SCUTELLEROIDEA OF IOWA 43 
pale yellow to reddish brown, finely rugulose and covered with fine, yel- 
lowish, decumbent hairs. Ostiolar canal long, somewhat sinuate, reaching 
almost to lateral margin of metasternum, distinctly raised above the level 
of the large rugulose place upon which it rests. Legs pale yellow or 
reddish yellow, the anterior femora unarmed in the male but in the female 
they are furnished with an oblique, bifid tooth on the under side similar 
to that in A. spinifrons; middle and posterior femora of male unarmed 
but in the female the posterior femora bear a long, slender spine; anter- 
ior tibiae of both sexes slightly compressed but not flattened as much as 
in A. spinifrons, furnished with five long, slender dark-colored spines on 
the outer side and with two or three at the apex; middle and posterior 
tibiae long, slender and with long spines. Length, 2.0-2.5 mm. Width 
across pronotum 1.0-1.5 mm. 
In general this form may be said to be a small edition of the 
preceding, the character of size being the most obvious differ- 
ence between them. In addition, the present species averages 
paler in color, somewhat less convex in form and more uniform 
in punctuation than A. spinifrons. 
In the many specimens of A. pusillus which I have had for 
examination from various parts of the country the females, with- 
out exception, bear a bifid tooth on the under side of the ante- 
rior femora although Uhler, in his original description (l. c.) 
says, “‘It lacks the femoral tooth which is so conspicuous in A. 
spinifrons.’’ Again (l. c.), 1877, he says, ‘‘No specimens have 
yet been seen to have the forked tooth on the anterior femora.’’ 
Im addition, the possession by the females of a large pointed 
spine on the posterior femora is noteworthy and that character 
also holds in all the examples of this sex examined by me. Fe- 
males of A. pallidus, the following species, have this latter char- 
acter developed to only a slight degree. 
Amnestus pusillus seems, in general, to be more common in 
the United States than A. spinifrons but I have only two Iowa 
specimens in my collection; one is from Iowa City, collected in 
June and a single specimen from Lake Okoboji was taken in 
‘July. The specimens were swept from vegetation in more or 
less sandy situations. Although extended search has been made 
in the earth and sand in presumably proper habitats our efforts 
have not met with much success. Professor Osborn recorded the 
species from Ames. 
