Mycterus. | HETEROMERA. oF 
elytra plainly broader at shoulders than base of thorax, subparallel, 
gradually narrowed a little before apex, coarsely sculptured ; legs slender, 
pitchy black, apex of tibize furnished with two short spurs ; under-side 
clothed with thick silvery pubescence, especially on abdomen. L. 6-7 
mm. (excluding rostrum), 
Female with the abdomen more convex than in the male, and the 
antenne shorter and a little more thickened towards apex. 
On Carduacee and Umbilliferee; very rare and doubtfully indigenous; Stephens’ 
record is, ‘‘ Extremely rare in Britain. I possess a pair that were captured near 
Kingsbridge by the late Mr. Cranch; others are in the collection of the British 
Museum, taken at the same time, in June 1815.” Mr. Rye (British Beetles, 
p- 172) records it as once taken in England by Mr. T. V. Wollaston, but gives no 
locality ; there is, or was, a specimen in Mr. Crotch’s collection, which, perhaps, is 
the one referred to by Mr. Rye. 
The records are so doubtful that I had omitted the species from this 
work, until I received a specimen which Mr. Sidney Oiliff kindly sent 
me with a note to the following effect :—‘‘ It was, I believe, captured in 
the vicinity of Oxford in 1882, or thereabouts ; the specimen was in a 
small collection of Oxford beetles given me by Mr, M. Gunning ; un- 
fortunately, Mr. Gunning, who was unacquainted with the rarity of his 
capture, had-no recollection of the precise locality where this particular 
specimen was found, although he had an impression that it was found 
on a thistle head, but he was positive in his assertion that all his cap- 
tures were from Oxford, and that no specimens had been added from 
other sources.” As will be gathered from what has been said, further 
evidence is still needed to prove that the beetle is really indigenous; in 
my record of the specimen from near Oxford (Ent. Monthly Mag. xxvi. 
86) I am made by a printer’s error to say ‘it deserves a ‘ prominent’ 
admission to our lists,” whereas the word I really used was ‘‘ provisional ;” 
such a provisional admission it certainly has a claim to quite as much as 
many other species. 
CDEMERIDE. 
This family contains upwards of fifty genera, and between two hun- 
dred and three hundred species; they are for the most part elongate, 
slender and delicate insects, and are often very brightly coloured ; in 
the perfect state they frequent flowers ; their wings are large, and they 
are quick fliers, but their other motions are comparatively slow; they are 
widely distributed, but are, as far asis at present known, much more cha- 
racteristic of temperate than of tropical countries ; some of the species bear 
a strong superficial resemblance to the Telephoride ; they have been placed 
by some authors near the Cantharide; but they appear to be allied much 
more closely to the Pythide and Melandryide. The following are the 
chief characteristics of the family :——Head inclined, large, more or less nar- 
rowed behind eyes, inserted in thorax by a broad neck ; eyes variable, 
sometimes very large, not reaching the base of the mandibles which are 
flattened and bifid at apex ; antenne Jong, or very long, nearly always 
