XXI. 
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 
io—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 subrotundata. 
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 
S. 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. subrotundata as a rule is larger than S. atrata , although 
very fine specimens of the latter, quite equal in size to subrotundata , 
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 wdiich 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 11—15 mm.* The beetle 
* The largest exhibited specimen of S. atrata measured as near 15 mm. 
as possible.—G.A.L. 
