CHRYSOMELID^. 16B 



strongly developed, obccnical ; legs, as a rule, short, more slender in 

 the male than in the female ; tibife straight ; tarsi usually slender, the 

 first and second joints of variable length, the third split to base, and the 

 fourth long, extending plainly beyond the lobes of the third. 



In the female the body is somewhat widened behind, the eyes are 

 less pi'ominent, and the legs more slender, and there is a fovea in the 

 centre of the last abdominal segment. 



The genus is a veiy large one, containing nearly two hundred species, 

 which are widely distributed in Europe, Asia, Africa and Central and 

 South America (from Mexico to Brazil). It belongs to the Clytrinfe, 

 and is allied to IJelitonoona, Lac, and Chilotoma, Lac. 



G. afiinis, Eossi. (Faun. Etrusc. p. 97 (1795) ) ; G. collaris, Schrank. 

 (Faun. Ins. Austr. p. 170 (41) «ec Fab.). Oblong, subparallel; head 

 dark, closely and somewhat rugosely punctured, with a strong depression 

 at base ; eyes rather large and prominent ; antennae short and rather 

 stout, red at base, infuscate towards apex, with the first joint large and 

 stout, the second much shorter, but nearly as broad, the third very 

 small, the fourth longer and dilated at apex, 5-10 stout, transverse and 

 subserrate, and the last about as long as, and rather narrower than, the 

 penultimate; thorax much broader than the head, finely punctui'ed, 

 almost smooth, red, with the centi-al parts broadly dark; elytra blue or 

 greenish-blue, strongly and more or less irregularly, in parts somewhat 

 rugosely, punctured ; legs clear orange-red, the anterior pair being the 

 longest. L. 2|-4 mm. 



Wychwood, near AVitne}% Oxfordshire (Holland). Mr. Holland 

 took a single specimen on June 18, 1899, and in 1890 found it in 

 numbers at about the same time. The species has occuired throughout 

 the greater part of Europe up to Finland, where, according to 

 Lacordaire, it is very rare : it is said to occur in Germany from May to 

 July on oak shoots or in flowers. 



At first sight it superficially resembles Gastrophysa polygoni, but the 

 short and stout antennse, and the structure of the legs and tarsi will 

 easily distinguish it from any others of our Chi-ysomelidee. 



The occurrence of this insect in numbers in the centre of the country 

 is very interesting, and leads us to expect that many more species new 

 to Britain may be found when the vast number of woods and other 

 localities which have not been touched, are worked systematically. 



CRYPTOCEPHALUS, Geofi^roy. 



C. bipunctatus, L. (Syst. Nat. x. 374). This appears to be really 

 the type insect, of which our well-known G. lineola, F., is only a variet} . 

 C. hipunctatus is a variable insect, the elytra being almost unicolorous- 

 red or reddish-yellow, or yellowish-red with one black spot on each, or 

 with four black spots, the bar on each side being sometimes confluent, 

 but in no case is there a thick black regular band as in G. lineola. 



Taken by Mr. Mitford in 1907 at Niton, Isle of Wight, and 



