Pissodes.] RHYNCHOPHORA. 253 



II. Size smiillt r ; thorax longer in proportion, with the sides less 

 rounded, and the posterior angles more prominent ; elytra with 

 the punctures of stria! much less strong and more or less 

 indistinct P. NOTATP8, F. 



P. pini, L. Oblong, upper surface depressed, pitchy-black or dark 

 pitchy-bro\vn, with very sparing pale scales ; rostrum longer than thorax, 

 reddish-brown ; antenme inserted towards middle of rostrum, pitchy-red 

 with club darker; thorax about as long as its breadth at base, narrowed 

 towards front, constricted before apex, closely and somewhat rugosely 

 punctured, with a fine but distinct smooth raised central line, and with 

 very sparing small patches of yellowish scales, of which two spots, one 

 on each side of middle, are often more or less distinct; elytra subparallel, 

 narrowed from posterior third to apex, a little broader than thorax, with 

 strongly and deeply punctured striae, the punctures being deeper in the 

 middle, and with two more or less distinct and irregular transverse 

 yellowish bands on each, one before and another behind middle ; legs 

 moderately long, ferruginous, with the femora simple. L. 8-10 mm. 



On fir and pine trees ; very local and confined to the North ; Northumberland 

 district (Bold) ; Scotland, local, on Scotch fir, Forth, Tay, Dee and Moray districts 

 (Br.-iemar, Aviemore, &c.) ; it is by no means uncommon in some places where 

 found. 



P. notatus, F. Very like the preceding but smaller and usually of 

 a somewhat lighter colour, with the fasciae greyer, much less distinct, 

 and often more or less obsolete ; the thorax is longer with the sides 

 less rounded, the posterior angles more prominent, and the base more 

 deeply sinuated ; the rostrum is shorter and the elytra are much less 

 strongly punctured ; the posterior fascia, moreover, is dilated in the 

 middle and attenuated towards suture ; according to Thomson the male 

 has the rostrum a little shorter than the female and the fasciae of the 

 elytra formed of whitish scales, whereas in the latter sex the posterior 

 fascia is yellowish in the centre. L. 6-8 mm. 



On firs and pines; very local and not coinm. n j Chat Moss (Chappell) ; " Sunder- 

 1 iud, probably introduced in Scotch timber-laden ships" (Bold); Scotland, rare, 

 Highlands, on Scotch fir. Dee and Moray districts. I have a strong idea that it has 

 been taken in some numbers near Bournemouth, but cannot find any record ; it is 

 tlie only species found in France, where it inhabits the \\ hole basin of the Seine, so 

 that there would be nothing against its occurrence in such a pine-clad district as 

 Bournemouth. 



A third species, P. piniphilus, has occurred at Sunderland, but was 

 certainly imported with timber-laden ships from the north of Europe ; 

 it might, however, be found in this country, as it occurs in Sweden, 

 Finland, Germany, and France ; it resembles P. notatus, but is smaller 

 (4-5 mm.), and may be known from the latter species by having the 

 first fascia of the elytra always obsolete, and the second nearer the 

 middle than in that species ; the punctures of the thorax, moreover, are 

 wider apart, and not confluent. 



