Phlrotrya.] HETEROMERA. 4." 



r/?/ *-*, Thoms.). Elongate, convex, subcylin1rical, very vaiiable in 

 size, slightly shining, clothed -with fine silky pubescence, colour nigr.- 

 fuscous, or brownish, in somewhat immature examples more or less 

 castaneous; head sunk in thorax as far as eyes, very closely sculptured, 

 antennae moderately long, reddish-testaceous, with the apical joints or 

 centre often darker ; thorax longer than broad, very closely and rugosely 

 punctured, with a slight impression on each side at base ; scutellum 

 transverse ; elytra long, subparallel, gradually narrowed towards apex, 

 closely and rugosely piinctured, but with the sculpture less close than 

 that of thorax, so that the surface is more shining ; at each shoulder 

 there is a longitudinal fove i, and on the disc there are more or less dis- 

 tinct traces of raised line?; legs long, yellow or reddish-yellow, first 

 joint of the posterior tarsi at least as long as all the others taken 

 together. L. 8-13 mm. 



In decaying oak, ic ; very !ooal and, as a rule, rare; Brasted, near Sevenoaks, 

 Kent; Leatherhead, Surrey; Duhvich ; Windsor Forest; Tunbridge Wells; New- 

 Forest ; Sherwood Forest ; Dunham Park, Manchester. 



I have retained the name of PhJceotrya for our British species, but 

 the genus cannot woll be separated from Dirccea, F. ; the species known 

 as D. IfKtigata is really a Xylita, and may be known from Dirccea (Phlceo- 

 tryt-i) by having the intermediate coxae contiguous ; there is, however, 

 great confusion as to the synonymy of the genera, and this has been 

 increased by the fact that several of the European Melandryidae occur in 

 Xoith America, and have been renamed and redescribed by American 

 authors. 



XYLITA, Paykull. (Dircva, Gyll., Redt., nee F.) 



According to the Munich catalogue, this genus contains four species, 

 three of which are found in Europe, and one in Chili ; they are moderate- 

 sized insects, with the second joint of the antenna? small, and the third 

 a little longer than the fourth ; the maxillary palpi have the last joint 

 securiform ; the mesosternum is short between the intermediate coxa?, 

 which are contiguous; the thorax is almost as long as broad ; the elytra 

 are not striated ; the tibial spurs are small but distinct, and the penul- 

 timate joint of the tarsi is bilobed ; the single British species is very 

 scarce. 



X. laevig-ata, Hel. (discolor, F. ; bupre-ttoidts, Payk.). Elongate, 

 moderately convex, somewhat depressed on disc, rather thickly clothed 

 with thick silky pubescence, usually brown or brownish-black, with the 

 base of the antennae, and the tarsi, testaceous, and the elytra lighter than 

 the thorax ; the thorax, however, is often fuscous or blackish, and the 

 elytra fusco-testaceous ; upper surface moderately shiny, with very 

 close rugose punctuation; antennae moderately long, gradually and 

 slightly thickened towards apex : thorax about as long as broad at base, 

 strongly narrowed towards apex in almost a straight line, widest about a 



