Homalota nigrituta, Sfc. 479 



Now the Bolilochara lilurata of Stephens {Homalota id. of my 

 Cat.) has the antennae entirely pale, and in other respects seems 

 to agree well with the descriptions given by the two authors last 

 mentioned. But this insect, in the male sex, presents some well- 

 marked characters in the penultimate abdominal segment, a part 

 which was overlooked by Gravenhorst and Gyllenhal. Kraatz, 

 however, describes the abdominal segment (in H. nigritula) in the 

 following terms: — "beim Mannchen ist der Hinterrand der oberen 

 Platte des vorletzten Hinterleibssegmentes mit zwei, etwas weiter 

 von einander als vom Seitenrande abstehenden, etwas vorsprin- 

 genden, erhabenen Hockerchen versehen und zwischen denselben 

 sehr leiclit ausgebuchtet." This description could not have been 

 taken from the male H. liturata, but belongs to the male of my 

 insect first noticed, and with the dark antennae : here I find the 

 abdominal plate furnished at the apex with two small jirominences, 

 rounded and incrassated at the extremity, rather more widely 

 separated from each other than from the lateral margin, and with 

 a very gentle emargination between them : external to these again 

 on either side is a small notch, leaving the apical outer angle 

 prominent, but obtuse ; so that the plate may be described as 

 having four small obtuse teeth at its extremity, these all termi- 

 nating in the same transverse line : from the outer tooth a short 

 ridge runs directly backwards on to the segment on either side. 

 English specimens named by Dr. Kraatz, in my own collection 

 and that of Mr. Wollaston, presented these peculiarities, including 

 the dark antennae. The insect is common with us, widely distri- 

 buted, and found in fungi. I knew no species presenting the male 

 characters just described, and which at the same time had the 

 antennae entirely pale (nor do I up to this moiment, either by de- 

 scription or otherwise), and I adopted this, then, as the H. nigri- 

 tula. Four specimens subsequently sent by Dr. Kraatz to the 

 British Museum as his H, nigritula, I find all have the antennae 

 dusky — they in fact agree with the H. nigritula of my Catalogue. 



In the last edition of Schaum's Catalogue (1861), two species 

 are found under the name //. nigritula, one being regarded as the 

 H. nigritula of Gravenhorst, with which are identified the H. 

 erythrocera and H. pubescens of Heer, as well as the H. boletobia 

 of Thomson. The other is regarded as the H. nigritula of Gyl- 

 lenhal and Thomson. 1 know not upon what grounds these con- 

 clusions are arrived at. As regards the 77. erythrocera and H. 

 pubescens of Heer, Dr. Kraatz states (after having examined 

 specimens of the two species forwarded to him by Heer), that 



