Brithli Species o/Haliplus. 103 



tlnental specimens is liiuited to one or two specimens^ and 

 the species appears to be somewliat scarce. 1 have a note 

 concerning one specimen from the collection of Captain Ste. 

 Claire Deville, " ? H. ^oehickei. Determined on general 

 form only. On the first look at this specimen it appeared to 

 be impunctate, but, by the aid of high magnification ( x 172), 

 I make out extremely fine puncturation at the apex of the 

 elytra, this extending halfway up but only along the external 

 borders." 



So far as I know, the females of H. nomax are always 

 completely punctate, even in i\\Q,'^ hrowneanus'''' variety, which 

 is, according to its at present known distribution, entirely 

 confined to south-eastern England and is therefore possibly 

 the "continental '' form of the species. 



I am now satisfied that the females of H. immaculofus, 

 although normally having impunctate elytra, sometimes have 

 slight puncturation. I have several specimens which on the 

 majority of characters agree with typical immaculatus females, 

 but are more or less punctate, this puncturation in most cases, 

 but not in all, being confined to the extreme apex of the 

 elytra. 



All females of //. aplcalis, so far as I know, have the 

 elytra completely punctate and all females of H. fuhicoUis, 

 wliich is not a British species, are quite impunctate, so that 

 in these two species this female character may be as invariable 

 as in //. nontax. 



With regard to //, fluviatilis, I gatiier that Edwards 

 regards the female as alwajs having the elytra completely 

 punctate, tliough he only says " the females of this species 

 exhibit the elytral puncturation very clearly, the surface 

 in some examples being appreciably dull " (5, p. 8). Both 

 Gerhardt and Wehncke refer to the female of this species as 

 having the posterior half of the elytra finely punctured, and 

 it is surprising that Edwards should have passed over this 

 statement, especially after having emphasized the fact that 

 the puncturation in those specimens he examined was such as 

 to make the individuals dull in appearance. After examining 

 a large number of British and Irish specimens, I have only 

 found two in which the puncturation on the disc of the elytra 

 was at all weak : it was there, right to the base, but it was 

 faintly marked. One of the s))ecimens came from the river 

 Niih (Kirkcudbrightshire) and the other from the River Cam 

 (Cambridgeshire). I have seen only a few continental speci- 

 mens — a series sent me by Captain Ste. Claire Deville from 

 France, of which eight were females, and of these six at least 

 (T neglected to note the other two) have the elytra impunctate 



