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THE BRITISH NATURALIST. !" September 



last three joints of which form a distinct club. The beetle is oblong 

 oval in shape, nearly double as long as broad, of deep black and shiny; 

 thorax dull, except in centre, and thickly punctured all over ; elytra 

 parallel-sided for two-thirds of their length, then rounded to apex, 

 concave margin not broad, interstices rugosely punctured. Length 

 10 — 15 mm. 5. atrata is generally distributed over the British Isles, 

 but is commoner in inland places. It can be taken freely by ditch 

 sides, in May and June, in vegetable refuse, under bark of willows, 

 &c, at roots of trees, in moss, rotten wood, and sometimes at carcases. 

 We have no authentic record of its capture in Ireland, the whole of 

 the Irish specimens which have come under our notice being un- 

 doubtedly subvotundata. 



Var. brunnea resembles the type-form in structure and general 

 appearance, but the average specimens are smaller and more oblong 

 in shape, the colour being reddish-brown instead of black. It is said 

 to occur chiefly in high districts, but is also found in company with 

 5. atrata in other places. It is much commoner in Orkney than the 

 type-form ; the specimens exhibited being from that locality. Canon 

 Fowler is inclined to consider var. brunnea as an immature or not quite 

 developed form of atrata (" Entomologist's Monthly Magazine," Vol. IV., 

 p. 144), and, judging from the South of England specimens, which are 

 all more or less translucent, this may possibly be so : but the Orkney 

 insects are well developed and show rather a deficiency of colouring 

 matter than any signs of immaturity. Mr. W. E. Sharp obtains the 

 beetle in Wales, but not specially at high elevations. Mr. A. J. Chitty 

 captured one in the New Forest, and another at Leatherhead. Also 

 taken by Mr. Hall at Watford ; and under willow bark at Kingston- 

 on-Thames (G.A.L.). 



Var. subvotundata as a rule is larger than 5. atrata, although 

 very fine specimens of the latter, quite equal in size to subvotundata, 

 are occasionally met with. The beetle is broader in proportion 

 to its length, giving it a rounder appearance ; instead of its being 

 uniformly punctured all over, the disc of the thorax is less thickly 

 punctured than the margins ; the elytra are broadest at about the 

 middle, instead of being parallel-sided, and the concave margin is very 

 strongly and broadly developed at the shoulders, and is continued 

 more nearly to the apex than in S. atrata. It is generally stated that 

 the central raised line on the elytra is the longest, but from a close 

 examination of a great number of specimens (about 70 of which are 

 exhibited) we do not find this to be the case, so that this characteristic 

 cannot be relied on as a distinguishing feature. The colour varies 

 from a reddish-brown to deep black. Length 1 1 — 15 mm. :;c The beetle 



* The largest exhibited specimen of 5. atrata measured as near 15 mm. 



as possible. — G.A.L. 



