PLAGIO DERA. 



61 



suture; the marginal band is often slightly convex and delineated 

 on the inner side by a row of punctures. The underside is very 

 often smooth and shilling and different in colour from the upper 

 side, but sometimes the two sides may be concolorous. Anterior 

 coxal cavities open. Epipleuron of the elytra broad, more or 

 less horizontal, broader at the base and narrowing towards the 

 apex. The claw-segment of the tarsus projects much beyond the 

 bilobed segment, the claws being simple ; in the bilobed segment 

 the lobes are separate, not fused (see p. 4). 



Range. Throughout the world, but more species have been 

 recorded from North, Central and South America (especially the 

 two latter regions) than from anywhere else. 



Key to the, Species. 



1. Each elytron with a broad, bifurcating, 



usually metallic green, band and a 



sutural stripe of the same colour P. divisa, Jac, p. 66. 



Elytra with no such band or sutural 

 stripe 2. 



2. Body oblong or oblong-ovate 3. 



Body rounded and more convex 4. 



3. Colour entirely brown, the elytra having a [p. 62. 



metallic greenish shimmer. P. maryinipennis, Jac, 



Colour of elytra greenish-bronze, rest of [p. 63. 



the body dark brown or its paler shades. P. minialicollis, Hope, 



4. Disc of elytron with alternating metallic [p. 64. 



bands of green and purple P. micantipennis, Stal, 



Disc of elytron with no such alternating 

 bands 5* 



5. Ground-colour reddish-brown, disc of 



elytron with bronzy reflections P. rufescens, Gyll., p. 64. 



Ground-colour blue or green, underside [p. 61. 



blue-black P. versicolora, Laich., 



P. transversa (01.) is not included in the key for reasons 

 explained on p. 67. 



37. Plagiodera versicolora, Laicharting. 



CJirysomela versicolora, Laichart., Verz. Tirol. Ins. i, 1781, p. 148. 

 Plagiodera versicolora, Baly, Cist. Ent. ii, Sept. 1878, p. 375.* 



Body ovate. Colour of upper side metallic greenish-blue, under- 

 side blue-black ; the greenish-blue colour varies considerably in 

 shade, in some examples it may have a distinct violaceous tinge. 

 The five basal segments of the antennae yellow-brown, the rest 

 blackish. 



Head broad with vertex slightly depressed and surface 

 smooth and finely punctate ; eyes prominent. Antennas passing 

 a little distance beyond the base of the pronotum ; first segment 



* For other references to bibliography see Weise, ' Coleopterorum Catalogue,' 

 part 68, Berlin, 1916, pp. 136, 137. This species has a wide distribution in 

 Europe, North Africa and Asia, and hence have originated a number of 

 synonyms and a large amount of literature. 



