Entomological Society. 



8351 



Oxytelus piceus, Erichson, Quedius umbrinus, Erichson, Haplocnemus nigri- 

 cornis, Fab., and Lathridius rugosus, Herbst, and communicated the following notes 

 relating to them : — 



"With regard to the Oxytelus I have to state that the species was introduced into 

 my Catalogue from the determination of a single male specimen taken by myself, but 

 of which I did not know the exact locality. Recently, however, T have discovered a 

 second specimen (a female) amongst some Staphylinidae which were procured by me 

 from cow-dung in the well-known field immediately opposite the inn at Birchwood 

 Comer, on the 1st of July, 1859. O. piceus most closely resembles O. laqueatus, but 

 may be distinguished by the comparatively large size of the eye, by there being only a 

 single groove on the back part of the head above (instead of three grooves, as in O. 

 laqueatus), and by the head being less concave in front. In the male of O. laqueatus 

 the longitudinal diameter of the head behind the eye is greater than that of the eye, 

 whereas in O. piceus the eye presents the greater diameter. In the female of the last- 

 mentioned insect, from the large size of the eye, and the great prominence of that 

 organ, the head nearly resembles that of O. sculptus, but that insect is readily distin- 

 guished from O. piceus by its comparatively long antenna? and by certain peculiarities 

 of structure. In O. piceus the fifth is the first of the dilated pubescent joints, and presents 

 a peculiar modification of the peduncle : at first small and slender, to join the pre- 

 ceding joint it is suddenly dilated above the base into a shallow cup-like process, to 

 which a nearly hemispherical apical part of the joint is attached ; this latter part is 

 rough and pubescent, whilst the peduncular part is smooth. In the following joints 

 the peduncle is dilated above the base into a circular flat (or nearly flat) plate, attached 

 to which is the body of the joint. In O. sculptus the peduncle of the fourth joint is 

 dilated into a round, slightly concave (and in the following joints flat) plate; and the 

 dilated pubescent joints may here be said to commence from the fourth instead of the 

 fifth joint. This structure corresponds very closely with that which will be found in 

 O. rugosus and O. insectatus, whilst all the remaining British species of Oxytelus cor- 

 respond very closely in the structure of their antennae with O. piceus. 



"Of Quedius umbrinus I have long possessed a British specimen, but had never 

 determined it until recently, when a second specimen was sent me to be named by Mr. 

 Morris Young of Paisley. It most nearly resembles the dark (pitchy black) varieties 

 of Quedius mauro-rufus, but may be distinguished by its less thickly and more strongly 

 punctured elytra. The antennae are rather stouter and the joints longer, and the head 

 is somewhat broader than in Q. mauro-rufus. 



" Haplocnemus nigricomis. Dr. Power long since called my attention to the fact 

 that we possessed two species of Haplocnemus in England, and I subsequently obtained 

 a second species from Charles Turner, who took it in the New Forest. It differs from 

 our well-known H. impressus of Marsham in being a trifle smaller, in the general 

 colouring of the upper parts (instead of being of a brassy bronze hue being more 

 inclined to green, or, in parts to blue), and in the tibiae, tarsi and apex of the 

 femora being entirely of a palish testaceous colour. The three basal joints of the an- 

 tennae, moreover, are chiefly testaceous, the first and third joints being but slightly- 

 tinted with aeneous. The thorax is rather narrower and longer, more contracted in front 

 and less thickly and less strongly punctured; the reflected lateral margin is rather 

 broader, and is rufescent, as is likewise the lateral margin of the elytra on the under 

 sides, and these parts are less distinctly crenulate. Lastly, the punctures of the elytra 



