STAPHYLINID^. 89 



prolonged in the middle, somewhat thickly sinuate along the posterior 

 margin. L. 4-5J mm. 



Taken by Mr. West on the Denes at Great Yarmouth, under dung, 

 in May 1908, and in October and November 1908 at Levvisham, by 

 Mr. Hereward Dollman at Hanwell, and also by Commander J. J. 

 Walker at Oxford. It is pi'obably widely distributed, although it is 

 commoner in the south of Europe than further north. The elytra vary 

 in colour, being sometimes almost entii-ely testaceous, and sometimes 

 more or less strongly infuscate at the suture and the sides. Mr. 

 Champion, who introduced the species as British (Ent. Mo. Mag. xliv. (2 

 Ser. xix.) 194), points out that the very densely punctured hind body 

 and the colouration of the elytra renders it easy of recognition ; these 

 characters will separate it from A. tristis, Grav., to which species it is 

 most closely allied. There is some confusion as to the name of this 

 species ; in the last edition of Reitter's Catalogue its name is given as 

 A. moesta, while the well-known A. mossta of our British lists takes 

 the name of A. sparsa, Heer. ( = stcccicola, Thorns.). As, however, Gaugl- 

 bauer adopts the name of A. crassiicscula (Die Kafer von Mitteleuropa, 

 ii. 34), and the species lias been introduced into our lists under this 

 name, it is best to retain it. Perpetual confusion is being caused by 

 this alteration of long-established names on very slight grounds. 



A. (Baryodma) .succicola, Thoms., Skand. Col. ix., p. 216. 

 Mi'. Champion, in introducing this species as British (Ent. Mo. 

 Mag. xxxiii. (2 Ser. viii.) 97), writes as follows : 



"Under the name A. jncesta, Grav., two species are confused in 

 British collections. One of them is common and widely distributed ; 

 this is the ^4. succicola, Thoms., not hitherto recorded from Britain ; 

 the other, the true A. mcesta, Grav., appears to be very much rarer, and 

 of the thirty specimens representing A. moesta in my collection, two 

 only are referable to it (from the London district and the Isle of 

 Sheppey respectively), all the others belong to A. succicola.'^ Dr. Sharp, 

 at Mr. Champion's request, examined his British exponents of ^1 . moesta, 

 and found that all were A. succicola, except one from Glasgow. Mr, 

 Champion gives the following characters for distinguishing the species : 



Maxillary palpi with the third joint long and 

 gradually widening outwards (subg. Polychaixi, 

 Muls. and Hey.) ; head and thorax coarsely 

 punctate ; hind body very sparsely punctate . A. mcesta, Grat 



Maxillary palpi with the tliird joint shorter 

 and sub-triangularly dilated (subg. Homceochara, 

 Muls. and Rey.); head and thorax finely 

 punctate ; hind body still more sparsely punc- 

 tate, appearing almost impunctate . . .A. succicola, Thoms. 



The size varies very much, as also does the colour, specimens 

 occurring with reddish elytra or antennae. Thomson gives no size ; 

 Mulsant and Rey give If lines. 



