Genera aud Species o/ (,'olcoptcra. ;i<)5 



Tmesisternus tersus. 

 T. niger, nitidus, pubo subtilissima grisea tectus ; elytris disperse punc- 

 tatis, apice subsiiiuatis, nuiticis, fasciis duabus albis omatis ; antennis, 

 tibiis tarsisquo rufo-fulvis. 

 TIah. Goram (Molucca-^). 



Katber robust, black, sbiiiinpf, the upper surface covered with a 

 uniform, very fine gi*eyish pile, the two bands on the elytra alone have 

 the hairs of a coarser texture; head deeply channeled in front, a 

 nearly straight raised line at the root of the antenna, between them a 

 few punctures only, the vertex scarcely punctured ; prothorax trans- 

 verse, narrowed in front, coarsely punctured on each side, leaving a 

 smooth space in the middle ; scutellum nearly round ; elytra iiTegularly 

 punctured, rather convex at the base, the apex subsinuate, unarmed, a 

 pale-greyish or nearly white band at one-third the length of the elytra 

 from the base, another, but ciu'ved forwards and narrower, at about the 

 same distance from the apex ; antennre, tibiae, and tarsi reddish fulvous, 

 sparingly pubescent ; body beneath glossy black, the sides covered with 

 a glaucous pubescence. Length 8 lines. 



So very closely allied to T. trivittatus, Guer., as, except on com- 

 paring them side by side, to be readily mistaken for it ; besides cer- 

 tain differences of colour, however, T. tersus has the punctures on 

 the elytra irregularly dispersed, not forming two or three rows near 

 the suture, and the apex is entirely unarmed ; the vertex and front 

 are also very slightly punctured ; the clear reddish-yellow colour of 

 the antenna), tibiae, and tarsi, and the leaden tint of the rest, con- 

 trast strongly with the general olive hue of T. frivittatus. I may 

 observe here that Guerin's name is singularly inappropriate ; the 

 animal has not three stripes, but two hands. Boisduval has proposed 

 to remedy this by substituting " bicinctus ; " but the law of priority, 

 I fear, cannot admit the alteration. Another Tmesisternus , from 

 Ceram, although sufficiently distinct at the first glance, appears to 

 me to be only a local subspecies of the present : there is the same 

 general disposition of colours ; but the two bands are very indistinct, 

 and the spaces between them and the apex respectively occupied by 

 a series of closely arranged stripes of a pale leaden hue. I have 

 seen a number of both forms, but nothing intermediate. There is 

 stiU another form, from Makian (a small island near Batchian), 

 so nearly concolorous that, except at the apex, no markings are 

 visible without the aid of a lens. 



Tmesisternus herhaceus. 



T. fusco-viridis, fiLsco variegatus; elytris subseriato-pimctatis, apice 

 oblique truncatis, singulo macula griseo-alba pone medium exteme 

 notato ; femoribus tibiisque flavo-viridibus, tarsis rufo-testaceis. 



Hah. Mvsol. 



