Pyr<icln-oa.~\ HETEROMERA. 63 



PYROCHROA, Gecffroy. 



The characters given for the family will serve to distinguish. Ihis our 

 single British genus, except that it may be added that the maxillary 

 palpi are long with the last' joint elongate securiform, the antennae have 

 the second joint about one-third as long as the third, and the posterior 

 tarsi have the first joint elongate; the genus is the largest in point of 

 numbers of those belonging to the family, an 1 contains about a dozen 

 species; three of the four European species are found in Britain, and the 

 remainder have been described from Northern Asia and Xoi'th America, 

 one species having been taken in Java. 



The larva of P. serraticornis, Scop, (rubens, Schall.), has been described and figured 

 by several authors ; a detailed description, with figure, is given by West wood (Classi- 

 fication, i. p. 288, fig. 32, 11) ; I have also a specimen before me taken by myself in 

 Nocton Wood, near Lincoln, in a rotten stump ; rt is long and linear, of a dirty 

 ochreous colour, with the head, thorax, and apical segments corneous ; the head is 

 large, with short antennae and comparatively long palpi of about the same length as 

 the antennae; the segments are transverse and incised at the articulations; the 

 prothorax is short quadrangular, but the mesothorax and metathorax, especially 

 the former, are much narrowed in front ; the penultimate segment is very long, the 

 preceding segment being short ; the apical segment is situated at right angles to the. 

 penultimate, and is furnished with two strong corneous spines projecting upwards, and 

 several small setose warty prominences on margin; the legs are stout and strong, and 

 terminate in a simple claw ; there is a fine central furrow running down the middle 

 of the segments ; the head and tail are darker than the rest of the body ; the pupa is 

 dirty white with the rudimeutal wings and wing covers very short. 



The larvae of our other two British species, P. coccinea and P. pectinicornis are 

 figured by Chapuis and Candeze (Larves des Coleopteres.pl. vii. figs. 3 and 4); 

 and beautiful figures of the larva and pupa of P. coccinea are given by Sehiodte (xi. 

 pi. xv. 1, 10) ; these larvae resemble that of P. serraticornis in general appearance, but 

 (lifter in the shape of the thoracic segments and the anal appendages. Ahrens, who 

 described the 1 trva of P. coccinea, is inclined to believe that the larva is three yesira 

 in attaining the <ull size, while the pupa state only continues fourteen days; the 

 pupa is remarkable for excrescences at the sides of the thoracic ^egmifnts. 



I. Head strongly dilated behind eyes; antennas of male 



pectinate or serr.ite ; size Hrger. 



i. Head black . . P. COCCINEA, L. 



ii. Head red I'. SERttATiCOENis, Scop. 



II. Head scarcely dilated behind eyes; antennae of male 



flabellate ; size smaller P. PECTINICORNIS, L. 



P. coccinea, L. Head black, thorax and elytra bright scarlet 

 clothed with short and thick unicolorous pubescence ; head subtriangular, 

 dilated behind eyes, impressed in male, impressed with the impression 

 furrowed in female ; antennae long, black ; thorax transverse-oval, nearly 

 twice as broad as long, with a more or less distinct central furrow ; 

 scutellum black ; elytra dilated behind, with well-marked shoulders, 

 together with thorax very closely and finely sculptured ; legs black, 

 rather long, claws red. L. l-t-17 mm. 



Male with the antennae rather strongly pectinate, the forehead with a 

 broad deep impression, and the fifth ventral segment of the abdomen 

 emarginate at apex, the sixth being conspicuous. 



