52l Br. Sharp 071 the Rhynchophorous 



sweeping the undergrowth in shady glens. Eight 

 examples were obtained, six of them being males. 



Species of uncertain position. 



Apodcrus cyanopterus. 



Apoderiis cyanopterus, Motsch., Et. Ent., ix., 1860, 

 p. 22. 



This is unknown to me, but I expect will prove to be 

 a blue variety of A. roelofsi. The description agrees 

 with that species except in respect of this one particular. 

 Blue varieties of A. nitens occur rarely: at present 

 I have seen only very few specimens of A. roelofsi, but 

 think it probable that individuals with blue upper surface 

 may likewise occur in it. 



Attelabus. 



Attelabus, Olivier, Ent., No. 81, p. 4. 

 Cyphus, Bedel, Eaune Col. Seine, vi., p. 23. 



The origin of this genus is usually attributed to 

 Linnaeus, and in the Munich Catalogue of Coleoptera 

 (viii., p. 2479), the edition xii., 1767, is cited for it. The 

 genus was, however, to the earlier authors, nothing but 

 a name for an unnatural and heterogeneous group of 

 insects of diverse genera, and even families. It is better, 

 therefore, to credit the genus to Olivier, who was the 

 first to bring it into a satisfactory condition. This he 

 did in the year 1807, and since then his nomenclature 

 and characters have been universally accepted. Quite 

 recently Bedel has found in the fact that by the earlier 

 authors various genera were mixed under Attelabus a 

 pretext for changing the names, and rendering the 

 entomological literature of the last 80 years — so far as 

 it relates to these insects — useless, or worse than useless, 

 some hundreds of synonyms being created by this 

 apparently simple change. The 100 species at present 

 called Apode)- us are each and all to become Attelabus ; 

 the 100 species of Attelabus are each and all to become 

 Cyphus ; and the thirty species of Cyphus are to become 

 Neocyphus (Bedel). In addition to this the numerous 

 genera and subgenera of Apoderus and Attelabus de- 

 scribed by Jekel will become a means of rendering the 

 confusion more confounded. Jekel adopted the plan of 



