Eiithia.'] CLAVicoRXiA. 83 



EVTKIA, Stephens. 



This genus contains at present only a few species which are mainly 

 confined to Europe ; they are very distinct from the rest of the Scydmai- 

 nidai as may be gathered from the characters above given ; they are 

 found in nios.-, vegetable refuse, hot-beds, &c., and often in ants' nests ; 

 four species occur in Britain, all of M'hich are rare, and one or two 

 extremely rare ; they may be separated as follows : — 



I Colour unicolorous black or pitchy-black. 



i. Club of aiiteuute less abrupt; elytra broarler and 



more ovate, less plainl}' punctured E. scrDM^XOlDES, Steph, 



ii. Clnb of antennaj abrupt ; elytra narrower and more 



parallel-sided, very plainly punctured E. CLAVATA, Reitter. 



II. Elytra testaceous or reddish-brown. 

 i. Elytra reddish-browu ; uiiper surface very finely 



and rather clo-ely punctured and pubescent; club 



of antenna? abrupt ; size smaller E. ScHAUMr, Kies. 



ii. Elytra testaceous ; upper surface very finely and 



sparingly punctured and pubescent ; club of an- 



teiinaj very gradual ; size larger E. PLICATA, Qyll. 



E. scydtnaenoides, Steph. {linearis, Mais. ; ahhreviatdla, Er.). 

 Elongate, not very convex, pitchy-black, clothed with rather fine and 

 short greyish-yelloAV pubescence ; head much narrower than thorax ; 

 antennae rather stout, reddish with the club often pitchy, club not very 

 abrupt, both the penultimate joints transverse ; thorax scarcely broader 

 than long, rather convex and with sides rounded in front, depressed and 

 with sides narrowed behind, not very thickly but plainly punctured, 

 with five foveas at base ; elytra at Ijase scarcely broader than thorax, 

 with sides slightly rounded, broadest about middle, finely but plainly 

 punctured, with the apex truncate ; pygidium scarcely visibly punctured ; 

 legs slender, testaceous or reddish-testaceous. L. 1-li mm. 



In moss, haystack and vegetable refuse, &c. ; not common ; Caterbam ; Black- 

 lieath : Lee pit ; The Holt, Faruliam ; Kegworf b ; Dover ; Devon ; Knowlo (abun- 

 dant in hot-beds, Blatch) ; Repton, Burton-on-Trent j it often occurs on the wing, 

 and is sometimes, apparently, found in company with ants. Stephens first described 

 it from Highgate and Wimbledon. 



E. clavata, Reitter. Very closely allied to the preceding, but 

 narrower, with the sides of the elytra more pai'allel, and usuall}^ of a 

 more pitchy-brownish colour ; the antenna? are lighter, except the three 

 last joints which are darker, and form a distinctly more abrupt club ; 

 the thorax is a little more narrowed in front and behind, so that at its 

 broadest it seems rather more dilated ; the antennae in the female are 

 very elongate, being very nearly one-fourth longer than those of tlie 

 male, with the club less pronounced, a point which is noticed by j\Jr. 

 Ulatch but not by Herr Reitter in his description, L. 1-1 1 mm. 



Under hark of oak logs in Sherwood Forest ; rare ; first taken by ]\Ir. Blatch iu 



