British Species of Homalota. 193 



In the male, the joints of the antennse from the fourth 

 onwards are a little longer than in the female, the upper 

 plate of the seventh abdominal segment has the hind 

 margin crenulate, and sometimes slightly emarginate ; 

 the crenulations vary in fineness, and are about eight in 

 number; the ventral plate of the same segment is more 

 produced, and has the hind margin more rounded, than 

 in the female. 



Rare. Edinburgh, Strath Cannich, Thornhill. 



Ohs. — I have but little doubt this is the H. valida of 

 Kraatz, though I have not seen any specimen of the 

 species so named, except my British ones. It is readily 

 distinguished from H. xanthoptera by its darker and more 

 shining colour, its less elongate apical joint to the an- 

 tennae, and its more strongly punctured elytra. 



Group XY. Moderately sized, or small species, with the 

 pemdtimate joints of the anteniwe transverse. 



(Species 87—107) . 



An artificial group, comprising a number of species of 

 very different appearance and size. They occur, how- 

 ever, nearly without exception, in refuse vegetable mat- 

 ter and in fungi ; H. succicola and triangidnm prefer the 

 sap of trees, and the latter species is also sometimes found 

 on the coast. H. succicola is a large species, while ato- 

 TYiaria and perexigua are amongst the smallest of the 

 genus. H. palustris and others are placed by Kraatz 

 near H. atrameutaria, but the parallel abdomen, and the 

 tibiae entirely without setae, make them even more un- 

 naturally placed than in my arrangement. 



87. Homalota succicola. 



Nigra, nitidula, elytris brunneis, pedibus testaceis ; an- 

 tennis articulis 5-10 transversis; thorace transverse, basi 

 impresso ; abdomine segmentis 2-4 parce punctatis, 5 et 6 

 Iffivigatis. Long. 1|-1| lin. 



Mas; abdomine segmento 7° dorsali apice truncate, 

 et subtiliter crenulato. 



H. succicola, Th. Ofv. Vet. Ac. Forh. 1852, p. 141 ; 

 Atheta succicola, Th. Sk. Col. iii. 78. H. validicornis, 

 Maerk., Ki\ Ins. Deutsch. ii. 271. H. socialis, var. a, 

 Er. Gen. et Spec. Staph. 102. H. euryptera, Wat. Cat. 



