The Genus Phoracantha contains a number of typical dark yellow or mottled brown beetles which in the larval state feed between the bark and sapwood of different gum trees when the trees are dead or dying; several species are common in firewood blocks about Sydney. The beetles are remarkable for long antennae fringed on the inner edge with fine hairs and short spines at the joints, and a single large spine on the sides of the thorax. Phoracantha recurva has a very wide range from the North-west coast to Victoria; it measures under 1 inch in length; is of a general dull yellow tint, with the apical half of the wing covers crossed with a broad band of reddish brown. P. tricuspis is a much larger, darker reddish brown beetle with mottled wing covers that lives in the timber of the ironbark gums. P. semipunctata, smaller than the last, has a regular pattern of dark brown on its back; it is common about Sydney N.S.W., and has a wide range over Australia. Epithora dorsalis is remarkable for its very long fringed antennae, and is easily distinguished by its uniform reddish tint marked across the centre of the wing covers with a broad patch of dull yellow. It also has a wide range over the continent, and is often taken about Sydney in summer on flowering shrubs. Aphanasium australe is a slender, light reddish brown beetle, under ¾ of an inch in length, the larvae of which feed in the stems of the prickly Hakea bushes. Piesarthruis marginellus is a very distinctive dull reddish brown insect with the centre of the wing covers pale brown; the smaller more slender male is furnished with remarkable feathered antennae. The larva breeds and pupates in the centre of the branches of Acacia longifolia, and can be easily reared from infested wood, though it is very rarely found on the food plant, for as soon as it emerges it crawls up to the top of the tree and clings to the branchlets.

Strongylurus thoracicus is a handsome brown longicorn brightly marked with white on the sides of the thorax. Its larva is very destructive in gardens, cutting off large branches of white cedar and pittosporum bushes.

In the Genus Uracanthus the beetles are long and slender, with almost cylindrical bodies, and the thorax contracted slightly behind the head. Uracanthus triangularis in Victoria confines its attention almost exclusively to the branches of the black wattle; but in N.S. Wales I have bred it from a number of different shrubs. It measures about 1 inch in length; is of a general uniform reddish brown colour, but so thickly clothed with fawn-coloured pubescence that there is only an angular bare reddish patch on the sides of the wing covers. U. cryptophagus, the largest known species, is nearly twice the length, more cylindrical in form, and of a uniform buff tint. In its native state it fed in the northern scrubs of N.S. Wales upon the wild lemon, from which it migrated to the cultivated orange, and the larvae burrowing through the branches did a great deal of mischief to the trees. Syllitus grammicus is a slender reddish brown beetle with six parallel grey lines running down the elytra, and is under ½ an inch in length. Lygesis mendica breeds on the twigs of the black wattle in the neighbourhood of Sydney. It measures under ½ an inch in length; is of a uniform reddish brown colour, and has a slender head and long cylindrical thorax. The wing covers are rounded at the tips, and the whole insect is clothed with stout white hairs. Macrones rufus is a long, slender, bright reddish brown beetle about 1¼ inches in length; the thorax is roughened into rounded bosses; the body is narrow in the centre, but swells out into a rounded apex; the wing covers narrow, and not reaching to the tip of the abdomen give it a very wasp-like appearance. It is usually taken upon flowers in the summer months.

The Genus Hesthesis contains a number of brightly marked yellow and brown beetles that mimic flower-wasps both in colour and shape, and are found in similar situations upon flowering shrubs. The wing covers are shortened into rounded pads only covering the shoulders, while the wings are exposed. Hesthesis vigilans, under ¾ of an inch in length, is black, mottled on the thorax, and barred with two bands of bright yellow on the abdomen, and one on the front of the thorax. H. ferruginea, slightly larger, is bright yellow banded with black; and H. cingulata, about the same size, is black, blotched upon the thorax, and marked with three white bands on the abdomen. Distichocera macleayi has the smaller male black with feathered antennae, and deeply ribbed wing covers tapering to the apex. The female, nearly 1½ inches in length, and broader and thickset in proportion, has the dorsal surface clothed with rusty red pubescence. D. maculicollis is a much smaller species, hardly over ½ an inch in length in the male, which is of a dull black faintly marked with white; the larger female is rusty red except a parallel stripe of black down the centre of the thorax. This species breeds in the stems of Kunzea corifolia; commencing under the bark the larva gnaws irregular passages backwards and forwards, finally hollowing out several large parallel chambers toward the centre of the stem, in one of which it pupates. Among the most beautiful of our flower haunting longicorns are the members of the Genus Tragocerus, with stout angular thorax and broad deeply ribbed wing covers almost truncated at the extremities. T. lepidopterus is variable in size and colouration in the sexes, the smaller male being darker coloured than the large reddish brown female, which measures nearly 1¾ inches in length; both have the wing covers mottled with little patches of grey hairs. T. spencei is a smaller species without the white patches, but having dark wavy bands crossing the centre of the back.

The members of the Genus Clytus are active little ant-like beetles, common in the more tropical parts of Australia, running up and down on freshly fallen tree trunks in the bright sunlight, or hunting over flowering shrubs; some are richly marked with golden yellow or red on the rounded thorax. Clytus curtisi, measuring under 1 inch in length, is black spotted and mottled with white. One of our commonest and most widely distributed flower haunting longicorns is Aridaeus thoracicus, a reddish yellow beetle with short rounded thorax, and the wing covers crossed in the centre with two black V-shaped bands. It is very variable in size, the largest measuring nearly 1 inch in length. Purpuricenus quadrinotatus is a very handsome black and bright red beetle about ¾ of an inch in length, with a short broad almost globular thorax, and a short body round at the apex. It is common along the Flinders River N. Queensland upon low scrub, and I have taken them in all variations of red and black; usually the head and thorax are black, with the wing covers red blotched with black; a variety with the thorax red is described as a distinct species.

The Lamiinae comprise the third division which, usually stout and broad in proportion, are found chiefly upon branches or twigs feeding upon bark; and are frequently very numerous upon fallen timber in forest clearings. They differ from the former group in having the front coxae round and deeply embedded; the maxillary palpi pointed at the tips; and the fore tibiae with a more or less distinct groove on the inner side.

Microtragus mormon is typical of several closely allied genera of short, thickly coated longicorns, with the rounded slightly spined thorax and the tapering body ridged or coarsely punctured; they are found upon logs or tree trunks on the ground, and somewhat resemble the ground weevils. This species comes from Kalgoorlie, W. Australia, but has a wide range over the western country; it is of a dull reddish brown tint, and measures about 1 inch in length. Ceraegidion horrens, not uncommon in the Illawarra district N.S.W., is a smaller darker coloured beetle covered with stout spines upon the dorsal surface of the thorax and elytra. The Genus Monohammus contains a number of very fine brown or mottled beetles with long stout antennae; the small rounded thorax produced into a blunt spine on either side; and the broad wing covers arcuate at the tips and sometimes spined on the sides. M. holotephrus is of a uniform dull buff tint and measures over 1 inch in length; it comes from S. Australia and Queensland. M. ovinus is a much smaller species with the thorax spined on the summit and sides; it is of a pale brown tint finely mottled with grey. It has a wide range, being recorded from Kalgoorlie W.A., N.S. Wales, Queensland, and S. Australia.

The tropical Genus Batocera, containing many of the largest and most handsome of our longicorns, is well represented in our semi-tropical scrubs. Batocera frenchi has a very wide range from the Northern Coast of N.S. Wales to Cape York. The great white grubs burrow in the trunks of native figs and other forest trees, and the collectors in Cairns, N. Queensland, capture the beetles by cutting down fig trees and waiting for them at twilight when they come to feed upon the bark. This species measures over 2 inches in length, has a spined rugose thorax, broad wing covers, and immense stout spined curved antennae; its general colour is slate grey to dark brown, with the elytra marked with irregular oval white spots. B. sapho is a more reddish brown beetle, somewhat more slender, and with fewer spots on the wing covers: it is found in the forests of Cape York, N. Queensland. Rosenbergia megacephala is larger still, and is of a beautiful creamy white tint, with the basal portions of the elytra finely spotted with black; the thorax is deeply ridged and spined: it is found at Port Darwin N.A., and Cairns, Queensland. Horace Brown informs me that this large beetle frequents fig trees in the forests of N. Queensland, where they can often be detected by the number of small branches scattered beneath, which have been cut off by their powerful jaws. Thyada barbicornis is a very handsome greyish brown mottled beetle with an oval blackish spot on each side of the elytra, and the antennae are so thickly fringed with fine hairs that it forms a regular brush toward the extremities; it measures under ¾ of an inch in length, and is common on the foliage of native figs on the Tweed River N.S.W.

The Genus Hebecerus contains a number of moderate-sized, grey or brownish mottled beetles, many of which lay their eggs in the bark of the wattle trees; the larvae feed and pupate in the tips of the dead twigs. Hebecerus australis, a thickset greyish brown species about ½ an inch in length, has a wide distribution over Australia, and has been described under half a dozen synonyms: H. marginicollis is a smaller beetle, with the sides of the thorax marked with buff. H. crocogaster is smaller still, of a similar general tint, with the antennae barred with grey and brown.

The Genus Symphyletes contains a number of large and handsome longicorns that are found clinging to twigs and branchlets; many of them in the larval state burrow in the stems of wattles, gum trees and other smaller shrubs. Symphyletes neglectus is an elongate dull brown beetle about 1 inch in length; it girdles the branches of Acacia longifolia, laying its eggs under the bark of the dying portion in which the little grub feeds in the early part of its life. S. nigrovirens is a much smaller beetle, with the head, thorax, and base of the elytra clothed with dull yellow hairs; the rest of the wing covers is deep green striped with white on the sides. It feeds upon a number of small shrubs, but its commonest food plant is the stunted prickly wattle (Acacia juniperina). S. solandri, a larger beetle clothed with a dense coat of fine buff hairs, breeds in the flower stalk of the grass tree, often cutting it right through and causing the upper half, beneath which it pupates, to fall off. S. vestigialis measures ¾ of an inch; it is brown, richly mottled with buff and grey. It feeds upon wattles; it has a wide range over Southern Australia.

The Genus Penthea comprises a number of more thickset beetles with similar habits, and which have the upper surface of the thorax and wing covers granulated or ribbed and these are either covered with a dense pubescence or mottled all over in a very characteristic manner. Penthea vermicularia, one of the commonest and with a very wide range, is black with the antennae banded, and the elytra covered with irregular wavy white markings. It is very variable in size, 1¼ inches to under ¾ of an inch in length. P. saundersi, found in W. Australia, is much larger, of a more shining dark chocolate brown tint, and more deeply impressed with well defined spots, blotches and irregular buff coloured markings. P. sannio, smaller than the last and with a more constricted thorax, has the whole of the upper surface clothed with a creamy grey pubescence overlaid with deep orange red, and irregular dark lines crossing the wing covers; this beautiful beetle is a native of Queensland. Rhytiphora argus takes its name from the dark brown eye-like spots all over its back showing through the rich buff pubescence; it also ranges over a large part of Queensland. Depsages granulosa resembles a Penthea in its robust form; it measures over 1½ inches in length; is of a uniform dark dull brown tint, with the elytra covered with fine granules or bosses. It is common about Sydney, found clinging in summer time to the stems of gum saplings. Zygrita diva is a handsome little dark orange yellow coloured beetle irregularly marked and mottled with black. It is very common upon grass stalks in the open forest country of North Australia.

Family 50. Plant-eating Beetles.
CHRYSOMELIDAE.

These foliage-destroying beetles have a regular, thickened, more or less oval or rounded form, with the thorax sometimes forming a neck; but in other groups are rounded and fit closely into the head and abdomen. The head, buried up to the eyes in the front of the thorax, is furnished with short stout biting jaws, and slender filiform antennae composed of many short segments; the tarsi are generally four jointed. They are as a rule small insects, rarely measuring over ½ an inch in length; their prevailing colours are red, yellow, or brown, marked with black or bright metallic tints. They lay their eggs on the foliage or twigs of their food plants, upon which the larvae feed when they emerge, and when full grown crawl down and pupate in the soil beneath.

This is a very large family; about 18,000 species are described from all parts of the world, and most of the typical groups are represented in this country. We have had a number of workers on the Chrysomelids: Baly (Ann. Nat. History 1862), (Jour. Linn. Soc. 1864), and (Trans. Ent. Soc. of London 1877): Clark in the “Journal of Entomology” 1864: Marsham (Trans. Linn. Society 1808): Chapius has described a number (Soc. Entom. Belgium Vol. xvii.), and (Journal, Museum Godeffroy xiv.): while Lea (Trans. Ent. Soc. London 1904) has monographed the Cryptocephalides; and Blackburn revised the Genus Paropsis (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1896 and 1901), adding many new species.

The Sagrides are very distinctive beetles, with the thorax elongated in front and broad behind; some of the more tropical forms are of rich metallic tints, with the thighs of the hind legs greatly enlarged; and our beautiful representative species, Sagra papuana, is known to collectors in the North Queensland scrubs as the “Kangaroo Beetle.” It measures 1 inch in length, and the swollen hind legs fringed with reddish hairs and a large angular spine are fully another inch in length. It is a uniform deep metallic blue. Carpophagus banksiae measures ½ an inch in length; is of a uniform dark reddish brown, with the elytra irregularly striped and banded with dark yellow; the thighs of the hind legs are thickened, and the under surface is clothed with fine grey hairs. It has a wide range, and is found about Sydney clinging to the low scrub. Mecynodera coxalgica is a larger, broader, dull reddish brown insect, clothed with a lighter tinted pubescence, and is found in similar localities.

The Cryptocephalides are a group of short, oval or truncate beetles, with long slender antennae: the sexes often differ in size and markings; they are usually found feeding upon the tender tips of the branches of wattle, young gum, and other low shrubs. Elaphodes tiqrinus is a small, oval, reddish brown beetle, thickly clothed with golden yellow pubescence forming a mottled pattern over the elytra; it feeds upon the foliage of the black wattle. The members of the Genus Ditropidus are small oval beetles, similar in shape and habits, black and shining; over 100 species have been described from Australia. The Genus Cadmus contains some very handsome ovate insects, with long slender antennae; they chiefly frequent the young eucalypts: the larvae have the curious habit of living in jug-shaped cocoons fitting closely to the body, with the horny flat forehead closing the opening at the apex; when moving along the fore-legs are extended like those of a bag-moth. Cadmus rubiginosus, our largest common species, is under ½ an inch in length; it is of a general reddish brown colour, with darker markings. C. litigiosus is a smaller yellow beetle; the head and thorax are black above, and the elytra yellow, finely punctured and spotted with black. The Genus Cryptocephalus comprises a number of similar shaped beetles with smaller wrinkled head and thorax, and the tip of the abdomen truncate. Cryptocephalus scabrosus is black, very rugose on the upper surface, with the tip of the elytra tinged with reddish brown: it measures about ¼ of an inch, and is common about Sydney. C. viridinitens is slightly larger, of a uniform dark metallic green on the upper surface.

The Eumolpides are represented by one of our most beautiful species, Spilopyra sumptuosa, common on low scrub on the northern rivers of N.S. Wales: it is about ½ an inch in length, and is of a fiery coppery red and deep metallic tint, giving out beautiful shades of colour in a bright light.

The Genus Edusa contains a number of bright metallic coloured beetles of oval form, which are chiefly found among the foliage of eucalypts. Edusa distincta is of the usual bright coppery red tint, with greenish head and thorax; it measures nearly ⅓ of an inch in length. Rhyparida didyma is a dull yellow beetle, with a narrow parallel stripe of black down each side of the elytra; it is of the usual elongate oval form with the head turned down in front. They are found clinging to grass stalks; this and several other species are common on the North West coast of Australia.

The Chrysomelides are one of the typical groups; many of them are rich in bright metallic tints; are either rounded or oval in form; and their larvae are active six legged grubs that crawl about the foliage. Aesernoides nigrofasciatus is a handsome, broad, convex, black beetle, with the elytra crossed with three broad irregular bands of dark orange yellow; it measures nearly ½ an inch in length, and is common on several shrubs in the Northern River scrubs. The Genus Phyllocharis contains a number of more elongated beetles with thicker antennae; they are chiefly found upon grass. Phyllocharis cyanicornis measures slightly over ⅓ of an inch in length; the general colour is dark orange, with the antennae and legs black; and the dorsal surface of the thorax and elytra are irregularly blotched with shining blue-black. It has a wide range over Australia and Tasmania. P. cyanipes, a larger species from N. Australia, has the head, thorax, blotch on each side of base, and tips of elytra light yellow, with the rest of the wing covers shining black. Lamprolina perplexa is a smaller, elongate, metallic, dull bronze coloured beetle, with yellow head and thorax; it is common upon the foliage of the native blackthorn, Busaria spiniferous.

The larvae of several species of the Genus Calomela feed upon the foliage of the black wattles: they are short, squat grubs, with black heads and small green oval bodies. Calomela paralis measures 2½ lines in length; its general colour is dark orange yellow, with a broad parallel band of rich metallic green occupying the centre of each wing cover and tapering down to the tips; the elytra are deeply and finely punctured. Twenty-five species are described from various parts of Australia, chiefly by Baly (Trans. Ent. Soc. 1856–1863: and Ann. and Mag. N.H. 1862).

The Genus Paropsis is the most extensive and characteristic of all our plant-eating beetles, and some of our common species are very plentiful about Sydney. Marsham wrote a monograph of the species (Trans. Linn. Soc. 1808), placing them in the Genus Notoclea; in Masters’ Catalogue 269 species are listed; since then, Blackburn has revised the Genus (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1896–1901), and added a number of new species.

The beetles are found chiefly upon the foliage of young eucalypts, and lay their yellow spindle-shaped eggs in a ring round the small twigs: the young larvae when first hatched cluster together, but as they increase in size they scatter all over the foliage upon which they feed. They are very active, short, stout grubs, with three pairs of well developed legs; when full grown they crawl down and pupate in the soil. The beetles are very convex and broadly rounded; most of them are more or less yellow, brown, or black in tint; some are very richly and delicately shaded with metallic tints, which however unfortunately fade after death. Paropsis variolosa, one of our largest species, measures ¾ of an inch in length, and is nearly as broad in proportion; it is of a general yellowish brown tint mottled with lighter yellow and closely punctured; the under surface except the legs is black. P. alternata is a smaller, dark brown beetle, the elytra banded with parallel lines of black and reddish brown: P. immaculata is about the same size; dull reddish brown, with the outer half of the elytra darkest; it is usually found feeding upon the foliage of the black wattle. P. liturata is slightly smaller than the last, with the wing covers irregularly spotted with pale yellow. It is common on the eucalypts about Sydney, and has a wide range over the State. The small green larvae of P. pictipennis feed upon the foliage of Leptospermum; the beetle is a small form, dull yellow marked with bright spots, but fades into a dull brown when dead.

The Halticides are popularly known as “flea beetles,” as they have the thighs of the hind legs swollen out into rounded lumps which enable them to jump to a considerable distance: specimens are often found feeding upon sedges about watercourses. Nisotra submetallica is a tiny, shining green beetle, with a light reddish brown head and thorax; it is often a pest in the herb bed, where it feeds upon mint. Arsipoda macleayi is a much larger, deep metallic blue beetle with very large thighs; it has been found eating the surface of vine leaves in the Gosford district N.S.W., and covering them all over with brown blotches.

The Gallerucides comprise several very destructive garden pests, among which is the well known Pumpkin Beetle, Aulacophora olivieri, a reddish yellow and black beetle often called a “lady-bird,” and which in many parts of Australia swarms over the young melons and cucumbers and devours the flowers and foliage. Monolepta rosae is a delicate pale yellow beetle, with the front half of the elytra shaded with rose red; it has a wide range, and on the northern rivers congregates in great numbers at times, eating up the young foliage of the citrus trees. The Fig-leaf Beetle, Galleruca semipullata, lays its spindle-shaped eggs in patches on the leaves of both the wild and cultivated figs, upon the surface of which the dirty yellow coloured larvae feed, finally crawling down the trunks and pupating in the ground. The beetle measures about ⅓ of an inch in length; is of a dull ochreous yellow, with the outer margins of the broad elytra striped with dull bluish black. Hoplostinus viridipennis is a much smaller, dull brownish yellow beetle, with shorter, rounded, deep metallic green elytra. It feeds upon the foliage of the nettle trees growing in the scrubs of the Northern Rivers, N.S.W.

The Hispides are a very distinct group of the plant-eating beetles, whose larvae are sometimes very destructive; they bore into the foliage or stalks of plants, feeding in, and not upon the plant tissue. The beetles might be divided into two sections; those that are short and broad shouldered like Monochirus multispinosus, which measures ⅙ of an inch in length, is black in colour, with the whole of the dorsal surface covered with short fine spines, and is common upon grass blades on the South coast of N.S. Wales; and the elongate almost cylindrical forms found on sedges belonging to the Genus Euryspa. These beetles are remarkable for the situation of their antennae, which are very close together at the base, and stand straight out in front of the head. Brontispa froggatti, belonging to the latter section, is a very serious pest on the cocoa nut palms in New Britain and Solomon Islands.

The Cassidides are curious ladybird-like beetles of a general yellow or light brown colour spotted or marked with black, with the outer margins of the elytra spreading out into an encircling flange or rim. They are confined to the more tropical forests of Queensland, but one species, Aspidomorpha deusta, comes into the northern scrubs of N.S. Wales; it is of the usual shape and mottled tints, measuring about ¼ of an inch in length.

Family 51. Fungus Beetles.
EROTYLIDAE.

The larvae of these beetles can be often found in numbers feeding in the different kinds of woody fungi that grow upon tree trunks, old fences, and fallen logs. If these infested fungi are collected and kept in a box the beetles can be very easily bred out. They can be readily recognised by their elongate, boat-shaped form, and clubbed antennae.

Episcaphula pictipennis, one of our commonest species, is black, but thickly mottled with deep orange red forming three interrupted bands across the elytra. It measures about ¼ of an inch. Thallis janthina is a smaller, shining, blue black beetle, slightly roughened on the elytra; it breeds in the large, spongy, white fungus growing on the tree trunks known as “punks.”

Family 52. Lady-bird Beetles.
COCCINELLIDAE.

These well-known beetles differ from the last family (which many of them resemble in outward appearance) in having 3 jointed tarsi, and the short usually 11 jointed antennae (occasionally 8–10) being slightly clubbed at the tips. In their habits however they differ in being carnivorous both in the larval and adult state, with the exception of the members of the Genus Epilachna, which are phytophagus. They are all small rounded beetles; the short head fits close into the thorax, which in turn rests against the front of the elytra: most of them are yellow, spotted or marked with darker yellow, metallic blue or black, and are slightly pubescent. These insects are well known in our gardens to the children as “lady-birds,” and the quaint rhyme of “Fly away lady-bird” is said to have originated in the hop fields of Kent: after the hop picking, the dead plants, where the common English lady-bird was abundant feeding upon the hop aphis, were burnt off, and this was a warning by the children to them to fly away before the fires were started. They have been closely studied by economic entomologists because they are the natural enemies of so many aphis and scale insects.

Over 2,000 species have been described from all parts of the world, and in the latest list given by Lea (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1901), 110 are recorded from Australia. Mulsant published his great work (Species Coleopteris Trimeres Securipalpes) in 1850: Crotch published his “Revision of the Coccinellidae” in 1874; in both of these will be found descriptions of Australian species. Blackburn (Trans. Royal Soc. S.A. 1892) and Lea previously quoted, added a number of new species to our fauna.

The Genus Epilachna contains all our plant-feeding lady-bird beetles, two of which are common. The 28-spot lady-bird, Epilachna 28-punctata, has a wide range extending from China and India to all parts of Australia; it measures about ⅓ of an inch in length, is of a dull yellowish brown tint marked with rounded black spots, and clothed with a fine pubescence. Crotch says: “This species varies almost to infinity, and gradually runs into the common 6-spotted type, so that I cannot give any structural differences.” Its curious gregarious larvae are dull yellow covered with black spined tubercles; about Sydney they are often found upon the foliage of the trumpet flower (Datura stramonium), but in the north of N.S. Wales often damage the foliage of potatoes. E. guttatopustulata ranges from Tasmania to North Australia, and is a common insect in the Richmond River scrubs, N.S.W.; it is a large beetle, easily recognised by the large, rounded, yellowish red blotch on the sides of the elytra.

The typical Coccinella repanda measures ⅕ of an inch in length; it is a little, rounded, bright yellow beetle, with the head and thorax blackish, the elytra striped down the centre, and marked on either side with two irregular black V-shaped blotches. It has a wide range over Australia, and feeds upon all kinds of aphids, sometimes appearing in great numbers all over the country. Leis conformis is a larger species, of a uniform bright orange yellow, thickly spotted with black. It is a common garden insect, where the clusters of its slender yellow eggs may be often noticed attached to the bark of aphis infested trees; and its elongated, smoky tinted larvae, blotched on the sides with orange, may be often watched feeding upon rose or peach aphis. Thea galbula is a dainty little lady-bird, with the dorsal surface bright pale yellow, marked with black in the centre of the thorax; the dorsal stripe down the centre of the elytra connects two pairs of black blotches crossing the centre and base. It measures about ⅙ of an inch in length, and is at times common in our gardens. Verania frenata is ⅙ of an inch; it is yellow, with the thorax black behind, and with three stripes of the same colour down the elytra. It has a wide range from Tasmania to New Caledonia and the Malayan Islands.

The Genus Orcus contains a number of metallic blue-black lady-birds which feed chiefly upon scale insects; their larvae are grey and black creatures with the dorsal surface covered with fine spines; several species are common on scale infested citrus trees. Orcus chalybeus, measuring about ⅛ of an inch in length, is of a uniform deep metallic steel blue. O. australasiae is a larger species with two rounded yellow spots on each side of the elytra. O. bilunulatus is a still larger insect, with only one yellow blotch on either side of the front of the thorax.

Novius cardinalis is a tiny red and black lady-bird, very variable in its black colouration; it was better known as Vedalia cardinalis, when it was collected in great numbers and forwarded to America to destroy the Fluted or Cottony-cushion Scale (Icerya purchasi), which had been introduced from this country into California and damaged the orange trees. It has since been introduced into other parts of the world, and is now cosmopolitan. The Genus Rhizobius contains a number of small black beetles finely punctured and clothed with pubescence, that gives them a rusty tint. Rhizobius ventralis is very common in the bush upon young eucalypts that are infested with Eriococcus coriaceous; it measures about ⅙ of an inch in length and is very pubescent. Cryptolæmus montrouzieri, a great foe to all kinds of mealy bugs, has been introduced into Hawaii with good results. The larvae are flattened brown insects that cover themselves with short white overlapping filaments, so that their identity is quite lost; they frequently swarm in thousands upon the trunks of scale infested Auracaria pines, pupating in such numbers that they form large white patches over the tree stems. The beetle is ¼ of an inch in length; is of a uniform black tint, with the head, thorax and tip of the elytra light yellow. The Genus Scymnus contains many of our smallest species: Scymnus vagans is a minute black beetle only ¹⁄₂₄ of an inch in length, which can be found on mite infested foliage. S. notiscens, more than twice the size, is common both on wattles and orange trees; it can be easily identified by the distinct reddish blotch in the centre of each wing cover.