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



they do not appear to him to differ from his H. mgritula. But 

 the former of these insects is described as having the antennae 

 entirely pale, whilst in //. puOescens the antennae are given as 

 " n'is.rce, basi testacece." Again, in the H. boletobia, the antennae 

 are described by Thomson as " mgro-fusc<x, basi testacece^^ whilst 

 the same author uses the term '^ flams'' to indicate the colour of 

 the antennee in his H. mgritula. 



It seems then clear that Dr. Kraatz does not consider the insect 

 with the dark antennae as distinct from that in which the same 

 organs are entirely pale. 



By Thomson both species are made to form part of a small 

 section partly characterized by a quadri-denticulate penultimate 

 abdominal segment in the males ; and from his description of 

 H. nigritula we learn that that species has the middle pair of 

 teeth widely separated by a semicular emargination. This cannot 

 apply to the very gentle curve seen between the corresponding 

 teeth in H. nigritula of Kraatz, but very nearly corresponds with 

 the conditions presented by our //. liturata. In this insect the 

 truncated end of the upper plate of the penultimate abdominal 

 segment exhibits a deep, and very nearly horseshoe-shaped, mesial 

 emargination, and an obtusely bidentate lobe on either side ; the 

 width of each lobe being very nearly equal to that of the central 

 notch. 



Neither Gravenhorst, Gyllenhal nor Heer describe the male 

 characters of the insect which stands in their works under the 

 specific name " nigritula," nor does Heer furnish us with the male 

 peculiarities of his H. erytlirocera and H. pubescens ; hence I am 

 unable quite to satisfy myself with regard to the identificiition of 

 those species, but I think it probable that the synonymy should 

 stand thus : — 



1. Homalota nigritula, Heer, Faun. Col. Helv. i, 331, 28 (1839). 



, Thorns. Ofv. af Vet. Ac. Forh. (1852), 141, 



37. 



J Kraatz, Ins. Deutschl, p. 276, 84 (in parte) 



(1858.) 

 Atlieta nigritula, Thorns. Skand. Coleopt. iii. 80, 28 (1861). 

 Aleochara nigritula, Grav. Micr. 84, 25 (1802). 



, Gyll. Ins. Suec. ii. 408, 29 (1810). 



-, Steph. Ilkistr. Mand. v. 142, 102 (1832). 



liturata, (Kirby) Steph. llhistr. Mand. v. 142, 104. 



Homalota , Waterh. Catal. of Brit. Col. p. 18, No. 59. 



— erytlirocera, Heer, Faun. Col. Helv. i. 329, 19. 



