150 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol.87 



podium and its cultivated relative, sugar beet, and hence of importance 

 economically, and those feeding on Compositae, such as Artemisia, 

 Chrysothamnus, Grindelia, and Gutierrezia. In addition to these 

 food plants one species is recorded by Profs. K. A. Cooley and E. O. 

 Essig as injuring cottonwood. In general, the beetles feed on desert 

 and salt marsh plants, and because of their occurrence in such regions 

 they have become popularly known in the Western United States as 

 "alkali bugs." They are found from the Pacific coast eastward to 

 western Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Alberta. At 

 least four species have been collected along the coast of southeastern 

 Texas. Only one is known from farther east, M. hatisii, which has 

 been collected in Florida by W. S. Blatchley on Batis maritima, a 

 shrub occurring about the Gulf of Mexico and north to North Carolina. 

 M. hatisii is also found in Texas (San Patricio County, Corpus Christi, 

 Brownsville) and Mexico (one specimen in the collection of the 

 lUmois State Natural History Survey from Tampico). As yet, only 

 a few species are reported from Mexico, but it is probable that many 

 of the southwestern species wUl be found there. 



I wish to thank the following entomologists for their courtesy in 

 lending their private collections or the collections in their charge: 

 Nathan Banks, Museum of Comparative Zoology; K. G. Blair, 

 British Museum; Warwick Benedict, University of Kansas; Prof. 

 MelviUe H. Hatch, University of Washington; Prof. William A. 

 Hilton, Pomona College; S. C. McCampbell, Colorado State College 

 of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts; G. A. Mail, Montana Agriculture 

 Experiment Station; Dr. H. H. Boss, Illinois State Natural History 

 Survey; Prof. H. C. Severin, South Dakota State College; Prof. E. C. 

 Van Dyke, CaUfornia Academy of Sciences; H. R. Brisley; the late 

 F. S. Carr; D. K. Duncan; C. A. Frost; Ralph Hopping; H. Lan- 

 chester: M. C. Lane; and A. T. McClay. 



KEY TO SPECIES OF MONOXIA 



1. Claws in both sexes toothed 2 



Claws in female simple, in male toothed 5 



2. Head without pronounced median vertical depression; prothorax 



not twice as broad as long; elytra strongly and moderately 

 coarsely punctate; beetles medium sized (3.5 to 4 mm.) 



schizonycha, new species 

 Head with pronounced median vertical depression; prothorax 

 short and fully twice as broad as long; elytra finely punctate; 

 beetles tending to be smaller (2.5 to 3.8 mm.) 3 



3. Densely pubescent, punctation on elytra hidden; apex of 



aedeagus seen from above broad with a short, pointed tip. sordida LeConte 

 Less densely pubescent, elytral punctation distinctly visible; 

 apex of aedeagus seen from above narrow and gradually taper- 

 ing to a point 4 



