured, with a slight impression on each side at base; scutellum 
transverse ; elytra long, subparallel, gradually narrowed towards apex, 
closely and rugosely punctured, but with the sculpture less close than 
that of thorax, so that the surface is more shining; at each shoulder 
there is a longitudinal fove:, and on the dise there are more or less dis- 
tinct traces of raised lines; legs long, yellow or reddish-yellow, first 
joint of the posterior tarsi at least as long as all the others taken 
together. L, 8-13 mm. 
In decaying oak, &c.; very local and, as a rule, rare; Brasted, near Sevenoaks, 
Kent ; Leatherhead, Surrey; Dulwich ; Windsor Forest; Tunbridge Wells; New 
Forest ; Sherwood Forest ; Dunham Park, Manchester. 
I have retained the name of Phleotrya for our British species, but 
the genus cannot well be separated from Dircea, F.; the species known 
as D, levigata is really a Xylita, and may be known from Dircea (Phl«o- 
trya) by having .the intermediate coxe contiguous ; there is, however, 
great confusion as to the synonymy of the genera, and this has been 
increased by the fact that several of the European Melandryide occur in 
North America, and have been renamed and redescribed by American 
authors, 
XVLITA, Paykull. (Direwa, Gyll., Redt., nee F.) 
According to the Munich catalogue, this genus contains four species, 
three of which are found in Europe, and one in Chili; they are moderate- 
sized insects, with the second joint of the antennz small, and the third 
a little longer than the fourth ; the maxillary palpi have the last joint 
securiform ; the mesosternum is short between the intermediate coxe, 
which are contiguous; the thorax is almost as long as broad ; the elytra 
are not striated ; the tibial spurs are small but distinct, and the penul- 
timate joint of the tarsi is bilobed; the single British species is very 
scarce. 
X. levigata, Hel. (discolor, F.; buprestoides, Payk.). Elongate, 
moderately convex, somewhat depressed on disc, rather thickly clothed 
with thick silky pubescence, usually brown or brownish-black, with the 
base of the antenne, and the tarsi, testaceous, and the elytra lighter than 
the thorax; the thorax, however, is often fuscous or blackish, and the 
elytra fusco-testaceous; upper surface moderately shiny, with very 
close rugose punctuation; antenne mederatcly long, gradually and 
slightly thickened towards apex ; thorax about as long as broad at base, 
strongly narrowed towards apex in almost a straight line, widest about a 
