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DESCRIPTIONS of TWO NEW SPECIES of PHYTOPHAGOUS 



COLEOPTERA FROM THE EAST. 



By Martin Jacoby, F.E.S. 



CHRYSOMELA BELLA, 11. Sp. 



More or less elongate, metallic cupreous, varied with blue or green ; 

 thorax deeply punctured near the lateral margin, the latter scarcely 

 thickened, the basal margin, a narrow middle line and lateral spot, blue ; 

 elytra finely punctured, the suture and a band at the sides, violaceous blue. 

 Length, 2£ — 4 lines. 



Of rather elongate shape and resembling Orina speciosissima, but 

 without the deep lateral thoracic depression of that species; the head 

 sparingly and very finely punctured, with a central narrow groove, cupreous 

 or metallic greenish, the base with a larger or smaller violaceous spot ; palpi 

 nearly black, the third and fourth joints equal, the last one truncate ; 

 antennae extending a little beyond the base of the elytra, metallic dark 

 violaceous, the lower six or seven joints shining, the rest opaque, pubescent, 

 the third joint elongate, the others short, nearly equal, the terminal joints 

 gradually thickened ; thorax transverse, rather more than twice as broad as 

 long, the sides nearly straight or very little rounded, the anterior margins 

 straight at the middle, produced into a blunt j)oint at the angles, the sides 

 but slightly thickened with some irregularly distributed deep punctures, the 

 rest of the surface finely (sometimes scarcely perceptibly) and closely 

 punctured, metallic cupreous, a large spot at each side near the basal 

 margin, the latter itself and a narrow central line, metallic violaceous ; 

 scutellum bluish ; elytra finely punctured, the punctures arranged in rather 

 close and irregular rows, which become indistinct towards the apex; the 

 sutural margin narrowly and a broad sublateral stripe from the base to the 

 apex, violaceous, the intermediate spaces, reddish cupreous ; under side 

 metallic green or blue, the breast and the margins of the abdominal 

 segments, as well as the femora, more or less cupreous ; the first joint of the 

 anterior tarsi longer than the second one, all closely pubescent below ; the 

 male organ strongly curved, shallowly hollowed, the apex deeply excavated, 

 the extremity slightly truncate. 



Hab. Ichang, China (Pratt). 



According to Mr. J. Weise, this species, of which many 

 specimens were obtained, is the representative of a new genus, 

 allied to Melasoma ; in my opinion, however, the differences in 

 the structural characters in the present insect are not sufficient 

 to justify a separation from Chrysomela, the numerous species of 

 which differ frequently to a similar degree. 



Sepharia, Fairm. 

 I refer to this genus of Galerucidse, described by Fairniaire 

 in the ' French Annals,' 1889, an insect from Kaschmir, which 

 seems to possess all the structural characters, as pointed out by 

 M. Fairmaire. This author has, however, not mentioned the 

 shape of the thorax, nor the length of the tarsi. I, therefore, 

 acid here that the thorax in the present species is transverse, more 

 than twice as broad as long, and its disc obsoletely transversely 

 depressed ; the tibiae are all armed with a distinct spine, and the 

 first joint of the posterior tarsi is nearly half the length of the 



