2*2 
-NOTES ON THE AMAR.E^ 
' Sp. 2. Amara lata^ Sturm. 
Spi, — A: ingenua^ Duftschmid. — A: /ato, Steph. Mand. l.p. 128. 
Sp. Char. —Deep brassy black ; hd. impunctate, with a very obsolete impres¬ 
sion on each side between the eyes; thx. smooth, with a slight dorsal 
channel, and on each side at the base with two sub-punctate impressions, 
of which the inner one is the largest, and somewhat remote from the base ; 
elyt. delicately striated, the strise impunctate, with a continuous series 
of impressions on the margin; legs black, with rufous cil. and tarsi; ant. 
with the basal joints, and base of the fourth rufeseent, the rest black; pal. 
pitchy; length 4—5 lines. 
Var, a. — A. eurgnota^ Illiger. —Destitute of the impressions before the eyes. 
Common in the vicinity of Warrington, also taken near London, Bottisham, 
Southend, and at Kimpton, near Andover. I have examined a number of speci¬ 
mens of lata and eurynota^ and feel confident, from reasons similar to those given 
at the commencement, that the latter is merely a variety of A, lata. 
Sp. 3. Amara similata^ Stephens. 
Syn.—Harpalus similatus., Gyllenhal; A similata., Steph. Mand.^ 1. p. 128. 
Sp. Char. —Smaller and more oblong than the preceding; head impunctate; 
thx. with two small scarcely punctate foveee on each side at the base, the 
inner deepest; elyt. striated, the three basal joints rufous. Length 4— 
41 lines. 
Bare about Warrington, but, according to Stephens, more frequent near London, 
Bottisham, Kimpton, &c. 
Sp. 4. Amara Linnmi^ Rylands. 
Syn:—Carabus vidgaris^ Linn. Syst. Nat.; — Berkenhout Syn.; Mart; 
Col. pi. 37 ; A. obsoleta., Sturm ; A. vulgaris., Stevb.. Mand. l.p. 128; A. 
Linncei., Ryl. MSS. 
Sp. Oar .-—Bright coppery; head with an obsolete foveola on each side 
between the eyes; thx. rather convex, with two deep scarcely punctate 
fove^ on each side at the base, the inner one oblong, and deepest, the 
outer oblique : elyt. striated,' the striae obsoletely punctulate; legs black, 
with ferruginous cil. and claws; ant. with the basal joint ferruginous, 
or pitchy. Length 3| lines. 
It is a law of nomenclature, which is supported by most naturalists, * that 
no animal should derive its specific name from the rarity or commonness of the 
species; the reason for this is obvious; many animals which are frequent in one 
country or district, are rare in another, and vice versa. An example of this is 
* It is a rule, we fear, advocated rather in theory than in pr^ce.— Ed. 
