South American species of Diahrotica. 13 



Spec. 13. Diahrotica melanocephala (Pabr). 



Entom. Syst. SuppL, 1798, p. 95 (sub Galleruca), 

 Oliv., Ent., vi., p. 652, tab. 4, fig. 65. 



Galleruca capitata, Fabr., Syst. Gl. i., p. 452, 



G. tripunctata, Fabr., I.e., p. 451 ; Oliv., Entom., vi., 



p. 652, fig. 66 ; Jac, Biol. Cent. Amer., Col., vi., 



pt. i., p. 516, tab. xxix., fig. 24. 



Anguste oblonga, postice pauUo ampliata, convexa, flava, nitida, 

 pectore piceo, capite nigro aut piceo, antennis piceis aut fuscis, 

 baei et apice flavis ; scutello elytrisque nigro-piceis aut castaneis, 

 utroque limbo esterno, apice dilatato, maculisque duabus flavis 

 aut albidis. 



Var. A. Elytrorum maculis confluentibus, ssepe ad marginem 

 extensis. 



Var. B. Elytrorum macula postica obsoleta. 



Var. C. Elytrorum maculis totis obsoletis. 



Var. D. Elytrorum sutura, basi plus minusve ampliata, apice 

 abbreviata, vitta irregular! submarginali, a basi fere ad apicem 

 extensa, maculaque parva pone medium, inter vittam et suturam 

 posita, piceis. 



Var. E. Elytris macula postica cum sutura et cum vitta sub- 

 marginali conflueute. Galleruca sinuata, Oliv., I. c, p. 653, tab. 4, 

 fig. 67 a, b. 



Long. 2i— 3 lin. 



Hah. West Indian Islands ; Trinidad ; Nicaragua ; 

 Chontales (Janson) ; Cayenne; Amazons, Santarem, 

 Nauta {Bates). In most collections. 



Head black or rufo-piceous ; antennae filiform, the second and 

 third joints very short, nearly equal in length, the fourth longer 

 than the preceding two united ; five or six intermediate joints 

 together with the apex of the terminal one, more or less stained 

 with piceous. Thorax rather broader than long; sides nearly 

 parallel and sinuate from the base to beyond the middle, slightly 

 produced and rounded anteriorly; convex, shining, obsoletely 

 punctm-ed. Elytra oblong, slightly dilated posteriorly ; convex, 

 rather closely and distinctly punctured. 



This variable species has been described by Fabricius 

 and Olivier under no less than four different names ; 

 as, however, I possess a long series of intermediate 

 varieties connecting the extreme forms, I have no hesi- 

 tation in uniting them under one specific head. Var. D 

 closely resembles in the pattern of its elytra D. ahnipta, 



