8262 



Insects. 



varieties under which it appears, I think "Proteus" is a very fit and 

 proper term to use. Under the name of Ptinella Proteus I will now 

 proceed to describe it. 



Ptinella Proteus, n. s. 



L. c. — T \ lin. Laete rufo-testacea, per totum corpus profunde- 

 punctata, longius pubescens ; capite magno, prominulo ; pronoto 

 capite latiori, antice dilatato, ad basim valde contracto, angulis 

 anticis productis, rotundatis, posticis acutis ; elytris oblongis, 

 apicibus rotundatis, pronoto vix latioribus, sed multo profundius 

 punctatis, longitudinem capitis atque pronoti fere adaequatis, 

 plus quam dimidium abdominis tegentibus ; abdomine longo, 

 obtuso, segmentis quinque apertis ; pedibus atque antennis pal- 

 lidis, robustis. 



Alata. Colori similis ab altero sexu tantum differt alis atque ocu- 



lis semper nigris. 

 Aptera, vel alis quam imperfectis ornata. In hoc sexu oculi saepe 



nigri, saepe testacei variant. 

 Haec species, maxima sui generis, permultum variat, alas nigras 

 nunc amplas, nunc parvas, aut pallidas plus minusve imperfec- 

 tas, vel omnino nullas habet ; interdum pronotum foveas aut 

 duas, aut quatuor, saepe etiam unam adhibeat ; atque oculi nunc 

 nigri, nunc testacei videantur. Nihilominus ab omnibus aliis 

 differt magnitudine majori, pube longiori, pronoto antice multo 

 validius dilatato, elytris oblongis, et P. Maria tantum excepta, 

 abdomine obtusissimo. 

 Bright rufo-testaceous, strongly punctured throughout, and clothed 

 with a rather long pubescence. Head large and prominent, somewhat 

 triangular ; thorax wider than the head, dilated anteriorly, and much 

 contracted towards the base ; the anterior angles produced and 

 rounded, the posterior angles acute ; elytra more strongly punctured, 

 and scarcely wider than the thorax, oblong, with the ends rounded, 

 about as long as the head and thorax united, covering more than one- 

 half of the abdomen; abdomen obtuse, with five segments uncovered; 

 legs and antennae robust, testaceous. 



With wings. This sex differs only from the other* in having the 

 wings and eyes always black. 



Without wings, or with rudimentary wings. In this sex the eyes 

 vary in colour from deep black to pale testaceous. 



This is a very variable species •, in some specimens the wings are 

 black, either large or small ; in others pale and merely rudimentary, 



