Ophonus is so nearly allied to the type of the genus Har- 
palus (C. nificornis, Linn.), in texture and sculpture, as well as 
in the structure of the mouth, that it is difficult to determine 
whether these two groups ought to be separated, or whether 
by withdrawing H. ruficornis, and adding it to the Ophoni, 
that Harp alus would form a more distinct genus : w y e hope, 
however, when we arrive at the illustration of the Harpali , to 
be able to speak with more confidence upon the subject. The 
above two genera, with three or four others, are distinguished 
by the dilated tarsi of the intermediate, as well as the anterior 
pair of feet in the males ; but the only differences in the trophi 
in Ophonus and Harpalus appear to be in the robust and atte- 
nuated terminal joint of the internal, and the more ovate ter- 
minal joint of the external maxillary palpi, and the slighter 
emargination of the mentum in the former genus. 
The following is a table of our British species, and we have 
two or three others that may be esteemed distinct by some of 
the writers of the present day. 
1. O. obscurus F . — Sturm 92 a. — purpuro cseruleus Marsh. 
Under stones in March and April, and on Hackney 
Marshes during floods. 
2. sabulicola F.— Sturm 92. h. — Panz. SO. 4. — azureus 
Oliv. 3. t. 12. f. 135. June; near Halesworth, Suf- 
folk, upon a bank. 
3. Germanus L, — Panz. 16. 4. — Nob. June: Kings- 
bridge, Devon, and near Bristol. Dr. Leach. 
4. azureus III.— chlorophanus Panz. 73. 3. August and 
September ; Newmarket Heath : under stones near 
St. Lawrence, Isle of Wight ; and Leith Hill near 
Dorking. Mr. Chant. 
5. nitidulus Schr. Ins. Aust. 213. 401. From Norfolk. 
6. rupicola Reich. — Sturm, pi. 94. — subcordatus Dej. 
From Norfolk. 
7. puncticollis PayJc. Gyll.- — Sturm ? 94. a. — foraminu- 
losus Marsh. Common in Norfolk. 
8. cribellum Leach MSS. August : Dover. September ; 
Isle of Wight. 
9. angustatus Nob. A much narrower and blacker 
insect than the last, and is at once distinguished by 
its having a very obscure channel only in the centre 
of the thorax. 
For specimens of the plant, Rumex pratensis of Merten s and 
Koch, we are indebted to John Lindley, Esq., who gathered 
them near Chiswick. 
