Since Horn's treatment of the Halticini, little has been done with the North American species Oedionychis. ACT.23 REVISION OF THE BEETLE GENUS OEDIONYCHIS BLAKE 3, described by von Harold of "California", has not been identified since.
AKT. 23 REVISION OP THE BEETLE GENUS OEDIONYCHIS — BLAKE H
Body below fine and sparsely hairy, shiny, spicy or black, with more or less yellow-brown belly, epipleura dark. There are more distinct prominences and a deeper medial cavity at the front of the head, and at the front of the head there are two indistinct reddish-brown spots.
ART. 23 REVISION OF THE BEETLE GENUS OEDIONYCHIS BLAKE 13
14 PROCEEDIN'GS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol.70 later placed scripticollis as a variety of vians, giving its place as Hudson Bay and Slave Lake. Say's distinction between vians and scHfticoUis on the basis of the frontal spot does not hold, since this spot is the same for both. The thoracic band in this is widened to cover almost the entire pronotum with barely any visible lighter anterior margin. Vians in Florida on oak, and R. Cushman bred it from the "stem of Polygonutn Pennsylvanian- There are two other specimens in the National Museum which I have placed with doubt as the following variety of vians:
23 REVISION OF THE BEETLE GENUS OEDIONYCHIS BLAKE 15 Dark, sometimes with frontal spot more light brownish, rough dark, sometimes with frontal spot more reddish brown, coarsely punctate, interocular space more than half the width of the head, without pronounced frontal protrusions. It differs very markedly from both the vians and the thorax in the length of the prothorax. In viams and toracica, the prothorax is not nearly half as long as wide, while in discicollis the length of the prothorax approaches half its width and the shape is more rectangular.
Pronotum twice as wide as long, nearly rectangular, with narrow explant margin, pale yellow, sometimes waxy, shiny and almost unpunctate. Head shiny black, with yellow spots between eyes, coarsely punctate around eyes and pale spot, median groove short and indistinct, interocular space half as wide as head. ART.23 KEVISION OF THE BILGENUS OEDIONYCHIS BLAKE 19united into a large rounded spot and very narrow sutural vitta, united into a large rounded spot and very narrow sutural vitta.
Head broad, reddish brown, coarsely pointed except on the center of the occiput; median depression unclear, interocular space half as wide as the head.
ART. 23 REVISION OF THE BEETLE GENUS OEDIONYCHIS BLAKE 23
In the National Museum there are two specimens that superficially re-. they look like petaurista but are probably not that species. They do not agree very closely with any of the vittate species described by Von. Harold, but without examining his species it is impossible to be sure that they do not belong to one of them. from petaurista in more elongated form, due to the wider prothorax which narrows only slightly anteriorly and is fully three times as long.
The species also differs from petaurista in the truer marginal outer elytral vittae, which are very narrow, not arching over the humeral projection or on the sides of the elytra, but almost confined to the explant margin, although the outer edge of the margin is yellow. The head in one is deep reddish brown, almost showy, becoming paler on the clypeus and coarsely punctate throughout, and in the other yellowish brown and smooth on the occiput. The ventral surface is yellowish or reddish, and the epipleura differs from petauristas in being pale.
Elongate-oval, moderately convex, shining, head mostly dark except for a yellow border around the eyes, pronotum broadly expanded, yellow with a small, irregular spot on both sides or these spots combined into a large central spot, elytra yellow with a broad, black, vitta suture. ART.23 REVISION OF THE BEETLE GENUS OEDIONYCHIS BLAKE 25 brown, irregular spots on both sides or they are grouped together in a large number.
ART. 23 REVISION OF THE BEETLE GENUS OEDIONYCHIS BLAKE 25 brown, irregular spot on either side or these united into a large
26 WORK OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM for,.70 .. smooth along center groove; interocular space more than half as wide as the head, with the medial groove tending to be indistinct in coarsely punctured specimens. There is great variability in this species, as in other vittate species of this group, both in size and shape, and in the width of the elytral vittae. He distinguished this from miniata on the basis of its smaller size, its smoother head and the similarity of the third and fourth antennal joints.
Examination of a series of specimens shows that there is not only gradation in size of beetle and point of head, but even in the length of the third and fourth antennal joints, these .. two joints being rarely equal but varying from unequal. to very unequal with the fourth joint nearly twice as long as the third. Oval, convex, moderately shiny, yellowish or appearing brown due to the usually wide reddish-brown markings, a broad fascia over pronotum and wide sutural vitta and vitta in the middle of each elytron. Antennae nearly half as long as body, strong, reddish brown, three basal joints lighter, third and fourth joints unequal.
This species is closely related to miniata; the only differences are in the length of the third and fourth antennal joints and their generally smaller size and more rounded outline. Antennae more than half as long as the body, slender, darker at the tip, third and fourth joints equal.
ART. 23 REVISION OF THE BEETLE GENUS OEDIONYCHIS BLAKE 29
ART.23 REVISION OF THE BEETLE GENUS OEDIONYCHIS BLAKE 31sion short, often indistinct; interocular space about half width of sion short, often indistinct; interocular space about half the width of the head. Pronotum more than twice as wide as long, with broad, explicating margin, sparsely and weakly punctate, reddish brown. Museum, and found that the species labeled quercata was quite unlike Horn's concept of the species.
Fabricius' description of the species with an unblemished, iron-like head and prothorax and black elytra with a female margin matches the specimen in Paris perfectly. Again, contrary to Horn's description, the sides of the elytra are clearly curved and resemble Oe in this respect. The dimensions of the Bosc copy are: length 4 mm, width 2.5 mm; and the place is simple.
Rounded oval, slightly convex, moderately shiny, yellowish brown, head usually with darker occipital spot, elytra varying from yellowish brown with short brown vittae to reddish brown or more rarely glabrous without vittae, margin always pale. ART.23 EEVISION OF THE BEETLE GENUS OEDIONYCHIS BLAKE 35 only species of the genus which have been known to occur in sufficient abundance.
ART. 23 EEVISION OF THE BEETLE GENUS OEDIONYCHIS BLAKE 35 only species of the genus that has been known to occur in sufficient
Head weakly and finely punctured anteriorly, occiput shining, median furrow distinct, interocular space less than half width of head. Pronotum more than twice as wide as long with a moderately narrow explant margin, not as thinly transparent as in scalaris, arcuately narrowed anteriorly, shining, very faintly punctate. On the humeral prominence, a common spot on the basal fourth at the suture, sometimes partly disappearing, one opposite this, a larger spot just below the middle, one on the lateral edge, and one on the apical fourth in the middle, these spots vary in size and some - sometimes partially disappear.
Ovary oblong, faintly lustrous, yellow with picete sutural vittae, not reaching the apex, each elytron with a narrow black basal margin and five or six black dots. Antennae slender, half length of body, nodes pale, third and fourth nearly equal, fourth slightly longer. Small head and rather densely spotted, a nice spot on the nape; Median depression distinct, interocular space slightly less than half width of head.
Elytra elongated oval-oblong, slightly wider at the base than the prothorax, with a narrow, distinct margin and small semicircular projections, shallow and rather coarsely punctured; an arrow-shaped black margin at the base, often associated with spots on the humerus, a usually picous suture vitta.
ART. 23 REVISION OF THE BEETLE GENUS OEDIONYCHIS — BLAKE 37
Oedionychis circuindata has been one of the most confused of the North American species of Oedionychis. 34;broadly oval species in our fauna," while Oe. circumdata tends to have squared elytra, especially in the male. I have seen no specimens of Oe. circumdata from northern Massachusetts, while Horn's limbalis {subvittata) occurs as far north as Quebec.
Beetle described by Horn as a form of Oe. yellow-breasted quercata is really Randall's Oe. about data. But he confused under the dark-breasted form the Fabrician species Oe. obsidiana which bears only a superficial resemblance to Oe. about data. In circwmdata, the prothorax is never dirty and the eyes are small and widely set, the interocular space is fully half the width of the head, while in obsidiana the prothorax is .. more or less dirty and the eyes are large, interocular space.
ART.23 REVISION OF THE BEETLE GENUS OEDIONYCHIS BLAKE 39 which approaches one third of the width of the head. In circumdata, the shape of the elytra is more square, in ohsidiana the prominences in the scutellar angle are more distinct.
ART. 23 REVLSION OF THE BEETLE GENUS OEDIONYCHIS BLAKE 41
They are all the same size and have the distinctive character - large, narrow. Broadly oval, weakly glossy, yellowish or pale brown, with five or six small black spots on each elytron. Pronotum nearly three times longer than that, with explant margin moderately wide, narrowed arcuately anteriorly,.
Elytra long and broadly oval, with broad, sometimes slightly reflexed explant margin, and with basal callosities near suture and humeral prominences forming sulcus; finely and densely punctate; six small black spots on each elytron located in two longitudinal rows: first row with spot on humerus, second near lateral margin at basal fourth, third near lateral margin slightly below middle; second row with first spot in center of elytron at base, second near suture at basal third, and third near suture, slightly below middle, in some specimens spots in center at base lacking. It is one of the largest of its group, Oedionychis scalaris alone approaching it in size.
AET. 23 REVISION OF THE BEETLE GENUS OEDIONYCHIS — BLAKE 43
DOUBTFUL SPECIES OEDIONYCHIS JOCOSA Harold
EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES
