142 Mr. W. F. Kirby on the Family Iletrodidte. 



How far tliey are truly distinct cannot well be decided without 

 a long series of //. j^u^nis from various localities, showing its 

 extent of variation. II. marginatus is a male in which the 

 pronotum is greatly elevated and slightly indented on the 

 hind border, and the smooth portion behind and below the 

 hinder lateral spines is much broader than in any other 

 specimen. 'J'he other three species (?) are females, and differ 

 considerably in the comparative length of the ovipositor, and 

 IJ. ahhreviatus has only three rows of spines on the abdomen. 

 I do not know Fieber's II. variolosus, which is too briefly 

 described. 



Genus ACANTHOPLUS, Stal. 



The type of this genus is Iletrodes longipes^ Charp. 

 H. pallid us and discoidalis, Walk., form a second section in 

 the genus, characterized by having all the femora unarmed 

 both above and below. //. pallidus differs from the other 

 two species in having the third joint of the antennse much 

 longer thrai the second, and from A. longipes in having the 

 disk of tiie pronotum between the spines much more coarsely 

 ])unctured than the back and sides. A. discoidalis is from 

 Caffraria. 



Acanihoplus dcsertorum, sp. n. 



Long. corp. 29 millim. ; pron. 10; fern. post. 18; tib. 

 po?t. 21. 



A/ale. — Brownish yellow, paler on the face and under 

 surface of the legs. 



Eyes prominent, reddish. Antennse reddish, except at 

 the base ; vertex with shallow, irregular, subconfluent punc- 

 tures, inter-antennal tubercle almost obsolete ; a transverse 

 depression, slightly edged with black at the sides, above 

 the clypeus ; mandibles tipped with black ; pronotum 

 thickly and closely punctured, much more coarsely in 

 front than on the raised portion, bordered by a yellow carina, 

 which is indented in the middle in front, and armed 

 with 3 long spines on each side, converging behind, and 

 behind these is a deep sulcus before the raised part of the 

 pronotum. On the sides the sulcus divides, passing before 

 and behind the first of two more long lateral spines on each 

 side, the second of which is ])laced above the first in front of 

 the raised hind part of the pronotum, on the back of which 

 are two more central spines, rather near together. Abdomen 

 with the segments dotted with yellow towards the sutures; 

 the sides yellowish, above which is an obsolete dusky band 



