Aleocharn.] staphylinid;e. 11 



Of these suli-gonora the Fccond contains tlie bulk of our species; tlic 

 suh-geiuis Crranota contains only one species, A. rufiroriiis, one of the 

 most distinct of the whole genus ; the sub-genus Wieocliara comprises 

 two extremely rare insects, A. -proceva and sjiadicea, which hardly 

 resemble an Alcorhara at all, and are scarcely ever likely to be met with 

 by a collector; while the sub-g(!nusPo///ft'^oy;/a contains three dull-brown 

 species, which are confined to the sea coast and are found under sea- weed 

 and marine refuse ; as a matter of fact, therefore, the table just given 

 will hardly need referring to by the student, and is adopted rather as 

 ensuring accuracy of classification, and as separating those species of the 

 genus that evidently ought not to be classed together. 



The AlcorJiane are found in dung, hotbeds, and decaying vegetable 

 matter generally ; some of them are confined chiefly to dead animals or 

 birds, Avhile a few are found in moss, and under reeds, &c., on the banks 

 of streams. 



(Sub-Gen. Ceranota, Steph.) 



A. ruficornis, Grav, Shining, dark-ferruginous, with the head 

 blackish or dark brown, and the elytra, margins of thorax, and apex of 

 intermediate segments of hind body reddish ; head small, antenntc rather 

 long, longer than head and thorax, with third joint plainly longer than 

 second, slightly thickened towards apex, but much more slender than in 

 the succeeding species, fuscous, with base and apical joints lighter ; 

 thorax broader than long, about as broad as elytra, convex, distinctly 

 punctured ; elytra rather longer than thorax, somewhat rugosely punc- 

 tured, and rather thickly pubescent; hind body only moderately con- 

 tracted to apex, very strongly margined, basal segments rather coarsely 

 and deeply punctured, apical segments shallowly and more obsoletely 

 punctured ; legs reddish testaceous. L. 5-7 1 mm. 



INIale with a transverse raised plate on the second (apparent) segment 

 of hind body, a large blunt raised tooth-like prominence on the third 

 segment, a small tubercle on fourth, and the sixth depressed in middle 

 and raised somewhat semicircularly at apex, and furnished with three 

 more or less obsolete small prominences near apical margin. 



One of the finest of our ividigenous Aleocharidas ; rare, although somewhat widely 

 distributed ; in moss near nests of Formica rvfa or fusca, hy sweeping, I'uiniiug on 

 jiathways, &c. Hainpstead ; Charlton, iSurrey ; Shipley, near Horsham; Rcpton ; 

 Langwurth Wood, Lincoln j Guuilcy, Market Harborough ; Scarborough; lilangollen ; 

 Studlcy, near Kipon ; Liverpool; iJevonshire; Hartlepool; Northumlierland district 

 (Gosforth, llaveusworth, and Lanercost). Scotland, local, Tweed, Forth, and Solway 

 districts. 



This species varies very much in size ; I have a fine male taken near 

 Lincoln, nearly 8 mm. in length. 



(Aleochara, i. sp. (Sub- Gen. Baryodma, Thorns, pars.).) 

 I. Mcsosteruum simple. 



