OCR Text |
Show 356 MR. M. JACOBY ON T H E [Mar. 7, margins of the ground-colour. In the type the elytral band is strongly narrowed near the middle and in the variety it is entirely divided into two spots. AMPHIMELA ORNATA Jac. Aberration. Thorax and elytra yellowish white, the latter with the suture, a spot on the shoulder, another at the apex, a short transverse band at the middle, and a very small spot near the scutellum black; antennas and legs pale testaceous, the posterior femora black. Hab. Isipingo, Natal (67. Marshall). This variety or aberration I must refer to the species previously described by me, but the elytral bands have been reduced to spots ; the latter exactly indicate the position of the bands in the type, the sculpturing and everything else is the same. ALLOMORPHA AFRICANA, sp. n. Below fuscous or piceous, the head and thorax pale fulvous, finely wrinkled and pubescent; antennas (the basal joints excepted) black ; elytra flavous, finely granulate and punctured, the sutural and lateral margins piceous; legs flavous, the posterior femora piceous at the apex. Length 2^-3 millim. Head very finely punctured and granulate, the frontal tubercles short and broad but distinct; eyes ovate, entire, rather large ; antennas nearly as long as the body, black, the lower three joints fulvous, tbe third and following joints elongate, nearly equal; thorax about one half broader than long, the sides nearly straight, very slightly Avidened towards the apex, the anterior angles thickened, the posterior margin slightly rounded, the surface very finely rugose and punctured, fulvous, clothed with very short yellowish pubescence ; scutellum small, black ; elytra of paler colour than the thorax, wider than the latter, extremely finely transversely wrinkled or rugose throughout, closely covered with short yelloAvish hairs, the sutural and lateral margins narrowly black ; legs flavous, the posterior femora piceous at the apex, tarsi fuscous. Hab. Malvern, Natal (67. Marshall). This is the first species of the genus recorded from Africa, the other three having been obtained in India and the Malayan region. I cannot find, however, sufficient structural differences to separate them from the genus, the principal characters of which are to be found in the pubescent upper surface, the subquadrate thorax without sulcus, the absent or indistinct elytral epipleuras below the middle, the rather long metatarsus of the posterior legs, and in tbe scarcely visible prosternum and closed coxal cavities. All this would agree better with the group Galerucince, but the distinctly incrassate posterior femora do not allow the placing of the insect in the latter section. I received two specimens of the present insect from Mr. G. Marshall. |