138 



i 



having a slight elevation on the sixth abdominal segment must present an abnormal 

 condition of the part. I have seen no such rising in the specimens which have come 

 under my notice. 



" The Homalota anthracina of Fairmaire is referred by Dr. Kraatz and by its original 

 describer to the present species, but with doubt; and certainly the description (espe- 

 cially the one published in the ' Faune Francaise ') in many respects agrees with the 

 H. puncticeps, but the form of the thorax (which is said to be ' presque aussi large que 

 les elytres,' and ' tres arrondis sur les cotes ') would appear to be different. H. atri- 

 cilla of Erichson has been ideillified with the present species. The description, as far 

 as the colouring is concerned, might have been taken from a very immature specimen 

 of ihe insect, but, in other respects, is for the most part so utterly at variance with the 

 actual characters of the species that I cannot but believe that there is an error in the 

 identification — that perhaps the so-called type-specimen has been transposed and 

 •wrongly labelled. 



" The second species is well described by Thomson, under the name Halobrectha 

 flavipes, in his ' Skandinaviens Coleoptera,' iii. 50, 2. I shall content myself with 

 pointing out its distinguishing characters as compared with H. puncticeps. Its general 

 colouring is less dark, being pitchy black ; tlie elytra more inclining to piceous, and 

 the abdomen black. The legs, antenufe, palpi and parts of the mouth testaceous ; the 

 terminal joint of the palpi, the apical half of the antennae, and the femora and tibiae, 

 however, more or less tinted with fuscous. The antennas are rather stouter. The 

 heal, thorax and elytra are less densely punctured, and hence less dull ; the elytra are 

 but little longer than the thorax, and the posterior tarsi are considerably move elongate. 

 The apex of the abdomen is more or less rufescent. This species I formerly regarded 

 as the H. puncticeps of Kraatz, and it stands under that name in my ' Catalogue.' 



" Unless enioinologists consent to adopt the minor subdivisions of the great genus 

 Homalota proposed by Mr. Thomson it will be necessary to substitute some other spe- 

 cific name for the present insect, as there already exists one species of the genus bearing 

 the name flavipes. I propose for it the name of marilima. 



" H. angusticollis. Thorns. In the last edition of Schaum's Catalogue (1862), this 

 insect appears as a distinct species in the third column of p. 24, but further on (first 

 column of p. 25) the name reappears, and in this case is linked with that of H. ravilla, 

 Erichs. I have a specimen before me of the last-named insect, sent by Dr. Kraatz to 

 the British Museum, and likewise a specimen of H. angusticollis, received by 

 Mr. Crotch from Thomson. With this material, it would appear that I was in a 

 favourable position for determining whether the insects are identical or not. Both 

 insects appear to me to be males. Thomson's specimen has the penultimate abdominal 

 segment gently (but still evidently) emarginate, as the describer points out to be the 

 case in the male of his species ; and further this insect agrees perfectly with the two 

 British specimens which I exhibit to the Society, excepting that in these latter the 

 penultimate abdominal segment is more acuminate at the apex, and is truncated. 

 These two specimens then, as I take it, furnish the opposite sex of H. angusticollis. They 

 have the same structure of antennee, with the terminal joint of moderate length ; that 

 is, as Thomson says, half as long again as the preceding joint. On the other hand, 

 Erichson describes the terminal joint of the antennae of H. ravilla, ' magno, ovato, 

 precedente triplo fere longiore,' and such is the case in the insect received from 

 Dr. Kraatz. This latter author, however, states that the terminal joint is equal in 

 length to the two preceding joints taken together, so that I am left in uncertainty as 



