9G STAPHYLiNiD^. [Homalota. 



land district ; Manchester district ; Coleshill and Sutton Park, Birmingham ; Cannock 

 Chase ; Dean Forest ; has not, however, been recorded from further south. Ireland, 

 CO. Down, moss on mountains (Champion). 



The broad thorax and short elytra of this species will at once dis- 

 tinguish it. 



H. Aubei« Bris. (hreviceps, Thorns, snb-gen. Dimetrota, Muls. et Rey). 

 Fuscous black, with the elytra as dark as the rest of the body, or dark 

 chestnut-brown ; head much smaller than thorax, finely punctured, and 

 distinctly channelled ; antennae rather long and slender pitchy with 

 paler base, second and third joints about equal, 4-10 differing little in 

 length, eleventh half as long again as tenth ; thorax nearly half as 

 broad again as long, almost more narrowed in front than behind, with 

 sides gently rounded, closely and finely punctured, with an obscure 

 impression at base from which proceeds a somewhat obsolete channel ; 

 elytra broader and longer than thorax, closely and finely punctured ; 

 hind body Avith segments 2-4 thickly punctured, fifth more sparingly, 

 sixth almost impunctate ; legs testaceous or pitchy testaceous. L. 

 2 1 mm. 



Male Avith the upper plate of the seventh segment of hind body 

 narrowly emarginate at apex (V). 



Very rare; Horning Fen, Norfolk ; also taken by Mr. Hislop in Scotland. 



I feel a little doubt as to this species, as the descriptions are rather 

 at variance. Dr. Shai'p (I.e. p. 171) lays stress on the fact that joints five 

 to nine of the antennae " are each longer than broad, ten about as long 

 as broad," and he also says that he cannot satisfactorily separate the 

 male from the female ; Mulsant and Rey says expressly (Brevipennes 

 Myrmedoniaires, p. 440) that the fourth and fifth joints of antennae are 

 sensibly transverse, and the sixth to the tenth rather strongly transverse, 

 and they give the above male character. As Dr. Sharp compared his 

 specimens Avith'M. Brisout's types, they must be right ; viewed from above 

 the joints in Dr. Sharp's type certainly appear transverse, viewed side- 

 ways it would be rather hard to tell whether the latter of them were 

 transverse or not ; this may perhaps explain the discrepancy ; as re- 

 gards the sexual differences Mulsant and Rey say that the female is 

 unknown to them : these facts are mentioned, as showing the difference 

 that is often found between descriptions of the same species given by 

 different authors. H. Auhei is an obscure species. Dr. Sharp com- 

 pares it with H. gemina and H. volans ; it is twice the size of the 

 former, and has the fifth segment of hind body punctured ; from small 

 varieties of H. volans it may be separated by its shorter and broader 

 thorax, and more closely punctured hind body. 



K. g'emina, Er. (Athefa gemina, Thoms., Metaxya gemina, Muls. et 

 Rey). Fuscous black Avith apex of hind body testaceous, and the 

 elytra sometimes a little lighter ; head considerably narrower than 



