332 PHYTOPHAGA. [Sermyla. 



posterior tibiae are armed with a distinct spur, and the tarsi are broad, 

 and the claws are appendiculate ; two species are at present known, one 

 of which is locally abundant in Central Europe, and the other has been 

 described from Japan. 



S. halensis, L. Obovate, rufo-testaceous, with the antennae and 

 scutellum black, and the vertex of head and the elytra bright metallic 

 green ; legs testaceous with the tarsi and apex of tibiae as a rule blackish ; 

 head rather large, antennae long with the third joint longer than second 

 and shorter than fourth ; thorax transverse, rectangular, almost smooth 

 in middle, distinctly and rather strongly punctured at sides, often with 

 a trace of a central furrow ; elytra widened behind middle, confusedly, 

 thickly, and rather strongly punctured ; legs long. L. 5|-7 mm. 



On flowers, especially of species of Oalium, and by sweeping in grassy places, 

 especially near the coast ; sometimes in great numbers ; generally distributed and 

 common from the Midland districts southwards ; not so common in the north ; Scot- 

 land, only recorded apparently from the Tweed district, " Berwick-upou-Tweed," 

 Dr. Philip McLagan, Murray's Cat. 



HALTICJE. 



The members of this division are distinguished from the Galerucae by 

 having the posterior femora thickened and formed for leaping, and the 

 anterior coxae not conically prominent at apex ; they are, as a rule, very 

 small insects, which vary much in shape, being usually more or less oval 

 or oblong oval, but sometimes subglobose; the colours are often very 

 brilliant, but a large number of species are of a uniform dark colour or 

 testaceous ; they feed on leaves, and in some cases do an immense amount 

 of damage to various crops both in the larval and the perfect state; the 

 larvae do not call for any particular notice; they are elongate, linear and 

 subcylindrical, more or less closely covered with outstanding fine hairs, 

 as a rule yellowish, with small dark spots or patches; the head is of 

 moderate size and rounded, with no visible ocelli; the thoracic segments 

 much resemble those of the abdomen, except that the prothorax is 

 furnished with a corneous scutum ; the abdominal segments are nine in 

 number, and together with the meso- and metathorax are covered with 

 small scaly sctigerous plates ; the anal segment is narrow and rounded, 

 and is furnished beneath with a bifid prolongation serving as a proleg ; 

 the beetle deposits its eggs either on the surface of the leaf, or under the 

 outer pellicle, according to the species ; the young larvae in the first case 

 feed on the outside of the leaves (Haltica), and in the second form 

 galleries beneath the surf ace (Phyllotrtta) ; when the larvae that feed on the 

 outside of the leaf desire to change into a pupa, they sometimes fix them- 

 selves by their anal segment to the under-side of the leaves, or occasionally 

 bury themselves in the earth ; those that feed beneath the surface undergo 

 their changes in their galleries. (See Chapuis et Candeze, Cat. des 

 Larves des Colcopteres, p. 266.) The sexes in the Halticoe are, as a rule, 

 easily distinguished ; in some species the male has the first joint of the 



