( “oleoptera from South A frica, 361 
nigro-pilosellis, crebre, fortiter et confluenter punctatis ; corpore 
subtus cum pedibus flavo; epimeris, meso- et metathoracis nigro- 
maculatis. 
Long. 6-5-7 millm. o Q. 
Mas, antennis sesquilongioribus, ad apicem magis infuscatis ; capitis 
vertice lamina transversa irregulari utrinque subinyoluta, occipite 
ab oculis fortiter excavato, in medio quasi bicarinato, postice elevato 
plano. 
Femina, antennis brevioribus, occipite plano magis nitido. 
Hab. Mashonaland, Salisbury (Marshall). 
This very curiously coloured Hedybius is wholly unlike any 
described from South Africa, but is allied and very similar 
to H. lividus, Gorham, from Abyssinia. The structure of 
the head is unlike that of either of the three species described 
by me in these ‘ Annals’ (cf. tom. ect. pp. 80, 81), but is similar 
to that of the Abyssinian species, but is ‘less strongly pro- 
nounced ; this structure is so very peculiar and difficult to 
describe, that reference should be made to the description of 
H. lividus as well. ‘The elytra are similar, but appear more 
ivory-white in Mr. Marshall’s specimens owing to their better 
preservation. They are much more strongly and deeply 
punctured than in the blue wing-cased species, and are also 
larger and longer in proportion, ‘The head and thorax in the 
male are more opaque than in the female. The extreme base 
of the head (which in the specimens before me is sunk in the 
thorax) appears to be blackish, showing through the trans- 
parent front of the thorax, but the pronotum is unspotted in 
itself. 
VUbs. It has been suggested that /Z. anceps, described on 
p- Sl (¢. ¢.), is asynonym of H. superciliosus of Boheman. It 
is possible that that may prove to be so; but, apart from the 
fact that the three species I have distinguished are so closel 
allied that it would be perhaps impossible to say which of 
them should be referred to Boheman’s insect from description 
alone, I beg here to protest against hasty assumptions on 
synony my, especially by persons who have a very limited 
acquaintance with the group. I had, of course, studied 
Boheman before describing any of the Malachiida, and the 
conclusion I came to was that I could not identify either of 
our insects with the species reterred to. 
Some other suggestions made prove on examination to be 
so wide of the mark, that 1 need only remark that they betray 
a want of acquaintance with the elements of the subject or a 
want of acumen in appreciating even crucial differences. 
