British Species of Homed ota. 189 



83. Homalota ceneicolUs. 



Nigra, nitidula, antennarum basi pedibus elytrisque 

 testaceis, his circa scutelluni angulisque apicis infuscatis ; 

 thorace transverse, basi obsolete impresso ; abdomine 

 supra segmentis 2-4 parcius panctatis, 5 et 6 fere Isevi- 

 gatis. Long. 1^- If lin. 



Mas; abdomine segmento 7° dorsali apice truncate, 

 et crenulato. 



This species is extremely closely allied to H. xanthop- 

 tera, and I have no doubt is generally confounded with 

 it; it is, on an average, a little smaller than, and not 

 so robust as H. xanthoptera. The elytra are paler in 

 colour, and more distinctly marked with black. The 

 antennae are darker in coloui', and neither quite so 

 long, nor quite so stout; they are darker towards the 

 extremity, and the apical joint is not so long-, though it 

 bears nearly the same relation to the two preceding ones, 

 as the last joint in H. xanthojytera does. 



It is an abundant species in decaying vegetable matter, 

 especially in Scotland, where it is commoner than H. xan- 

 thoptera, and may sometimes be found in numbers without 

 any of that species being associated with it. It is widely 

 distributed, as I have seen it from Naples. 



Ohs. — I am indebted to M. Ch. Brisout de Barneville, 

 for the loan of his two types ( S and $ ) of JT. parisiensis ; 

 they are either the above species, or a closely allied one, 

 the differences being, apparently, that these French spe- 

 cimens are rather smaller and narrower, and have the 

 base of the antennae, and the elytra, of a darker colour, 

 and the antennae rather more slender. They are rather 

 old rubbed examples, and without the examination of a 

 greater number of specimens, I can express no positive 

 opinion as to their distinctness from the species above 

 described. * 



84. Homalota xanthoptera. 



Nigra, nitidula, antennis articulo ultimo elongate, fus- 

 ce-testaceis, basi testaceis, elytris pedibusque testaceis ; 

 thorace transverse, basi obsolete impresso ; abdomine seg- 

 mentis 2-4 parce punctatis, 5 et 6 fere laevigatis. Long. 

 l|-2 lin. 



Mas; abdomine segmento 7° dorsali apice truncate, 



et crenulato. 



* Since the above was written, I have seen one or two other examples 

 of H. parisiensis ; they tend to confirm my opinion of its distinctness. 



p 2 



