210 IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



across both vertex and pronotum: elytra coriaceous, about twice longer 

 than wide, without an appendix, the apex rounding, both veins of corium 

 forking before the middle, forming two long discoid cells: apical cells 

 irregular, usually about five; wings with the third vein from the marginal 

 vein forked and forming a closed apical cell; entire dorsal aspect of insect 

 coarsely and irregularly punctate: male valve wanting. 



The members of this genus are all of moderate size, varying 

 from 8 to 12mm. in length, and are strikingly uniform in color 

 and pattern of marking, being grayish or brownish, with two 

 irregular, oblique, dark-margined light bands on the elytra, 

 sometimes obscure and sometimes broken up into spots. 



The variation in color and marking is not sufficient to 

 enable one to readily recognize the different species and they 

 are only accurately separated by reference to structural char- 

 acters, the three most important being the degree of inflation 

 of the front with the corresponding variation of the facial 

 angle, the shape of the terminal ventral segment of the male 

 abdomen and the shape of the male plates, the latter character 

 alone enabling one to readily separate that sex of all our 

 species. 



In distribution this genus seems to be limited to the north- 

 ern hemisphere, and the greater number, if not all the species, 

 occur in the temperate zone. Europe has three species, all of 

 which are widely distributed, while this paper recognizes eight 

 species occurring in the United States and Canada, and Fowler 

 has recently described three new species from Mexico in the 

 Biologia. These latter are all small and are apparently 

 closely related to 4-notata, the only one of our species that has 

 been taken as far south as our southern border. 



Of the species under consideration 4-notata has the greatest 

 known range, occurring from Ontario to Florida, and west to 

 North Dakota and Iowa. Next to it com.es' per mutata, which 

 has been found from Vancouver's island south to central 

 Calif ornia and eastward to Colorado. Of the others, parallela^^ 

 is the only one that has as yet been recorded from widely 

 separated localities, and it is very probable that some of its 

 western records were based on other species. 



SYNOPSIS or THE SPECIES. 



A. Elytra very broad, angulate behind, the outer margin strongly 

 curved and with two more or less distinct hyaline areas; general 

 color light-gray or brown; head and pronotum nearly flat, front 

 but slightly inflated, acutely angulate with vertex. 



