1884.] COLLECTED ON THE LOWER NIGER. 459 



would give the results to this Society, I now do myself the honour 

 to present the same. 



The collection consists of examples of twelve species, eleven of 

 which belong to the Heteroptera and one to the Homoptera. Of the 

 first, two species appear to be undescribed, and for the reception of 

 one I have been compelled to propose a new genus. With these 

 two exceptions all are well-known species described by old authors, 

 no less than five having been described by Fabricius ; whilst the 

 names of Linnaeus, Thunberg, and Klug attached to remaining 

 species sufficiently testify that we are dealing with insects of well- 

 known and abundant character. 



The peculiarities of their geographical distribution I have appended 

 to the identifications of the species. 



HETEROPTERA. 



Fam. Pentatomid*. 



1. Steganocerus multipunctatus, Thunb., var. C, St&l, Hem. 

 Afr. i. p. 51 (1864). 



This appears to be the only variety of this protean species found 

 in West Africa, and is the first example I have myself seen from 

 that subregion, though Dr. Stal recorded it (on the authority of 

 specimens so labelled in Dr. Signoret's collection) as from Calabar. 

 It is not, however, confined to West Africa, but, like the other 

 varieties of the species, is widely distributed. In my own collection 

 are specimens collected in various parts of Southern Africa, and 

 also from the Nyassa and Mombas districts in the east. 



2. Sph.erocoris ocellatus, Klug. 



This, again, is the first example of the species I have received from 

 West Africa, though it is found in Caffraria (Stll), is not uncommon 

 in Eastern Africa (my own habitats being Nyassa and Mywapwa), 

 and is also recorded from Abyssinia. 



3. Cimex (Afritjs) purpureds, Westw. 



Var. marginella, Dall. List Hem. i. p. 89, n. 3 (1851). 



This variety was first described by Mr. Dallas from Sierra Leone. 

 The specimen collected by Mr. Forbes is the only other example 

 I have received from West Africa, to which the species seems confined, 

 though it apparently does not reach the southern and eastern limit 

 of Calabar. 



4. Sephela linearis, A. & S. 



A West-African species, described originally from Senegal, but 

 which I have also received from the Cameroon district. 



Agabotus, gen. nov. 



Body oval, somewhat depressed. Head with the lateral margins 

 ampliated, laminate and somewhat curved upwards, the lateral lobes 

 longer than the central lobe, meeting beyond it, their apices 

 rounded, but sinuately cleft; ocelli situate some distance from and 



