British Species of Homalota. 115 



B. plumbea, "Wat. Proc. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1858, p. 15. 



Black ; but the whole body covered with a short dense 

 pubescence^ giving it a gray appearance. Antennae rather 

 slender and moderately long, but little thickened towards 

 the apex ; pitchy ; joint three considerably shorter than 

 two, four shorter than three, four to ten each differing 

 but little in length and breadth, the first of them a little 

 longer than broad, the last scarcely so long as broad ; 

 eleventh joint rather stout, about twice as long as the 

 tenth. Head small, narrower than the thorax, only about 

 half the width of the elytra ; narrowed behind the eyes ; 

 very closely and finely punctured ; covered with a short, 

 fine, and dense pubescence. Thorax subquadrate, nearly 

 as long as broad ; much narrower than the elytra ; a little 

 narrowed behind, with a broad shallow impression in the 

 middle before the base; densely and finely punctured, 

 and pubescent. The elytra are broad, rather broader 

 than long ; nearly one-third longer than the thorax ; like 

 it very densely punctured and pubescent. The abdomen 

 is not quite so dull as the fore parts; all the segments 

 very densely and finely punctured, and covered (except 

 at the extreme base of each segment, which is rather 

 shining) with a depressed pubescence. The legs are tes- 

 taceous, more or less infuscate; the tarsi rather short 

 and stout. 



The sexes are easy to distinguish, but I am not quite 

 certain which is the male ; in that which I suppose to be 

 the male, both the upper and lower plates of the seventh 

 segment of the abdomen have the hind margin gently 

 rounded ; while in the other sex, the hind margin of the 

 same segment is obsoletely emarginate above, and more 

 evidently so on the underside. The antennse are a little 

 longer in this sex, so that it may perhaps prove to be 

 the male. 



Local : in chalky places on the coast, under seaweed ; 

 when found, generally in numbers. Brighton, Seaford, 

 Weymouth. 



Ohs. — This is a remarkable species, not readily to be 

 confounded with any other; the dense pubescence with 

 which it is covered, giving it a peculiar grayish appear- 

 ance ; the thorax, much narrower than the elytra, is also 

 remarkable. 



