﻿CHRYSOMELID 
  GENUS 
  STRABALA 
  CHEVROLAT 
  — 
  BLAKE 
  123 
  

  

  the 
  dispute 
  by 
  synonymizing 
  scutellaris 
  and 
  ambulans 
  with 
  rufa 
  and 
  

   placing 
  them 
  under 
  Haltica 
  and 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  placing 
  ferruginea 
  

   and 
  intermedia 
  as 
  separate 
  species 
  under 
  Lactica. 
  Mr. 
  G. 
  E. 
  Bryant 
  

   pointed 
  out 
  to 
  me 
  the 
  specimens 
  labeled 
  Lactica 
  scutellaris 
  in 
  the 
  

   British 
  Museum 
  and 
  said, 
  "What 
  are 
  these 
  doing 
  here?" 
  I 
  agreed 
  

   that 
  it 
  was 
  high 
  time 
  to 
  restore 
  the 
  original 
  Chevrolat 
  generic 
  name 
  

   Strabala 
  for 
  this 
  group 
  of 
  very 
  similarly 
  colored 
  species 
  that 
  no 
  one 
  

   has 
  Itnown 
  exactly 
  what 
  to 
  do 
  with. 
  On 
  my 
  return 
  to 
  America, 
  after 
  

   a 
  considerable 
  search 
  for 
  the 
  specimens 
  of 
  this 
  species 
  that 
  had 
  long 
  

   been 
  removed 
  from 
  the 
  regular 
  collection, 
  I 
  found 
  that 
  H. 
  S. 
  Barber 
  

   had 
  also 
  labeled 
  them 
  Strabala. 
  

  

  The 
  species 
  of 
  this 
  genus 
  differ 
  in 
  color 
  among 
  themselves 
  little 
  more 
  

   than 
  do 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  genus 
  Altica, 
  but 
  instead 
  of 
  being 
  metallic 
  blue 
  

   they 
  are 
  a 
  deep 
  reddish 
  or 
  orange 
  brown 
  with 
  dark 
  or 
  partly 
  dark 
  legs, 
  

   dark 
  scutellum 
  (usually) 
  , 
  dark 
  antennae, 
  and 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  dark 
  under- 
  

   surface. 
  Like 
  Altica 
  they 
  have 
  no 
  spots, 
  vittae, 
  or 
  other 
  markings; 
  

   and 
  the 
  variation 
  in 
  the 
  dark 
  coloration 
  is 
  slight. 
  In 
  practically 
  all 
  

   the 
  North 
  American 
  specimens 
  from 
  Massachusetts 
  to 
  Panamd, 
  the 
  

   amount 
  of 
  dark 
  coloration 
  is 
  very 
  much 
  the 
  same, 
  that 
  is, 
  the 
  under- 
  

   surface 
  and 
  femora 
  are 
  only 
  partly 
  dark. 
  Hence 
  the 
  tendency 
  has 
  

   been 
  to 
  follow 
  Horn/^ 
  who 
  wrote 
  that 
  ''Haltica 
  rufa 
  occurs 
  from 
  

   Massachusetts 
  to 
  Illinois, 
  Florida 
  and 
  Texas, 
  extending 
  through 
  

   Mexico 
  to 
  South 
  America." 
  There 
  are, 
  however, 
  slight 
  differences 
  in 
  

   the 
  extent 
  of 
  the 
  dark 
  coloration, 
  in 
  the 
  punctation, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  shape 
  

   of 
  the 
  aedeagus. 
  In 
  Eastern 
  United 
  States 
  from 
  New 
  Hampshire 
  to 
  

   the 
  Gulf 
  and 
  west 
  to 
  the 
  Mississippi, 
  Louisiana, 
  and 
  northern 
  Texas, 
  

   the 
  species 
  known 
  as 
  ruja 
  Illiger 
  presents 
  little 
  variation. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  con- 
  

   spicuously 
  punctate, 
  deep 
  reddish 
  brown 
  species. 
  In 
  Florida 
  occurs 
  a 
  

   race 
  that, 
  in 
  dried 
  specimens, 
  at 
  least, 
  is 
  always 
  a 
  pale 
  yellow-brown, 
  

   in 
  contrast 
  to 
  the 
  reddish 
  color 
  of 
  rufa. 
  It 
  has 
  also 
  a 
  distinctly 
  aluta- 
  

   ceous 
  surface 
  and 
  is 
  less 
  distinctly 
  punctate 
  than 
  rufa. 
  In 
  the 
  speci- 
  

   mens 
  from 
  Brownsville, 
  Texas, 
  to 
  Panamd, 
  which 
  are 
  shining 
  and 
  

   almost 
  impunctate, 
  in 
  our 
  limited 
  collections 
  are 
  two 
  groups 
  with 
  

   entirely 
  differently 
  shaped 
  aedeagi 
  — 
  those 
  that 
  are 
  narrowed 
  at 
  the 
  

   tip 
  and 
  those 
  with 
  a 
  wide, 
  rounded 
  tip. 
  From 
  the 
  external 
  appearance 
  

   I 
  cannot 
  distinguish 
  the 
  beetles 
  at 
  all. 
  H. 
  S. 
  Barber 
  has 
  labeled 
  one 
  

   lot, 
  with 
  round-tipped 
  aedeagi, 
  as 
  a 
  new 
  species 
  and 
  the 
  other 
  as 
  

   scutellaris. 
  It 
  seems 
  to 
  me 
  that 
  the 
  name 
  scutellaris 
  cannot 
  be 
  applied 
  

   to 
  any 
  species 
  of 
  Strabala 
  with 
  any 
  certainty. 
  To 
  begin 
  with, 
  Olivier's 
  

   locality 
  of 
  southern 
  France, 
  apparently 
  erroneous, 
  leaves 
  us 
  without 
  

   any 
  type 
  locality 
  in 
  the 
  western 
  hemisphere. 
  Species 
  corresponding 
  in 
  

   coloration 
  to 
  Olivier's 
  description 
  occur 
  in 
  Cuba 
  and 
  Central 
  America 
  

   as 
  well 
  as 
  North 
  America. 
  Therefore 
  I 
  propose 
  to 
  drop 
  the 
  name 
  

  

  W 
  Horn, 
  Trans. 
  Am. 
  Ent. 
  Soc, 
  vol. 
  16, 
  p. 
  232, 
  1889. 
  

  

  