334 ADDENDA 



by external characters. Widely distributed, especially in the south of 

 England. 



O. puncticoUis, Payk. (Faun. Suec. I. 120). Undoubtedly, Dr. 

 Shai'p says, very similar to the preceding, but easy to recognise by the 

 thorax, which is broader in front, so that it is very nearly as broad as 

 the elytra, strongly sinuated at the sides, and with the definite hind 

 angles almost absolutely rectangular ; the punctures on it are coarser 

 and less numerous, and the surface is more highly polished. The 

 a^deagus is much the same as in 0. rectanr/ulus, but a little thicker, the 

 apical portion being definitely less slender ; the basal margin of the 

 thorax appears to vary much as in 0. rectangidus. 



Caterham (W. E. Sharp); Guildford (Sharp and Champion); 

 Down, Kent (Wollaston) ; Cholsey, Berks (Walker). About a dozen 

 British examples are known, so that the insect is decidedly rare, as far 

 as is at present known. It appears possible that it may only be an 

 extreme form of 0. rectangulus, as the difl:eience in the wdeagus is only 

 slight ; but Dr. Sharp says that he attaches some importance to this 

 slight difference, as he has examined the organ in several variations of 

 0. rectaiKjuhis. 



O. parallelus, Dej. (Spec. iv. 219). Allied to 0. rectangidus, but 

 smaller (5-7 mm.), and with the thorax shorter. It is hard to dis- 

 tinguish a large female of 0. ^Jorrt?/eZ?ts from a small female of 0. 

 rectangulus ; but the males are distinct, the a?deagus in the former 

 being considerably broader and shorter than in the latter. The basal 

 margin of the thorax is generally fairly distinct, sufficiently so to 

 prevent large specimens of parallelus from being mistaken for species 

 of other groups, such as hrevicoUis, chamjyioni, or rujncoloides. 



Rare ; Deal ; Chatham ; Sheppey ; Eastbourne ; Southsea ; Port- 

 land ; Sandown, Isle of Wight ; Caterham. I have a specimen 

 labelled as from Hunstanton, Norfolk. The only other species that 

 can be confounded with any of the above is the var. similis Dej. of 0. 

 azureus. This insect usually has a slight metallic tinge, but is some- 

 times without it and is then quite dark ; in most cases it may be known 

 by the very much reduced wings, the insect being quite incapable of 

 flight. The sides of the thorax are rounded, without sinuation, and the 

 hind angles are qviite obtuse ; the pedeagus is much as in O.o-ii'picoloides. 



Whether Coleoptorists in general agree with Dr. Sharp in all his 

 determinations or not, it must bo allowed that he has made the only 

 serious attempt that has been made to grapple with one of the most 

 difficult groups in our coleopterous fauna. 



HALIPLID^. 



In the Entomologist's Monthly Magagine for July, 1911, p. 153, 

 Mr. F. Balfour Browne announces his discovery of a new British species 

 of the Halvplus ruficollis group, for which he proposes the name of 

 nomax, and promises to describe it in a following paper on the group, 



