260 MB. M. JACOBY ON PHYTOPHAGOUS COLEOPTEBA [Mar. 6, 



base, the mucronate tibiae, and the closed anterior cavities are the 

 principal characters by which the genus may be known. 



Estcourtiaxa, gen. nov. 



Oblong, glabrous ; the antennae short, the joints submoniliform ; 

 thorax subquadrate, without depressions ; elytra irregularly punc- 

 tured, their epipleurae continued below the middle ; all the tibiae 

 with a spine at the apex ; the first joint of the tarsi as long as the 

 following two joints together ; claws appendiculate ; prosternutu 

 nearly invisible, the anterior coxal cavities closed. 



Amongst the genera with closed anterior cavities, the present 

 one seems most nearly allied to Ere/ana Chap., but the antenna in 

 that genus are filiform and the thorax much more transversely 

 shaped. The only species of the genus here described, known to me, 

 is a small insect of nearly subcylindrical shape which I have 

 received from Natal and Mashonaland. 



ESTCOURTIATVA BIFASCIATA, Sp. 11. 



Below black, above testaceous, the head partly black; thorax 

 minutely punctured, with a central black band and a lateral spot ; 

 elytra nearly impunctate, each elytron with a broad longitudinal 

 black band nearly extending to the apex. 



Tar. a. The elytral bands replaced by an anterior and posterior 

 spot ; head fulvous. 



Var. b. Elytra without any markings. 



Length 3 millim. 



Head impunctate, black, obliquely grooved above the eyes, the 

 frontal elevations obsolete, oblique ; clypeus flavous, rather broad ; 

 palpi rather robust, the apical joint conical ; antennae very short, 

 the lower five or six joints flavous, the others fuscous, the 

 third joint about one-half longer than the second, the following 

 joints widened, all very short ; thorax one-half broader than long, 

 the sides feebly rounded, the angles acute, the surface very finely 

 and subremotely punctured, with a rather deep fovea near the 

 anterior angles ; elytra much wider at the base than the thorax, 

 with some extremely fine punctures near the suture, the rest 

 nearly impunctate, testaceous, a broad black band extends from 

 the middle of the base nearly to the apex ; the underside and the 

 femora black, the tibiae and tarsi flavous. 



Hah. Estcourt, Natal, Salisbury, Mashonaland, obtained by 

 sweeping (G. Marshall). 



The specimens from Natal all belong to the varieties and it may 

 just be possible that they represent a closely allied species, but I 

 cannot find any differences of importance except those of coloration ; 

 the thorax is a trifle more transverse in shape and the extreme sutural 

 margin is likewise black : in the variety a the elytra have an elon- 

 gate black spot anteriorly and a rounded one below the middle, 

 thus indicating the direction of the band ; in the variety b all 

 markings except those of the thorax are absent, these latter 



