April-June, 1920 Bulletin Brooklyn Entomological Society 35 



This very interesting species if absolutely denuded might pos- 

 sibly be taken for a very much elongated P. aeneus Lee, but when 

 perfect is seen to stand well apart from any other member of the 

 genus. The white fasciae in this species are made up entirely of 

 pubescence, the underlying portion of the elytra being black as 

 elsewhere. 



Phymatodes nigerrimus n. sp. 



Entirely black, slightly shining, prot'horax and elytra clothed with a 

 short, dense, suberect black pile, elsewhere sparsely hairy. Head rather 

 coarsely, closely punctate, antennae fully three fourths length of body. 

 Prothorax slightly broader than long, narrower than base of elytra, sides 

 evenly rounded, coarsely, densely and evenly punctate over entire surface 

 except narrow median space running from base to middle which is smooth. 

 Scutellum small but distinctly punctured. Elytra twice as long as broad, 

 sides quite parallel, rounded at apex, disc rather finely, not closely but 

 evenly punctate and subscabrous. Beneath rather coarsely, closely punctate 

 in front, finely and sparsely over abdomen, more shining than above, the 

 legs with femora less distinctly clubbed than usual. Length 8 mm., 

 breadth 3 mm. 



Type, in my collection, collected by myself at Carrville, Trinity 

 County, Cal, June 16, 191 3, three other specimens in Hopping 

 collection. 



This intensely black species cannot be confused with any of 

 the other species of the genus. At first, I thought that it might 

 possibly be a non-fasciate unicolorous black phase of vulneratus, 

 seeing that it was captured with a number of these. It is, how- 

 ever, easily separated from this species by its type of vestiture, 

 especially lacking the longer vestiture of the prothorax, by having 

 a denser and more uniform punctuation, and by having less dis- 

 tinctly clavate thighs. From Callidium vile Lee, with which it 

 might possibly be confused, it differs by being about twice as 

 large, by having proportionally longer antennae, the antennae of 

 the latter in both sexes just about reaching to the middle of the 

 elytra, and by having black pile in place of gray. 



Phymatodes decussatus Lee. 



This species is decidedly variable. Large series bred from the 

 California valley white oak, Quercus lobata Nee, have yielded 

 not only the phase with the prothorax and base of elytra rufous 



