1950] 
Werner — Nearctic Meloidae 
133 
about a mile from Presidio, in the valley flat of the Rio Grande, on 
flowers and leaves of a yellow-flowered composite, Viguiera steno- 
loba. 
Lytta mirifica sp. n. 
Figures 1,3 
This is one of the most striking new species of Lytta to turn up 
in the United States since the revision of the genus by Fall. The type 
locality, Anthony, N.M., is in the Rio Grande valley, about ten miles 
north of El Paso, Texas. The species probably ranges over at least 
the adjacent area of Mexico but cannot be very widespread in the 
United States or it would certainly have been collected before. 
Length: 16 to 25 mm. Stout, black, with brick-red pronotum. 
Almost glabrous above, with some short, erect black pubescence 
below. Elytra coarsely reticulate, as in reticulata Say. Intermediate 
segments of $ antennae somewhat lengthened and thickened. In 
Fall’s key 2 this species would go to Group I, near ulhei Horn. How- 
ever, it is unique in our fauna in combination of color pattern and 
elytral reticulation. 
Head subquadrate, 9/ 10 as long from vertex to clypeus as wide 
just behind the eyes, with scattered coarse punctures, fine punc- 
tulation and deep microreticulation, appearing roughened but some- 
what shiny. Median impressed line distinct above, becoming weak 
or obsolete toward the clypeus. Eyes half as wide as high as seen 
from the side. Clypeus and lab rum sculptured like head but with 
denser pubescence ; labrum feebly emarginate. 
$ antennae (fig. 1) half as long as body from vertex to tip of 
elytra, reaching basal fourth of the elytra. Intermediate segments 
elongate-moniliform, longer and stouter than in the $ , particularly 
IV to VI. Segment I stout, reaching l/4 across the eye; II short, 
3/8 as long as I, strongly constricted at base, particularly extern- 
ally; III 5/6 as long as I, normal; IV l/5 longer than II, slightly 
swollen; V equal to IV or slightly longer, slightly thicker; VI to X 
decreasing slightly in length and thickness; XI l/lO longer than 
I and slightly thicker than X. 
$ with first antennal segment stout, twice as long as broad and 
reaching l/4> across eye; II short, 3/8 as long as I and constricted 
as in $ ; III 3/4 as long as I and 4 >/ 5 as thick ; IV 9/ 10 as long as I ; 
V to VII decreasing in length; VII to X approximately equal, l/3 
as long as I ; III to XI gradually increasing in thickness, X being 
2 Fall, H. C., 1901, Trans Am. Ent. Soc. 27:295. 
