6 



NATUEAL HISTORY BULLETIN 



omelid has been added to the scanty representation hitherto 

 known from Florissant. Three families, the Pythidae, Cleridffi 

 and Mycetophagidffi until now containing no named species from 

 these shales, are added. Staphylinid^e maintain their normal 

 abundance, with a good quota of new things, and the two Hydro- 

 philid* found are now described for the first time. The Elat- 

 eridse and Lampyridae have not been studied and hence do not 

 appear in the catalogue. 



The rather high percentage of small insects contained in the 

 present collection is due in part to the special effort expended in 

 looking over the split shales with a hand lens. This was done on 

 account of a suspicion on my part that general collectors might 

 have missed a good share of the little beetles because of an inter- 

 est in more conspicuous things. It may be worth mentioning 

 that a stroll along the beach of Lake Superior after a favorable 

 night wind would show a much more striking assemblage of 

 beetles, as far as size and structure are concerned, than seems to 

 have been present about the shores of the ancient Lake Florissant. 



As in previous papers, the illustrations are from camera lucida 

 drawings. The figure of Protoncideres primus is free hand, the 

 insect being too large for the microscope. The types of the new 

 species remain in my collection. 



Bembidium Lair. 



B. FLORissANTEXSis n. sp. (Plate V, Fig. 1.) Form elongate, sub- 

 parallel. Head moderate, eyes not strongly prominent, antennaj slender. 

 Prothorax broadest near the apex, sides arcuate and sinuate posteriorly, 

 hind angles right or slightly prominent. Elytral subparallel at sides for 

 most of their length, apices conjointly rounded, each elytron about three 

 and one-half times as long as ■nide, finely striate, the striae scarcely or not 

 punctate, the interspaces, at least towards the margins, finely punctate. 

 Legs wanting. Length, 6.10 mm. "Width, 2.20 mm. 



By the elongate form and differently shaped prothorax, this 

 insect is readily distinguished from either of the fossil species 

 described from Florissant by Scudder. It is not possible to place 

 it in its correct position in relation to the enormous number of 

 recent species of Bemhidium. 



