478 Mr. G. R. Waterhouse's Notes on 



line, unifed as it is with the two tubercles, forms a figure which, 

 when the insect is placed so that the apex of the abdomen points 

 to the right, rudely represents the figure 3. In the male Iloma- 

 lota subterranea, the corresponding segment presents a structure 

 analogous to that just described, but here the middle portion is 

 not produced beyond the lateral spines, and the two tubercles are 

 wanting. 



In comparing the foregoing description with that given by Dr. 

 Kraatz of Humalola dUaticornis, certain points of disagreement will 

 be noticed. In the first place the general colouring of the insect 

 would appear to be somewhat darker than that indicated by Dr. 

 Kraatz by the term " rufo-testacea;" but the several specimens 

 taken by Dr. Power differ considerably in colouring, one being of 

 a pale testaceous tint, with the head, and a broad band on the 

 abdomen, black : I have taken a medium condition for my de- 

 scription. Secondly, no mention is made by Dr. Kraatz of any 

 tubercles on the upper surface of the penultimate abdominal seg- 

 ment of the male : it is possible however the segment was partly 

 hidden in his specimens. Thirdly, the elytra are given by the 

 author mentioned as about half as long again as the thorax ; this 

 would make those organs rather more ample than in the insect 

 described by me. 



Several specimens of this species have been taken near Mickle- 

 ham by Dr. Power, at different times, in the vicinity of the 

 nests (or rather of the runs) of the great black ant (^Formica 

 fuliginosa). 



Homalota nigritula. 

 We have in England two nearly allied species of Homalota 

 standing in my Catalogue as H. nigritula and H. liturata. The 

 former agrees very closely with the description of H, nigritula, as 

 given by Dr. Kraatz, with this exception — that the antennae are 

 dusky, and have only the two basal joints more or less testaceous, 

 whereas in the Latin diagnosis in the " Insecten Deutschlands," 

 the antennas are described as " luteo-testaceis" and, in the detail 

 description, as "mehr oder minder gelblich braun, an der Basis 

 heller." This latter phrase indicates that in the colouring of the 

 antennae a certain amount of variation was found, yet it was with 

 some hesitation that I ventured to attach the name nigritula to 

 my insect, more especially as the older descriptions of Gravenhorst 

 and Gyllenhal agreed in attributing uniformly pale antennae to the 

 A-leoch. niffviiula of their works. 



