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diff --git a/76505-0.txt b/76505-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..85b2958 --- /dev/null +++ b/76505-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22231 @@ + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76505 *** + + + + + + AUSTRALIAN + INSECTS. + + BY + + WALTER W. FROGGATT, F.L.S., + + Government Entomologist, New South Wales. + + Member of the Association of Economic Entomologists, U.S. America; + Member of the Société Entomologique de France; Member of Council, + Linnean Society of N.S. Wales, and N.S. Wales Naturalists’ Club. + + With 37 Plates, containing 270 Figures, also + 180 text-blocks. + + [Illustration] + + Sydney: + + WILLIAM BROOKS & COMPANY, LIMITED, Printers and Publishers, + 17 Castlereagh Street. + + + + + PREFACE. + + +There have been so many enquiries from people in all parts of +Australia, as well as from visitors from other countries, for a book +dealing with our insects, that the writer thinks that the time has come +when a Text Book dealing exclusively with Australian Entomology will be +well received, both at home and abroad, by all those interested in this +subject. + +The difficulty has been to write in a popular style so as to interest +the general reader, and induce him to further follow his studies of +the wonders of Natural History, yet at the same time to define the +characteristics of the insects described and give some idea of their +classification, so that it will not lose its value as a Text Book to +the student while enlarging the circle of its readers. + +Since the year 1770, when Sir Joseph Banks captured the first diamond +beetle on the sandy shores of Botany Bay, the majority of our insects +have been described in rare old English or foreign publications, the +Zoology of Voyages and Travels, or the Transactions and Proceedings of +Scientific Societies consisting of many hundreds of volumes written in +many different languages. + +Many of these original descriptions, written in English or Latin, +are so brief and obscure that without seeing the type they are quite +unintelligible even to the trained entomologist, and therefore are +absolutely of no value to the beginner. + +Most of the earlier describers of Australian insects confined their +attention to beetles, moths, and butterflies. Among the few exceptions +are Westwood, who has identified himself with insects in nearly all the +orders, and as he figured many of them (often in colours), there is no +trouble in determining his species; and Walker, who also described many +unique Australian insects (chiefly in the British Museum Catalogues); +but his often vague descriptions, without details or figures, have +puzzled all entomologists who have not had access to his types. + +During the last decade, however, as specialists have taken up the +work of monographing the more neglected orders, and as large general +collections of insects have been obtained from what were, at one time, +inaccessible parts of Australia, a writer can now obtain satisfactory +data as to the classification and number of Australian insects hitherto +wanting. + +With these views the present text book has been prepared. + + + + + TABLE OF CONTENTS. + + + PREFACE iii. + + CONTENTS vii. + + LIST OF PLATES xi. + + INTRODUCTION xiii. + + CLASSIFICATION 1 + + DISTRIBUTION 4 + + STRUCTURE 6 + + FOSSIL INSECTS 9 + + THE COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF INSECTS 395 + + MUSEUM COLLECTIONS AND TYPES 409 + + PUBLICATIONS DEALING WITH AUSTRALIAN ENTOMOLOGY 418 + + ADDENDA 423 + + INDEX 425 + + [Illustration: “The White Ant City,” Somerset, Cape York, N. + Queensland. + + (After Savelle-Kent)] + + + + + CONTENTS. + + + Order I.--APTERA. + + Page + + Family 1. COLLEMBOLA 10 + + „ 2. THYSANURA 11 + + + Order II.--ORTHOPTERA. + + Family 1. FORFICULIDAE 15 + + „ 2. BLATTIDAE 17 + + „ 3. TERMITIDAE 20 + + „ 4. EMBIIDAE 28 + + „ 5. PSOCIDAE 30 + + „ 6. MANTIDAE 31 + + „ 7. PHASMIDAE 34 + + „ 8. ACRIDIIDAE 40 + + „ 9. LOCUSTIDAE 46 + + „ 10. GRYLLIDAE 48 + + + Order III.--NEUROPTERA. + + Family 1. PERLIDAE 50 + + „ 2. ODONATA 51 + + „ 3. EPHEMERIDAE 54 + + „ 4. SIALIDAE 55 + + „ 5. PANORPIDAE 56 + + „ 6. HEMEROBIIDAE 57 + + „ 7. TRICHOPTERA 66 + + + Order IV.--HYMENOPTERA. + + Family 1. CEPHIDAE 70 + + „ 2. ORYSSIDAE 70 + + „ 3. SIRICIDAE 71 + + „ 4. TENTHREDINIDAE 71 + + „ 5. CYNIPIDAE 73 + + „ 6. CHALCIDIDAE 74 + + „ 7. PROCTOTRYPIDAE 81 + + „ 8. ICHNEUMONIDAE 83 + + „ 9. BRACONIDAE 85 + + „ 10. CHRYSIDIDAE 87 + + „ 11. EVANIIDAE 88 + + „ 12. MEGALYRIDAE 90 + + „ 13. FORMICIDAE 91 + + „ 14. MUTILLIDAE 98 + + „ 15. THYNNIDAE 100 + + „ 16. SCOLIIDAE 102 + + „ 17. POMPILIDAE 105 + + „ 18. SPHEGIDAE 106 + + „ 19. EUMENIDAE 110 + + „ 20. VESPIDAE 112 + + „ 21. MASARIDAE 113 + + „ 22. APIDAE 114 + + + Order V.--COLEOPTERA. + + Family 1. CICINDELIDAE 124 + + „ 2. CARABIDAE 126 + + „ 3. DYTISCIDAE 133 + + „ 4. GYRINIDAE 134 + + „ 5. HYDROPHILIDAE 135 + + „ 6. STAPHYLINIDAE 136 + + „ 7. PSELAPHIDAE 138 + + „ 8. PAUSSIDAE 138 + + „ 9. SCYDMAENIDAE 139 + + „ 10. SILPHIDAE 140 + + „ 11. SCAPHIDIDAE 141 + + „ 12. HISTERIDAE 141 + + „ 13. PHALACRIDAE 142 + + „ 14. NITIDULIDAE 143 + + „ 15. TROGOSITIDAE 144 + + „ 16. COLYDIDAE 146 + + „ 17. RHYSODIDAE 146 + + „ 18. CUCUJIDAE 146 + + „ 19. CRYPTOPHAGIDAE 147 + + „ 20. LATHRIDIDAE 148 + + „ 21. MYCETOPHAGIDAE 148 + + „ 22. DERMESTIDAE 148 + + „ 23. BYRRHIDAE 150 + + „ 24. GEORYSSIDAE 150 + + „ 25. PARNIDAE 150 + + „ 26. HETEROCERIDAE 151 + + „ 27. LUCANIDAE 151 + + „ 28. SCARABAEIDAE 153 + + „ 29. BUPRESTIDAE 162 + + „ 30. EUCNEMIDAE 165 + + „ 31. ELATERIDAE 166 + + „ 32. RHIPIDOCERIDAE 167 + + „ 33. MALACODERMIDAE 167 + + „ 34. CLERIDAE 168 + + „ 35. PTINIDAE 169 + + „ 36. CIOIDAE 170 + + „ 37. BOSTRYCHIDAE 171 + + „ 38. TENEBRIONIDAE 172 + + „ 39. CISTELIDAE 175 + + „ 40. LAGRIIDAE 175 + + „ 41. ANTHICIDAE 176 + + „ 42. PYROCHROIDAE 176 + + „ 43. MORDELLIDAE 176 + + „ 44. CANTHARIDAE 177 + + „ 45. SCOLYTIDAE 178 + + „ 46. BRENTHIDAE 179 + + „ 47. ANTHRIBIDAE 180 + + „ 48. CURCULONIDAE 181 + + „ 49. CERAMBYCIDAE 190 + + „ 50. CHRYSOMELIDAE 200 + + „ 51. EROTYLIDAE 206 + + „ 52. COCCINELLIDAE 207 + + + Order VI.--LEPIDOPTERA. + + Sub-order.--RHOPALOCERA. + + Family 1. NYMPHALIDAE 214 + + „ 2. LIBYTHEIDAE 219 + + „ 3. LYCAENIDAE 219 + + „ 4. PIERIDAE 223 + + „ 5. PAPILIONIDAE 225 + + „ 6. HESPERIDAE 227 + + + Sub-order.--HETEROCERA. + + Family 1. CASTNIIDAE 232 + + „ 2. URANIIDAE 232 + + „ 3. AGARISTIDAE 233 + + „ 4. SYNTOMIDAE 235 + + „ 5. ZYGAENIDAE 236 + + „ 6. SPHINGIDAE 236 + + „ 7. HEPIALIDAE 239 + + „ 8. PSYCHIDAE 243 + + „ 9. LIMACODIDAE 246 + + „ 10. ARCTIIDAE 248 + + „ 11. LIPARIDAE 252 + + „ 12. BOMBYCIDAE 255 + + „ 13. GEOMETRIDAE 259 + + „ 14. NOCTUIDAE 262 + + „ 15. PYRALIDAE 268 + + „ 16. TORTRICIDAE 274 + + „ 17. MICRO-LEPIDOPTERA 278 + + + Order VII.--DIPTERA. + + Family 1. CECIDOMYIDAE 285 + + „ 2. MYCETOPHILIDAE 287 + + „ 3. COLICIDAE 288 + + „ 4. CHIRONOMIDAE 291 + + „ 5. TIPULIDAE 292 + + „ 6. STRATIOMYIDAE 293 + + „ 7. TABANIDAE 294 + + „ 8. BOMBYLIDAE 296 + + „ 9. ACROCERIDAE 297 + + „ 10. MYDAIDAE 298 + + „ 11. ASILIDAE 298 + + „ 12. APIOCERIDAE 301 + + „ 13. PIPUNCULIDAE 301 + + „ 14. SYRPHIDAE 302 + + „ 15. CONOPIDAE 305 + + „ 16. MUSCIDAE ACALYPTERA 305 + + „ 17. ANTHOMYIDAE 311 + + „ 18. TACHINIDAE 312 + + „ 19. DEXIIDAE 313 + + „ 20. SARCOPHAGIDAE 314 + + „ 21. MUSCIDAE 315 + + „ 22. OESTRIDAE 317 + + „ 23. HIPPOBOSCIDAE 319 + + „ 24. PULICIDAE 321 + + + Order VIII.--HEMIPTERA. + + Family 1. PENTATOMIDAE 327 + + „ 2. COREIDAE 331 + + „ 3. LYGAEIDAE 333 + + „ 4. PYRRHOCORIDAE 335 + + „ 5. TINGIDAE 336 + + „ 6. ARADIDAE 337 + + „ 7. HYDROMETRIDAE 337 + + „ 8. REDUVIIDAE 338 + + „ 9. CIMICIDAE 341 + + „ 10. CAPSIDAE 341 + + „ 11. CRYPTOCERATA 342 + + „ 12. BELOSTOMIDAE 343 + + „ 13. NOTONECTIDAE 344 + + „ 14. CORIXIDAE 345 + + + Sub-order.--HOMOPTERA. + + Family 1. CICADIDAE 346 + + „ 2. CERCOPIDAE 354 + + „ 3. MEMBRACIDAE 356 + + „ 4. FULGORIDAE 358 + + „ 5. JASSIDAE 360 + + „ 6. PSYLLIDAE 361 + + „ 7. APHIDAE 367 + + „ 8. ALEURODIDAE 370 + + „ 9. COCCIDAE 371 + + + Sub-order.--ANOPLURA. + + Family 1. PEDICULIDAE 388 + + + Sub-order.--MALLOPHAGA. + + Family 1. TRICHODECTIDAE 390 + + „ 2. PHILOPTERIDAE 390 + + „ 3. GYROPIDAE 390 + + „ 4. LIOTHEIDAE 390 + + + Order IX.--THYSANOPTERA. + + Family 1. THRIPIDAE 392 + + + + + LIST OF PLATES. + + + FACING + PLATE. PAGE + + I. COCKROACHES 17 + + II. WHITE ANTS 22 + + III. NESTS OF WHITE ANTS 24 + + IV. „ „ „ 28 + + V. LEAF INSECTS 35 + + VI. LONG-HORNED GRASSHOPPERS 46 + + VII. CRICKETS 48 + + VIII. DRAGON FLIES 51 + + IX. ANT LIONS 57 + + X. SAW FLIES 71 + + XI. „ „ 73 + + XII. FIG INSECTS 78 + + XIII. ICHNEUMON, SAND, AND FLOWER WASPS 89 + + XIV. ANTS 95 + + XV. NESTS OF WASPS 112 + + XVI. BEES AND WASPS 118 + + XVII. BEETLES 151 + + XVIII. FLOWER BEETLES 163 + + XIX. WHITE BUTTERFLIES 214 + + XX. MISCELLANEOUS BUTTERFLIES 220 + + XXI. „ „ 227 + + XXII. „ MOTHS 235 + + XXIII. GREAT SWIFT MOTH 241 + + XXIV. BAG SHELTER MOTHS 245 + + XXV. CASE MOTHS 253 + + XXVI. MISCELLANEOUS MOTHS 268 + + XXVII. MOSQUITOES 289 + + XXVIII. FLIES 299 + + XXIX. HOUSE FLIES 314 + + XXX. BLOW FLIES 316 + + XXXI. PLANT BUGS 327 + + XXXII. „ „ 336 + + XXXIII. CICADAS 346 + + XXXIV. GALLS OF COCCIDS AND BEETLES 374 + + XXXV. GALLS OF COCCIDS 380 + + XXXVI. LAC INSECTS 378 + + XXXVII. THRIP INSECTS 393 + + + + + INTRODUCTION. + + +The chief drawback to the study of entomology by the outsider has +been, until modern times, the dry-as-dust technical terms used in the +descriptive work, and the formidable names attached to many of the +interesting little creatures, without any information about their +habits or life histories. This is not surprising when we know the +methods of some of the writers, and the material on which they often +worked; namely, specimens obtained from abroad, often in a more or less +damaged condition, discoloured and aborted from being squeezed among +spirit collections, and with a brief or no record of their native home. + +This has been all changed since trained students like Darwin, Wallace, +Bates, and many others have spent years in the wilds studying zoology +under natural surroundings, recording their observations while they +made collections, and, with this wealth of material and accurate +knowledge, gave such descriptions, that they have led into many new +fields of investigation, one of the most important of which is economic +entomology. + +The Economic Entomologist has become more necessary and important every +year. His investigations, carried on in the field and insectarium, +have not only done much to popularise entomology, but have saved the +countries interested untold wealth by the discovery of methods for +checking the spread and ravages of injurious insects. The technical +description of an insect is not sufficient to satisfy a practical man; +he wants to know where it passes the earlier stages of its existence, +what it feeds upon, and its place in the insect world. + +In the open-air study of God’s tiny creatures many pleasant and +profitable hours may be spent, and dwellers in the country need never +feel time hang heavily on their hands, after they have once had their +eyes opened to the wonders of Nature around them. It is the writer’s +privilege to know and correspond with a great many busy men and women, +scattered all over Australia, who are doing valuable work in collecting +specimens, making notes, and seeing both with eyes and brain--true bush +naturalists in every sense of the word. + +In acknowledging my obligations to friends who have helped me in the +course of this work, I desire to express my thanks to Mr. Masters +for notes on the habits and range of insects, and the examination +of specimens in the Macleay Museum; to Messrs. Sloane, Lea, Lyell, +R. Turner, Tillyard, Tepper, Kershaw, Dun, Dr. Jefferis Turner, Dr. +Goding, and Rev. T. Blackburn for various notes, specimens, and help +generally. From Mr. C. French and C. French, Jr., I have had the loan +of papers, books, and specimens unobtainable in Sydney, and from Mr. J. +J. Fletcher suggestions and references to works in the N.S.W. Linnean +Society’s library. + +Many other correspondents have greatly assisted me in examining and +determining specimens--Dr. Horvath, Dr. Forel, M. André, Dr. Sharp, +Mr. W. F. Kirby, Mr. C. C. Green, Dr. Silvestri, Dr. Howard, Mr. W. M. +Ashmead, and Mr. D. W. Coquillett. + +I am indebted to Mr. Maiden for the identification of the native food +plants of many insects. + +I am also greatly indebted to Mr. W. S. Campbell for permission to +use the drawings of Messrs. Grose, Burton, and Chambers, which have +previously appeared in the pages of _The Agricultural Gazette +of N.S.W._, and which for beauty and accuracy have rarely been +surpassed. To Mr. Burton and Mr. Gurney my thanks are also due for +their care in arranging and photographing other specimens. To the other +friends who have kindly aided me in this undertaking in any way I beg +here to offer my best thanks. + + + + + AUSTRALIAN INSECTS. + + + + + CLASSIFICATION. + + +In considering the classification of our insects, I have on the +whole followed that adopted by Sharp in his “Insects” (vol. v., +vi., 1895, 1899), Cambridge Natural History, but at the same time +have considered it advisable, in a work of this kind, to leave out +whenever possible the definition of the smaller sub-divisions. I have +also made one important alteration in his scheme of classification +by placing the Termitidae after the Blattidae, following on with the +Embiidae and Psocidae, as I consider that these are nearer primitive +Orthoptera than Neuroptera in their wing structure; we thus do away +with Pseudo-Neuroptera that has always appeared to be an unnecessary +division; and we should have the courage of our convictions and place +them on one side or the other. + +In zoological classification, the sub-kingdom Arthopoda, comprising +creatures whose bodies are composed of rings or segments, and jointed +legs, contains four large groups: (1) Arachnidae, spiders, mites, +ticks, and scorpions; (2) Crustacea, crabs, shrimps, wood lice, &c.; +(3) Myriapoda, centipedes, millepedes, &c.; (4) Insecta, insects; and +a fifth group, Onychophora, containing the _Peripatus_, is now +included. Though these creatures are broadly related, insects are +readily distinguished from the members of the preceding groups. + +The word Entomology is derived from two Greek words, _Entomos_, +an insect; and _Logos_, a discourse. Insects are arranged by +entomologists in Orders, Families, Genera, and Species. The first +clearly-defined classification was published by Linnaeus in his +“Systema Naturae,” 1758, where he divided them up into seven great +orders; namely, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, Neuroptera, +Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Aptera, distinguished by the number and +structure of the wings. Later on (1778) Fabricius founded another +classification, based on the structure of the organs of the mouth, but +this artificial arrangement soon became obsolete. + +In 1815, Kirby and Spence issued the work in four volumes entitled +“An Introduction to Entomology or Elements of the Natural History of +Insects,” a second revised edition coming out in 1816. This was the +first attempt in England to popularise entomology, and to give the +ordinary reader an idea of classification. In it will be found a great +deal of general information that all young entomologists should read. + +In Westwood’s “Introduction to the Modern Classification of Insects,” +published in 1839, a great advance was made, and the science placed on +a sound footing; this has been a great help to all workers. He divided +the insects into thirteen orders; but, though the tendency of American +and European writers has been to increase these divisions, we have +reduced them, and in Kirby’s “Text Book of Entomology” only seven are +used. In the last work, “Insects” (Cambridge Natural History, 1895), by +Sharp, the same seven orders are used, though in a somewhat different +manner, with the addition of an eighth, Thysanoptera, to contain the +single family Thripidae. + +The correct naming of insects is based on the following rules: First +comes the Order, which may contain a number of Families, all with +certain peculiarities; as, for example, the straight-winged insects, +Order Orthoptera, of which we will take the Family _Acridiidae_, +“locusts.” This Family is again subdivided into smaller divisions or +groups, called Genera; all the individuals comprised in the Genus have +some well-defined external characters that form a common link binding +them together: the individuals are known as Species. Therefore each +insect when it has been described has a generic or group name, and a +specific or individual name. The generic name should be based on some +Greek or Latin root, preferably the former, but it cannot of course be +compounded from both languages; it should on translation give some clue +to the general distinctive character of the group. The specific name +should be derived from Latin, and give the student some idea of the +locality, markings, colour, or shape of some part of the insect under +observation; thus, _Locusta australis_, Brunner, is the southern +locust or grasshopper. As a matter of convenience to students, the name +or abbreviated name of the entomologist who first described the insect +follows the name when mentioned in scientific articles or catalogues, +but is not usually done in general work. + +The rules here laid down, however, are much more observed in the breach +than in the observance. In former times most descriptions of insects +were written in Latin, but at the present time they are being described +not only in English, French, and German, but many other languages +difficult for the ordinary English student to translate, such as +Russian, Bohemian, Hungarian, &c., so that it is very difficult in many +instances to find out whether some generic names have any meaning. +The difficulty of creating generic names with pure roots that are not +preoccupied by previous writers is always increasing, and to save the +trouble of going through the lists of genera already in use, many +zoologists use the names of other naturalists, names of localities, or +“nonsense” names compounded of a jumble of letters. Then, again, when +the genus is an extensive one containing many species, the describer +gives it the Latinised name of the collector or some friend he wishes +to honour, so that we may come across both a generic and specific name +that throws no light on the identity of the insect. As an example, +_Grabhamia curriei_; Coquillett named this mosquito in the first +instance _Culex curriei_, Currie’s mosquito, which was consistent, +but Theobald found on subsequent examination that it belonged to his +Genus _Grabhamia_, dedicated to Dr. Grabham. + +Even without these drawbacks, a beginner naturally finds the +classification of insects a serious task, and the simple committing to +memory of the scientific names a big undertaking; but when he has once +grasped the rudiments, the system will soon appear to him. + +One of the most difficult things the popular writer meets with in +scientific work is to find a suitable vernacular name to fit a common +insect; a beetle may be bright yellow, with a brown head; the first man +comes along and calls it the “Yellow-bodied Beetle,” another passes +by and says it is the “Brown-headed Beetle,” yet neither would be +quite accurate or define its main peculiarities. Again, we often find +a popular name that designates a particular insect in one district is +used for quite a different species in another part of the State: quite +recently I asked several correspondents for specimens of the beetle in +the Maitland district known as the “Jackeroi,” and had four distinct +species of weevils forwarded under that name. The “Dicky Rice” is +the name given to a tiny grey weevil (_Prosayleus phytolymus_) +by the orchardists about Windsor, but in other districts it is used +indiscriminately for a number of other weevils. + +Should any one take up a box full of unnamed and unclassified insects, +he will feel like a stranger in a picture gallery without a catalogue; +for, while everything is very beautiful, how much more interesting +if he only knew something about the subject; for the same reason, +each insect named and arranged has an individuality that it did not +previously possess. + + + + + DISTRIBUTION. + + +The insect fauna of Australia is as remarkable and distinctive in its +peculiarities as the flora, and probably for the same reason,--the fact +of its isolated position from the larger continental areas, and the +configuration of the continent. If we take away the eastern mountain +range running north and south from Cape York to Gippsland, we find an +immense tract of almost level country with hardly a river of any size +except the Murray and its tributaries, covered with thick scrub or open +forest, great flat unbroken plains in the south; rolling downs towards +the north; sand-hills, and low timbered ranges in the interior. It is +half the year without any permanent water for hundreds of miles at a +stretch; scorched with a blazing sun and fierce hot winds in summer, +bleak and cold in the winter. Yet there is no desert country of any +extent in the strict sense of the word in the most arid portion; for +given a good fall of rain, the country, apparently parched beyond +recovery, soon puts on a coat of green, wild flowers shoot out, insects +and little creatures of all kinds emerge from their hiding places, and +birds appear as if by magic. + +Naturally our fauna, and the insects in particular, have had to adapt +themselves to these extremes, and we find them with many curious habits +without parallel in more normal countries. + +Our fauna is extremely rich in gall-producing insects in many different +orders; there are about 50 different species of coccids that form +well defined galls upon their host plants, yet the only record of a +gall-making coccid outside Australia is a single species in Mexico. +Numbers of _Thripidae_ produce galls in the leaves or flower buds of +our native shrubs, while the galls of _Psyllidae_, _Diptera_, and +_Hymenoptera_ are very abundant. + +Ants, _Formicidae_, swarm in the driest parts of the interior; +and flies, of all kinds, blow flies, blue bottle, and the small house +flies, are a perfect pest all through the summer months. + +All our coastal scrubs are rich in flowering shrubs which provide food +or hunting ground for a large insect population. The flower wasps, +_Thynnidae_, (in which the males are large and handsome with well +developed wings, but the females are diminutive and wingless,) comprise +several hundred described species; the only other countries in which +they are represented are the west coast of South America, and a few +in the Pacific Islands. The allied ant-like _Mutillidae_ with their +wingless females are more numerous in the interior. Though our country +is very rich in Sawflies, _Tenthredinidae_, they all belong to genera +peculiar to Australia; the members of the typical genus _Cimbex_ +extending its range as far east as Japan do not reach us. + +The low stunted flowering shrubs covering large patches of both the +eastern and western coasts support an immense number of Jewel-beetles, +Genus _Stigmodera_, also peculiar to this continent. We appear to +have few forms allied to North or South America; our affinities are +with Africa, and the Malay Peninsula; insects of well sustained flight, +as the Orthoptera, are found here identical with species found in +Africa and Asia. + +Many insects abundant in the eastern coastal districts are very limited +in their range; but on the western watershed others may be found +ranging right across to the Indian Ocean. + + + + + STRUCTURE. + + +The imago or perfect insect is encased in a more or less perfect horny +integument composed of a substance called chiten, which forms in many +a regular box containing all the vital organs. Every insect can be +divided into three primary divisions: first, the head, to which is +attached the mouth parts, antennae, and eyes; second, the thorax or +chest, sometimes forming a solid mass, but properly composed of three +segments, namely, the prothorax, mesothorax, and metathorax, to which +are attached three pairs of legs, and two pairs of wings (there are, +however, many exceptions to the last, as some have only one pair, +and others are wingless); third, the abdomen or body, consisting of +a number of segments variously estimated from five to eleven, the +normal number being ten, which enclose the digestive, breathing, and +reproductive organs. + +Every insect in the first instance comes from an egg or living larva +produced by the female, and though, even to the naturalist, it seems +very hard to account for the countless millions of some of the smaller +insects such as aphids and scale insects which suddenly swarm as if by +magic over plants, there is no such thing as spontaneous generation; +insects cannot come out of the ground from nothing, or be produced +from the crystalline dew upon the foliage as we have sometimes found +stated in newspapers. Again, a grain weevil cannot change into a flour +moth, or _vice versa_, as many of our farmers will say in all good +faith. In some groups the insects are produced as living larvae, and +commence to feed at once; but in the majority, eggs are deposited in +or upon the food, in which state they may remain without hatching but +a few days, or more than a year. As soon as the little caterpillar +or grub emerges, it starts upon its food, spending the whole of this +stage of its existence in eating and growing, moulting at intervals by +casting off the outer skin to accommodate its increasing bulk; when +full-grown and ready for the final moult, it stops eating, crawls away +into a suitable place, and forms a cocoon, cell, or shell, in which it +pupates. It is now a chrysalis or pupa, quiescent, without any movement +except a slight twitching of the tip of the abdomen when disturbed. +Under the pupal covering the different organs of the perfect insect +become gradually defined, until one bright day the last evolution is +completed, and with a few convulsive movements the perfect insect +bursts out of its enveloping swaddling clothes and appears in all its +beauty and perfection. + +Some groups, however, undergo a much more simple or incomplete +metamorphosis; emerging from the egg a baby insect ready to eat, (like +the grasshopper,) the same food as its mother; it undergoes a series +of moults, and after casting its skin every time, becomes more nearly +perfect without any true pupal stage, and finally after the last moult +comes forth with well-developed wings, a perfect insect. + +The typical insect is furnished with a large compound eye on either +side of the head composed of a number of small sections called facets, +varying in number from sixteen to several thousands in some of the +more highly developed families, and two or three simple eyes forming +bright shining dots between the compound pair called ocelli. In some +groups these ocelli are wanting; in others both eyes and ocelli, so the +insects are therefore blind. + +The mouth parts are composed of several hard plates; in chewing or +biting (mandibulate) insects, they consist of a pair of stout jaws, +in front of which lies the labrum, and behind the maxillae; again +behind the maxillae follows a second pair fused together to form the +labium. Both labium and maxillae are provided with a pair of slender +jointed appendages known as labial and maxillary palpi; these are used +as fingers to assist in drawing food into the mouth. In those groups +with sucking (haustellate) mouths these various parts are coalesced +into a simple sucking tube ending in a sharp style-like tip, which +is buried in the tissue of the plant when the insect is feeding. The +antennae when well developed consist of a number of distinct rings +or segments, standing out on either side of the head, and generally +attached to the front of the head between the eyes; they serve as +organs of touch, smell, and probably hearing. The legs contain five +distinct joints; first, the coxae or hips; next, the trochanters, small +joints with a ball and socket-like action from which the femora or +thighs move backward and forward; to these are attached the tibiae or +shanks terminating in the tarsi or feet at the extremity. Most insects +are also furnished with a pair of tarsal claws, between which may be a +small pad, called the pulvillus or empodium. + +The wings of insects vary considerably. Some are membranous and smooth; +others are covered with down or scales; while in many the fore pair +are solid chitinous wing-cases, useless for flight, and chiefly acting +as protective covers to the hind pair, which, when the insect is at +rest, lie folded up beneath them. The flying wings are traversed with +branching tubes called nervures, which, while strengthening them, also +perform an important function in the breathing of the insect, and are +pierced with small openings; these openings are very distinct in some +of the hymenoptera. + +Insects breathe by means of openings situated along the sides of the +thoracic and abdominal segments called spiracles, opening out into +branching air vessels called trachea, which pass into the interior, +ramifying throughout the body and extending into every part and +appendage, even to the tips of the antennae. The nervous system, the +life and movement of the insect, consists of a double chain of ganglia, +(_ganglion_, a knot,) nerve cells, which are connected with finer +encircling nerve tissues, that radiate in all directions, returning +to the ganglia, the latter regulating the nerve sensation. Therefore, +as their perceptions are so much less confined to the brain than in +vertebrate animals, they cannot feel to the same extent. Thus, you +can frequently find a locust, beetle, or ant that has escaped from a +bird, minus its abdomen, still crawling about, quite able to move all +its remaining organs. You can even remove the long slender body of +a dragon-fly, and carefully insert a bit of grass stalk of the same +length and weight to balance the wings, and it will fly off quite +readily; but of course they will not live long after such injuries. + +We know that many insects must have very keen perceptions of sound, or +the movement of the air around them, for they will drop to the ground +at the least alarm, before the bush upon which they are resting has +been touched. Very little is understood about the organs of hearing, +except in the case of grasshoppers and locusts where the ears have been +located at the base of the abdomen or on the front leg; these in some +species can be detected with an ordinary lens. It is considered by some +writers that the hairs and spiracles upon the different parts of the +body may transmit sound and act as ears. The organs of sound are very +interesting, but can be better treated when dealing with the different +groups. + +Usually, there are only two sexes of insects, males and females; but +among those living in social communities, like the bees, ants, wasps, +and termites, the majority of the inhabitants are neuters. These +neuters are usually aborted females, which do all the work in the +construction of the nest and look after the food supply of the rest of +the community. + + + FOSSIL INSECTS + +In comparison with other countries, fossil remains of insects are +scarce; only ten species have been described and named. My information +on this subject is obtained from Messrs. Etheridge and Olliff’s Memoir +of the Geological Survey, (Palaeontology No. 7,); “The Mesozoic and +Tertiary Insects of New South Wales,” 1890. The first record of fossil +insects was made by Moore in the Quarterly Journal of the Geological +Society, 1870, entitled “Note on a plant and insect bed on the Rocky +River, N.S.W.” “These insects were obtained from a chocolate-coloured +micaceous laminated marl, forming a bed ten feet thick, at a depth of +about one hundred feet from the surface, and forming a portion of the +Tertiary drift worked at the above locality. The latter are probably of +Pliocene age.” (E. & O.) + +Jack obtained the wing of a dragon fly in the Cretaceous beds of +the Flinders River, N. Queensland, which was described and figured +by Woodward under the name of _Aeschna flindersensis_ in the +Geological Magazine, 1884. It was entombed in a dark chocolate +limestone. + +The insects described and figured by Messrs. Etheridge and Olliff +consist of a cicada (_C. lowei_) from the “Taeniopteris-bearing beds +of the Talbragar River in New South Wales, and of Lower Mesozoic age”: +a fly, _Chironomus venerabilis_: and a mayfly, _Ephemera culleni_: +and a beetle larva belonging to the _Lampyridae_, under the name of +_Palaeolycus problematicus_, from the Tertiary beds at Emmaville, New +England. + +From the Ipswich Coal Measures of Queensland comes the fossil wing of +a Buprestid beetle, allied to existing Stigmodera, which they called +_Mesostigmodera typica_. Among the insect remains from this locality +the authors note several wings that appear to belong to weevils and +other beetles allied to existing species. + +Mr. W. S. Dun informs me that insect remains have been found at +Narellan N.S.W. in Wianamatta shales, and also in the brick pits at St. +Peters near Sydney. + + + + + Order I.--APTERA. + + Spring-tails and Silver-fish. + + +These tiny little creatures are wingless in all stages of their +existence, with only six segments in the abdomen; they are active +little creatures of very delicate structure, found in all kinds of +situations. We have many indigenous species, but on account of their +small size and retiring habits they have been seldom noticed, and a +wide field awaits some future entomologist who undertakes the study of +these interesting insects. + +Very little systematic work had been done with these insects until +Lubbock’s “Monograph of the Collembola and Thysanura” was published +by the Ray Society in 1873. In this work not only are a large number +described, but observations made upon their habits and life histories +are recorded. + + + Family 1. Spring-tails. + + COLLEMBOLA. + +These are among the smallest insects, for the largest does not measure +more than ⅓ of an inch in length, and most of them are very much +smaller. They are chiefly found in damp situations among loose soil, +decaying vegetable matter, and such like material, and can stand a very +cold temperature. They are easily distinguished from the silver-fish by +the few joints in the antennae, and the great powers of jumping they +possess by means of their long jointed tail appendages. + +Our common species, _Lipura sp._, is at times very abundant in the +loose soil; after a sudden thunderstorm they are often washed out +in such numbers that, carried into the little pools along the road +side, they form a dull blue scum on the surface of the water. They +measure ⅓ of a line in length; are of a dull blue colour, and have +short, thickened antennae and legs; the body is distinctly segmented +and rounded at the tip. Resting on the surface of the water they are +constantly in motion, springing up every moment like little rubber +balls. + +Another species belonging to the Genus _Smynthurus_, allied to +_S. viridis_, a European form, but probably an undescribed native +species, appeared in great numbers in lucerne paddocks in S. Australia +in 1896, where they did a great deal of damage by eating the surface of +the leaves, swarming over the fields in countless millions. + +It is a member of this genus (_Smynthurus lutus_) that Lubbock has +described in such an entertaining manner when recounting the courtship +of these queer little creatures. + + + Family 2. Silver-fish. + + THYSANURA. + +The silver-fish are divided into two distinct groups: those clothed +with fine loose silver-like scales, and those in which the scales +are absent and are replaced by fine hairs. The abdomen contains ten +segments; their bodies are elongated, furnished with long, slender, +many jointed antennae tapering to the extremities, and the tip of the +abdomen carries two or three slender thread-like tail appendages. +Though the group has been divided into four divisions, there are not +many species described; they frequent warm, dry, dark situations. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 1.=--_Lepisma saccharina_ + (Linn.). + + The common Silver-Fish. + + (Redrawn from Marlatt’s “Household Insects.”)] + +_Lepisma saccharina_, the Common European Silver-fish, measures +up to ½ an inch in length, and is covered with delicate lead-coloured +scales that give it a dull metallic lustre. They are great pests in +libraries, where they eat the glaze on papers or clothbound books, +pasted labels, or even the surface of etchings and engravings. Our +common species was generally supposed to be this insect; but Dr. +Silvestri, to whom I submitted a number of specimens caught in Sydney +houses, says that it is _Lepisma longicaudata_, the common African +species unknown in Europe. + +There is another tiny, little, dull yellow species found under stones +in ants’ nests that Silvestri has named _Lepisma cursitans_. In +the dry western scrubs of the interior under stones, hiding in the +dust, I collected _Lepisma producta_. In a natural open cave among +the sandstone cliffs on the sea shore near Gosford N.S.W. I found +a number of a very large species resting on the bare rock, with a +striking resemblance to small dried shrimps; for this peculiar species +Silvestri proposes the name of _Allomachilus froggatti_. + + + + + Order II.--ORTHOPTERA. + + Cockroaches, Grasshoppers, Termites, &c. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 2.=--Mouth Parts of a Grasshopper, + Showing the different parts. + + 1. The labrum, or upper lip. + 2. Mandibles. + 3. Jaws. + 4. The lower labrum. + 5. Tongue. + + (Redrawn from Duncan’s “Transformations of Insects.”)] + +The members of this order are known as straight winged insects, because +the narrow membranous fore wings (elytra) are usually laid flat along +the sides of the body, covering the fan-shaped hind wings that are +folded up beneath them. In some of the families we find groups or +individuals with the wings rudimentary or so modified in structure as +to be useless for flight, and in a few the perfect insects of one or +both sexes are wingless. In some, like the typical grasshoppers, the +hind legs have the thighs greatly developed and adapted for springing +or jumping; in the Mantids the two hind pairs of legs are simple, but +the front pair are produced into curved, spined tibiae and femora, +weapons well adapted to capture their prey. The mouth parts are +composed of a rounded upper lip, with two stout mandibles, and a pair +of jaws to which are attached jointed appendages (maxillary palpi), +the labrum or hind lip bearing similar appendages called the labial +palpi; besides these they have a stout spade-shaped tongue, so that +they both bite off and chew up their food. + +Though the majority are vegetarian in their habits, one group, the +mantids, are carnivorous, and in these insects the mouth parts are +produced into a sharp point to the tip of the jaws. + +They emerge from the eggs that are deposited singly or in masses in or +upon the ground or attached to the twigs of their food plant; as baby +insects they are much like the adult, undergoing a series of moults +without any true pupal stage, until in the last moult they emerge with +fully developed wings and reproductive organs. + +The Orthoptera comprise a number of very different looking insects, +among them some giants of the insect world like the stick and leaf +insects. I have placed the earwigs, cockroaches, termites, embids, book +lice, grasshoppers, crickets, mantis and phasmids together, though +there is some difference of opinion among entomologists as to the exact +position of the termites, embids, and book lice. The latest list of +the Orthoptera is W. F. Kirby’s “Synonymic Catalogue of Orthoptera, +vol. I.,” containing all the named species of the _Forficulidae_, +_Hemimeridae_, _Blattidae_, _Mantidae_, and _Phasmidae_. This work +was published by the Trustees of the British Museum, 1904: a second +volume (not yet published) dealing with the locusts, grasshoppers, +and crickets will complete this work. The latter were catalogued by +F. Walker 1869–1870 in five parts, (Catalogue of the Specimens of +Dermaptera, Saltatoria, and Supplement to the Blattariae in the British +Museum), which this work of Kirby’s when finished will supersede. + +Among the chief specialists on Orthoptera may be mentioned +Henri de Saussure, who besides his monographs in the “Biologia +Centrali-Americana,” has published many papers in scientific journals, +of which the most important (containing descriptions of Australian +species) is his “Melanger Orthopterologiques” in the Memoirs de la +Societe de Physique et d’Histoire Naturelle de Geneve 1863–4, and +in subsequent volumes. Brunner von Wattenwyl has described other +Australian species in different German publications, and in 1893 +published his “Révision des Système des Orthoptères” in the Annali del +Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova. + +Kirby described other of our species chiefly in papers contributed to +the “Annals and Magazine of Natural History,” and the Transactions of +the Zoological and Entomological Societies. + + + Family 1. Earwigs. + + FORFICULIDAE. + +These insects are slender in form, with somewhat rounded heads bearing +two large facetted eyes, but no ocelli; and long slender antennae +composed of short oval joints. The elytra, very short, usually not +extending beyond the hind margin of the thorax, cover the hind wings +when at rest. These hind wings are short but broad, somewhat resembling +a human ear when expanded for flight, but neatly folded up beneath +the abbreviated elytra at other times. In many groups however both +elytra and wings are absent, the insects trusting to their legs and +powers of burrowing to get out of danger, and even those with well +developed wings seldom use them. The thorax is narrow; the legs stout, +well adapted both for digging and running; and the abdomen, tapering +to the extremity, terminates in a pair of callipers or pincer-like +processes, sometimes curved and toothed into remarkable shapes. It is +the possession of these curious anal appendages that has led to the +earwig being popularly credited with all kinds of evil propensities; +but though they certainly look very formidable they can only give +one’s finger a harmless pinch if handled carelessly, and are otherwise +perfectly harmless. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 3.=--_Labidura truncata_ + (Kirby). + + The common Earwig found in the sand along river banks. + + (Original W. B. Gurney.)] + +Earwigs are met with chiefly in damp situations; some of the smaller +ones can be collected by pulling the rotten bark off dead trees; others +are to be found under stones or logs; and in summer time many will be +found in burrows in the damp sand on the water’s edge after the manner +of mole crickets. In point of numbers this is not a large family, only +about 520 species being described from all parts of the world; and only +about 20 from Australia, so that they are poorly represented in this +country. + +The Genus _Labidura_ contains 15 described species from all parts of +the world; _Labidura riparia_, a cosmopolitan species ranging from +Europe to Asia and Africa does not reach Australia; but we have a +typical species in _Labidura truncata_, which has similar habits, +living in burrows in the sand along the edges of lagoons and creeks. +It measures an inch in length, and is of a general reddish brown tint +mottled with dull yellow; and the dorsal segments of the abdomen are +deeply barred with reddish black almost confluent down the centre. +The head is large; the prothorax small, with the elytra and wings +well developed; the abdomen, rather narrow at the base, is broadest +behind the large callipers, which are slender, furnished with two blunt +teeth on the inner edge and meet at the extremities. It differs from +_L. ripara_ in having the apical edge of the last abdominal segment +truncate, and not scalloped as in the former. + +The next large Genus _Anisolabis_ is also world wide in its range +and contains 36 described species, 3 of which are recorded from +Australia, 2 from Tasmania, 1 from New Zealand, and 1 from Norfolk +Island. _Anisolabis colossea_, our largest common wingless species, +also recorded from New Caledonia, was described by Dohrn (Ann. Museo +Genov. 1879), and a second variety by Burr under the name of _A. minor_ +in 1902; but it is most variable in size, ranging from over 1½ inches +in length to less than half an inch. It is of a uniform dull reddish +brown colour, with a rounded head, truncate thorax, and elongate broad +abdomen terminating in a pair of short stout finger-like appendages +fitting close together and turned up slightly at the tips. + +A second species of _Anisolabis_ common in Tasmania and recorded from +the top of Mount Wellington is black, somewhat broad and flattened +on the dorsal surface, with the anal appendages short, slender, and +twisted over to the left side as if they had been damaged. It was +described by Bormans (C.R. Soc. Ent. Belg. 1880) under the name of +_Anisolabis tasmanica_. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 4.=--_Anisolabis colossea_ + (Dohrn). + + The large wingless earwig. + + (Original W. W. Froggatt.)] + +_Labia grandis_ described by Dubrony (Ann. Museo Genov. 1879) comes +from North Australia. The genus contains 47 described species; several +undetermined species in my collection are small dark brown earwigs with +well developed elytra, and anal appendages very narrow at the base, +small, and curving over at the sharp tips. + + [Illustration: Plate I.--ORTHOPTERA. + + Family BLATTIDAE. + + 1. _Blatta orientalis_ ♂ (Linn.). + 2. _Blatta orientalis_ ♀ (Linn.). + 3. _Blatta orientalis_ Larva (Linn.). + 4. _Polyzosteria limbata_ (Burm.). + 5. _Periplaneta australasiae_ (Fabr.). + 6. _Geoscapheus giganteus_ (Tepper). + 7. _Panesthia laevicollis_ (Sauss.). + 8. _Periplaneta americana_ (Linn.). + 9. _Phyllodromia germanica_ (Linn.). + 10. _Periplaneta americana_ (Linn.).] + + [Illustration: _Plate I.--ORTHOPTERA._] + +_Apterygida arachidis_, a cosmopolitan species recorded from +all parts of the world, is found in Australia; and the common +European typical species, _Forficula auricularia_, which is +widely distributed over the old world and America, is not recorded from +Australia in Kirby’s Catalogue, but I have specimens in my collection +given me by Mr. J. J. Walker taken in New Zealand, who told me he had +also captured it in Tasmania, so that it is more than probable it will +be found on the mainland. + + + Family 2. Cockroaches. + + BLATTIDAE. + +The typical cockroach is a shield-shaped insect, with stout horny +plates covering both the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the thorax and +abdomen. The head, tucked under and hidden, when viewed from above by +the rim of the prothorax, is furnished with two large compound eyes +placed well in front; in some groups there are also two ocelli; the +antennae springing from below the eyes are very long and slender, +composed of a great number of short ringed segments. The jaws are well +adapted for their vegetarian habits, though some among the domestic +species are almost omnivorous in their tastes. Tepper considers that +several species destroy the grubs and caterpillars of injurious +cut-worms, but this wants further confirmation. Their legs are long and +stout, covered with spines, and in the species living under stones and +logs the legs are usually thickened. Many species are provided with +two pairs of stout membranous wings, while the front pair (elytra) +are thickened, opaque and coarsely veined; the hind wings, though +frequently small, are fan-shaped, membranous and well adapted for +flight. + +The cockroach is one of the most ancient of insects, and roaches are +common in fossil beds both in Europe and America, many of them allied +to our still existing forms. + +The female has a curious habit of carrying her keeled egg capsule +protruding from her abdomen for some time before she deposits it in a +suitable situation. + +A number of cosmopolitan species might be called domestic insects +as they are only found about houses or the haunts of man; in London +_Blatta orientalis_ is commonly known as the “black beetle,” swarming +in cellars and kitchens. In Sydney the large yellow roach that comes +flying round the room to the light is _Periplaneta americana_, an +introduction from America, which has almost driven the smaller +indigenous _Periplaneta australasiae_ out of our houses; while in some +of the southern and eastern States of America our Australian roach +has been introduced and become the common domestic pest. The little +German Roach, or “Croten Bug” of America, _Phyllodromia germanica_, +is sometimes found about the Sydney wharves. Many of these bush and +household roaches are provided with glands at the tip of the abdomen, +from which they can discharge (when disturbed) a foetid odour as a +means of defence. The cockroaches are a very extensive family; Marlatt +estimates that at least 5,000 occur all over the world; about 212 +species are given by Kirby (Catalogue Orthoptera vol. I. British Museum +1904) as Australian. Most of our typical forms are wingless, and live +under rotten logs or stones; some of the largest species are to be +found in the dry interior. + +Saussure has described a number of our species (Mem. Soc. Geneve +1863–4–9): Walker many others, (Brit. Mus. Catalogue Blattidae 1868): +and Tepper has been a constant worker at this group in South Australia +for some years; descriptions of most of his species will be found in +the Transactions of the Royal Society of S. Australia between 1893–95, +and the Zoology of the Horn Expedition 1896. + +The Genus _Panesthia_ contains 44 described species ranging from India +to Australia, of which 7 are peculiar to this country. + +_Panesthia laevicollis_ is common in forest land, where it is found +burrowing in damp rotting logs. It is a wingless black insect, +measuring nearly 1½ inches in length, with the thorax narrow and +flattened above the head, the latter furnished with comparatively short +antennae; the legs short but very spiny; and the dorsal surface of the +abdomen covered with irregular punctures. + +_Cosmozosteria coolgardiensis_ is a very distinctive, wingless, dull +yellow species broadly marked with black on the thoracic segments, and +finely barred with the same colour on the upper edges of the abdominal +segments. It measures about 1¼ inches in length, and ranges from South +Australia to the central parts of Western Australia. + +_Polyzosteria limbata_ is a large dark brown cockroach margined on +the outer edge of the dorsal plates with yellow; it is common in the +vicinity of Sydney, and may be often noticed in the neighbourhood of +Botany resting on stumps and fences; it has the habit, like several +other species, of discharging a most offensive liquid when disturbed. +_Polyzosteria pubescens_ is an allied but much larger insect, measures +up to 2 inches in length and 1½ inch in breadth; it is of a uniform +dull brown tint, and is common about Kalgoorlie W.A., and will be +probably found to range over a large portion of the interior. + +_Polyzosteria mitchellii_ is a variegated, dull metallic green +cockroach ranging over the same country, but not more than 1½ inches in +length. It has the upper surface margined on the edges with yellow, and +is mottled on the legs and under-surface. + + [Illustration: Fig. 5. + + Fig. 6. + + =Figs.= =5= and =6=.--Desert Cockroaches. + + 5. _Polyzosteria mitchellii_ (Angas). The green-banded + cockroach. + + 6. _Polyzosteria pubescens_ (Tepper). The Pubescent + cockroach. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +_Geoscapheus giganteus_ is our giant cockroach, measuring 2½ inches in +length and 1½ across the middle of the body. Like the last three it +is wingless, with the large prothoracic shield overlapping the head. +In colour it is bright reddish brown, crenulated and very rugose in +the centre of the dorsal surface. In the same year (1895) that Tepper +obtained this fine species, Saussure described another large roach +under the name of _Macropanesthia rhinoceros_, forming a new genus for +its reception and adding a second species which he named _M. muelleri_. + + + Family 3. White Ants. + + TERMITIDAE. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 7.=--_Mastotermes + darwiniensis_ (Froggatt). + + The giant termite of Northern Australia, showing the + structure of the wings of the male. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The exact position of these insects in every scheme of classification +has been more or less vague, and while some writers place them in the +Orthoptera, more include them in the Neuroptera; others again to get +over the difficulty have formed a halting ground between the two and +called them Pseudo-Neuroptera. In the “Genera Insectorum,” Desneux has +followed Brullé and Comstock and placed them in a distinct order as +Isoptera. Grassi, one of the greatest living authorities on the anatomy +of insects, considers they are allied to the Neuroptera: but taking the +broad ground of outward structure upon which the Orders were formed, +and comparing the perfect termites, especially my giant species from +North Australia, _Mastotermes darwiniensis_, with other families, +I consider they are closely allied to the cockroaches, and therefore +place them here. Take the wing away from some of the larger species and +they have a striking resemblance to earwigs, and one of our greatest +authorities on the family (Hagen) actually described a damaged earwig +from Japan as a termite. + +Termites are widely distributed over all the warmer regions of the +world, though most numerous in tropical countries; and a number of +fossil species have been described from Europe and America. + +When Hagen’s “Monograph of the Termitidae” was published in 1858, only +seven species were recorded from Australia and Tasmania, and one or +two of these are very doubtful. In my “Australian Termitidae” (Pro. +Linn. Soc. 1896–1897) the number was brought up to 35, and there are +probably many more to be discovered, so that the family is very well +represented in this country. Our species have been subdivided into nine +genera placed in six sub-families, which are chiefly formed on the wing +structure. + +Broadly speaking their habits are very similar, and each nest or +community consists of the same castes. First in order come the dark +brown perfect winged male and female insects, only found in the regular +nests in the early summer months; for soon after their wings are +developed, the workers cut openings in the clay walls of the nest, and +they fly out in a continuous stream, generally just before sunset, and +when all have left the workers again close up the openings for another +year. In the winged state they are known as “flying ants,” and on a +warm summer night sometimes come in such numbers round the lights, +dropping their easily detached wings all over the table, that they are +a regular nuisance. + +These perfect termites have well developed eyes; slender antennae +composed of short, rounded, bead-like joints standing out in front of +the rounded flattened head; and a short stout thorax fitting close +against the elongate rounded abdomen. They are furnished with two pairs +of similar, elongated, narrow wings of uniform width rounded at the +tips, with primitive parallel neuration; these are loosely attached to +the basal wing-flap by a cross suture, where they readily tear them +across; when at rest they are laid flat over each other down the back, +extending well beyond the tip of the body: the legs are short and stout. + +Their flight is feeble, and of the millions that swarm out and flutter +away from the nest, probably not more than halfa-dozen couples are +fortunate enough to get into a suitable place to found a fresh colony. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 8.=--Diagram of head of + worker termite. Dorsal view, showing the jaws and mouth + parts. _Coptotermes (Termes) lacteus_ (Froggatt). + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + [Illustration: =Fig. 9.=--_Coptotermes (Termes) + lacteus_ (Froggatt). Fully developed female or Queen. + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + [Illustration: Plate II.--ORTHOPTERA. + + Family _Termitidae_. + + _Coptotermes (Termes) lacteus_ (Froggatt). + + 1. Male (wings closed). + 2. Male (wings expanded). + 3. Worker. + 4. Nymph. + 5. Soldier.] + + [Illustration: _Plate II.--ORTHOPTERA._] + +The next caste, that form the bulk of the life of the nest, are the +workers, delicate soft white creatures with pale yellow, rounded, +flattened heads; blind, but furnished with slender antennae; and a pair +of short stout toothed jaws hidden by the labrum, and which in the +course of their labours do such immense damage to all kinds of both +native and imported timber. The third caste, also always present, are +the soldiers, that simply act as guards for the whole nest, leaving +all the work of building, feeding the young, and gathering supplies to +the workers. In the fourth we have the Queen, which was originally one +of the winged forms; after casting her wings she is impregnated, and +while the head, thorax and appendages remain as before, the abdomen +swells into a white cylindrical sack as thick as one’s little finger; +the chitinous plates that once fitted close together are now widely +separated and appear as narrow black bands. She is simply a mass +of egg tubes; and, looked after and fed by the attendant workers, she +devotes her life to laying eggs, which, like grains of sugar, are +carried away and piled up by the workers in adjacent chambers under +the nursery. From these eggs develop tiny white specks of matter that +gradually develop by a regular series of moults into workers, soldiers, +and immature winged forms; the latter have large rounded bodies and +rounded wing pads representing the future wings. Supplementary Queens +are sometimes found that have never gone through the winged stage; they +have the general structure and large corrugated bodies of the mature +queens. The typical white ants’ nest, known as a Termitarium, usually +consists in the first instance of a mass of woody laminated material +that might be likened to papier-mache, originally a stump or portion of +a log that has been chewed up and voided in the form of a mortar-like +substance. This termitarium is full of irregular galleries running like +a network all through the mass, with the means of exit running out +under the nest; a mass of stout terraced structure above the ground +level surrounds the Royal Chambers, which might be likened in size +and shape to an inverted saucer, from which the enclosed Queen cannot +escape, but the attendant workers can pass to and fro. Above this is +a rounded oval mass often as big as a child’s head, which resembles +stiff brown paper folded round and round, full of fine openings, and +is easily crumbled up; this, for want of a better word, I call the +nursery, as it contains all the minute larvae as they emerge from the +eggs. The formation above the nursery is more irregular, and terminates +in a rounded cap. The whole of this woody structure is covered with a +stout enveloping wall of fine clay, which, carried up grain by grain, +has been cemented together into a firm earthy wall in contact with the +woody structure at the base of the nest, but often with a cavity at the +apex. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 10.=--Queen Termite (_C. (Termes) + lacteus_) (Froggatt). Showing her in the Royal Cell or + Queen’s Chamber. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The nests of the _Eutermes_ are sometimes built over stumps, but more +often on the branches or trunks of trees, where they form rounded or +oval masses a foot or two in diameter, with covered galleries leading +down to the ground. In these nests there is no distinct outer earthy +sheath; when near the ground, earth and wood are blended together in +a very compact mass, full of small galleries running at every angle, +and have no distinct structure like the first group. When the nest +is placed on a tree trunk or branch away from the ground it consists +almost entirely of woody matter, and may be quite soft and papery +beneath the outer crust. In the West Indies these nests are popularly +known as “Negroheads.” + +Other groups are never known to construct true nests, but form chambers +and galleries under the bark of trees, in banks, or simply under logs +and stones. Some in the interior are said to disappear underground from +their nests in the dry summer time, returning with the first rains and +mending up the dilapidated walls. + +The members of the two genera _Mastotermes_ and _Calotermes_ have +the wings much more thickly veined than the more simple _Termes_ and +_Eutermes_. + +_Mastotermes darwiniensis_ is the largest common species taken flying +round the lights at night in North Queensland and Port Darwin. It is +very dark brown, with thickly veined wings, and measures 1⅓ inches +in length from the front of the head to the tip of the folded wings. +Nothing is known of its nests or the other forms of this species. It +is the sole representative of the sub-family. I have, through the +observations of Mr. N. W. Christie of Port Darwin, good reasons for +believing that _Termes errabundus_, described from the soldiers and +workers only, is identical with this giant termite. He informs me that +at Point Charles he finds the nests in every old post or stump in the +wet season. + +_Calotermes longiceps_ is the common Sydney species of this group, of +which we have six described from Australia, and one from New Zealand. +The soldier measures ½ inch in length, with a long broad head armed +with blackish projecting jaws, which are irregularly toothed on +the inner edges. The _Calotermes_ live in logs and trees in small +communities; they form no regular nest; this species is found in logs +of firewood about Sydney. In some species the soldiers are very rare, +the community consisting of immature winged forms and workers. + + [Illustration: Plate III.--ORTHOPTERA. + + Family TERMITIDAE. + + Termitarium of the Meridonial White Ant, _Termes + meridionalis_ (Froggatt). + + “The Magnetic Nest,” Palmerston, Port Darwin, N. Australia. + + (Original photo. N. Holtz.)] + + [Illustration: _Plate III.--ORTHOPTERA._] + + * * * * * + +In the RHINOTERMINAE we have two species, differing from the former +group in having the wings very finely wrinkled or reticulated; and also +in having two distinct forms of soldiers, one much larger than the +other, but both with pear shaped heads and pointed finely-toothed +jaws. _Rhinotermes intermedius_ is not uncommon in old stumps about +Sydney; the winged forms are of a light reddish brown colour with +delicate wings; both the workers and soldiers of the major type have +large yellow heads, the latter armed with curved jaws; while the heads +of the small form of soldiers are much more slender. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 11.=--Typical Domed Termitarium + or “White Ants’ Nest” from the coastal districts of New + South Wales. Formed by _Coptotermes (Termes) lacteus_ + (Froggatt). (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 12.=--Vertical section of nest of the same species + shewing the structure of the woody interior, with the outer + clay covering. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The typical TERMITINAE comprise nearly all the species that build +regular mounds, containing countless thousands of individuals. _Termes +lacteus_ is the common species that does so much mischief to buildings +about Sydney, and though not a mound builder about the city, yet from +Colo Vale to Victoria and also northward it forms tall rounded nests +up to six feet high and very regular in structure. The soldier is +about ¼ inch long, with a bright, yellow, pear shaped head, and a pair +of curved jaws; it also has an opening in the front of the head above +the jaws from which it can discharge a globule of milk-like fluid when +disturbed. This species with several allied forms has been placed in +the genus _Coptotermes_. _Termes meridionalis_ has a small soldier, +almost white, with a rounded yellow head armed with two slender curved +jaws, and an incurved tooth in the centre of the inner margin; it +measures a little over ⅙ of an inch in length. It has a world wide +reputation on account of building what is known as the “Magnetic Nest,” +built like a brick wall and always pointing north and south, with the +wall facing east and west. Jack (Pro. Royal Society, Queensland, 1897) +considers that this is done by the termites always building towards the +rising sun; so that, as they work at night, the clay will dry rapidly. +They are found in several localities on Cape York and near Port Darwin. +Several very distinct species are found in the interior. _Termes +perniger_ ranges from Kalgoorlie W.A. to Western Queensland; the +soldier is a very dark coloured insect with a very large head furnished +with large powerful toothed jaws, and is very savage. _T. rubriceps_ +is found in small colonies in Central Australia, forming their nests +at the roots of the tussocks of spinifex grass. _T. krisiformes_, a +species in which the soldier has slender irregular jaws like a Malay +kris, makes tiny little mounds about Bulli N.S.W. or forms colonies +under the shelter of a log. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 13.=--Nest of White Ant + (_Eutermes fumipennis_) (Walker), upon the summit of + a rock where a small stump had been situated. Manly, near + Sydney, N.S.W. + + (Original photo. W.W.F.)] + +The members of the genus _Eutermes_ are common all over Australia; they +construct hard woody nests seldom more than a foot or two high; though +at the same time, the largest known termitarium is also built by one +species, _Eutermes pyriformis_, pillar shaped and often 18 feet in +height, probably in the first instance commenced over a dead tree trunk. + +The soldiers are very curious looking creatures; the peculiar oval or +rounded heads produced into an awl-like point in front, the centre +being filled with a clear honey-like fluid; this is discharged down the +projecting snout and smothers their enemies, because they have no true +jaws above the mouth: most of them are much darker brown insects than +the other termites. The two species, _Eutermes fumigatus_, the darker, +smaller species, and _E. fumipennis_, the lighter tinted, are common in +the vicinity of Sydney. + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 14.=--Typical nest, of the Spinifex termite + (_Eutermes triodiae_) (Froggatt), about 14 feet high. + Hall’s Creek, Kimberley, W.A. (Original photo. Mansbridge.)] + + + Family 4. Web-spinners. + + EMBIIDAE. + +These rare and curious little chocolate brown creatures are elongate in +form, not unlike a slender adult termite after it has shed its wings, +and they form another group that has puzzled entomologists in regard to +their classification. Only twenty species are known from all parts of +the world; but from their affinities to prehistoric insects they have +been carefully studied. Grassi worked at the life-history of a species +found in Southern Europe under stones: Wood-Mason has figured and +described Indian forms and placed them in the Orthoptera: Perkins says +that the species in Hawaii is common on tree trunks where they conceal +themselves under a fine web like spiders. + + [Illustration: Plate IV.--ORTHOPTERA. + + Family TERMITIDAE. + + Termitarium of the Great Mound-nest White Ant, _Eutermes + pyriformis_ (Froggatt). + + Palmerston, Port Darwin, N. Australia. + + (Original photo. N. Holtz.)] + + [Illustration: _Plate IV.--ORTHOPTERA._] + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 15.=--_Oligotoma gurneyi_ (Froggatt). The + web spinning embiid. With a diagram showing the primitive + structure of wing. (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.)] + +They measure up to about ½ an inch in length; are elongate in form +with large globular heads, small toothed jaws, and long, slender +antennae composed of 20 or more bead-shaped joints which they are +constantly moving when they run about. The thorax is formed of three +very elongated segments, so that each pair of legs is very wide +apart; and in the winged forms the slender oar-shaped wings with very +primitive nervures are so far from each other that they have quite +a comical look; the abdomen is short, cylindrical, composed of 10 +segments, rounded at the tip, with large anal appendages (cerci). The +legs are curiously thickened, with the tarsi of the front pair shaped +somewhat like a weaver’s shuttle. Until last year they were unknown +in Australia, when I described two species (Proc. Linn. Soc. 1904); +the first _Oligotoma agilis_, is a wingless form, of which I found +two specimens while turning over granite boulders at Bomen near Wagga +N.S.W. The second, _Oligotoma gurneyi_, was obtained by Mr. Gurney in a +lighted room one evening in a suburb of Sydney; it had well developed +wings. Soon afterwards Mr. Steel had his attention called to what one +of the men in the Colonial Sugar Co.’s refinery at Pyrmont called a +“white fungus” under one of the windows. This Mr. Steel found to be +a mass of white web matted with excrement and full of slender brown +insects, which he collected into a bottle and handed to me. Though most +of them were mature, only a few showed regular wing pads, but otherwise +they appear to be _O. gurneyi_; in captivity they spun a great quantity +of delicate white web among which they hid, but when wet sugar was +placed on the cork they ate it readily. + + + Family 5. Book Lice. + + PSOCIDAE. + +These are very delicate little creatures that run about on moss grown +fences, tree trunks, among foliage, or hide in boxes, old baskets and +other litter. In some groups, while the larvae and pupae are wingless, +the perfect insects have two pairs of delicate wings with curious +curved transverse nervures and very few cross veins, so that the cells +are few. In other groups the perfect insects are wingless, or if +present, aborted and useless for flight. They are all furnished with +long slender antennae consisting of from 11 to 25 joints; the head is +large, rounded in front, with convex eyes, and three ocelli (wanting in +the wingless forms). + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 16.=--_Philotarsus froggatti_ (Enderlein). A + typical specimen of the Psocidae found near Sydney, N.S.W. + (Redrawn from Enderlein’s figure,--W.W.F.)] + +They can be collected into a small tube on fences or tree trunks, or +shaken into a net or umbrella; but they must be handled very gently, +and are best placed in dry tubes, and killed and mounted at home. Many +handsome species are found in Australia, and some probably have a wide +distribution, as they are easily introduced into a new country with +many kinds of produce. One dull winged species is very common on the +foliage of the orange trees, where it lays its metallic green eggs in +patches of 9 or 12 on the midrib of the leaf, covering them over with a +delicate white silken sheet. + +A number of species were obtained in Australia by the Hungarian +entomologist L. Biro, collecting for the Royal Museum of Hungary, +chiefly captured in the neighbourhood of Sydney. In 1903 Dr. Enderlein +classified and described these (Die Copeognathen des Indo-Australischen +Faunengebietes), published in the Annals of the above Museum, and +illustrated with many fine drawings. In this monograph he divides the +family into 16 sub-families, 39 genera and 115 species, 15 of which are +described from Australia. + +_Philotarsus froggatti_, a tiny creature 2⅓ millimetres in length, with +clear wings, is found on the Blue Mountains. + + + Family 6. Mantids. + + MANTIDAE. + +We have no exact popular name for these peculiar insects; some of the +bush children call them “Forest Ladies,” on account of the dainty form +and graceful motion of several of our smaller species, which is rather +appropriate; but unfortunately several lace-wings go under the same +fanciful name. In the United States the common species are called “Rear +Horses” from the way they stand at rest with raised fore legs. The +Romans called them “Soothsayers;” and at least two species are known +as “Praying Mantis,” namely _Mantis religiosa_ in Europe, and _Mantis +carolina_ in the United States, from their pious attitudes. + +They are most numerous in tropical countries, and are well represented +in Australia; Westwood in his “Synopsis of the Species of Mantidae,” +published in 1889, records 624 described species, only 30 of which come +from this country. Kirby’s Catalogue (1904) brings the list up to about +843, and adds 5 more to our list of described species. + +With the exception of some curious little neuroptera (_Mantispa_), +which can be easily distinguished by their lace-like wings, the members +of this family cannot be confused with other groups. The long slender +prothorax, supporting a very flexible narrow head, forms an elongate +neck, to which are attached, well in front, the formidable spined fore +legs, which are seldom used as means of progression, but as weapons of +offence to capture other insects upon which they prey, for they are +tigers of the insect world, lying in wait, perfectly motionless, with +their colouration adapted to the foliage among which they hunt. The two +apical portions of the thorax, and slender body, which in the ordinary +type is covered with two pairs of wings, the first pair narrow like +that of a grasshopper and the hind pair fan-shaped, with the two pairs +of slender legs, are orthopterous; while the front portion, consisting +of the narrow head turned down in front into a pointed mouth, with +large projecting eyes, and thread-like antennae, show its carnivorous +habits. The female deposits her eggs upon the twigs or bark of trees +in an almond-shaped mass, consisting of regular rows of elongate eggs +piled above each other, with the tips all pointing outward, and which +are covered with an enveloping coat of a sticky brown secretion that, +as it hardens in the sun, becomes dry and papery. When the baby mantids +emerge from the eggs they are attached to them by two slender threads +fastened to the anal appendages (cerci); they hang head downward, like +a mass of tiny squirming caterpillars, until they cast their first +larval skin, when they fall to the ground, soft, wingless, little +stick-like creatures, ready to hunt for themselves. These egg masses +are very conspicuous objects in the bush and orchard, and are often +received from my correspondents with enquiries as to what they are, and +whether they should be destroyed. As each is the home of some hundreds +of little creatures that destroy thousands of smaller injurious +insects, they should never be disturbed by the gardener. + +The commonest species in our gardens is the “Thick shouldered green +mantis,” _Orthodera ministralis_ better known under the name of +_Orthodera prasina_, but as it was described many years before under +the first name, the latter has become a synonym. It is about 1½ +inches in length, somewhat stout and thickset, the front portion of +the neck-like prothorax as wide as the head, fitting up close against +it, and narrower where it joins the mesothorax. It has well developed +wings and flies very well, but it usually remains immovable and alert, +resting on a leaf as green as its own bright coat, its treacherous +deadly fore-legs are raised, ready to lash out and seize any incautious +moth or butterfly that comes within reach, and it will often secure +one larger than itself. It ranges from Tasmania round to North-west +Australia, and has been recorded from New Zealand, into which place it +could have been easily introduced from Australia with foliage plants. + + [Illustration: Fig. 17. + + =Figs.= =17= and =18=.--Australian Mantidae. + + 17. _Tenodera australasiae_ (Leach), the long-winged + mantis. + + 18. _Archimantis latistylus_ (Serv.), the short-winged + mantis. + + (Original photo. Burton.)] + +The Genus _Archimantis_ contains five species described from Australia, +of which _Archimantis latistylus_ is the commonest species about +Sydney. It measures 4 inches in length, is furnished with large well +developed wings, and varies in colour from dull green to brownish +yellow; the female is smaller, with more thickened body and shorter +wings. The fore-wings, or more properly elytra, are brown, rounded +at the tips, often marked in the centre with a dark spot; the hind +wings are semitransparent. It hides among the dull-coloured foliage of +the Leptospermum and Melaleuca bushes, which assimilate well with its +own uniform tint. This species will be found, figured, in colours in +McCoy’s “Zoology of Victoria, Decade xiii.” + +_Archimantis montrosa_, a slightly larger species, comes from Victoria +River, North Australia; the type was taken by Elsey, naturalist to the +Gregory Exploring Expedition in 1856. _A. armatus_, a smaller brown +species, from the same district, has the prothorax curiously spined on +the outer margins, and the under-surface covered with coarse tubercles. + +_Tenodera australasiae_ is another of our best known species, not +uncommon about Sydney in the summer months on the low scrub. It was +first described, and figured in colours, by Leach in his “Zoological +Miscellanies” 1815; and Westwood states that the type is in the +Banksian Collection in the British Museum. It has a wide range over +Australia, and is also a native of New Caledonia, New Guinea and +Ceram. It is a more brightly-tinted insect, 3½ inches in length, of a +general yellowish brown colour; the apical edge of the elytra striped +with green, followed with a stripe of pale salmon colour, and the rest +semitransparent; the wings are tinged with pink along the front margin, +the whole mottled with black and brown, thickest towards the body. + +There are a number of active, little, black or dark brown mantids +with curiously shaped bodies that run about on the dull coloured tree +trunks, seldom flying, (though many of them are winged), but trusting +to their imitative tints to escape observation; several of our species +belong to the Genus _Paroxypilus_. + + + Family 7. Stick or Leaf Insects. + + PHASMIDAE. + +These are sometimes in general appearance not unlike mantids, but the +distinctive characteristics are well defined; for though the prothorax +is more or less elongated into a neck, and the abdomen, wings, and hind +legs long, it will soon be noticed that the fore pair of legs are not +spined, but are regular walking or clinging legs like the hind ones. +The head is oval or rounded, with a somewhat simple mouth adapted for +chewing foliage; smaller eyes; and large, thicker jointed antennae. + + [Illustration: Plate V.--ORTHOPTERA. + + Family PHASMIDAE. + + _Podacanthus wilkinsoni_ (Macleay). + + 1. Male. + 2. Female. + 3. Immature male. + 4. Showing structure of hind legs of immature male. + 5. Egg (enlarged).] + + [Illustration: _Plate V.--ORTHOPTERA._] + +They in the matter of colouration also adapt themselves to their +surroundings, and are usually green or brown when at rest, though when +the wings are expanded they exhibit some brilliant tints. In some +groups the species are winged in both sexes; others have only winged +males; and one group is wingless in both sexes, the latter generally +long, slender, and stick-like. + +This family contains some of the giants of the insect world; specimens +of several of our Australian species measure 12 inches in length; while +supposed closely allied fossil forms unearthed in the Carboniferous +deposits of Europe measure up to 19 inches and were supplied with +immense wings. The female while crawling about among the foliage drops +her eggs singly on the ground beneath, where, protected in their hard +shells among the litter, they sometimes remain over a year before the +baby phasma comes out. The remarkable form and texture of these hard +oval egg cases has attracted the attention of entomologists in many +countries, and Sharp has figured and described some from New Britain. + +Just as the Mantis has adapted its colour and shape to catch its prey, +so the phasma to protect itself from its many enemies has evolved +wonderful leaf-like processes upon the wings and legs, agreeing in +style with the surrounding foliage. It is noticeable that the larger +bodied female is often more leaf-like than her slender mate, probably +because more helpless; this is particularly so in the gravid or +egg-laying condition. + +G. R. Gray described a number of our species in the Transactions of the +Entomological Society 1836, and others in the “Entomology of Australian +Phasmidae” 1833, and later in his “Synopsis Phasmidae”; Westwood in +his “Catalogue of the Orthopterous Insects in the British Museum” 1859 +describes some; a few have been described by Macleay, Leach, McCoy and +Rainbow, bringing our list up to about 60 species. In Kirby’s Catalogue +95 species are listed from all parts of the world, but no additions are +made to our list. + +The members of the Genus _Bacillus_ are slender, wingless, stick-like +creatures of which 5 species are recorded from Australia. The Great +Brown Phasma, _Acrophylla titan_, is the type of one of our groups, +containing 11 species described from this country. The female measures +8 inches to the tip of the body, and is slightly broader across the +outspread wings; the general form of head and thorax to base of tegmina +is slender; the abdomen is thickened; the legs and mesothorax are +spiny. The general colour is greyish brown; the tegmina light brown, +but thickly blotched with blue-black so that it is often more black +than brown; the wings are very large with the costal area broad and +similar in colour to the tegmina, but shaded with red at base, the +hind membranous part of them light chocolate irregularly mottled with +dull greyish brown. The male is more slender in form, about an inch +shorter, the smaller tegmina mottled with greenish yellow; the front +of the wings, which are proportionately small, are of the same colour, +and the hind portion dark chocolate finely mottled with light brown. +This large stick-insect used to be common about Sydney before the scrub +was cleared away, and ranges northward up the coast. Gray says: “It is +found on low scrubs about Port Jackson where the inhabitants call it +“Walking Straw” or the “Animated Stick.” + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 19.=--Group of Gregarious Phasmids, _Podacanthus + wilkinsoni_ (Macleay) resting upon denuded eucalyptus + foliage. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The Genus _Podacanthus_ is represented by 3 fine species. The large +pink winged phasma, _P. typhon_, has a wide range from Victoria to +Queensland. When resting with closed wings it is of a uniform rich +green tint, but when the wings are opened out, the upper surface of the +abdomen and the wings behind the frontal stripe are bright rose red. +The female measures 5 inches to the tip of the body and over 7 inches +across the outspread wings. In this genus the mesothorax is short, the +dorsal surface covered with short spined bosses and the metathorax +swelling out into a thickened body tapering to the large boat shaped +ovipositor. The male is smaller and much more slender. + +_P. wilkinsoni_ is a gregarious species, appearing in the summer in +the New England forests in countless thousands, stripping every leaf +off the eucalyptus bushes as they travel along to the south-east, so +that all the trees look as if they had been killed by ringbarking, from +which habit they have received the name of “Lourie’s Ringbarkers,” +Mr. Lourie being the owner of Noundoc Station, where they are very +numerous. The female measures about 3½ inches to the tip of the body, +which is broad and thickset from the shoulders, of a general uniform +bright green tint on the dorsal surface, with the ventral somewhat +blackened and roughened. When the wings are expanded the front margin +shows the basal part pale orange yellow, and the membranous part behind +varying from rich rose red to pink. The male is a more slender insect +of a dull olive green tint, about the same length, with the broad wings +delicate purple. They appear with well developed wings about New Year, +and are depositing their eggs toward the end of February, the first +frost killing the last of them off. + +_Didymuria violescens_ was described and figured in Leach’s “Zoological +Miscellanies 1815” as our typical Australian Phasma; Gray again figured +it in colours in his “Entomology of Australia” under the name of the +“Violet-winged tailed Spectre.” It is a slender species not unlike the +last, of a brownish yellow colour, with wings of a deep violet almost +red tint; and it has 3 large spines on the thighs of the hind legs. + +The Genus _Tropidoderus_ contains four species according to the latest +catalogue, though there is some doubt whether one or two should not be +defined as only varieties of _T. childreni_ described by Gray. + +_T. rhodomus_ is figured and described by McCoy; it measures 6 inches +in length and 9 across the outspread wings. With closed wings it is +a rich green, but when they are expanded, the basal portion of the +wings is bright red, with the apical portion green, and the rest +semitransparent. The tegmina is short, leaf-like, green above, but +shaded with red on the under-surface. This is one of the short-necked +broad-bodied forms, and while the fore-legs are long and slender, the +thighs of the mid and hind pair are dilated into flattened leaf-like +forms; it is found, clinging among the foliage of the gum trees, from +Victoria to Queensland. The typical _T. childreni_ differs from this +form in having the basal portion of the apical area of the wings yellow +instead of red, and the hyaline wings tinged with yellow. McCoy has +figured another under the name of _T. iodomus_: and Rainbow a fourth +from the neighbourhood of Sydney under the name of _T. decipiens_ which +also comes very close to the typical species; it has the basal portion +of the apical area of the wings purple. + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 20.=--The Spiny Green Leaf Insect. _Extatosoma + tiaratum_ (Macleay). + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +_Extatosoma tiaratum_ is remarkable for the great difference in +the sexes; the male is a rare insect, about 4 inches long; is a dull +dark green, with small tegmina; the wings are large, rounded at the +tip, the apical margin green with the rest semiopaque, dark brown, +mottled with whitish bands; the head is conical, coming to a point at +the summit and cleft in the centre, covered with fine tubercles. + +The female measures about 5 inches, is of a similar colour, large and +swollen in proportion; the tegmina are represented by two flaps, and +the wings are wanting. The head is of the same conical shape as that +of the male, but larger; neck short and stout; the legs produced into +dilated spiny leaf-like processes, cut out and arcuate like the leaves +of holly; and the lower segments of the abdomen are fringed with spiny +leaf-like appendages. Often the large body is mottled with white specks +and smutty blotches, giving it a wonderful resemblance to the foliage +among which it hides. It has a very wide range from Tasmania to New +Guinea. + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 21.=--A group of Spiny Green Leaf Insects, + _Extatosoma tiaratum_ placed on a Japanese Holly bush to + show protective mimicry. + + (“Agricultural Gazette” N.S.W.)] + +_Clemacantha regale_ is a large, handsome, very long phasma over +9 inches in length, of a combined yellow and green tint; the head is +striped with parallel green and pale yellow. The leaf-like tegmina are +striped with white; wings have the apical area green shaded with pink +at base; rest semitransparent with a blue tint. It ranges from N.S. +Wales to Queensland. + + + Family 8. Short-horned Grasshoppers. + + ACRIDIIDAE. + +These are insects with the thighs of the hind legs swollen or enlarged, +much longer than the fore legs, and adapted for jumping. The tarsi +are composed of three distinct segments. The antennae are short, +containing less than 30 joints; the ovipositor of the females is not +sabre-shaped, but composed of short plates adapted for boring into the +ground; and the organs representing ears are placed on the sides of the +first abdominal segment. This group of the Orthoptera may be described +as the short-horned locusts or grasshoppers in contradistinction to +the tree or grass dwelling green grasshoppers with long thread-like +antennae. All the true plague locusts that ravage many of the warmer +countries and do an immense amount of damage belong to this division. +Many species have a wide range; our locusts are allied to the African +and Indian forms. Most of the species are winged, and many are capable +of long sustained flight; these are furnished with air sacs in the +interior of the thorax and abdomen; these when distended with air +assist in lightening the otherwise heavy body. The remarkable shrill +notes produced by some of these insects are caused by rubbing the inner +edge of the hind thigh against the outer surface of the wing covers +which are frequently furnished with ridges or raised veins for this +purpose. The so-called ears consist of a membrane covering a small +opening on the abdomen, and are of a somewhat different structure in +different groups. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 22.=--Diagram of Grasshopper. + _Cyrtacanthacris exacta_ (♀) (Walker). + + _ant_, antennae; _e_, eye; _vert_, vertex; + _oc_, ocellus; _fast_, fastigium; _c. fac_, + costae facialis; _c_, clypeus; _m_, mandible; + _l_, labrum; _mp_, maxilliary palpi; _lp_, + labial palpi; _ps_, prosternal spine; _p_, + pronotum; _m. epis_, meso-episternum; _m. epim_, + meso-epimeron; _co_, coxa; _tr_, trochanter; + _meta-epis_, meta-episternum; _meta-epim_, + meta-epimeron; _fem_, femur; _tib_, tibia; + _tar_, tarsus; _sp_, spiracle; _v_, ventral + valves of ovipositor. (Original W. B. Gurney.)] + +The reproductive organs of the female consist of several anal plates +that are used after the manner of an auger to cut a circular pit in the +hard soil, the abdominal segments being extended while the operation is +going on; the eggs are deposited at the bottom of the hole, enclosed +in a similar exudation as that which encloses the eggs of the mantis, +and some of the plague locusts deposit two or more egg masses before +they die. These grasshoppers have been studied by many entomologists, +who have subdivided them into different groups. Brunner von Wattenwyl +places them under nine sub-families or tribes chiefly based on the +structure of the head. Saussure has described some of our species; +Walker, Stoll and Blanchard others. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 23.=--_Locusta danica_ (Linn.) + The Yellow-winged Locust. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The Yellow-winged Locust, _Locusta danica_, is common in open forest +country all over Australia, and usually makes a rustling noise as it +flies up; it is too well known to need describing; with its wings +closed it is a mottled, dull brown and green insect up to 2 inches in +length, with a short broad head and crested thorax; when the wings +are opened it shows a large patch of rich yellow banded with black. +The male is often fully a third smaller than the female. It has +been described under a great number of different names, but is now +considered the same insect as found in the South of Europe, Africa and +Asia. + +The Blue Mountain Locust, _Oedaleus senegalensis_, might easily be +mistaken for a smaller dull coloured specimen of the last one, but +the yellow tint, when present, is very slight, and the wings have +the tips blackened as well as the inner band. It has a wide range +over Australia, and is also found in Africa from which place it was +described by Krauss. + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 24.=--_Chortoicetes pusilla_ (Walker). The + small Plague-locust of the interior of Australia. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 25.=--_Chortoicetes terminifera_ (Walker). + The larger Plague-locust. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The Large Coast Locust, _Acridium maculicollis_, is sometimes found in +gardens; it measures 3 inches to the tip of the wings, and is greyish +brown with darkly mottled elytra. _Locusta australis_ is like the +Yellow-winged Locust, with more regularly mottled elytra, and clear +transparent wings. The small plain Locust, _Chortoicetes pusilla_, is +under 1 inch in length; the male is of a general bright yellow colour, +and the female, somewhat larger, of a general greyish brown tint. It is +the species that for the last few years has done so much damage to our +grass and crops in the Western country. _C. terminifera_ is one-third +larger, and is of a general light brown mottled colour, with the wings +semitransparent, tipped with dull brown; it at times is one of our +plague locusts. The Rose-winged Locust, _Hyalopteryx australis_, is one +of our small but very noisy locusts, about 8 lines in length; when at +rest it is light brown mottled with darker tints, the expanded hind +wings are brightly shaded with rose pink and clouded with black. It is +found in open grass lands, and when disturbed rises with a very shrill +screech. The Red-legged Locust, _Cirphula pyrocnemis_, is a short broad +insect about 1 inch long; is of a general dark brown tint, with the +expanded wings dark yellowish brown: the head and thorax are roughened; +the abdominal segments are dull yellow with several black bands on +the sides: it is common on the open flats about Sydney in summer. The +common “Great Striped Locust,” _Cyrtacanthacris exacta_, measures +nearly 3 inches; it ranges all along the Eastern coast and is often +seen in secluded gardens; it has a broad dorsal stripe down the centre, +varying from yellow to dull green. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 26.=--_Cirphula pyrocnemis_ + (Stäl). The Red-legged Locust. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + [Illustration: Fig. 27. + + Fig. 28. + + =Figs. 27= and =28=.--Australian Grasshoppers. + + 27.--_Tryxalis rafflesii_ (Blanchard). The Slender + Narrow-headed Grasshopper. + + 28.--_Goniæa australasiae_ (Leach). The Ridge-backed + Grasshopper. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The Long-nosed Locust, _Tryxalis rafflesii_, is very common in open +grassed flats; the female is nearly 3 inches long, with a slender +pointed head, and long pointed body, varying from all shades of +grass green to pale salmon colour. It is easily recognised by its +curious finger-like antennae, and grotesque head. The male is a very +slender, much smaller insect. The pink-winged Tryxalid, _Atrastemorpha +crenaticeps_, is much smaller; it has a pointed head of a uniform pale +green tint; the wings are brightly tinted with red, deepest at the +shoulders. The Ridge-backed Grasshopper, _Goniaea australasiae_, is a +large, stout, reddish brown insect about 2 inches long, which lives on +the hills in open forest; the male is a much smaller hopper, but both +sexes have the head, thorax, and closed wings forming a sharp ridge +down the back. In similar open forest country we find _Coryphistes +cyanopterus_, which usually rests on the tree trunks, with its slightly +roughened head, thorax, and mottled elytra closely resembling the bark. +It measures 2½ inches in length, but though it is very variable in size +and outward colouration, the wings when expanded always show a rich +blue tint. The Crested Locust, _Ecphantus quadrilobis_, is one of our +western forms that rests among the dry grass on the plains; it is dull +green to yellow, short and thickset; is 1½ inches long; with the back +ridged, and the crested thorax formed into 4 lobes. The spotted locust, +_Stropis maculosa_, is another of our western forms; it is broad and +thickset; about 2 inches long; of a uniform dark brown tint, with +the thorax barred, and the elytra mottled with large patches of light +yellow. + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 29.=--_Coryphistes cyanopterus_ + (Charpentier). The Blue-winged Locust. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 30.=--_Stropis maculosa_ (Stäl). The Spotted + Ground-locust of the interior. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +There are also many other curious forms of wingless, short-horned +locusts in the interior, belonging to several genera, and probably some +fine things that have never reached our museums. + + + Family 9. Long-horned Grasshoppers. + + LOCUSTIDAE. + +These grasshoppers are found not only among the grass but on low +shrubs, or in tree tops, feeding upon the foliage; while others, many +of them wingless, live underground after the manner of crickets. Among +those that frequent trees are some that, like the phasmids, have the +legs and wing-covers so wonderfully veined and spotted that they +are an exact imitation of the leaves of their food plant. They are +easily distinguished from the previous group by their long, slender, +thread-like antennae composed of a number of fine joints; in most cases +the body is softer; and in the female furnished with a sabre-like +ovipositor with which she generally deposits her eggs in rows along the +side of a leaf or twig, though others place them on the ground. The +basal portion of the thigh of the hind leg is generally thickest, and +most of the species have four jointed tarsi, with the ear process not +upon the base of the abdomen, but on the knees of the fore-legs. Some +are said to be carnivorous, and I have twice seen a large green species +which comes to the flowers of the stunted angophora devouring honey +bees, but probably more for the honey they contain than the blood of +the bee. + +Brunner von Wattenwyl has written a great deal about these insects +and described a number of Australian species. Tepper is one of the +few Australian entomologists who has taken up this group, describing +some in the Transactions of the Royal Society of S. Australia: in the +Locustidae of the world Sharp groups them into fifteen tribes. Most of +these Orthoptera are solitary or found in pairs; some too have a very +musical note. + +The Mountain Grasshopper, _Acridopeza reticulata_, is such a +curious looking creature that it has been figured and noted by many +naturalists. Both sexes are of a uniform dull brown colour, but very +different in structure; the male measures 2 inches; has long pointed +elytra, and well developed wings; the head is small; the antennae +slender and thread-like; the eyes stand out on the side of the head, +and the thorax is saddle shaped. The female is furnished with a very +short, rounded body richly mottled with blue, white, and red, covered +with a pair of rounded, short, shell-like elytra, but the wings are +wanting. When disturbed she stands on tiptoes, arches her body, raises +her elytra exposing all the bright tints of her body, which probably +act as a warning to her enemies. + + [Illustration: Plate VI.--ORTHOPTERA. + + Family LOCUSTIDAE. + + 1. _Acridopeza reticulata_ (Guérin), ♀. + 1_a_. _Acridopeza reticulata_ (Guérin), ♂. + 1_b_. _Acridopeza reticulata_ (Guérin), eggs. + 2. _Alectoria superba_ (Brunner). + 3. _Ephippitytha_ 32-_guttata_ (Serv.). + 4. _Pseudorhynchus lessonii_ (Serv.).] + + [Illustration: _Plate VI.--ORTHOPTERA._] + +Another remarkable grasshopper is _Alectoria superba_, found in +the dry western country among the grass; it is a long, slender, green +insect, measuring 2½ inches; the elytra and legs are richly mottled +with bright reddish brown; the thorax is produced into a large circular +crest edged with bright red, a large boss below on either side, +and another projecting above the head. The female has a very small +lance-like ovipositor. The Speckled Green Grasshopper, _Ephippitytha +32-guttata_, is about the same length as the last, of a somewhat +lighter green tint, and has the elytra mottled with a double row of +black spots varying from 32 to 44 in number. The head is small, the +thorax short and somewhat saddle-shaped. It is found about Sydney +on flowering shrubs; and there is a darker variety which has a wide +range over the interior, to which Tepper has given the name of _E. +quadrigesima-guttatus_. The Small Green Grasshopper, _Caedicia valida_, +is one of our dainty, slender, green species found in the gardens, +where it sometimes damages the young fruit by gnawing patches off the +skin, or nibbles holes in the foliage; it produces a sharp musical note +uttered three times in succession. + +The Large Green Leaf Grasshopper, _Locusta vigentissima_, figured by +McCoy, is also found on low shrubs in the summer; it measures nearly 3 +inches, and is of a uniform dull green colour, with the head, legs and +antennae more or less yellow: the head is broad; the thorax stout; the +legs long and spiny; the elytra long, tapering to the tips; the wings +large, semitransparent; the abdomen short, in the female furnished +with a long sabre-like ovipositor. The Lance-headed Grasshopper, +_Pseudorhynchus lessonii_, has a wide range along the eastern coast +among the long grass; it is green, with the tips of the elytra marked +with yellow; the wings are small, and the front of the head produced +into a lance-like point. Among the foliage of the eucalypts in Southern +Australia there is a very handsome large grasshopper with the head +small, the thorax very square, and the elytra very leaf-like in form; +it has a curious bloom upon it like that upon many of the gum leaves, +and is a very fine case of mimicry. + +The Genus _Anostosoma_ comprises a number of reddish brown wingless +locusts more like crickets in many ways, for they live chiefly in +holes in the ground, have long thread-like antennae, and stout spiny +legs. _Anostosoma australasiae_ is a very formidable looking insect +with immense head and jaws, originally described from Moreton Bay; +it is sometimes found about Sydney, measuring 3 inches in length; it +has antennae over 4 inches long. The smaller species, _Anostosoma +erinaceus_, is of a similar colour and form, but not more than 1½ +inches in length; it is not uncommon in gardens. + +_Paragryllacris combusta_ lives in hiding during the day under a +curled leaf spathe of a palm frond, or in a cavity in a tree trunk; +if in the last it often forms a white tough substance of a net-like +structure over the front, and if disturbed will snap at a grass blade +or straw and shake the net, making a distinct sharp sound. It is of a +uniform, yellowish brown tint, measuring about 2 inches to the tip of +the large curled wings closely folded over the body. + +The curious Cave Locust, _Pachyrhamma sp._, with its small oval body, +and long slender antennae and hind legs, is always found in caves. It +is a dull brown wingless creature, whose slender thread-like antennae +are many times longer than the body. + + + Family 10. Crickets. + + GRYLLIDAE. + +These are the black field and house crickets which are so well known by +their shrill note; this is caused by the insect rubbing the stout wing +covers or elytra together; those of the males have a distinct circular +wavy neuration forming distinct ridges for this purpose. + +Crickets are easily distinguished by their slender thread-like +antennae, short rounded heads, black wings folded down the back, and +spiny hind legs adapted both for creeping through the grass or jumping +out of the road of their enemies. The abdomen is furnished with a +pair of slender spined appendages on the sides, and the female with a +stiletto-like ovipositor composed of two grooved pieces by which the +eggs are deposited in the ground. + +We have a number of field crickets in this country; Walker in his +catalogue of the family gives 12 species, of which _Gryllus +servillei_ is our common field cricket, sometimes swarming out +in sufficient numbers to do a great deal of damage to field crops +and vegetable gardens. It is of a uniform black tint, with a short, +shining, round head; it measures about 1 inch in length, and has a wide +range over Australia. The Mole Cricket, _Gryllotalpa coarctata_, +is found all over the interior, forming underground tunnels in the +sand along the edges of watercourses; it was collected in the Horn +Expedition in Central Australia, and is also found about Sydney. It +is of the usual dull brown tint, with hooded thorax and spade-shaped +fore-legs. Another curious little black cricket is common about the +edges of watercourses, and when disturbed often jumps in and swims +about on the surface; it belongs to the Genus _Nemobius_, and is +only ⅙ of an inch in length. + + [Illustration: Plate VII.--ORTHOPTERA. + + Family GRYLLIDAE. + + 1. _Gryllus servillei_ (Sauss.). + 1_a_. _Gryllus servillei_ (Sauss.). (Elytron ♀.) + 2. _Gryllotalpa coarctata_ (Walk.). + 3. _Pachyrhamma sp._ + 4. _Nemobius sp._ + 5. _Paragryllacris combusta_ (Germ.). + 6. _Anostostoma erinaceus_ (Gray).] + + [Illustration: _Plate VII.--ORTHOPTERA._] + + + + + Order III.--NEUROPTERA. + + Lace-winged Insects. + + +After excising the families usually treated as _Pseudo-Neuroptera_ +from this order, these insects can be defined as the “lace wings,” +furnished with two pairs of delicate gauzy wings reticulated with a +network of fine transverse and parallel veins forming a great number +of more or less irregular cells. The head is furnished, with a few +exceptions, with stout jaws adapted to their carnivorous habits; large +eyes; and antennae of many different forms, sometimes short, thickened, +or clubbed, but in others long, slender, and filiform. The legs, suited +to their clinging habits when at rest, are generally slender, and the +body more or less elongate. + +Most of them undergo a complete metamorphosis; the active larvae are +furnished with large sucking or biting jaws; in the terrestrial forms +they live among foliage or on the ground, and feed upon aphids, mites, +ants, &c., and when full grown pupate in regular cocoons. While some of +the aquatic forms go through a pupal stage in cells in the mud or under +stones, others, like the dragon flies, have no true pupal form, simply +going through a series of moults, and changing from an aquatic life to +an aerial one by crawling out of the water and emerging from the pupal +case, leaving it attached to the water plant. + +Sharp places the Neuroptera in eleven families, further divided up +into a number of sub-families under five tribes. In excising the +_Pseudo-Neuroptera_ seven families remain, though the _Hemerobiidae_ +includes a number of sub-families that by some writers are ranked as +families. + +The Neuroptera are represented in Australia by many very handsome +and curious insects, of which the dragon flies are probably the most +typical and well known. + + + Family 1. Stone-flies. + + PERLIDAE. + +The Stone-flies are not an extensive group, and though the European +and American forms have been studied, very little is known about our +species. In England several species are much prized by fishermen as +tempting bait for fly-fishing. + +The perfect insects have oblong, flattened bodies of uniform width +to the tip of the abdomen, terminating in a pair of long slender +tails or setae. The head is long, provided with large prominent eyes, +three ocelli, slender thread-like antennae, and weak mouth parts; the +fore-wings are slightly longer than the hind ones, which are very +broad and folded down the middle when closed. They are generally found +about watercourses in early summer, and lay an immense number of eggs +(5,000 to 6,000 some authorities state are laid by each female); these +eggs are dropped on the surface of the water. The larvae are very like +the perfect insects except that they have no wings; they are active +carnivorous creatures living in the bottom of swift running streams, +crawling under the stones, and feeding chiefly on the larvae of +mayflies. + +Only four or five species have been described from Australia; I had +a number of specimens sent me from Hobart, Tasmania, the larvae of +which were said to be damaging the woodwork down a well. It has been +identified as _Eusthenia spectabilis_. This insect was named by +Westwood, and is figured in Griffith’s “Animal Kingdom,” (page 348, +plate 72). It measures about 2 inches across the outspread wings; its +general colour is dark brown, with the fore wings lighter, mottled with +brown at the base and the lower half dull red; the hind pair brighter +red with the tips blackish. The head is flattened, with long slender +many jointed antennae tapering to the tips. The thorax is slender, +flattened on the upper surface; the legs stout; and the tip of the +abdomen bears two slender jointed tails (setae). This insect is also +found in Australia. A second species, _Eusthenia thalia_, is described +from Tasmania by Newman; I have one from Gippsland Victoria probably a +new species. Several species have been described by Walker (Brit. Mus. +Catalogue, Neuroptera 1852) in the typical Genus _Perla_ from Tasmania. + +Members of the Genus _Cupnia_ are often found upon the snow in Northern +Europe. + + [Illustration: Plate VIII.--NEUROPTERA. + + Family ODONATA. + + 1. _Tramea loewii_ (Brauer). + 2. _Synlestes weyersii_ (Selys). + 3. _Ischnura delicata_ (Selys). + 4. _Rhyothemis graphiptera_ (Ramb.). + 5. _Orthetrum nigrifrons_ (Kirby). + 6. _Diplacodes (Diplax) bipunctata_ (Brauer). + + Family SIALIDAE. + + 7. _Chaulcodes guttatus_ (Walk.). + + (Original photo. Burton.)] + + [Illustration: _Plate VIII.--NEUROPTERA._] + + + Family 2. Dragon Flies. + + ODONATA. + +Everyone has noticed dragon flies that sail and dart about over swamps +and rivers, the embodiment of grace and beauty in flying creatures. In +England and Australia they are popularly known as “horse-stingers,” a +very misleading name, for they cannot sting, and if they frequent the +vicinity of horses it is for the sake of the flies or gnats they can +capture. In America the country folk know them under the still more +peculiar name of “Devil’s Darning Needles,” while the French children, +who recognise their beauty and dainty form, call them “demoiselles.” +Westwood places the dragon flies in the family _Libellulidae_; but both +Kirby and Sharp call them _Odonata_; the former again divides them into +the _Libellulidae_ and the _Agrionidae_, and the latter subdivides them +into groups with the same characters, namely the _Anisopteridae_ and +_Zygopteridae_. + +The members of the first group are those with the hind pair of wings +slightly larger than the front pair, and the second with wings of equal +size or the hind pair smaller. Specialists have further subdivided them +into seven smaller sub-families containing about 300 genera. + +Dragon flies are widely distributed over the world, but are most +plentiful in the warmer zones; about 2,000 have been described from all +parts of the world, of which 107 species are recorded from Australia; +but as Billinghurst was able to collect 41 species in one circumscribed +district in Victoria (Victorian Naturalist No. 1, 1900), systematic +collecting would certainly add many more to our list. + +In the early stages of their life dragon flies are aquatic; the female +deposits her eggs on the foliage of water plants, sometimes dipping +into the water to be sure they are submerged. The slender larvae with +wing pads in place of the future wings have somewhat the form of the +adults, and are carnivorous, feeding upon all kinds of smaller water +insects. + +The dragon flies form a very distinct division of the Neuroptera; every +organ is beautifully adapted for their aerial life, their immense eyes +giving them an outlook on all sides, while the slender cylindrical +body does not impede their flight; and the great oar-shaped wings +strengthened with many stout nervures enable them to twist and turn in +the air with wonderful ease and rapidity. + +The LIBELLULIDAE are thick-bodied dragon flies of medium size, and +comprise a number of fine species. The larvae are short broad +creatures with wide heads; they live in the mud on the bottom of ponds. +_Rhyothemus graphiptera_ belongs to a genus containing over 30 species +ranging from Africa to China, and the Eastern Archipelago to the New +Hebrides. It measures 2½ inches across the wings, which are yellowish +brown, beautifully mottled with darker tints; the front pair are +blotched at the base, a slender stripe in front running into the first +of 2 irregular transverse bands about the centre and tip; in the hind +pair the two apical bands have basal markings consisting of three small +irregular blotches: it is found in the northern parts of N.S. Wales. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 31.=--Diagram of a Dragon Fly. + + _a_, antenna; _ar_, arculus; _b.s_, basilar + space; _c_, costal nervure; _s.c_, sub-costal + nervure; _e_, eye; _f_, front; _m_, median + nervure (or radius); _s.m_, sub-median; _m.s_, + median sector; _m_, membranule; _n_, nodus; + _n.s_, nodal sector; _o_, occiput; _p_, + pterostigma; _p.s_, principal sector; _s.s_, short + sector; _s.t_, sector of triangle; _t_, triangle; + _i.a_, inferior appendage; _s.a_, superior; + _a.n_, antenodals. The numerals refer to the segments of + the abdomen. (Original R. J. Tillyard.)] + + +The Genus _Diplax_ contains a number of more delicate, short-winged +insects, of which _Diplax rubra_, a typical form, is common both along +the rivers and in the open scrub, often quite a distance from water. +It is a moderate-sized dragon fly, tinted with pale yellow at the base +of the hind wings, and has a distinctive bright red body. _Diplacodes +(Diplax) bipunctata_ has much the same habits, and a wider range +over the country; it is common about Sydney, and is slightly smaller +than the previous species, and of a general yellow tint. _Orthetrum +nigrifrons_ is a more thickset dragon fly about 2 inches across the +wings; the head and front of thorax are black, with the hind portion of +the latter and body deep blue; it is a very distinctive species along +the watercourses and in the open bush. _Orthetrum villosovittatum_ is +a slightly larger form found in Southern Queensland, with slightly +clouded wings, blotched close to the body with yellowish brown: the +head and thorax are brown, and the body is red. + + * * * * * + +The AESCHNIDAE contain the giants among the dragon flies: _Petalura +gigantea_ is our largest species, and varies much in different +localities; most of ours on the Blue Mountains measure about 5 inches +across the wings, but Tillyard captured them at Cairns N.Q. 6½ inches. +It is a very robust insect of a dull brown tint, with a single, broad, +pale stripe on the sides of the large square thorax, and when viewed +from the side seems to have the abdomen attached to the under-side of +the thorax. The pterastigma of the wing is long. + +_Hemianax papuensis_ is typical of one of our large species, often +flying in numbers about Sydney hawking for gnats high up in the air +before a storm. It measures 4 inches across the wings, which have a +slight smoky tint. + +_Aeschna brevistyla_ is about the same size as the previous species, +but the wings are clear, and the abdominal segments are marked with two +angulated white blotches, one on either side of the dorsal stripe. The +larvae are curious, elongate, oval creatures, with large heads, living +in the mud at the bottom of stagnant ponds and are common about Sydney. + + * * * * * + +The AGRIONIDAE are the delicate slender-bodied dragon flies with +oar-shaped wings, and narrow heads with the eyes standing out on either +side. _Lestes analis_ is our common type of the large genus; it is of +the usual slender form, with the body nearly as long as the expanse of +wings, and is of a general reddish brown colour. _Synlestes weyersii_ +is a very beautiful slender creature nearly 3 inches across the wings, +and over 2 inches from the front of the head to the tip of the body. +It has transparent wings with an oval whitish pterastigma toward the +tips, and the whole head and body is deep rich metallic green. It flies +in a very graceful manner up and down the edges of the watercourses, +resting every now and then on a reed or overhanging twig, and is very +easily captured. _Ischnura heterosticta_ is our tiny, little, banded, +blue and brown dragon fly, with the female of a more sombre brown tint: +Tillyard has recorded two forms of females in this species, one taking +on the garb of the bright-coloured male. + +_Ischnura delicata_, very similar in size and form, has the basal +two-thirds of the abdomen red and the apical portion blue. The larvae +of both these species are common in the ponds about Sydney in the early +summer. Tillyard (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1905) has recently added +three new species of the Genus _Austrogomphus_ collected in the Cairns +district N. Queensland. + + + Family 3. May-flies. + + EPHEMERIDAE. + +These delicate gauze-winged insects were named Ephemera from the old +idea that their life as perfect insects lasted only for a day; they +were born in the morning and died at the fall of day. Though their span +of life is short, as they possess only rudimentary mouths incapable of +absorbing food, and only live a short time after the eggs are laid, it +is generally a matter of a few days. + +They have large prominent eyes; three ocelli; and minute antennae +consisting of two thickened joints surmounted with a needle-like hair +or bristle: the prothorax is small, the middle portion large; and the +somewhat small body, generally composed of ten segments, is provided +with a slender articulated hair-like tail on either side. The wings are +broadest at the base, rounded at the extremities, with the hind pair +small, in some genera the hind pair absent. The larvae live in burrows +in the mud at the bottom of ponds or watercourses, and when full grown +climb up the stalks of grass or plants and cast their pupal coverings. + +Most of our species are only found in odd pairs, and do not assemble +in swarms as they sometimes do in England; but in 1885, in the Royal +Geographical Society’s Exploring Expedition in New Guinea, when +ascending the Fly River we met with great clouds of the large white +Mayfly, _Palingenia papuana_, flying along over the surface of the +water just as described by D’Albertis in his work on New Guinea; +specimens I collected are now in the Australian Museum. + +The commonest species about Sydney is _Atalophlebia australasica_, a +small chocolate brown insect marked with black; the wings are vitreous +with black markings on the veins, the front margin tinged with umber +brown on the cross veins. It was described by Pictet in his “Natural +History Neuroptera” (1843–45): Walker has described another from +Tasmania: Eaton three more from different parts of the mainland: and +Burmeister one in his “Handbook of Entomology” as far back as 1839. +The members of this genus have a wide range from South America through +Africa, Japan, and Ceylon. A single species of the Genus _Coloburiscus_ +has been described from Melbourne. + +The chief work on these insects is Eaton’s “Revisional Monograph of +Recent Ephemeridae or May-flies,” Parts I.-V. (Transactions of the +Linnean Society 1883–87;) in this work he subdivides them into three +groups containing 55 genera and 270 species. + + + Family 4. Alder Flies and Snake Flies. + + SIALIDAE: + +This small division contains two groups that Westwood treated as two +distinct families, the _Sialidae_ and the _Raphidae_; but Sharp points +out, that in general structure and habits they are very closely related +to each other,--the latter chiefly differing from the former in the +remarkable elongation of the prothorax, and he thus only ranks them as +sub-families. + +The Alder Flies have two pairs of broad wings, wide at the base, the +hind pair slightly smaller and capable of being folded behind; they +are all traversed by numerous veins forming irregular cells. They +are slow in their movements, and are to be found clinging to bushes +in the vicinity of water. Our commonest species is the _Chauliodes +guttatus_, described by Walker; it is a large, dull brown insect +with an elongated thorax and body; the head is furnished with long, +slender, annulated antennae, large prominent eyes on the sides, and +three ocelli on the summit. The wings are semiopaque, the fore pair +finely spotted with black, thickest on the front margin; the broader +hind pair are only lightly spotted at the extreme tip, with from 4 to 5 +larger rounded spots about the centre. It measures over 3 inches across +the outspread wings, and 1¼ inches from the head to the tip of the +abdomen; it has a wide range from Victoria to Queensland. + +The larvae are remarkable for having fringed filaments on the sides +of the abdomen; they crawl about in the mud or among the weeds in +water-holes, and are carnivorous, feeding upon other aquatic insects; +when ready to transform, the pupae come out of the water and crawl +under stones, or sometimes under the loose bark on tree trunks. + +The Snake Flies are curious looking creatures with elongated necks, and +the female is provided with a very curious, long, curved ovipositor. +They are found under bark on tree trunks, both in the perfect and +larval state; they are unknown in Australia, but Howard states that an +attempt was made some years ago to send living _Raphidians_ from +California to destroy codlin moth grubs, but that nothing has been +heard of them since. + + + Family 5. Scorpion Flies. + + PANORPIDAE. + +These insects have the head turned down in front with the mouth parts +forming an elongate beak; large projecting eyes; and slender antennae. +The prothorax forms a slender neck to the larger mesothorax; the +wings are narrow and somewhat oar-shaped, traversed with a network of +veins; the legs are long and slender, except the hind pair, which are +thickened on the thighs and stoutly spined; the tarsi are large and +coated with a sticky membrane, which assists it in catching flies. + +At first sight many of them might be taken for crane-flies of somewhat +clumsy build; in the European _Panorpa_ the males are furnished with +a peculiar anal appendage from which they take the popular name of +Scorpion Flies. Members of the Genus _Boreus_ are wingless and resemble +tiny grasshoppers; in America they are often found on snow. The family +is represented in Australia by _Bittacus australis_, which has a wide +range from Tasmania to Queensland, and is very abundant in the early +summer, hanging about the leptospermum and ti-tree bushes. It rests +among the foliage, with the large hind legs hanging loosely down below +but ready to strike out the moment an incautious fly comes within +range. The long flexible tarsi fold round the captive with the stout +spines transfixing it, while the Bitticus draws its leg round under +the head so that it can press its sharp beak into the victim and suck +up its blood. Its general colour is reddish brown marked with black; +the wings are clouded, narrow, rounded at the tips, and reticulated +with fine nervures. Nothing is known about the earlier stages in the +life-history of this insect, but specimens in captivity laid a number +of flattened bun-shaped eggs which did not hatch out. + + [Illustration: Plate IX.--NEUROPTERA. + + Family HEMEROBIIDAE. + + 1. _Nymphes myrmeleonides_ (Leach). + 7. _Porismus strigatus_ (Burm.). + + Family MYRMELEONIDAE. + + 2. _Glenurus erythrocephalus_ (Leach). + 4. _Glenurus falsus_ (Walker). + 5. _Glenurus circuiter_ (Walker). + 6. _Glenurus pulchellus_ (Kirby). + + Family MANTISPIDAE. + + 3. _Mantispa strigodes_ (Westwood). + + (Original photo. Burton.)] + + [Illustration: _Plate IX.--NEUROPTERA._] + + + Family 6. Ant-lions and Lace-wings. + + HEMEROBIIDAE. + +This interesting division of the Neuroptera comprises a number of +smaller groups, ranked by some entomologists as families, but now +generally regarded as sub-families. Westwood divided them into two +families, the first containing the true ant-lions; both Kirby and Sharp +treat them as one, but the latter places them in seven well defined +sub-families. + +They come naturally together from the fact that all the larvae are +provided with large, curved, hollow, sucking jaws, and are carnivorous +in their habits, while the perfect insects have simple biting jaws. +They all have, in the perfect state, long slender bodies, provided with +two pairs of finely reticulated wings, folded over each other when at +rest; the head is short, with large projecting eyes; ocelli generally +wanting; and the antennae are composed of many short annular joints. + +The MYRMELEONIDES are the true ant-lions, whose larvae in many species +construct funnel shaped pits in soft sandy soil an inch or two in +depth, at the bottom of which, buried in the loose soil, with only +the tip of their large jaws visible, they lie in wait for any ant or +other small insect that may happen to slip over the edge and tumble to +the bottom, where it is immediately seized in the ant-lion’s powerful +jaws and devoured; when however, as often happens, the trapped visitor +manages to regain its footing and nearly succeeds in clambering out, +the ant-lion presses its head downward like a spade and throws a +quantity of sand right at its prey, generally bringing its quarry +within reach again. It generally excavates its pit under the shelter +of a log or rock so that it is protected from the rain, and when full +grown pupates at the bottom of its shaft. The larva is a short thickset +little brown creature covered with tufts of short stout bristles; the +head is broad and rounded behind, attached to the heart-shaped body by +a neck-like thorax. They are easily captured by slipping a knife blade +under them and throwing them out when they are intent on catching a +struggling ant. In captivity they are easily kept in a saucer full of +sand, and have the power of going for weeks without food; when placed +on a smooth surface they always arch their heads and crawl backwards. + +Most of our described species belong to the Genus _Glenurus_, all +slender elongated insects resting with their long narrow wings folded +over their backs against a twig or grass stem, and when disturbed +flitting away in a very awkward manner; they are very easily captured. + +_Glenurus pulchellus_ is the commonest species about the coast, with a +wing expanse of about 2½ inches; its general colour is chocolate brown, +mottled and marbled with lighter tints; the fore wings are speckled +with black; the apical portion of the hind pair deeply blotched with +chestnut brown, encircling a white patch, with a second smaller one +nearer the extremity. _Glenurus falsus_ is a shade smaller; the fore +wings darker; and a single dark patch on the hind wings. _Glenurus +striola_ is a slightly larger species with semitransparent wings, +marked on the posterior margin of the hind pair with a narrow light +brown stripe. I found this species very plentiful in some swampy flats +near Brisbane, Q., in October, where they were resting on the rushes. +_Glenurus fundatus_ is our largest species, often measuring up to 4 +inches across the wings, and is of a general uniform mottled grey tint +spotted with brown; it is common along the coast in North Queensland. +_Glenurus circuiter_ is easily recognised from all the others by the +shape of the fore wings, which are broadened to the tips, cut out +behind at the extremities, and both pairs are irregularly blotched and +spotted dark brown, giving it a very handsome appearance. _Glenurus +erythrocephalus_ has semitransparent wings, elongate and rounded at +the tips, the fore pair thickly covered with spots and blotches of +dark brown, the hind pair usually only marked with three spots, but +the spotting is very irregular and variable. It comes from the more +northern parts of N.S. Wales and Queensland. + + * * * * * + +The ASCALAPHIDES are all moderate-sized, clear-winged insects with a +stigma toward the tip, and curious long slender antennae clubbed at the +tips; they might be likened to dragon-flies with butterflies’ heads. +_Suphalasca sabulosa_ measures about 2½ inches across the wings; the +head and thorax are fringed with fine hairs, the stigma on the wings +black. It is generally found on bush land clinging to a grass stalk +or twig, with the wings folded down, and the slender body sticking +out at right angles. I have found the larvae living under the dry +bark attached to dead tree trunks, their short hairy bodies covered +with tufts of stout bristles, their large jaws pointing upward; and +from their situation they probably capture the large sugar ants. In +captivity they would remain for days resting against the side of the +box without any movement, and lived for several months without taking +any food, and finally formed a round cocoon. + +The female places her eggs in a double row along the edge of a blade of +grass, and the young ones, when they hatch out, sit in the bottom of +the eggshell, all head and jaws, waiting for something to turn up, and +must often undergo long fasts. + +_Stibopteryx costalis_ is a stout bodied insect with a wing +expanse of 3 inches, a large, dragon-fly-like head, and narrow rounded +wings banded with parallel bands of chocolate brown. It ranges from +Sydney right round Australia. + +The NEMOPTERIDES are a very curious group of lace-wings, which have the +hind pair of wings produced into slender or clubbed appendages of most +peculiar form. Kirby (Annals and Magazine of Natural History 1900) has +listed all the known species from all parts of the world, 33 species in +7 genera. + +_Chasmoptera hutti_, described by Westwood from Western Australia, +has a wing expanse of 1½ inches, and the hind pair are produced into +a spoon-shaped tail. _Croce attenuata_ is a smaller, dull coloured, +brown insect, with the fore wings like those of a mayfly, and the hind +pair forming a pair of antennae-like processes longer than the body. +It was taken by my correspondent, Mrs. Black, round a lamp, and comes +from North Queensland. It is described by me in the Proceedings of the +Linnean Society 1904. + +The MANTISPIDES are lace-wings that in general form, imitate the +orthopterous mantis; with the same elongate neck, spined fore legs and +broad head, but the structure of the wings soon shows its affinity to +the lace-wings. We have some very fine species in Australia, which are +usually found hiding among the foliage of trees, and are generally +captured when beating the bush for beetles. Nothing is known about the +earlier stages of any of our species, but Brauer studied the larval +and pupal forms of the European _Mantispa_, and found that the eggs +were stalked; the larvae are long slender creatures with large jaws. +Westwood has figured and described a number of our species (Trans. Ent. +Soc. 1852). + +_Mantispa biseriata_, one of our largest species, measures up to 2½ +inches across the outspread wings. Its general colour is dull reddish +brown; the wings are mottled with very fine black dots, and the stigma +on the fore wing forms a dull red blotch. It has a wide range from +Victoria to North Queensland. _Mantispa strigipes_ is a smaller darker +species, with no distinct stigma but a stripe of dull red along the +front margin of both pairs of wings, thickest toward the extremities. +It ranges over Victoria and N.S. Wales. + +The HEMEROBIIDES are well represented in Australia by some very +beautiful insects, which when at rest are recognised by the way in +which their wings are folded against each other, forming a ridge above +the back; the antennae, generally long, consist of a number of short +annular joints. The eggs are laid upon the food plant; the larvae feed +upon small insects. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 32.=--_Croce attenuata_ + (Froggatt). The Thread-winged Nemopteron. + + (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.)] + +_Nymphes myrmeleonides_, described and figured by Leach in 1814, has +a somewhat robust body, long slender antennae and narrow head; the +wings, which have an expanse of 3 inches, are large, of equal size, and +semitransparent, except the tips, which are ornamented with an elongate +brownish blotch enclosing an irregular white spot in the centre. It is +a very ungainly insect when flying, with its large oar-shaped shining +wings; it has a very wide range along the eastern coast. The larvae +live under the shelter of logs hiding among the dust and dirt with only +their jaws projecting; specimens obtained near Armidale, N.S.W., lived +for some time in captivity, forming the usual spherical parchment-like +pupal case, from which the insect emerged about a month later. + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 33.=--_Psychopsis illidgi_ (Froggatt). The + Painted Lace-wing. + + (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.)] + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 34.=--_Psychopsis coelevagus_ (Walker). The + small Metallic Lace-wing. + + (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.)] + +The Genus _Psychopsis_ was formed by Newman in 1840 (Newman’s +Entomologist p. 415) to contain the curious creamy white moth-like +insect _Psychopsis mimica_. It has broad rounded wings covered +with fine hairy veins shading from buff to grey or creamy white, +spotted with red on the base of the fore wings and a dull brown spot +on the centre of the hind pair; the head is turned down in front when +resting. It measures about 1½ inches across the outspread wings and +is found from South Australia to Queensland. I figured and described +all our known species (Notes on the Genus Psychopsis Newman, with +descriptions of new species) in the Proceedings of the Linnean +Society N.S.W. 1903, where I added two new species. _Psychopsis +coelivagus_ is our smallest species, measuring 1 inch across the +outspread wings, which are creamy white thickly mottled with a central +band of metallic coppery brown; it comes from S. Queensland. + +_Psychopsis illidgi_ is one of the most remarkable looking of all +our Neuroptera, with its large rounded buff fore wings with confluent +ochreous yellow markings crossing them, and the usual dull spot in +the centre of the smaller hind wings. It measures about 2¾ inches +across the wings, and is a rare insect. Illidge has taken several +specimens that came flying in to the light at night on the top of Mount +Tambourina in South Queensland. + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 35.=--Larva of _Psychopsis mimica_ (Newman). + Bred from the egg (much enlarged). (Original W.W.F.)] + +_Psychopsis insolens_ and _P. meyricki_ are both dull coloured smaller +insects, the first found about Sydney and Brisbane, the latter on the +top of Mount Kosciusko, resting on the rocks. + +The eggs are not stalked but are attached to the food plant; the young +elongated larva, furnished with stout projecting jaws, crawls upon the +foliage and feeds upon aphids. This Genus was considered peculiar to +Australia, until in the last few years two species have been described +from Africa and a third from Burmah. + +The curious black mottled lace-wing, _Porismus strigatus_, has a +narrow red head furnished with long slender antennae and large rounded +eyes; the front portion of the thorax forms a regular neck. The narrow +elongate black wings, blotched and tipped with pale yellow shading into +white, are folded over the back forming a ridge when at rest on a tree +trunk. They are sometimes met with about Sydney, and are common in New +England toward the end of summer. I found larvae and eggs under logs in +that district which I believe to be those of this insect; the former +were stalked and deposited in a narrow semicircle attached to each +other; the larvae, of the usual tick-shaped form, covered themselves +over with bits of burnt ashes, and clung to the surface of the log, +where they easily escaped notice with their protective covering. + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 36.=--Larva of _Porismus strigatus_ (Bohem). + The adult Lace-wing is shown in Plate VI., Fig. 7. + + (Original W.W.F.)] + +The Genus _Osmylus_ contains a number of slender insects with longer, +semitransparent, spotted, brown wings, and fine antennae clothed with +short hairs. The larvae, active little creatures, feed about among +the leaves destroying aphids. _Osmylus tenui_ measures about 1¼ inches +across the outspread wings, is of the usual dull brown tint, and is +found in Victoria. + +In the Genus _Drepanopteryx_ the fore wings are short, broad, rounded +in front at the shoulders, and arcuate on the hind margin; the hind +pair are rounded, semitransparent, with a darker costal margin; when +resting upon a twig they tuck the head down under the thorax, and turn +the wings upward, almost standing on their heads; they could be easily +passed over from their resemblance to a brown leaf. + +_Drepanopteryx binocula_ and _D. instabilis_ are found in N.S. Wales +and Victoria; the first has dark fore wings and measures about ¾ of an +inch; the second is somewhat smaller and lighter coloured. + + [Illustration: Fig. 37. + + Fig. 38. + + =Figs. 37 and 38.=--Life History of the Brown Lace-wing. + + 37.--_Micromus Australis_ (Froggatt). + + 38.--Larva. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The CHRYSOPHIDES comprise the lace wings known as “Ruby Eyes” from +their rich metallic tint, or “Aphis Lions” on account of the voracious +habits of their larvae. They hide among the foliage in the day time, +and in summer often come buzzing round the lamp, several species +giving out a most objectionable smell when handled. They are generally +slender-bodied green or yellow insects with large delicate glassy +wings, folded over the back. They attach their eggs to the foliage on +long slender stalks, probably a means of protection against other +larvae that might otherwise find and devour them. The larvae are active +little creatures with large heads furnished with scythe-shaped jaws; +their rounded backs are covered with short stiff hairs, by means of +which they hold bits of dirt, sand, or wood, with which they cover +themselves when feeding upon the aphids or scale. If when in captivity +these bits are brushed off they run round and replace them bit by bit; +pushing the bits into the jaws with their fore legs, then turning their +heads backward, they drop each bit upon their backs, repeating the +operation until they are again completely covered. When full-grown they +spin a white hemispherical cocoon composed of fine white threads and +the longer hairs of the body, from which in summer the perfect insects +will emerge in a fortnight. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 39.=--_Chrysopa ramburi_ + (Schiner). The Green Golden Eye. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + [Illustration: =Fig. 40.=--Life history of _Chrysopa + ramburi_ (Schiner). + + Larva; stalked egg; and pupa enclosed in hemispherical cocoon + covered with the remains of the aphis upon which it has fed + during the larval stage.] + +The Green Lace Wing, _Chrysopa ramburi_, is our common orchard friend; +and where plentiful they soon clean the trees of aphid and scale +insects. Its general colour is bright green fading into yellow after +death; the large golden eyes are so bright that they can be seen +through the cocoon some time before it emerges. The Brown Lace Wing, +_Micromus australis_, is common among dead bushes, and also in summer +in orange orchards; it is much smaller than the last, only slightly +over ¼ of an inch across the expanded wings; is of a general light +brown colour mottled all over the wings with darker tints. The broad +head is furnished with large bronzy eyes, and slender hairy antennae +composed of 44 very short annular joints. Both the slender, brown, +ferret-like larvae and the perfect insects are very active little +creatures, always on the move. This species was described by me in the +Agricultural Gazette N.S. Wales, 1904. + + + Family 7. Caddis Flies. + + TRICHOPTERA. + +The larval forms of these interesting little creatures are common in +our creeks and water-holes, encased in their cocoons or sacks formed +of silken strands covered with bits of sticks, leaves, sand or small +stones; they may be often noticed floating on the surface or crawling +about under the water among the weeds and mud. These are protective +coverings, for though the head and front of the thorax, that are +projected in front when the larva is moving along, are hard and +leathery, the abdominal segments are covered with a thin integument, +and would soon fall a prey to the many carnivorous water insects in the +ponds if it were not for their case-bearing habits. These cases, unlike +those of the terrestrial case moths, are open at both ends, so that the +water can flow right through when the creature is crawling about. + +They are known in England as “water moths,” or “caddis-flies,” and +are much sought for by anglers as bait for fly-fishing. The perfect +insects have two pairs of membranous wings with fewer cross veins +than other members of the Neuroptera; the hind pair are broadest and +folded when at rest; most of them are clothed with fine hairs instead +of scales. The head is small, with very long, slender, thread-like +antennae composed of many short indistinct joints, and the biting +mouth is rudimentary; the prothorax is short, with an elongate body +rounded at the extremity; and the legs are well developed, and more +or less provided with spines. The female deposits her eggs, enveloped +in a gelatinous mass, in the water, often carrying them about with +her attached to the tip of the abdomen for some time before they are +dropped. + +Some of the smaller species are so wonderfully like small tinead moths, +that it takes an experienced eye, aided with a good lens, to pick them +out of a box when mixed up with small microlepidoptera; and from their +delicate form and small size most of my specimens have not been taken +as caddis-flies, but obtained from the leavings of insect boxes of moth +collectors. + +Between the years 1874–80 McLachlan published his fine “Monograph of +the European Trichoptera,” illustrated with a great number of very fine +drawings; over 500 species are identified and described in this work. +According to Howard, about 150 species have been described from North +America. + +McLachlan treats them as an Order in his work, dividing them into a +number of families, chiefly based upon the number of spines on the +legs, the joints of the palpi, and the ocelli. + +Judging from my own collection of caddis-flies I should think that +Australia is rich in species, but they are a much neglected family +and I do not know of a single named specimen in any of our Museum +collections. + +In the British Museum Catalogue of Neuroptera published in 1852, Walker +gives only four species from Tasmania and Australia: _Leptocerus +magnus_ and _L. oppositus_, which he describes from Tasmania, and +_Plectrotarsus gravenhorsti_, described by Koller from Australia; the +latter measures nearly an inch across the wings, and ⅓ of an inch in +the body, and is of a general yellow tint, thickly clothed with yellow +and black hairs; the fore wings are bluish black marked with white, +yellow at the base and along the fore border; the hind wings are yellow +but blackish toward the tips. + +_Monopseudopsis inscriptus_, described by Walker, is a larger fly, of +a general black colour, with pale wings spotted with yellow, the hind +pair clouded. The locality of this species is given as Australia. + + + + + Order IV.--HYMENOPTERA. + + Bees, Ants and Wasps. + + +This division contains an immense number of very interesting insects +which, though generally known as bees, ants, and wasps, comprise many +other just as important families; some are unfortunately popularly +called flies, such as saw-flies, gall-flies, and ichneumon-flies, but +all true flies have only one pair of wings. Hymenoptera are, with a +few exceptions, furnished with two pairs of semitransparent membranous +wings, sometimes shaded with black or yellow tints, devoid of hairs or +scales, but traversed by stout nervures forming irregular cells; the +hind pair are the smaller, and are furnished with a row of spines along +the front margin capable of hooking into the hind edge of the fore +pair, thus adding to their powers of flight. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 41.=--Diagram of the Head of a Wasp. + + _a_, eyes; _b_, clypeus; _c_, labrum; + _d_, mandibles; _e_, ocelli; _f_, insertion of + the antennae. + + (Redrawn from Cresson’s “Hymenoptera of North America.”)] + + [Illustration: =Fig. 42.=--Diagram of the Thorax of a + Wasp. + + _a_, prothorax; _b_, mesothorax; _c_, + scutellum; _d_, postscutellum; _e_, metathorax; + _f_, tegulae; _g_, parapsidal grooves. + + (Cresson’s “Hymenoptera of N. America.”)] + +In a few anomalous groups we find the females wingless, such as +_Thynnidae_, _Mutillidae_ and others; in some like the fig insects +_Blastophaginae_, the males are wingless and blind; in the ants, while +the males and females are winged, the bulk of the community consists of +wingless workers forming a third sex or caste. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 43.=--Diagram of Fore-wing of a Bee + (_Mellinus_). + + 1, Costal cell; 2, median or externo-medial cell; 3, + sub-median cell; 4, anal cell; 5, marginal or radial cell; + 6, first sub-marginal or cubital cell; 7, second s.-m. or + cubital cell; 8, third s.-m. or cubital cell; 9, fourth s.-m. + or cubital cell; 10, first discoidal cell; 11, second d. + cell; 12, third d. cell; 13, first apical cell; 14, second + a. cell. _a_, Costal nervure; _b_, sub-costal + nervure; _c_, externo-medial nervure; _d_, anal + nervure; _e_, marginal or radial nervure; _f_, + basal nervure; _g_, first transverso-cubital nervure; + _h_, second t.-c. nervure; _i_, third t.-c. + nervure; _j_, transverso-medial nervure; _k_, + discoidal nervure; _l_, cubital nervure; _m_, + first recurrent nervure; _n_, second r. nervure; + _o_, sub-discoidal nervure; _p_, stigma; _q_, + posterior margin; _r_, apical margin. (Cresson, “Hym. N. + America.”)] + +These insects are furnished with well developed antennae; large +compound eyes, in some groups composed of an immense number of facets; +usually 3 simple eyes or ocelli, but these are sometimes wanting; a +more or less tubular mouth adapted for sucking up food (commonly called +the proboscis), though mandibles are always present. The thorax is +stout and broad; the three primary portions, prothorax, mesothorax and +metathorax, are distinct on the upper surface with well defined lateral +or ventral plates. The legs are generally large, with spined tibiae, +and slender tarsi terminating in a double claw or hook, but varying +much in size and shape in the different families. The abdomen takes +all kinds of remarkable forms, from the thickened sessile body of the +sawfly to the slender stalked abdomen of the sand-wasp, and the female +is furnished with an ovipositor, sting, or saw at the extremity. + +The Hymenoptera are considered by naturalists to be one of the most +highly developed or specialised orders of insects, on account of the +social habits of some of the chief families, and the care they display +in providing for the safety and food supplies of their larvae. + +They undergo a complete metamorphosis: from the egg is hatched out a +soft, generally legless larva which when full grown, if in a protected +cell, is simply enveloped in a thin skin, but otherwise forms a stout +silken or parchment-like cocoon; the larva usually takes a considerable +time to change into the pupa; the change is not rapid as that of a +butterfly. + +Australia is very rich in hymenoptera; most of the typical families are +well represented, and we also have a few very distinct groups peculiar +to this country. + +There have been many schemes of classification and sub-divisions of +these insects proposed by various authors, and the present idea among +specialists seems to tend to a still closer definition of the families, +as exemplified in Ashmead’s recent Classification running through the +pages of the Canadian Entomologist; but in a book of this kind, I can +only deal with the most important divisions and refer my readers to the +work of such specialists. + +Westwood divided the first section, _Terebranti_, in which the +females are provided with a more or less projecting instrument for +depositing their eggs, into two sub-sections, _Phytiphaga_, in +which the abdomen is sessile, and _Entomophaga_, in which the body +is stalked. Some of the French entomologists had previously suggested +dividing them up into five large families defined by the peculiarities +of the ovipositor or borer. Kirby used the same terms as Westwood, but +I have followed Sharp, who uses the names _Sessiliventres_ instead +of the first, and _Petioliventres_ for the second, for they +certainly express more clearly the form of the body of the groups under +observation. The first group contains four families. + + + Family 1. Stem-Sawflies. + + CEPHIDAE. + +The first group comprises what Sharp terms “Stem-Sawflies,” which are +not represented in Australia. They are slender little insects with +long antennae; the larvae feed in the stems of plants; one damages +wheat stems in Europe, another infests willows in America, a third is +recorded from Japan; but they are unknown in Australia. + + [Illustration: Plate X.--HYMENOPTERA. + + Family TENTHREDINIDAE. + + 1. _Phylacteophaga eucalypti_ (Froggatt). + 2. _Phylacteophaga eucalypti_ (Froggatt), Larva. + 3. _Perga dorsalis_ (Leach). + 4. _Perga dorsalis_ (Leach), Larva. + 5. _Perga lewisii_ (Westwood).] + + [Illustration: _Plate X.--HYMENOPTERA._] + + + Family 2. + + ORYSSIDAE. + +This family consists of the single Genus _Oryssus_, of which only +20 species are known. They are remarkable for the curious situation +of the antennae on the under-surface of the head, the cylindrical +rounded abdomen, and the exposed needle-like ovipositor. Turner +has described one from Mackay, Queensland, in the Proceedings of the +Linnean Society N.S.W. under the name of _Oryssus queenslandicus_. It +is a small black insect measuring ½ an inch in length; with mottled +brown wings, and typical shape of the genus. + + + Family 3. + + SIRICIDAE. + +These handsome Sawflies are common in Europe and America, the larvae +living in timber; the members of the typical Genus _Sirex_ have long +cylindrical bodies rounded to the apex; the borer of the female extends +beyond the tip of the abdomen. One species, _Sirex australis_, has been +described from Australia by Kirby (List of Hymenoptera 1882). I have +never heard of another specimen being found, and believe the type is +unique. + + + Family 4. Sawflies. + + TENTHREDINIDAE. + +These are the typical stoutly built Sawflies, with the pronotum narrow, +and the thorax generally broader than the head; the abdomen sessile, +and provided in the female with a beautiful saw-like instrument +on the under-surface of the tip of the abdomen, with which she +slits the leaves to deposit her eggs in the tissue. The larvae are +caterpillar-like creatures usually furnished with three pairs of legs; +they feed upon the foliage of many plants. + +Our species all belong to genera peculiar to Australia: Klug described +several in the Berlin Magazin in 1814; Leach figured and described +others in his “Zoological Miscellanies 1817”; Westwood described and +figured a number in an important paper in the Proceedings of the +Zoological Society 1880, others in his “Arcana Entomologica 1841”; and +Kirby added to them in his List of Hymenoptera, B.M. Catalogue 1882. + +The Genus _Perga_ contains about 50 of our largest Sawflies, broad +thickset insects, with reddish or light brown opaque wings, and short +antennae forming an elongate club at the extremity. The larva is black +or brown clothed with short scattered shining bristles, black head, +three pairs of short stout legs, broad thorax, and abdomen tapering to +a rounded tip. They feed gregariously upon the foliage of eucalypts, +often stripping off all the leaves of the young bushes; they rest +in the day time clustered together in a bunch of 50 or more round a +branch, holding on with the legs; when disturbed they raise and rap the +tip of the abdomen against the leaves, at the same time discharging +a sticky yellow fluid from the mouth smelling strongly of eucalyptus +extract. They are very subject to the attacks of dipterous and +hymenopterous parasites, which these means of defence may keep away. +When full grown they bury themselves in the soil, and form elongate, +oval, parchment-like cocoons clustered together. + +The Steel Blue Sawfly, _Perga dorsalis_, is slightly over 1 inch in +length; is of a deep metallic blue, marked on face and thorax with +bright yellow, and has stout reddish brown wings; the smaller male +has the upper surface of the abdominal segments clothed with silvery +pubescence. _Perga kirbyi_ is dark reddish brown, similar in form and +size to the last species; _Perga lewisii_, a much smaller yellowish +brown insect, flattened on the dorsal surface, is common about Sydney +upon the foliage of the “blood-wood” (_Eucalyptus corymbosa_), where +she lays her eggs in the leaf in a double row, and stands over them +until the tiny larvae hatch out and are able to move away; while thus +occupied you can pick her up, but she will not move away, but raise +her wings and fight like a hen over her chickens. Though this is our +commonest species, and I have taken hundreds of females, I have never +seen a male. _Perga cameronii_ is like the last species, but larger, +with more distinct markings on the back; it is found on the Blue +Mountains. + +In the Genus _Pterygophorus_ about 10 species are described; they are +much smaller insects, with bright metallic blue colours marked with +reddish yellow; the male has the antennae produced into a comb or +feathery structure, those of the female are formed of short rounded +joints. The larva is a dull olive green creature covered with small +warty tubercules; the head is broad, and the abdomen tapers off into a +slender pointed tail; it has seven pairs of abdominal legs. It feeds +upon the foliage of _Leptospermum_, wild dock and other plants, and +when full grown bores into dead wood, pupating in a rounded oval cell. + +The Ringed Sawfly, _Pterygophorus cinctus_, ½ an inch in length, is +dark blue marked with deep reddish orange on the thorax, with a ring +round the centre and tip of the abdomen of a similar colour; the wings +are marked and clouded with black. + + [Illustration: Plate XI.--HYMENOPTERA. + + Family TENTHREDINIDAE. + + 1. _Pterygophorus cinctus_ (Klug). + 2. _Pterygophorus cinctus_ (Klug), Antenna ♀. + 3. _Pterygophorus cinctus_ (Klug), Larva. + 4. _Philomastix glaber_ (Froggatt). + 5. _Philomastix glaber_ (Froggatt), Antenna. + 6. _Philomastix glaber_ (Froggatt), Larva.] + + [Illustration: _Plate XI.--HYMENOPTERA._] + +The Pale Coloured Sawfly, _P. interruptus_, slightly larger, has the +thorax marked with orange yellow, and the abdomen deeply blotched with +the same colour, forming interrupted bands on the sides; both these +species are taken upon flowers in the summer months. + +_Philomastix glaber_ has very curious larvae that feed upon the wild +bramble on the northern rivers of N.S. Wales; they have large heads, +no abdominal legs, and two slender rat-like tails on the tip of the +body. The sawfly measures 1 inch in length; the general colour is +shining yellow, mottled with dull metallic blue on the thorax and +abdomen; the semiopaque wings are barred with dark brown; the male has +shorter antennae composed of short funnel shaped segments. There are a +number of small species, belonging to the Genera _Eurys_, _Euryopsis_ +and _Polyclonus_, found chiefly upon flowers; _Polyclonus atratus_, +sole representative of the Genus, has 18 jointed antennae, each +joint furnished with a hairy finger turning inward at the tips. The +Blister-leaf Sawfly, _Phylacteophaga eucalypti_, punctures the leaves +of small gum trees; the larva feeds in the tissue, and when full grown +pupates in a chamber in the centre, forming a distinct blister in the +leaf: in the pupal state it has power to bend the body and rap against +the side of the chamber. The sawfly measures ¼ of an inch in length; +the male is black with a red head; the slightly larger female has the +head and thorax reddish brown; the antennae have eight joints, long and +slender. They have long stout legs, and are very active when they first +emerge from the leaves, making a loud buzzing sound as they run about +and try to escape. + + + Family 5. Gall-flies. + + CYNIPIDAE. + +This is the first group of the _Petiolata_, which are often known from +their small size as _Micro-hymenoptera_. They are all small creatures, +differing from the succeeding families in that they are broadly +speaking plant eating, usually forming galls in which they live and +pupate. However, there are some that live upon the gall-making forms; +others live only upon the tissue of their cousins’ galls without +disturbing their host; and again some that are known as inqualines +(visitors that dwell in the cavity with the true gall-maker); so that +their life histories are somewhat complicated. + +The typical gall-fly deposits her eggs in the tissues of the selected +plant by means of her ovipositor, which is beautifully adapted for the +purpose; she injects in some cases a fluid that keeps the wound from +closing up at once and so destroying the delicate egg. Most of the +Cynips galls are rounded woody excrescences. The Gall Wasps have wings +with few cells and no stigma; the front portion of the thorax is joined +to the second; the ovipositor is concealed; the antennae straight, +containing from 13 to 15 joints. I described three hymenopterons +forming galls on wattles (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1892), but these +insects submitted to Dr. Mayr some years afterwards proved to belong +to another family. The only species described from Australia are 3 +named by Ashmead (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1900), which were collected by +Koebele without any exact locality being given; and _Hypodiranchis +aphidis_ described by me as a parasite of the common peach aphis in +the Agricultural Gazette N.S.W. 1904. + + + Family 6. Parasitic Wasps. + + CHALCIDIDAE. + +This is a very extensive family, the members of which differ from the +other small wasps in having the antennae elbowed, the first segment +often as long as all the others combined; the antennae may be simple, +but are often clubbed at the tips, and in the males of some groups +with the segments or joints feathered or furnished with slender +branching fingers. The delicate gauze-like wings are traversed by +very few veins, and the abdomen is produced into all sorts of curious +shapes, ornamented sometimes with remarkable anal appendages; and the +ovipositor of the female, though often short, is sometimes much longer +than the whole insect, and is usually prominent. These tiny little +creatures deposit their eggs in the eggs, larvae, and pupae of other +insects, wood galls, and excrescences produced by other insects, though +a few groups are plant feeders and even produce galls. + +Most of them are very minute, and can only be collected by keeping +infested galls, leaves, eggs and cocoons in jars and breeding them out, +so that the majority of them escape the eye of the ordinary collector, +though among the most beautiful of all insects in rich colours and +delicate structure. + +Walker described a number of Australian species in the British Museum +Catalogue, Hymenoptera 1846, others in his Monograph of the family +1839, and the Proceedings of other Journals (1863, &c.); but his usual +locality is simply “New Holland,” and without access to the types +one would have some difficulty in determining any species. Westwood +obtained and figured some of our largest; and Haliday others in the +“Entomologist” 1842; while the few others described are those obtained +by the zoologists on the various scientific expeditions visiting this +country. Ashmead has contributed the only modern paper (Pro. Linn. +Society N.S.W. 1900) on these and other parasitic hymenoptera collected +by Mr. Koebele and myself. The species in the Genus _Leucaspis_ are +large thickset chalcids, with the ovipositor curving round and fitting +into grooves in the dorsal surface of the abdomen. _Leucaspis darlingi_ +was obtained by Westwood from the Darling Downs Queensland (I have +specimens from Mackay Q.): it is black mottled with yellow, and has +brownish wings; the hind legs are swollen: the antennae thickened; and +it measures ½ an inch. _L. australis_ was obtained by Walker from S. +Australia. Nothing is known about their habits, but _Leucaspis gigas_ +in Europe lays its eggs in the nests of mud-dauber wasps, piercing +the clay walls with its stout ovipositor. _Trichoxenia cineraria_, a +slightly smaller black insect, is deeply punctured all over the dorsal +surface of the head and thorax; the wings are clouded at the apex; and +the upper surface of the body is thickly clothed with dense yellow +down, thickest toward the apex. Specimens in my collection were taken +about Sydney. + +The typical Genus _Chalcis_ contains a number of short stout insects, +generally black, sometimes marked with yellow and brown; they are +easily distinguished by the globular form of the thighs of the hind +legs, which are sometimes nearly as large as the abdomen. These insects +are chiefly parasitic upon the larvae of small leaf-rolling moths: +_Chalcis vicaria_ is black, with the base of the tibiae and tarsi +yellow; it is common about Mackay Queensland. I have bred numbers of +_Chalcis phya_, a small black species with white mottled hind legs, +from the chrysalids of the lucerne moth (_Tortrix glaphyriana_). +Another undetermined yellow legged species has been bred from the +codlin moth pupa. _Eurytoma binotata_, a tiny black insect clothed +with a white pubescence, has the pronotum spotted with yellow, and the +antennae and legs marked with reddish brown; it can be bred from the +galls on the twigs of the turpentine gum. _E. eucalypti_, a smaller +black species, slightly over ⅛ of an inch, comes out of eucalyptus +galls collected at Uralla N.S.W. The members of the extensive Genus +_Megastigmus_ are all obtained from galls; they are more elongate in +form, with broad globular heads, the males with short cylindrical +bodies, but the larger females furnished with bristle-like ovipositors +turning upward often longer than the whole insect. _Megastigmus +brachyscelides_ measures ¹⁄₁₂ of an inch, and is black to dark brown +marked with yellow; it is bred from the large galls of _Brachyscelis +crispa_. _M. iamenus_, originally described from Tasmania, I have bred +from another gall coccid (_B. pileata_); also a larger light yellow +species bred from dipterous galls on the Snow-bush (_Aster ramulosus_) +has been named by Ashmead _M. asteri_; _M. brachychitoni_, ⅙ of an +inch, reddish brown and yellow, is common in the large fleshy galls on +the Kurrajong tree. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 44.=--_Hypodiranchis aphidis_ + (Froggatt). A cynips parasitic upon the peach aphis. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +_Stilbula peduncularis_ is a remarkable looking insect, with broad, +rich metallic coppery red head and thorax; the basal portion of the +abdomen forms a slender stalk with the apical tip produced into a small +oval club. I have had a closely allied form out of the pupal cocoon of +the red bull-dog ant. + +The PERILAMPINAE comprise some of the largest and most remarkable +chalcids: _Thaumasura terebrator_ has been described and figured by +Westwood; my specimens came from S. Australia, and were sent by Mr. +Blackburn. It is a slender, rich metallic purple insect, about ¼ of an +inch in length to the apex of the flask-shaped body, which is continued +in a long jointed tail three times the length of the whole insect. _T. +femor-rubra_ is a smaller insect with a tail not so long as the body, +and of a general black colour with transparent wings and reddish legs. +_Dinoura auriventris_ is a very curious, metallic tinted species ¼ of +an inch in length, with the apical portion of the attenuated abdomen +produced into four flanges. I have bred a number of these wasps out +of the large wood galls of coccids (_Brachyscelinae_), chiefly _B. +pileata_. _Pteromalus puparum_ is an introduced parasite of butterfly +pupae, and is common about Sydney, where it infests that of the orange +feeding butterfly (_Papilio erectheus_). Another tiny little metallic +tinted chalcid, _Eupelmus antipoda_, infests the eggs of our common +mantis. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 45.=--_Pteromalus puparum_ + (Linn.). ♂ and ♀. + + Parasitic Chalcids that destroy the pupae of many species of + butterflies. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +About twenty species of the cosmopolitan Genus _Tetrasticus_ are +described by Walker, chiefly from Tasmania. The allied _Tetrastichodes +froggatti_ is a very tiny creature, described by Ashmead from +shot-like galls on the leaves of eucalypts. _Euryischia lestophoni_, +a larger black insect with mottled wings, is interesting to economic +entomologists, as it is a secondary parasite of the Cottony Cushion +Scale (_Icerya purchasi_), feeding on the fly parasite. + + * * * * * + +The BLASTOPHAGINAE are remarkable little creatures, for there is a very +great difference in the sexes of the same species; the males, yellow +or brown, wingless, and blind, are more like white ants in general +appearance than chalcids. They breed in the interior of figs, and are +numerous in Australia. Saunders (Trans. Ent. Soc. 1883) described our +common species (_Pleistodontes imperialis_), found in the fruit of the +Moreton Bay fig about March. The tiny male, ¹⁄₁₂ of an inch in length, +is of the typical form and colour; the elongate, shining black female +(which is figured) is so different a looking creature that it would +never be taken for the opposite sex of the insect. Their life history +and remarkable habits have been described in the Agricultural Gazette +(June 1900). _Idarnis australis_, described in the same paper, is a +slender, bright, metallic green wasp, with a long tubular ovipositor +nearly twice the length of the whole insect, which she also uses by +pressing it down against the fig to jump like an acrobat, as well +as for puncturing the skin of the fruit. The insect I described as +the supplementary male of _P. imperialis_, is, Dr. Mayr tells me, +the wingless male of this species. Mayr in “_Neue Feigen-Insekten_ +1906” states that he finds that my identification is wrong and this +is not the one named by Saunders but a new species which he calls +_Pleistodontes froggatti_, and places my _Idarnis_ in his Genus +_Sycoryctes_. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 46.=--_Dinoura auriventris_ + (Ashmead). + + A parasitic Chalcid that destroys the gall-making coccids + (_Brachyscelinae_) by devouring the females and pupating + in the cavity. (Original, W.W.F.)] + + [Illustration: Plate XII.--HYMENOPTERA. + + Family CHALCIDIDAE. + + 1. Branch of Moreton Bay Fig (_Ficus macrophylla_). + + 2. Immature fig attacked by _Pleistodontes froggatti_ + (Mayr), which are cutting their way into the fig. A female + _Idarnis australis_ on the right-hand side of the fig. + + 3. Section of fig, showing insects in the centre. + + 4. _Pleistodontes froggatti_ (Mayr). ♀. + + 5. Cutting plate (mandibular appendage) used by the insect to + cut into the fig. + + 6. Point of head, showing beak-like extremity, and the base of + the mandibular appendage where attached to the head. + + 7. Wings of _Pleistodontes froggatti_ (Mayr). + + 8. _Pleistodontes froggatti_ (Mayr). ♂. + + 9. _Idarnes australis_ (Froggatt). ♂. + + 10. _Idarnes australis_ (Froggatt). ♀. + + 11. _Idarnes australis_ (Froggatt), Wings.] + + [Illustration: _Plate XII.--HYMENOPTERA._] + + * * * * * + +Additional species of CHALCIDIDAE have been added to our fauna by the +researches of Messrs. Perkins and Koebele (Bulletins 1, pts. 6 & 8 +Hawaii 1905). In the _Encryritinae_ he describes 12 new species, most +of them bred from the pupae of the Dryinids collected in Queensland, +but a few from more southern regions. _Chalcerinys eximia_ is only +¹⁄₂₅ of an inch in length; is of a rich metallic green tint marked +with black and brassy-yellowish tints, and is furnished with long +antennae. It ranges from Bundaberg to Sydney. In the EUPELMINAE +he describes one new species parasitic upon the parasite fly, +_Pipunculus cinerascens_, under the name of _Anastatus pipunculi_. It +is a bright metallic green and purple little creature about ¹⁄₁₂ of +an inch in length. One species of the TETRASTICHINAE, which he calls +_Ootetrastichus beatus_, has been bred from the eggs of leaf-hoppers +from both Queensland and Fiji, while another parasite on the eggs of a +Jassid embedded in the branchlets of a Eucalyptus was bred in Southern +Queensland. Perkins describes it under the name of _Pterygogramma +acuminata_, a tiny creature not ¹⁄₂₅ of an inch in length, of general +brown and yellowish tints. + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 47.=--_Megastigmus brachychitoni_ (Froggatt) + ♀. A yellow and brown Chalcid, bred from the large fleshy + galls on the kurrajong trees. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 48.=--_Coelocyba viridilineata_ (Froggatt). + A pale yellow and green Chalcid infesting the large fleshy + galls on the kurrajong trees. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +Five species of the parasitic wasps belonging to the MYMARIDAE are +described from Queensland. They are all tiny little creatures with +slender feathered wings and long legs. They deposit their eggs in +the eggs of different species of leaf-hoppers, and some species are +very abundant. Four species of the more robust parasites belonging +to the Genus _Aphanomerus_ are also described as egg parasites from +Queensland. After studying the galls and insects from the wattles +which I described in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society 1892, as +belonging to the Cynipidae, Dr. Mayr finds that the insects will not +fit into any known genera, so he has formed the Genus _Trichilogaster_ +to contain _T. maideni_, which forms galls on the branchlets of _Acacia +longifolia_, and _T. a-longifoliae_, which aborts the flower buds +of the same wattle into oval or rounded red and yellow galls as big +as marbles. He describes a third species I sent him, _T. pendulae_, +forming rounded galls on _Acacia pendula_, and has made the remarkable +discovery that the tiny wasp deposits a female egg, which forms the +central cavity on the gall with a second male egg in a small cavity on +the side of the same gall, so that a male and female wasp is always +produced from each gall, and he thinks this will be the case with our +two common species when they are examined. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 49.=--_Ceraphron niger_ + (Curtis) ♂. A tiny black parasitic Chalcid that infests the + pupae of the leaf-mining fly (_Phytomyza affinis_). + =49a.=--Head of Female. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + + Family 7. Micro-hymenoptera. + + PROCTOTRYPIDAE. + +In general appearance these tiny creatures, some of the smallest in +the insect world, would seem to be almost identical with those of the +previous family; but Ashmead says: “If the anomalous group MYMARINAE +are removed there will be no difficulty in distinguishing at a glance +a Proctotrypid from a Chalcid,” and defines them thus: “In all true +Proctotrypidae the pronotum extends back to the tegulae, and the +ovipositor issues from the tip of the abdomen, the sheaths in a few +abnormal cases being conjoined and forming a more or less cylindrical +tube or scabbard for the reception of the two spiculae and the +ovipositor proper.” + +Sharp on the other hand considers that this is one of the most +difficult groups of the Hymenoptera to define; to a specialist of +course they can be easily separated, but anyone who first takes up the +study of these Micro-hymenoptera (and bear in mind that we are talking +about insects, so small that when a collector breeds them out in jars +he has to liberate them upon a window pane that he may see them against +the light), he will I think endorse Dr. Sharp’s decision. Besides the +peculiarities of the abdomen previously noted, the antennae, sometimes +twice the length of the whole insect, are composed of from 7 to 15 +joints, and in the typical groups, though the first joint may be long, +it is not elbowed as in the Chalcids, and is seldom branched. The +wings are delicate, without any nervures, except in a few small groups +where the veins are somewhat like those of small ichneumon wasps. The +hind legs are generally longer than the others, and though some have +the thighs swollen as in the Chalcids, they are as a rule much more +slender, and the abdomen is usually pointed. + +They can be bred from galls, particularly those of small Gall-flies +(_Cecidomyia_), the eggs of all kinds of insects, and the larvae of +small beetles, moths, and other wasps. + +In Ashmead’s “Monograph of the Proctotrypidae of North America” nearly +600 species are described, and a number have been added since these +were recorded in 1893. The Australian species are probably numerous, +judging from my own observations when studying gall-making insects; +but very few have been described. Westwood described four in his +“Thesaurus Entomologicus, Oxford 1874,” belonging to the BETHYLLIDES, +the peculiarities of which he defines, and figures with coloured +plates. Ashmead describes another (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1900) under +the name of _Ateleopterus longiceps_, obtained by me in a hollow twig +of a wattle tree; a shining black ant-like creature about ⅙ of an inch +in length, rusty red legs, and transparent wings clouded at the base, +probably parasitic on the larva of some wood boring beetle. _Sierola +antipoda_ was bred from the curious bract-like gall of _Cecidomyia +frauenfeldi_ on the twigs of Melaleuca bushes. A second species of this +genus was collected by Webster, and forwarded to Ashmead, who named it +after the sender. + +In 1890 Riley described “An Australian Hymenopterous parasite of the +fluted scale” in “Insect Life” which he named _Ophelosia crawfordi_; it +is a tiny reddish brown wasp with a shining black body, and the wings +obscurely barred with smoky brown; it is easily bred from this mealy +bug, which it greatly keeps in check. _Goniozus antipodum_, described +by Westwood from S. Australia, is a little shining black ant-like wasp +which has been lately discovered destroying the grubs of codlin moth +both in S. Australia and N.S. Wales. The larvae feed upon the outside +of the grub, burying their heads in the tissue, and when full grown +spin a loose silken cocoon. + + * * * * * + +Perkins has recently added a number of new species to this family +belonging to the DRYINIDAE. In his Bulletins Hawaii 1905, Nos. 1 & +10, “Leaf Hoppers and their Natural Enemies,” he describes 45 new +species, chiefly collected by Koebele in Queensland, but some from +the neighbourhood of Sydney. These curious little proctotrypids +are parasitic upon the larvae and pupae of the small homopterous +insects commonly known as Leaf or Frog-hoppers (Families JASSIDAE and +FULGORIDAE). The adult wasp captures the insect, holding it with its +curious clawed feet while it deposits its egg in its body; when full +grown the larva spins a white silken cocoon, from which the active +winged insect emerges in about 18 days. + + * * * * * + +_Gonotopus australis_ is a tiny wingless ant-like creature about ¹⁄₁₂ +of an inch in length, which attacks jassids and fulgorids feeding upon +grass and low herbage. This species comes from Bundaberg Queensland; +but Koebele has bred a second species about ⅛ of an inch in length, of +a general brownish colour, from a Jassid collected near Parramatta. The +curious little sacs or larval bags of these parasites can be readily +noticed projecting from the sides of the thoracic segments. Most of +these insects have well developed wings, but, according to Koebele’s +observations, they stalk their prey when looking for the host for their +egg. + + + Family 8. Larger Parasitic Wasps. + + ICHNEUMONIDAE. + +These are commonly known as Ichneumon Flies, and the family is a very +extensive one. They play an important part in the economy of Nature in +destroying thousands of the moth and other larvae that would otherwise +strip our fields and forests of their grass and foliage, and they +are therefore useful allies to the agriculturist; though they also +often destroy other beneficial insects as well as pests, and thus +discount their usefulness. Ichneumon Flies are moderately sized insects +furnished with long slender antennae composed of from 16 to upward of +60 joints, with the basal one often thickened, but never elbowed. The +wings are well developed, with a distinct stigma and numerous nervures +forming regular cells; a few species are wingless in both sexes, but +these exceptional ones have not been recorded from this country. +The legs are long, generally slender, and well adapted for running +about; the abdomen is usually long, rounded or cylindrical, joined +to the thorax on the under side, and more or less stalked, while the +ovipositor of the female is characteristic of the group and adapted or +modified for laying the eggs in or upon the different hosts they prefer +to adopt for their offspring; when they infest wood boring caterpillars +that are somewhat out of reach, the ovipositor is correspondingly long +and the sheath and “tails” produced so as to guide the eggs to their +resting place on the grub, out of the sight of the parent ichneumon. +When the species lays its eggs on the back of leaf-eating insects with +no protective covering, the ovipositor is generally short and stout, +the tip sometimes so stiff and sharp, that several species are credited +with stinging people when handled. The little wasp-grub, hatching from +the egg either deposited on the back or placed beneath the skin, feeds +upon the substance of the body of its victim without touching the vital +organs, so that in most instances where the caterpillar of a moth is +infested, it yet has the power to form its cocoon and pupate before +the wasp-grub has finished growing; the latter thus finishes its final +transformation in the destroyed moth pupa, and cuts its way out through +the side of the cocoon when ready to emerge. Usually, if it is a large +species, the ichneumon deposits only one egg in its victim, but in some +of the smaller ones half a dozen can be bred from a single cocoon. Over +6,000 species of these insects have been described from all parts of +the world, and in many countries, such as this, the native species are +still hardly known, and much confusion exists in their classification +on account of their parasitic habits and the number of different +hosts that the same species may infest; but now that so many economic +entomologists are at work all over the world, it will probably not be +long before they will have many admirers, and a rich field awaits the +entomologist who takes up the study of Australian ichneumons. + +Cresson in his “Synopsis of the North American Hymenoptera” lists over +1,100 described species, while in Australia up to the time when Brullé +published his “Histoire Naturelle des Insectes, Hymenopteres,” in 1846, +only one or two had been described, to which he added eighteen species; +Kirby, Smith, Cameron and several foreign entomologists have added a +few more; and in Ashmead’s recent paper ten more Australian species are +described, which makes a very meagre list. + +The Spotted Black Ichneumon, _Pimpla intricatoria_, is one of our +largest common species, having a wide distribution over Australia, +and it breeds in a number of different moths. It measures nearly 1 +inch in length to the tip of the short ovipositor, and is of a uniform +black colour with red legs and antennae; the thorax and abdomen are +ornamented with pale yellow spots, those on the latter oval, forming a +row on either side. + +The Dark-winged Ichneumon, _Rhyssa semipunctata_, is a more slender +species of about the same length; is of a uniform dull red colour +except the basal half of the abdomen, which is black with white +markings on the sides; the wings are clouded with brown, darkest on +the inner portion. These wasps always follow up the cut worms and +caterpillar plagues, and destroy immense numbers in the pupal stage. + +The Spotted Ichneumon, _Mesotenus albopictus_, is somewhat smaller, +with slender stalked abdomen and the slender ovipositor turned +downward: the general colour is black, with the antennae marked with +yellow toward the apical portion; the head, thorax and abdomen are +richly marked with light yellow; light brown wings and red legs mottled +with black and yellow. This ichneumon breeds in a great number of +different cocoons, and frequently emerges from the oval cup-like ones +of the “Stinging Caterpillars” (_Doratifera_ and _Limacodes_). + +The OPHIONINAE comprises a number of genera, of which the typical +species are reddish brown insects, with clear wings and curiously +curved, laterally flattened bodies, broadest at the extremity. They +are frequently noticed in numbers among the low scrub in the day time, +and in the summer evenings often fly into the house round the lighted +lamp. Six species of the typical Genus _Ophion_ are described from +Australia; but none of the Genus _Anomalon_ have been recorded. + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 50.=--_Bassus laetatorius_ (Fabr.). An + Ichneumon wasp that destroys the pupae of Syrphid flies. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +_Bassus laetatorius_ is a well known Ichneumon which has a very wide +range over the globe, and is not a useful species, for it lays its eggs +in the larvae of Syrphid flies, which feed upon different kinds of +plant lice (_Aphis_) and are very useful insects to the gardener. It +measures about ¼ of an inch in length, with the head, thorax, tip and +base of the abdomen black, the rest reddish brown with yellow markings +on the head. The tibiae of the hind legs are very distinctly banded +with white, black, and reddish brown, giving it quite a distinctive +character. + + + Family 9. Small Ichneumons. + + BRACONIDAE. + +These are insects with very similar habits but easily separated from +the large ichneumon wasps by the structure of the fore wings, as they +have the outer cross veins wanting, thus showing two long outer cells, +which in the former are divided into two cells. The antennae are always +composed of more than fifteen joints, and the segments of the abdomen +are more soldered together. Many of them, like the _Microgasters_, +are very small, others are as large as many of the smaller true +ichneumons. This country is probably very rich in indigenous species, +while we have a considerable number that have been introduced with +their host insect; but hardly anything has been done in describing our +species. As far back as 1775 Fabricius named 4 species of the typical +Genus _Bracon_, to which only three other species have been added, +though over 500 species are listed in Dalla Torre’s Catalogue in the +cosmopolitan Genus _Bracon_ from other parts of the globe. + +The typical Braconid is usually very small; many of them are no larger +than some of the Chalcids. Wherever the cabbage aphis or other plant +infesting insects such as caterpillars are to be found, these little +wasps can be observed hovering round, waiting for an opportunity to +deposit their eggs. They differ from the large ichneumons, in that +while the latter only deposit a single, or at most a dozen eggs upon +a victim, these often place hundreds in a large caterpillar, which, +emerging when full grown, form little white oval silken cocoons on the +top of the remains of their hosts, that are sometimes surrounded with +a mass of white fibre exactly like cotton wool. After a plague of cut +worms has passed over a paddock it is quite common to find clusters +of these little cocoons attached to the grass stalks; these have been +often sent to me from the country with the information that they were +the eggs of the plague caterpillars or cut worms. + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 51.=--_Ephedrus persicae_ (Froggatt). A + Braconid wasp that lays its eggs on the bodies of aphids. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +_Bracon limbatus_, one of our larger typical species, is found in +Tasmania, and has a wide range over Australia. It measures about ½ an +inch from the front of the head to the tip of the abdomen, and is of +a general black colour on the upper surface, with dusky almost black +wings, and a red head. The under-surface is marked with brown, with +the thorax, thighs, and tibiae of the front and middle legs black; +the three slender curled hair-like tails forming the ovipositor being +longer than the whole insect. Eight other species of _Bracon_ are +described, several of which are also recorded from New Guinea and +New Zealand. Among the introduced species is _Lepolexis rapae_ of +Curtis, which is parasitic upon the cabbage aphis in Europe; it can be +collected in gardens about Sydney. Aphids containing these parasites +are always swollen, round, and apparently dead skins through which each +braconid eats its way. + +Five species of the Genus _Agathes_ are described; they are remarkable +for their showy particoloured wings, and large size in comparison +with other members of this family. Ashmead has described a tiny black +species marked with yellow bred by me from the larva of a Noctuid Moth, +an undetermined species of _Agrotis_, under the name of _Apanteles +antipoda_; and a second larger one as _Apanteles australasiae_. In +his Genus _Microbracon_ he has described a dainty little black and +yellow creature that infests the larvae of our scale-eating moth +(_Thalpochares coccophaga_) under the name of _Microbracon thalpocaris_. + + + Family 10. Ruby Wasps. + + CHRYSIDIDAE. + +The popular and scientific names of these insects refer to the +brilliant metallic blue, green, golden or copper coloured tints +of their armour-plated bodies, which are also covered with coarse +punctures, finest upon the abdomen. They are stout thickset wasps with +short curled antennae and large eyes; the thorax is broad and closely +attached to the abdomen, the latter composed of from three to five +segments, the first generally much shorter than the second, with the +last toothed along the hind margin, and characteristic of the different +species; the under-surface of these plates is concave, with the tip of +the abdomen produced into a tubular process, so that when alarmed the +wasp can curl her body round into a ball, protected on all sides by +the armour-like integument; and as she lays her eggs in the nests of +other wasps and bees, and is sometimes caught in the act, this habit +is probably a wise provision of Nature which enables her to resist the +sting of the lawful nest maker. + +Some of the earlier observers called them “Cuckoo Wasps,” under the +impression that their larvae, when hatched out in the nests of hunting +wasps or bees that filled the cells with insects or bee bread, fed +upon the stored food supplies, but later researches show that, though +the egg of both the lawful occupant and the intruder may be deposited +in the cell, the latter does not hatch until the former has devoured +all the food placed there by his mother and is ready to pupate; then +the ruby wasp baby comes out, attaches itself to the full fed larva +beside it, and sucks him dry, pupating in his skin. + +Most of our species that I have bred out are parasitic in the clay +nests of the smaller Mason Wasps, _Odynerus_ and _Alastor_, though in +Europe many species live in the nests of bees. The perfect insects are +generally found crawling over or flying round old fences or stumps and +dead trees in the hottest part of the day. Our species were described +by F. Smith in 1874 in his revision of the family, in the Transactions +of the Entomological Society of London; a few others have since been +added to the list by Mocsáry, who monographed the Chrysididae in 1889; +and Gribodo in the Annals of the Mus. Geneva, 1879. + +No member of the typical Genus _Cleptes_ common in Europe and America +is recorded from Australia; but two well defined species of the +beautiful ruby wasps of the Genus _Stilbum_ that has a world wide range +are described, _Stilbum splendidum_ confined to Australia and New +Caledonia, and _Stilbum amethystinium_, found also in Asia, Africa and +America. The great Genus _Chrysis_, which contains over 600 described +species, is represented here by about 27 species. + + + Family 11. Hatchet-bodied Wasps. + + EVANIIDAE. + +Under the recent classification of this family it now comprises three +very well defined genera, which have moderately thick antennae, not +elbowed, consisting of thirteen or fourteen joints; the nervures of +the wings not so well defined as those of the Ichneumons; and the +stalked abdomen attached to the upper part of the metathorax. They are +well represented in this country, and have been chiefly described by +Westwood and Schletterer. + + [Illustration: Plate XIII.--HYMENOPTERA. + + Family MEGALYRIDAE. + + 1. _Megalyra fasciipennis_ (Westwood). ♀. + + Family ICHNEUMONIDAE. + + 2. _Pimpla intricatoria_ (Fabr.). ♀. + + Family EVANIIDAE. + + 3. _Gasteruption sp._ + + Family MUTILLIDAE. + + 4. _Mutilla formicaria_ (Westwood). ♀. + + Family CHRYSIDIDAE. + + 5. _Stilbum splendidum_ (Fabr.). + + Family THYNNIDAE. + + 6. _Diamma bicolor_ (Westwood). + 10. _Thynnus variabilis_ (Kirby). ♀. + 11. _Thynnus variabilis_ (Kirby). ♂. + + Family SCOLIIDAE. + + 7. _Trielus zonata_ (Smith). ♀. + 8. _Discolia verticalis_ (Fabr.). ♂. + 9. _Discolia soror_ (Smith). ♀. + + Family SPHEGIDAE. + + 12. _Bembex tridentifera_ (Smith). + + (Original photo. Burton.)] + + [Illustration: _Plate XIII.--HYMENOPTERA._] + +The members of the typical Genus _Evania_ are generally shining black +insects, sometimes variegated with dull red markings; the head and +thorax are short and broad; the abdomen has the first segment produced +into a slender stalk, and the remaining ones forming a vertically +compressed hatchet-like body. They are parasitic upon the egg cases of +cockroaches; some with a very wide range have been introduced in +all probability with their cosmopolitan hosts, while they are often +found in the house flying on the window panes, evidently introduced in +the same manner. In the bush the perfect insects are commonly found on +flowering shrubs in the summer time. About 20 species are described +from Australia and Tasmania. _Evania princeps_ is of a uniform black +colour with dusky wings, and is recorded from most parts of Australia, +Woodlark Island and New Guinea. It is one of our largest species, +measuring ½ an inch in length, broad in proportion, and furnished with +very long spined legs. + +The Genus _Gasteruption_, which takes the place of the Genus _Foenus_ +in the earlier catalogues, contains 36 described species from +Australia; as they are rare insects, there are probably many more to be +discovered. Nothing is known about their habits for certain, but they +are supposed to be parasitic upon the larvae of wood boring insects; +I have generally found them flying round the trunk of a dead or burnt +tree. They differ from the former genus in having the head almost +globular, with antennae standing out straight in front, and large oval +eyes on the sides; the thorax is more elongate, rounded in front, so +that the insect appears to have a slight neck. The abdomen springs from +a rounded node on the thorax, with the basal segments slender, swelling +out gradually, and broadest at the tip; the females bear a very long +hair-like ovipositor. The legs are slender, the hind pair longest, +with both the thighs and apical half of the tibiae thickened in a very +distinctive manner. Ten species are described from Sydney; and one, +_Gasteruption pedunculatum_, is also common to New Zealand. + +The Genus _Aulacus_ contains ten described species of smaller insects. +_Aulacus apicalis_ is parasitic upon the larvae of a longicorn beetle +(_Piesarthrius marginellus_). I have found as many as fifty, each +enclosed in a thin parchment cocoon, all matted together in a single +cavity. This little wasp has a long extended ovipositor, and measures +about ½ an inch in length; the head and greater portion of the abdomen +is black, the rest reddish brown, with a blotch of yellow on the upper +surface of the base of the abdomen; the hyaline wings are tipped with +black. + + + Family 12. Long-tailed Wasps. + + MEGALYRIDAE. + +These remarkable parasitic wasps, peculiar to Australia, are comprised +in a single genus containing 16 species, none of which are very common. +They are all shining black insects; the head short, broad and almost +rounded, the thorax broad and stout, both very rugose and clothed +with fine silvery hairs on the sides; the eyes large, circular, and +very prominent; ocelli small; the antennae composed of irregular wiry +joints; the wings semitransparent, generally banded with black, and +the transverse nervures wanting in the apical half; legs long, with +the thighs thickened. The abdomen is closely attached to the thorax, +cylindrical, tapering to the extremity, and in the females furnished +with an ovipositor often more than three times the whole length of the +insect, looking exactly like three black horse-hairs. These elongated +ovipositors are used for depositing their eggs in the wood-boring +larvae of longicorn beetles belonging to the Genus _Phoracantha_, +and probably others of like habits, which feed under the bark in the +sap wood of different eucalypts. The perfect insects are generally +found about flowers on low shrubs in summer. + +_Megalyra shuchardi_ is of the usual black colour with silvery +pubescence; the wings are pitch black and opaque: the whole insect +measures slightly under 1 inch in length, with the ovipositor over +three inches. It is found in Victoria and New South Wales, and +also recorded from Melville Island on the North Coast. _Megalyra +fasciipennis_ was described by Westwood when he founded the genus, +in the Transactions of the Entomological Society 1841; and it is again +figured in Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, Insects, Vol. II. It is much +smaller than the previous one, of similar form, the legs and ovipositor +reddish brown, the wings hyaline, barred across the centre and clouded +at the extremities with blackish brown. The male is much smaller than +the female, with similar wings, but the body is more slender and comes +to a point at the tip, furnished with a curious bifid anal appendage. +This is the species we have found breeding from the longicorn larvae. + +Six other species have been described, some by Schletterer (Berliner +Entom. Zeitschrift 1889); one, _Megalyra melanoptera_, closely allied +to Westwood’s dark winged species. In 1902 Szepligeti (Termes Z. +Fuzetek, xxv.) monographed the family and added one more; and Bradley +last year, describing the last new form (Trans. Ent. Society of London +1905) appends a translation of the former’s tabulation of all the +known species, seven in number. I have (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1906) +since added 8 new species to the list. + + + Family 13. Ants. + + FORMICIDAE. + +The ants are among the first insects that attract one’s notice in a +new country; civilization seems to agree with many species which form +their nests in the lawns or gardens, and even take up their quarters +in the house. Within the last decade a small introduced species has +appeared in the heart of London, and the small red ant, _Monomorium +pharaonis_, is a world wide pest in houses from Europe to Australia. + +Ants live in communities forming nests in the ground, under logs or +stones, or in dead trees, and sometimes among the foliage of plants. +These communities consist of winged males and females, and wingless +aborted females known as workers, the bulk of the family consisting of +the latter; in some groups there are several varieties of workers, that +are often called soldiers on account of their great size and swollen +heads. In those species that are furnished with a sting both the +workers and winged females should be handled with care. + +They are divided into five sub-families, based on the difference in +the structure of the segments of the body, absence or presence of +a sting, and a few other minor characters. The leading specialists +differ somewhat in the sequence of these groups; I follow Forel in +placing the _Ponerinae_ at the head of the family; and for a good +classification and definition of the genera would refer my readers +to Emery’s paper in the “Annales de la Societe Entomologique de +Belgique,” Vol. xl., 1896. All our species described before 1858 are +listed in Smith’s British Museum “Catalogue of the Formicidae,” where +he described a number of new species: Lowne described a number of new +species collected in the neighbourhood of Sydney in the Entomologist, +Vol. ii., 1865: Mayr in several papers, chief of which are +“Myrmecologische Studien,” “Neue Formiciden,” and “Die Australischen +Formiciden” added many up to 1876. Emery, Forel, and others have +since added to the list; and in Dalla Torre’s great “Catalogue of the +Hymenoptera,” published in 1893, all species described up to that date +are recorded. I have lately (1905) published a list of Australian +species (Miscellaneous Publications No. 889, Dep. Agr. N.S.W.), +including all Forel and others have added to our fauna, in which +nearly 400 species are recorded, without counting the large number +of races and varieties into which some of them are divided. From my +own researches I think a great many more will be found when they are +systematically collected in the tropical scrubs and the dry districts +in the interior, which as yet have hardly been touched. + + * * * * * + +The sub-family PONERINAE includes many large or medium sized ants with +elongated bodies furnished with only one constricted segment or node +at the base of the abdomen, and the latter terminating in a powerful +sting. The larvae are enclosed in stout silken cocoons. The Genus +_Myrmecia_ contains most of our largest typical species peculiar to +Australia, popularly known as “bull-dog ants,” “inchmen,” or “jumpers”; +about 34 species have been described, some of which have a very wide +range. The “Jumper,” _Myrmecia albo-cincta_, forms its nest under +the shelter of a low bush; it is a low mound with an opening on the +summit, and another on the side level with the ground; when disturbed +these ants come rushing out like a pack of dogs with a series of short +jumps, and attack everything they meet. It is one of the smaller +species, about ½ an inch in length, of a uniform black colour, with +only the front and hind portion of the thorax brownish red to yellow. +_Myrmecia forficata_ is our large red and black “bull-dog ant,” with a +very extended range like the previous one from Victoria to Queensland. +They measure up to 1 inch in length, and are of a uniform dull red, +except the eyes and abdomen, which are black. They live in rather large +colonies up to 200 in number, digging deep circular shafts or irregular +chambers under logs; when away from the latter, they form regular domed +mounds over the nests, which in summer contain the large, elongated, +oval, brown sacks enclosing the pupae, and often a number of winged +males and females; the former with small heads and jaws, the latter +with jaws as large or larger than those of the workers. _Myrmecia +gulosa_ is of a lighter red colour, with the tip of the abdomen black. +_M. tarsata_ is our common black bull-dog ant, with yellow jaws, and +antennae and tips of the legs reddish brown; it has a great habit of +hunting up and down the larger tree trunks, and drops to the ground at +the least alarm; when disturbed in the nest, if the first two or three +are captured, the others will usually retreat down their burrows, and +not show fight like the other species. Sharp notes the bull-dog as +forming large mounds (Cambridge Natural History); but I think he was +misinformed, as the nests of the Mound Ant, _Iridomyrmex detectus_, +are often confounded with these ants. The Genus _Odontomachus_ +contains a number of curious slender black ants with large heads and +long projecting jaws; they are more tropical in their range, but _O. +ruficeps_ and its varieties are found from the Darling River N.S. Wales +through Queensland to North Australia. + +The “Green-head,” _Ectatomma metallicum_, is a common ant of medium +size that lives in small communities under stones or logs, and often +makes nests in the dry banks of lawns in our gardens. Though somewhat +sluggish, they sting sharply if they crawl on one when resting on the +grass. About 28 species and many varieties of this genus occur in +Australia; one in New Zealand; and 3 in New Caledonia. The members +of the Genus _Ponera_ are remarkable for their extended range; we +have several species or varieties in Queensland closely allied to +species from South America, Borneo, Europe, and Africa, while three +are recorded from New Zealand; _Euponera lutea_, a slender pale yellow +ant with the abdominal segment constricted, lives in small communities +under stones or roots. It ranges from Sydney to Fremantle, round to N. +Queensland. _Pachycondyla piliventris_ is a large, hairy black ant with +large head and rounded body, roughened, and clothed with fine rusty +down. They are generally found under stones in communities of a dozen +or so, and when exposed or disturbed pretend to be dead, with their +legs folded up under the body; they are common about Sydney. + +Six species of the Genus _Sphinctomyrmex_ are found chiefly in the +North. They are somewhat rare ants; I have found two species, both +small, slender, dull brownish yellow insects living under stones; _S. +froggatti_ in a vineyard near Sydney; and the second, _S. hednigae_, in +the New England district under large stones. + + * * * * * + +The second sub-family, DORYLINAE, comprises ants with the antennae +placed close together in the front of the head, the abdomen elongated, +with the first segment forming an irregular node. This group +contains some very remarkable ants in Africa and America, but is +only represented in Australia by two species belonging to the Genus +_Ænictus_, both of which are described from specimens collected by +Turner at Mackay, Queensland. + + * * * * * + +The third sub-family, MYRMICINAE, is well represented here; they are +all small or medium sized ants, with the base of the abdomen formed +into two small nodes, and the sting rudimentary; the pupa naked and not +enclosed in a cocoon. Many of them live in very large communities. + +The members of the Genus _Meranoplus_ are tiny little brown ants with +rounded heads and bodies, resembling some of the small wingless female +Mutillid in shape and habits, for though they form irregular galleries +under stones or in dry banks, they are generally found running up and +down tree trunks; when touched they curl up the body and sham death. +_Meranoplus oceanicus_, reddish brown, is common in N.S. Wales; _M. +pubescens_ has a very wide range right round Australia. + + * * * * * + +_Monomorium pharaonis_ is our tiny red house-ant introduced from +Europe, now world wide in its range; and when once it becomes +established in a house is a difficult pest to destroy. _M. rubriceps_, +a much larger species but under ¼ of an inch in length, is bright +reddish brown, with the nodes very small and the apical portion of +the abdomen black, and broadly rounded. It is found crawling upon the +trunks of trees, and has a wide range from Sydney to Cape York. The +typical tree-trunk ants included in the Genus _Podomyrma_ are much +larger ants, sluggish in their habits, forming their nests in tree +stems and always found crawling about the trunks. They are broad-headed +ants with short stout jaws toothed at the tips; the thorax is widest +in front, tapering to the narrow pedicle of the broadly rounded +abdomen; the thighs of the legs are thickened in the centre. _Podomyrma +gratiosa_, under ½ an inch in length, is bright reddish brown, rugose +and spined on the front margin of the thorax, with the abdomen black, +smooth, and shining; it is widely distributed over Australia from +Adelaide to Cape York. _P. adelaidae_ is a smaller species with black +legs, and a distinct oval brown blotch on either side of the black +abdomen; it is common in South Australia and Victoria. _P. bimaculata_ +is still smaller, with the blotches on the abdomen smaller and more +oval; I have had it from Kalgoorlie W.A., and Wagga N.S. Wales. + + [Illustration: Plate XIV.--HYMENOPTERA. + + Family FORMICIDAE. + + 1. _Iridomyrmex detectus_ (Smith). + 2. _Polyrhachis semi-aurata_ (Mayr). + 3. _Myrmecia gulosa_ (Fabr.). + 4. _Ectatomma metallicum_ (Smith). + 5. _Iridomyrmex rufoniger_ (Lowne). + 6. _Camponotus nigriceps_ (Smith).] + + [Illustration: _Plate XIV.--HYMENOPTERA._] + +The Genus _Pheidole_ is well represented in Australia by 22 species and +many varieties found in all parts of the country, forming irregular +chambers and galleries under stones and logs; they are tiny reddish +brown ants, with a very large headed form of soldiers often four or +five times the size of the ordinary workers. The winged forms are +also very large in proportion. _Pheidole bos_ is dark reddish brown, +the soldiers furnished with very large swollen heads; it ranges from +Western Australia to Victoria. _P. anthracina_ is a darker coloured +form, ranging from the northern portion of N.S. Wales into Queensland. +The members of the Genus _Cremastogaster_ are very small black, brown, +or dull yellow coloured ants with longer legs, and heart-shaped bodies; +they live in large communities in nests under logs and stones. _C. +fusca_ is black with reddish tarsi, and a reddish tint on the thorax; +it comes from Queensland. _C. pallipes_ and _C. ruficeps_ are +lighter coloured, found under stones about Sydney. + +_Sima laeviceps_ is a very curious elongated shining black ant with +reddish brown antennae and tarsi, which ranges up the Queensland coast +to N.W. Australia, and is found crawling about on tree trunks, when +touched curling its body up like a wasp and shamming death. + + * * * * * + +The sub-family DOLICHODERINAE comprises a number of small or medium +sized ants living often in very large communities and having naked +pupae. The base of the abdomen consists of a single small node +with no constriction between the two following segments; sting +practically wanting (rudimentary). The typical Genus _Dolichoderus_ +is represented here by five species widely distributed. _D. doriae_ +is common about Sydney living in large communities under logs, often +clustered over each other like a swarm of bees; they collect on the +leaves of eucalypts, upon which the sugar lerp psylla, (_Spondylaspis +eucalypti_) constructs its larval scales, and suck or lick up the +sugary exudation. This ant measures ¼ of an inch in length; the head +and thorax are black and roughened; the legs reddish brown, and the +flattened heart-shaped abdomen clothed with a silvery pubescence. +_Leptomyrmex erythrocephalus_ might well be called the “Silly Ant” from +the aimless manner in which it rushes about with its head stuck up in +the air, and its abdomen curled over its back. They live in underground +nests sometimes deep down, but others live under stones; they are +slender-bodied, long-legged black ants under ½ an inch in length, with +an oval red head, rounded behind with long slender antennae, and the +front of the thorax produced into a slender neck. In some varieties the +whole of the thorax, legs, and head are yellowish brown. + +The typical Genus _Iridomyrmex_ contains 18 distinct species, some +of which have been subdivided into three or four varieties or races; +most of them are small, except our “Mound Ant,” sometimes known as the +“Meat Ant,” _Iridomyrmex detectus_, which is the commonest and most +widely distributed ant in Australia. They construct large mounds a +couple of feet above the surface of the ground, and two or three yards +in diameter; they are formed of the soil excavated from beneath when +forming their network of irregular open galleries; the upper surface is +pierced with numbers of rounded vertical shafts, up which they swarm +in countless thousands and attack any intruder, biting savagely with +their stout sharp jaws and making things generally unpleasant for the +stranger. When a mound is situated in open grassed country, one can +trace regular bare roads leading off from the nest, worn smooth by the +regular stream of ants passing backward and forward day after day. It +is too well known to need description, but measures about ⅓ of an +inch in length, and is of a general brownish purple tint, with the +head light reddish brown. Smith described the worker under the name of +_Formica purpurea_, and the male as _F. detectus_, so in most Museum +collections it will be found under the former specific name. Forel has +made a new variety, which he calls _Var sanguineus_, of the coastal +form found in North Queensland, with the head and thorax light reddish +brown. + +Most of the other species are small black ants: _Iridomyrmex rufoniger_ +is very common in the bush and in the gardens; a variety which Forel +has called _domesticus_ is the common black ant that comes into +the house in Sydney, and is a regular pest in the summer in many +districts. _Tapinoma minutum_ is about as large as the “Mound Ant”; +black; the head and thorax deeply pitted and corrugated; the abdomen +slightly constricted in the centre, smooth and shining. It comes from +Townsville, N.Q.: a second species, _T. melanocephalum_, taken in +Cairns, is also found in Samoa and the Tonga Islands. + + * * * * * + +The last sub-family, CAMPONOTINAE, is a large division well represented +in Australia; they live in more or less large communities, and with +a few exceptions have the pupae enclosed in cocoons. The base of the +abdomen forms a single node, and there is no constriction between the +second and third abdominal segments; the sting is wanting, and the anal +orifice is fringed with hairs. In the works of early entomologists a +number of our ants were described under the Genus _Formica_, but they +have been gradually identified and placed in their proper genera, until +we only have about half a dozen still remaining in this genus, probably +more on account of the difficulty of identifying them than because they +really belong here. + +The Genus _Acantholepis_ is represented by four species all described +by Forel from specimens I have collected and sent him from N.S. Wales, +so that their range seems to be restricted. They are all small, reddish +brown, smooth, shining ants; _A. bosii_ was found under stones at +Cooma, N.S.W. + +The Green Tree-ant, _Oecophylla smaragdina_, found in tropical Africa, +India, and New Guinea, is common in the tropical scrubs on the coast +of North Queensland. They live in large communities among the foliage +of the trees, in nests formed by webbing the leaves together into an +irregular mass varying in size from a cricket ball to a man’s head. The +material with which they make these nests is obtained by the workers, +by squeezing the pupae and using the secretion they discharge. The +winged female measures nearly ¾ of an inch in length, has a broad +thorax and large oval body; the worker is only about ¼ of an inch, +and slender in proportion, but for his size is the most pugnacious +creature in the insect world; if one damages a nest pushing through the +scrub, down tumble a swarm of green tree ants on one’s head and neck, +and wherever they drop they stick their jaws in and hang on, and each +one has to be picked off in detail. In these forests they destroy an +immense number of insects, catching the little bees as they come out +of their nests in the tree trunks, and dragging the small beetles off +the twigs by main force. I have often seen half a dozen hanging on to +the legs of a stout weevil, apparently trying to wear him out, for they +would remain for hours in the same position, and probably succeeded in +the end. + +The great Genus _Camponotus_ contains about 400 described species from +all parts of the world, of which about 60 are recorded from Australia. +Most of them are found in open forest country, forming their nests in +the ground, under logs or stones, or near the butts of trees. Several +of our common species are known as “sugar ants,” as they come about at +night and invade the pantry and store room in search of sweets; but +they are omnivorous in their tastes, and will often come round the +camp fire at night, prowling about for the small moths that flutter +round, often rushing right into the edge of the ashes to capture a moth +when it falls with singed wings. _Camponotus intrepidus_ is one of our +largest species, varying from black to reddish brown in tint, and is +thickly clothed with short hair. They form nests in the open sandstone +country about Sydney, sometimes raising a little mound or producing +a fragile funnel-shaped structure above the opening leading into the +nest. The Sugar Ant, _Camponotus nigriceps_, is the commonest house +species; it forms large chambers under stones or logs in which they all +cluster together. The general colour is black, with all the abdomen +except the base dull yellow, but the variations of the yellow and black +are common; it measures to ¾ of an inch in length. + +_Camponotus inflatus_ is the curious “honey ant” of Central Australia +figured and described by Lubbock in his “Bees, Ants, and Wasps.” The +naturalists on the Horn Exploring Expedition obtained a number of this +and other species, described by me in the Zoology of this Expedition. +The ordinary members of the “honey pot ants” are of the usual normal +form, but certain individuals of each nest of these species are crammed +with a honey secretion (probably obtained by the workers from aphids or +psyllids), until the abdomen swells out of all proportion to the rest +of the ant; the honey pot ants remain hanging about in the bottom of +the nests like a number of bottles of honey, incapable of leaving the +nest; the supply is probably used as food for the larvae. Spencer says +that the blacks dig up these nests and look upon the “honey pots” as +great luxuries. The honey is sweet with an acrid taste like the honey +of our native bees. They are apparently common in Central Australia; +Miss Ormerod sent me some from England which she had received from a +correspondent at Kalgoorlie; and recently Mr. Field of Tennant’s Creek +sent me a fine red species from the far north. + +_Camponotus claripes_, a smaller pale coloured species, generally +makes its galleries at the base of a tree trunk, and has a very wide +range from Victoria to North Queensland. I found the cocoons of this +species in a nest at Howlong infested with full grown red velvet mites +(_Trombidiidae_), which occupied the whole space. + +The Genus _Polyrhachis_ contains a number of black ants of fair size, +most of which build their nests in dead logs, and live in rather +large communities, but others form small nests by matting the foliage +of trees together; the latter are confined to Queensland, and are +generally smaller shining black forms. The true “wood ants” are more or +less covered with bright metallic pubescence and fine hairs, and with +the hind portion of the thorax and the node of the abdomen ornamented +with a pair of slender spines. + +_Polyrhachis ornata_ is black, with the thorax and base of the spines +richly tinted with gold; it comes from Queensland. _P. ammon_, ranging +from Victoria to Queensland, is clothed with pale golden pubescence +lightest on the head and thickest on the abdomen. _P. semi-aurata_ has +both the head and thorax golden, with the abdomen smooth, black and +shining. _P. laevior_ is one of the smaller tree nesting forms, and is +smooth and shining without any metallic tints, and the thoracic and +abdominal spines are very small. _P. turneri_, also a northern form, +has the head golden, and large well developed spines. + + + Family 14. Solitary Ants. + + MUTILLIDAE. + +Though these interesting little creatures were once placed in the +Formicidae, and are still popularly known as “Solitary Ants” in Europe +and “Cow Ants” in America, they are now classified as the first family +of the fossorial wasps. Unlike the true ants, they are solitary in +their habits and probably all parasitic in other insects’ nests. Until +quite recently they were all placed in the Genus _Mutilla_, in which +about 1,000 species have been described from all parts of the world, +and about 130 from Australia; the earlier ones by Messrs. Westwood and +Smith, the later ones by Andre, who has had the great advantage of +obtaining a great many specimens from Mr. Gilbert Turner, who was able +to sex the species, add valuable notes about their habits, and give +the exact locality of the specimens collected. Turner, who was a most +careful observer, after some years of collecting was not positive where +they passed the earlier stages of their existence, but told me that he +believed that some of them were parasitic in the nests of ants. Several +of the European _Mutillidae_ are known to be parasitic in the nests +of bees: I have on several occasions dug the females of the smaller +species out of moss at the foot of tree trunks, and our two largest +species are generally found under stones in open chambers, while on hot +summer days both sexes of _Mutilla cordata_ and several other species +are found running up and down the tree trunks. + +The males are furnished with two pairs of dark or semiopaque wings. +The head is rounded; the antennae curving round; with large eyes and +ocelli; the thorax broad, but showing the segmental divisions, and the +abdomen rather short and rounded, without any pedicle; the legs stout, +and spined on the middle pair. The whole insect is rugose and deeply +punctured or roughened, and more or less clothed with pubescence and +longer hairs. The females are wingless, with shorter curled antennae, +very different in size, sculpture, and even colouration to the males +of the same species; with the body more elongated and terminating +in a long powerful sting. Andre remarks upon the brilliant metallic +colouration of many of the Australian species, which is much more +pronounced than in those from other parts of the world. He also says +that they resemble the American species in the fact that they can be +divided into two groups by the configuration of the eyes. + +Within the last few years specialists have subdivided the Genus +_Mutilla_ into a number of new genera; and Andre places nearly +all the Australian species in the Genus _Ephutermorpha_, but for +simplicity I retain the old name. + +_Mutilla rugicollis_, described by Westwood many years ago, is +our largest species, measuring in the larger female over ¾ of an inch +in length. She is black, very deeply punctured, thickly clothed with +black and silvery white hairs, the latter forming white patches on the +hind portion of the head, sides and under-surface of the abdomen, and +has a dorsal row of five distinct spots down the back. The male is much +smaller, with somewhat similar but not so distinct white markings, and +is furnished with dark brown wings, which are hyaline, close to the +sides of the thorax. + +_Mutilla quadrisignata_ has about the same measurements as the +female of the last species; with blackish hairy covering, except on +the under surface of the abdomen, and four dark, reddish brown, oval +spots forming a square on the dorsal surface. Both these species have +a wide range over Australia. _Mutilla ferruginata_ is a smaller +species with a similar deeply punctured surface; is of a uniform dull +rusty red colour, thickly clothed with darker brown hairs; the legs +and antennae deeper coloured than the body. _Mutilla cordata_ is +typical of the smaller active forms that frequent tree trunks; the male +is black with dark wings and slender abdomen, and measures about ⅓ of +an inch in length; in this case much larger than the female, which has +a rounded body with the centre of the dorsal surface occupied with a +large rounded golden blotch. I have found the best time to collect +these insects is in the hottest part of the day, when they are running +up and down the larger tree trunks; but they are very active, and drop +at the least alarm, so that it takes some practice to capture them. + + + Family 15. Flower Wasps. + + THYNNIDAE. + +These handsome flower wasps are closely allied to the members of the +previous family, as they have similar wingless females of such peculiar +shapes that, if examined alone, they would never be taken for the +consorts of the large wasp-like _Thynnus_, with its long stout +antennae, well developed legs, and large powerful wings. The males fly +about the flowers of leptospermum and eucalypts, and when captured +bite and pretend to sting by turning up the tip of the abdomen, which +ends in a horny, harmless process. Fortunately, when hunted for in the +summer, most of our commoner species can be taken _in copula_ with +the smaller female, with which he flies about quite easily; when caught +the female immediately detaches herself and falls to the ground, where +she crawls out of sight, so that care must be taken by the collector to +keep each pair captured in a box by themselves, or else when once mixed +up it is impossible to determine unknown species. Australia is the +headquarters of this group, for of about 400 described species, 300 are +peculiar to this country; the others are chiefly confined to Brazil and +Chili in South America, with a few from Asia and the Islands. Smith +has described a great number in the British Museum Catalogues; Westwood +others; and Guerin those collected during the Voyage de Coquille in +1830; but as many of these were determined from single specimens of one +sex, it is certain that when a collection of sexed specimens can be +compared with the types, the number of species will suffer considerable +reduction. + +Nothing definite is known about the earlier stages of their +development; I have however obtained cocoons composed of a stout silken +case enveloped in a thin outer second papery covering, oval in form, +with a nipple-like projection at the extremity, from which I have bred +one of our large species. These cocoons are buried several inches in +the ground like those of the _Scolias_, so that the females, which +are furnished with short, stout, spiny legs well adapted for digging, +probably lay their eggs in lamellicorn larvae living in the loose soil. + +A number of our common species are plentiful on the flowering +Leptospermum and Melaleuca bushes, and many of the smaller ones +may be found feeding upon the honey dew covering the foliage of +small eucalypts that are infested with scale insects. _Thynnus +variabilis_, our commonest species, is a very handsome wasp +measuring over ¾ of an inch in length, and nearly 1¾ across the +outspread wings; the general colour is brown; the front of the head, +hind margin of thorax, and broad bands or double dots across the +abdominal segments bright yellow; the semiopaque wings reddish brown. +The female, very broad in proportion, is shorter than the male; she +is reddish brown; the abdominal segments are rugose and blotched with +yellow, forming transverse bars of rounded dots on the hind portion. +The antennae are short and curled; the head broad, with a stout thorax; +and she has short hairy legs. _Thynnus leachellus_, slightly +smaller, is found in the vicinity of Sydney. The abdomen is broader and +shorter in proportion; the general tint is black, richly marked on the +head and thorax with bright yellow, and each of the abdominal segments +carries a narrow transverse band of the same colour, broken by a dorsal +stripe of black. The female is much smaller, short and thickset; +is of a general reddish brown colour; the abdomen is marked with +yellow blotches and bands, only the last one divided as in the male. +_Thynnus flavilabris_, somewhat larger, is quite black, with only +the face marked with deep yellow; the wings are dark, smoke-coloured; +and the hind margin of the thorax is thickly covered with white hairs. + +_Thynnus brenchleyi_ is a type of the North Australian forms; it +is nearly as large as _T. variabilis_, but has the whole upper +surface smooth and shining, the hind margin of the thorax and the base +of the abdomen truncate and fitting close against each other. The head +and prothorax are bright yellow, the rest black. This handsome insect +was described by Smith in the Zoology of the Voyage of the Curaçoa, and +it was said to come from the northern coast of Western Australia; my +specimens were taken near Charters Towers, North Queensland. A female, +sent with this species as its mate, is black, marked on the head, sides +of thorax, and abdomen with yellow, and is furnished with a curious +fringe of pale buff hairs on the hind margin of the thorax, and along +the front of the first abdominal segment. + +In the Genus _Rhagigaster_ the males are more slender in form; the +abdomen, elongated and deeply constricted or corrugated at the junction +of the segments, is usually black, with more or less dark coloured +wings: the females are very small in proportion. + +Among the most remarkable is the “Blue Ant,” _Diamma bicolor_. In +this case the female is most common; about Sydney I have caught scores +of females, but so far have never taken a male. She measures 1 inch in +length, and is of a rich metallic blue to purple colour, smooth and +shining, the antennae and legs reddish brown. She is furnished with +a fine pair of jaws and a powerful sting, more formidable than that +of any ant, and when disturbed turns over on her back and shows fight +with both jaws and sting. The male, much smaller in size, is black, +with red legs and black tarsi; the wings are semitransparent with black +nervures. The whole upper surface of head and thorax is rugose, and the +insect very ant-like in general appearance. + +Mr. Roland Turner is at present engaged in working up the Australian +Thynnidae at the British Museum, having his own and my collection +of specimens to identify; probably this combined collection is the +largest in existence, and contains an immense number of sexed specimens +collected in the field, as we have both spent a great deal of time over +these typical Australian insects. + + + Family 16. Hairy Flower Wasps. + + SCOLIIDAE + +These insects are easily distinguished from the Thynnidae in being +thickset hairy wasps; both sexes are furnished with wings in which the +neuration is distinct at the base, but the nervures fade out before +they reach the tips; the thorax is broad, rounded in front, with a very +short pedicle attaching it to the stout abdomen. The legs are stout, +compressed, very hairy, and spiny, with one stout spur on the tibiae +of the middle pair of legs well adapted for burrowing. The males are +easily distinguished from the females in being more slender in form, +with longer straight antennae (in the latter sex short, thickened, +and curling round the sides of the head); and the legs are slender, +with fewer spines. Several species are plentiful about the Sydney +gardens and bush, where they can be easily captured on the flowers. In +observations made by earlier entomologists, their life history seems +to have been confused with those of the long legged sand wasps, which +burrow in the ground and form regular nests provisioned with other +insects and spiders; but the SCOLIIDAE form no true nest; +the female burrows into the ground or under logs, where she finds the +larvae or white grubs of the larger lamellicorn beetles, on which +she deposits a single egg, first carefully stinging the beetle grub +(according to Fabre, the French naturalist, who studied the habits of +several European species). The young wasp hatching out attaches itself +to the helpless grub in such a manner that it does not injure the +vital organs, and by the time it has devoured its host it is ready to +pupate, spinning a brown silken cocoon which fits into the cavity first +occupied by the unfortunate beetle grub; when fully developed it digs +its way up to the surface. + +About 50 species have been described from Australia; Smith listed and +described a number of new species (British Museum Catalogue Hymenoptera +1855): Saussure described several in the same year (Memoires de la +Societe de Physique, &c., Geneve), and later on others in the Annals +of the Entomological Society of France 1858. In 1864 he and Sichel +monographed the family: Smith described 8 more four years after: and +Kirby going through the British Museum Collections in 1889 revised the +Genera and added another to our list. + +_Discolia soror_ is our commonest shining black species; the +female measures over 1 inch in length, and is easily identified by its +beautiful, iridescent, opaque, dark blue wings. It may be often seen in +our gardens on the flowers or hovering in numbers over a dead stump, +looking for beetle larvae in which to deposit its eggs. _Scolia +fulva_ is our largest species; the female measures up to 1½ inches +in length, and is broad in proportion; it is black and reddish yellow, +but so thickly clothed with coarse reddish hairs that it is more the +latter tint; and the semiopaque wings are reddish brown. This species +is figured and described by Gray in Griffith’s Animal Kingdom 1832. + +_Scolia radula_ is a smaller black species, under 1 inch in +length; the head, apex of thorax, base of abdomen and most of the +under-surface are clothed with grey hairs, but the hind margin of the +head and dorsal surface of abdomen are clothed with reddish brown; the +latter is orange yellow above, but marked with black at the base and +tip. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 52.=--Life History of a Flower Wasp. + + 1. _Dielis formosa_ (Guérin). ♀. (1a.--Life size.) + 2. „ „ Larva. + 3. Pupal Cocoon, showing opening whence the wasp has emerged. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +_Dielis 7-cincta_, one of our commonest species, often clustering +in numbers on flowering shrubs in the gardens, was described by +Fabricius, and is the male of _Dielis (Scolia) formosa_ which was +not described till 1846 by Guérin. The male, ⅔ of an inch in length, +is very slender in form, of a general black colour, clothed with fine +grey hairs, and marked with light yellow on the head and thorax, with +five broad bands of the same colour on the body. The female, under 1 +inch in length, is black, with the abdomen marked on the upper surface +with reddish yellow somewhat variable in its distribution, and clothed +with reddish brown hairs, thickest on the head and thorax. This insect +has been found in Queensland destroying the underground grub of the +Sugar-cane Beetle (_Lepidoderma albo-hirtum_). + + + Family 17. Sand Wasps. + + POMPILIDAE. + +This group is well represented in Australia, and widely distributed +over the country; about 60 species have been described: several +collected by Sir Joseph Banks in 1775 were described by Fabricius; +Smith, in the Catalogue previously noticed, in a series of papers +between 1862–69 in the Transactions of the Entomological Society, other +Journals, and a British Museum publication (New Species of Hymenoptera +1879) published after his death, has described most of our species; +Saussure in the Hymenoptera of the Reise Novara; and later Kohl has +enriched our list. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 53.=--_Salius (Priocnemus) + bicolor_ (Fabr.). + + Large sand-burrowing wasp, that attacks cicadas. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The typical genera _Pompilus_ and _Salius_ comprise a number +of large yellow and black wasps with coloured wings tipped with black. +They have long legs well adapted for running over the ground, and may +be seen any warm sunny morning hunting about for spiders, with their +antennae and wings constantly on the move as they rush about. They +will attack the largest spider whether on the ground or hidden in a +tree trunk; one large black undetermined species even ventures down +the nests of the Trap-door Spiders and drags them forth. Sometimes one +of the larger ground spiders shows fight, and it becomes a duel to the +death, the wasp now and then being captured by its intended victim. +They often place the spider in any suitable cavity with their eggs, +but others form extensive burrows in the soil. _Salius (Priocnemus) +bicolor_ is one of our largest yellow and black species, often +measuring 2 inches across the wings, but variable both in colouration +and size. She forms a burrow as large as a mouse hole, several feet +in length, with quite a large mound of excavated soil outside the +entrance; when emerging from the chamber she looks a most formidable +creature, but unless captured never attempts to attack anyone. She +sometimes stores her nest with cicadas many times larger than herself, +which she rides down to their tomb before they are quite dead. The +young larva is usually attached to the cicada’s breast when hatched +out; but I have never been able to keep any alive after being dug out +of the nest. This wasp has a curious habit of flying round and dragging +a cicada off a branch when it is sucking up the sap; taking its place, +she calmly stands over the spot and drinks up the sap that exudes from +the puncture the dispossessed cicada had made in the bark. The members +of the Genus _Pepsis_ are large black wasps with a beautiful +metallic lustre on the wings; they are chiefly confined to the tropics, +but Saussure has described one species, _P. australis_, from this +country. + + + Family 18. Smaller Sand Wasps. + + SPHEGIDAE. + +Westwood placed these wasps and the POMPILIDAE in a single family, +but Kohl, while separating the latter, has grouped a number that were +once ranked as families, under the SPHEGIDAE, calling them simply +sub-families, thus making this a much more extensive division, the +SPHEGIDAE proper forming only a part of the whole. + +Dalla Torre in his Catalogue treats them as a sub-division of the +CRABRONIDAE; but Sharp takes Kohl’s classification, which I +follow. + +The _Sphegides_ are easily distinguished by the peculiar structure +of the abdomen; the basal portion is produced into a slender rod-like +stalk or pedicle, with the apical part forming a rounded or oval tip; +they are very active creatures with the habits of the larger sand wasps. + +The world-wide Genus _Ammophila_ is represented in Australia by +four described species; they make their nests in sandy ground, digging +out a straight burrow with an enlarged chamber at the end, which they +store with different kinds of caterpillars they capture on the plants +while hunting; these they sting but do not kill, but though paralysed +and incapable of motion, remain alive long enough to furnish the baby +wasps with a supply of fresh food. + +_Ammophila suspiciosa_ is a slender black insect under 1 inch +in length; the thickened tip of the abdomen is dull red. This is our +common species found all over the western country. _A. instabilis_ +is a larger black species with semiopaque wings and reddish legs; the +tubular portion of the body and base of the thickened part are reddish +brown: this one is a northern form found in Queensland. + +_Pelopaeus laetus_ is a very handsome black and yellow wasp with a +somewhat similar shaped body tipped with black; it is very variable in +size, the largest measuring about 1 inch in length. It has a wide range +over Australia, and differs from the former insects in being a regular +“mud dauber,” forming a regular clay nest consisting of a number of +different cells, each of which is filled with paralysed spiders. It is +a very friendly insect, often flying into the room on a summer day; and +will build its nest on the edge of a roof or wall. + +The typical Genus _Sphex_ contains a number of fine black wasps +more or less clothed with silver or golden pubescence on the head and +thorax, with the slender pedicle at the base of the thorax very well +defined, and the hind portion of the abdomen almost round or oval. They +form underground burrows branching out into a chamber at the end, in +which they store all kinds of different insects, each species seeming +to have a preference for its particular choice. _Sphex vestita_, +one of our largest species, has the face thickly clothed with silvery +pubescence; it is often common in sandy patches in gardens, where it +hunts for small orthopterous insects, and is particularly fond of a +species of small brown cricket which lives in the long grass. _S. +opulenta_ is a smaller species about ¾ of an inch in length, with +the face and back of the thorax bright silver, and the dorsal surface +of the latter coppery. About 30 species are described from Australia, +some of which have a very wide range over the interior. + +The LARRIDES are medium sized black wasps with the abdomen not +stalked, but coming to a point at the junction with the thorax, and +often ornamented with golden or silvery pubescence forming bands on the +body. + +Shuckard described a number of our species belonging to the Genus +_Pison_ (Trans. Ent. Society 1837–40), where he gives some account +of the group. Smith in the same Transactions, 1869, catalogued those +previously described, and added a number of new species; and also added +the Genus _Parapison_, containing species from India, Ceylon +and Australia. The European _Tachytes_, which Westwood says are +captured in sand banks, are represented here by three species, all +shining black insects about ½ an inch in length. Saussure (1855), and +Kohl later have described others. + +_Pison spinolae_ and _P. decipiens_ are both black wasps +with silvery bands upon the sides of the abdomen; the latter are the +smaller. They are both common about Sydney, and have a very wide range +over the country; they are very fearless insects, flying into the +house, and wherever they come upon a convenient hole in the rung of +a chair, or even a key hole, will set to work and line it with clay, +forming an irregular chamber, which they store with small spiders, +deposit the egg, and after closing it up fly away quite satisfied. +Sometimes they form a row of round clay cells on a coat or other +garment hanging on a wall. + +The NYSSONIDES comprise a smaller group of closely allied +forms, differing chiefly in the venation of the wings. Smith has +described most of our species. The members of the Genus _Gorytes_ +are represented by five described species; all small, active, bee-like +insects with coppery fasciae upon the abdomen; several of these are +known in the bush as “policemen flies” from their habit of coming round +and catching flies upon one’s clothes and even snapping one off the +back of one’s hand; these flies are killed with their stout jaws and +deposited in their nests constructed in the ground. + +The curious, large, reddish brown wasp, _Stizus pectoralis_, from +Queensland, at first sight might be taken for a _Thynnus_, but the +distinct form of the body, and the antennae thickened toward the tips, +show that it could not belong to the flower wasps. It is now placed in +the allied Genus _Sphecius_. + +The PHILANTHIDES are easily distinguished from the other +groups by the curious rugose or punctured integument which makes them +look as though coated with armour plate, and the curious constrictions +or rings between the abdominal segments, becoming smallest toward +the tip. They are generally black or reddish brown, marked with pale +yellow spots and bands. With the exception of one species of the Genus +_Philanthus_ all ours have been placed in the world-wide Genus +_Cerceris_. I have generally captured them about flowers, or +flying round bushes infested with scale insects that were throwing +off honey dew, which sweet secretion has a great attraction for small +hymenoptera of many different families. Eight species are described +by Smith and Saussure; there are probably many new species to be +recorded. Nothing is known about their habits in this country, but +the European species form nests in the ground, which they provision +with small beetles; and each species is said to confine its attention +to a different group of beetles; one uses only small weevils; another +carries off chrysomalids, and so on with each species. + +The CRABRONIDES are another small group, and under the present +classification all our species have been placed by Smith in the +world-wide Genus _Crabro_. They are medium sized black wasps with broad +stout heads and unstalked bodies, generally banded with orange, red, or +yellow; they form burrows in the stems of plants, which they store with +captured flies. Five species have been described from Australia and +Tasmania. + +The BEMBECIDES are very handsome, smooth, shining wasps of fair size, +with broad bodies, rounded and broadly pointed at the extremity. They +are generally met with along sandy pathways and roads, flitting along +in front of one, settling on the ground and rising again, so that +they are easily captured with a net. They make shallow burrows on the +roadside in which they place flies, which they capture with their +powerful jaws. + +Nearly all our species have been described by Smith in the British +Museum Catalogue Hymenoptera 1856, and the Annals and Magazine of +Natural History 1873. Under 20 species are recorded from Australia. +_Bembex tridentifera_ was described by Smith from Moreton Bay, +Queensland, but it has a wide range southwards to Victoria. It measures +just under ¾ of an inch in length; is of a general black colour; the +face yellow with a black trident-like mark above and two black spots +below the antennae; the legs yellow lightly marked with black; the +upper surface of the thorax spotted and barred with yellow, and the +abdomen beautifully banded with irregular white bands on the 2nd to +4th segments, with the first and last only marked on the sides. _B. +vespiformis_ ranges from West Australia to S. Australia, is somewhat +smaller than the last, and viewed from above is black, with very faint +markings on the thorax, and a broad white band on either side of the +first segment of the abdomen almost meeting on the back. + + + DIPLOPTERA. + +The true wasps have the antennae generally elbowed and thickened toward +the tips, and the eyes notched. They have the wings folded like a +fan in repose, but can fly well, and have legs and feet adapted for +walking. Some species are solitary in their habits, and consist of +males and females only; others live in large communities, and, like the +ants, comprise males, females, and workers, the latter aborted females. + + + Family 19. Solitary Wasps. + + EUMENIDAE. + +This group is well represented in Australia; they are well known +to residents in the country from their habit of constructing clay +nests under the shelter of the verandah or the eaves of the houses. +They usually appear in pairs, and rapidly build up the structure, +flying backward and forward with their earthen loads; from this habit +they get the name of “Mud Daubers” in America, and “Mason Wasps” in +this country. A number of our species are described and figured in +Saussure’s “Monograph des Guepes Solitaires” published in 1851. + +The Genus _Eumenes_ contains a number of very handsome insects that +are easily recognised from the basal portion of the abdomen forming +a more or less slender stalk, and the apical portion rounded at the +junction and tapering to a sharp point at the tip. They build clay +nests containing a number of cells, and store them with caterpillars, +which they do not appear to be able to paralyse in the same manner as +the large sand wasps, for they are capable of movement after they are +enclosed in the cell. By some wonderful instinct, the female wasp does +not deposit her egg haphazard among the wriggling grubs that would +easily damage it, but suspends it by a fine stalk to the roof of the +cell in such a manner, that when the little wasp larva hatches out, it +can safely reach down and feed upon the nearest caterpillar, until it +has finished the last bit, when it spins a thin parchment cocoon and +pupates in the cavity which before was its larder. + +_Eumenes bicincta_ has a wide range over Australia; it measures +about 1 inch in length; the stalk is not quite so long as the base +of the abdomen, and is of a uniform deep orange yellow colour, with +the top of the head, centre of thorax, and broad band in the middle +of the abdomen black. _Eumenes latreillei_, a larger species, +has the stalk of the abdomen shorter and thickened, with the basal +half of the body from the stalk black. _Eumenes servillei_, the +smallest of the three, is more slender in shape, has more black upon +the thorax, and the stalked portion of the body is variegated with +black. _Eumenes arcuatus_ is a more northern species common in +Queensland; it measures over 1 inch in length, and is the only one +with blackish wings; it has a very long slender stalked abdomen. It is +black, mottled on the head and thorax with yellow; and the abdominal +segments are barred on either side with yellow, which appear to form +regular slender bands across, but do not actually meet in the centre. + +Two of our handsomest mason wasps belonging to the Genus _Abispa_ +measure 1 inch in length, but are so stout in form that they appear +much larger; they are black and deep orange yellow, with dull yellow +wings tipped with black, and the stout broad thorax fits close against +the base of the abdomen. _Abispa splendida_ has the front half of +the first abdominal segment black, with the hind portion yellow, while +in _Abispa ephippium_ the whole of the first abdominal segment +is yellow. They both build very large, solid, clay nests generally +containing two rows of cells, about 6 in number, above each other, +with thick partitions between them; the outer surface is rounded on +the sides; each cell is stored with caterpillars upon which the larva +feeds, and finally pupates in a reddish brown parchment-like cocoon. + +The Genus _Rhynchium_ comprises about six described species, +handsome insects not unlike the former in general form, but with the +abdomen more tapering. _Rhynchium mirabile_ measures ¾ of an inch +in length; it is of a general black colour, the head marked with, +and collar of thorax, yellow; and the hind margin of the abdominal +segments is ringed with slender bands of orange yellow. _Rhynchium +superbum_ is a smaller insect of similar form and colour, with the +basal half of the abdomen black and the hind portion rich yellow. Both +these species come from Queensland. + +The Genus _Odynerus_ contains a great number of small thickset +wasps, that make clay nests of various shapes, sometimes very delicate +in structure, forming a finger-shaped row of clay cells or rounded +cup-shaped chambers; while some species make use of a hole in the +wood or wall and simply coat it over with clay. Australia is rich in +species, some of which have a very wide range. _Odynerus bicolor_, +one of our commonest species, is black, with the collar of the thorax, +legs, and all the abdomen except the basal segment, dull reddish +yellow. _Odynerus nigro-cinctus_ is of a general dark orange +yellow colour, with the head and centre of abdomen black. The closely +allied species forming the Genus _Alastor_ differ slightly in the +venation of the wings, but their habits are identical; about 30 species +have been described from Australia, chiefly by Saussure, some of which +are figured in colours in his Monograph. These wasps may be captured +round water-holes in the summer months, and may sometimes be found +resting upon grass stalks in the early morning. + + + Family 20. Social or Paper-nest Wasps. + + VESPIDAE. + +These typical wasps are found all over the world, and next to the +bees have probably received more attention from the casual observer +than most of the other groups. Each community consists of males, +females, and workers, and though the structure of their nests differs +considerably in the various groups, the social economy is the same. +The female first starting the nest constructs a stout stalk at the +apex attached to a twig or roof, and constructs a six-sided cell from +which the whole mushroom-shaped nest is built. In each little cell she +deposits an egg from which the legless white grub emerges, attaches +itself to the roof of the cell and hangs head downward, being fed +by the mother wasp until full grown with food chiefly composed of +masticated spiders, when it pupates under a silken cover spun over +the apex of the cell. As soon as it emerges it sets to work to help +on the nest, so that the community rapidly increases in numbers. The +nest of _Polistes tasmaniensis_ sometimes measures six inches in +diameter. Some confusion as to the identity of this species and _P. +variabilis_ seems to exist, but from Saussure’s description, our +common species appears to be _P. tasmaniensis_. + + [Illustration: Plate XV.--HYMENOPTERA. + + Family VESPIDAE. + + 1 & 5. Nests of _Polistes tasmaniensis_. + 2. _Icaria gregaria_ (Sauss.). + 3. Slender nest typical of Genus _Icaria_. + 4. _Polistes tasmaniensis_ (Sauss.). + + (Original photo. Burton.)] + + [Illustration: _Plate XV.--HYMENOPTERA._] + +The widespread Genus _Vespa_, though it is recorded from as far +down as Java, is unknown in Australia. We have however allied species +belonging to the genera _Icaria_ and _Polistes_. Those of the +genus _Icaria_ are the smaller wasps, the largest well under ½ an +inch in length; most of them are reddish brown, or mottled with black +and yellow; the abdomen is contracted into a stalk at the base, then +becomes rounded, with the apical segments small and telescopic, so that +when retracted it looks as if it were damaged. They all form similar +nests commencing with the usual stalk, but, unlike the larger +_Polistes_, the cells follow on in rows, forming finger-like +nests. _Icaria gregaria_, our commonest species, forms these +slender nests up to six inches in length. It is a dull reddish brown +wasp mottled with black on the thorax and legs, with the apex of the +abdomen lightest in colour. + +Some of the members of the Genus _Polistes_ grow to a considerable +size, and armed with a powerful sting are very formidable insects; +several of the largest form small stalked nests on the under-side of +fallen logs; when hunting for insects and turning over dead wood one +is liable to disturb a family party and find it wise to beat a hasty +retreat. They differ from the previous group in having no stalk to +the abdomen, which is very slender at the base, rounded to the middle +and tapers to a pointed apex. _Polistes tasmaniensis_, our most +sociable species, is very fond of building her large nest (previously +noticed) under one’s verandah, or the porch over the door, and is quite +ready to attack any one when disturbed. It is one of the smallest +species, measuring under ¾ of an inch in length; is of a general dark +brown colour marked with reddish brown; the abdomen is irregularly +banded, with the first basal band finest. _Polistes tepidus_, one +of our largest wasps, is almost black, with face, tips of legs, and +thorax marked with dark orange yellow, and the abdomen banded with +rusty red. _Polistes humilis_ is of an almost uniform yellowish +brown tint, with the face marked with black. In the Queensland Museum +there are some very large paper-nests of some undetermined wasps that +have a regular comb-like structure containing thousands of cells, and +which are several feet in length. + + + Family 21. Shining Wasps. + + MASARIDAE. + +These curious wasps stand quite alone as the last group of the true +Vespidae, and are a comparatively small family, comprising several +distinctive genera containing altogether sixty species found in the +Mediterranean region, South and North America, and Australia. + +They are wasp-like in waist, with the antennae thickened toward the +tips or clubbed; the wings contain two sub-marginal cells; and the feet +are furnished with curious toothed or rather hooked claws. The European +species are known to build nests in the ground, forming a tunnel ending +in a clay cell in which the larvae live and are fed by the mother in +the same manner as the true wasps forming the papery nests; others +construct clay chambers attached to twigs. + +Shuckard when he formed the typical Australian Genus _Paragia_ +named it “in allusion to its deceptive habit, which is precisely that +of a Vespa.” Saussure wrote a monograph on the Masaridae forming +the third part of the Vespidae published in 1856; Smith has also +contributed to our knowledge of Australian species in the British +Museum Catalogue 1857, and subsequently in several papers in the +Entomological Society of London between 1864–1869. + +Seventeen species have been described in the Genus _Paragia_, but +nothing has been recorded about their habits or life history: several +are described from Tasmania and New South Wales, but all the specimens +in my collection come from the northern part of Australia. + +_Paragia decipiens_ was described and figured by Shuckard in the +Transactions of the Entomological Society, 1837; it measures under ¾ of +an inch in length, and is of a general black colour, with the front and +sides of the thorax spotted with yellow, and the whole of the smooth +rounded abdomen of the same bright colour except the base, which is +black; the wings are smoky brown, with the nervures black. _Paragia +bicolor_ is a larger insect measuring nearly 1 inch in length; the +head and thorax are black, and the abdomen bright metallic blue; the +under surface and sides of the first three segments, and the base of +the thorax, are marked with bright yellow. + + + Family 22. Bees. + + ANTHOPHILA or APIDAE. + +The Australian region is rich in bees peculiar to the country; and +while we have representatives of many of the foreign groups, yet +several well-known genera, such as _Apis_, _Bombus_, _Eucera_, +_Colletes_ and _Osmia_, though ranging over the greater part of the +world, are unknown in Australia. + +The classification of the bees is still somewhat unsatisfactory. +Latreille termed them MELLIFERA, honey gatherers, or ANTHOPHILA, lovers +of flowers: Westwood and others, while keeping this as a group name, +subdivided them into two large families, ANDRENIDAE, short-tongued +bees, and APIDAE, long-tongued bees, dividing the last family into +five smaller groups based upon their different structure and habits. +The European bees have been since placed under six headings; while in +Dalla Torre’s Catalogue dealing with the bees of the whole world, there +are no less than fourteen sub-families. Most of our species have been +described by Smith, in the British Museum Catalogue, Hymenoptera 1853; +others in the Transactions of the Entomological Society 1862–68, and +New Species, British Museum 1879. Cockerell (Ann. & Mag. Nat. History +1905) described a number of new species of our bees examined by him in +the British Museum Collections, and added some interesting information +on species already described; as many of these specimens were collected +by Turner, Walker, and myself and sent to the British Museum, the +Australian localities are given. + +None of the short-tongued bees store up honey, but form cells or +burrows in the ground, walls, cavities in rocks, or the stems of +plants, in which they form a row of cells or little chambers each +containing an egg and sufficient bee bread for the development of the +larva. Some of these bees are parasitic, and live at the expense of +the industrious species, crawling into the open nests and laying their +eggs upon the food supply of the rightful occupant; these are popularly +known as “cuckoo bees.” + +The members of the Genus _Prosopis_ are handsome, shining black or +steel blue bees, marked with bright yellow upon the face and thorax. +With the additions that Cockerell has made to the list, nearly fifty +species are described from Australia, and a number are common in +the vicinity of Sydney. _Prosopis vidua_, our largest species, but +considerably smaller than the honey bee, is found upon the crimson +flowers of the bottlebrush (_Callistemon_). It has the head and thorax +black, with a yellow spot on the face and the base of each fore wing; +the abdomen is bright metallic blue. A smaller undetermined species +may be often noticed hovering round and entering holes in the soft +sandstone rocks where it appears to nest. _Prosopis metallica_, a +shining black species, smaller than _P. vidua_, with face and shoulders +broadly marked with yellow, was bred out of a row of half a dozen brown +papery cocoons placed in an empty burrow formed in the branch of a +wattle tree by the larva of some longicorn beetle. + +_Lamprocolletes plumosus_ and several other species of the genus +frequent the flowers of the Leptospermum. It is a handsome dark brown +bee, under ½ an inch in length. The abdomen has a metallic sheen, and +the head and thorax are clothed with fine down. + +_Hylaeoides concinnus_ is a very remarkable looking black bee, with +clouded smoky wings, marked with bright red on the face, and with bands +of the same colour on the base and tip of the abdomen. I have usually +captured this bee upon bushes; it bears such a decided superficial +resemblance to a small clay nesting (_Odynerus_) wasp, that this may be +a case of protective mimicry. The Genus _Paracolletes_ has been added +to by Cockerell, who describes twelve new species in his recent papers. +_Paracolletes crassipes_ was described by Smith from W. Australia, but +it is common on low scrub in the early part of the year on the Blue +Mountains N.S.W. It is a handsome black bee about ½ an inch in length, +with the head and thorax thickly clothed with pale buff hairs, and the +abdominal segments banded on the upper surface with dull brown. + +_Gastropsis (Oestropsis) pubescens_ is nearly as large as a honey bee, +with curious thickened antennae, slender at the basal joint. It is +somewhat flattened on the upper surface and clothed all over with a +dense coat of pale buff coloured hairs, only showing indistinct brown +bars on the abdomen. I know nothing about the habits of this curious +bee; it has been described from Western and South Australia. + +The Genus _Halictus_ is represented by about thirty described species; +nothing has been recorded about the habits of our species, but most +of the European form galleries in the ground connected with a large +excavation or chamber in which the larvae are placed in cells. +_Halictus floralis_ is a small bee with a reddish brown body; the front +of the head, antennae, legs, front and middle of thorax are light +yellow. _H. bicingulatus_ is black with the legs reddish brown, and +the segmental divisions of the abdomen light coloured. They are found +on grass and field flowers. _Nomia australica_, under ½ an inch in +length, is common on the flowers of the _Leptospermum_; it is a dull, +metallic blue bee with antennae, labrum, legs, and extreme tip of +abdomen reddish brown. The latter has a greenish sheen, and is somewhat +heart shaped, terminating in a fine point. Cockerell has added six new +species to our list, most of which are described from Queensland. + +_Exoneura froggatti_ is a little bee not much over ¼ of an inch +in length, black with smoky rings, reddish legs and a curiously +sack-shaped reddish brown abdomen, broadest near the apex, but +contracted to a point at the tip. I have frequently cut them out of +small burrows in the dead stems of wattle trees. _Exoneura bicolor_ +is a slightly larger species, with a darker, broader abdomen, and it +comes from Queensland. Cockerell has added three more new species, all +from the neighbourhood of Sydney. The great Carpenter Bees of the Genus +_Xylocopa_ are represented by four species, which are more common in +Queensland and the northern parts of Australia; but one species at +least, _Xylocopa aestuans_, ranges southwards. It is of the typical +broad form with dark coloured wings; the upper surface of the thorax +is clothed with yellow, other portions with black hairs. _Xylocopa +bryorum_ is a larger species measuring about 1 inch in length, with a +wing expanse of nearly two; the whole of the upper surface is thickly +clothed with golden yellow hairs, the brown beneath giving it a +greenish tint. The wings are light brown with black nervures, and the +hairs on the legs and under-surface are dark brown to black. + +The closely allied Carpenter Bees of the Genus _Lestis_ are peculiar +to Australia. The male of _Lestis bombylans_ measures over ½ an inch +in length, and is of a rich metallic green, with the front of the face +striped with white; the thorax and base of abdomen are clothed with +golden hairs, those on the front of the thorax forming a double bar; +the hairs on the front pair of legs yellow, those on the hind pair +black; the wings are brown with faint iridescence. The female has the +face silvery, but no yellow down upon the thorax; the abdomen is deep +purple; and the wings almost opaque, varying from dark brown to rich +metallic violet colour in different lights. The second species, _Lestis +aerata_, is slightly larger, with the stripe on the face of the male +yellow, and all the legs fringed with yellow pubescence, while the +female is of a uniform brassy green, with wings light coloured, more +like those of the males, and only showing a slight iridescence. Both +species have a wide range; those about Sydney form their nests in the +dead flower stalks of the grass trees (_Xanthorrhoea_). It begins by +boring a circular hole 3½ lines in diameter towards the centre, then +turns downward, excavating all the pith to a depth of about 4 inches, +and then works out about the same distance above the opening, so that +the full length of the chamber is 8 inches, with an average of ½ an +inch in diameter. This is divided off into a row of cells, each about +½ an inch in length, with a ball of bee bread and an egg deposited +in the far end; each cell is separated by a stout wad of triturated +pith. I have never found the centre of the chamber in front of the +opening closed up with cells, a space always being left unoccupied on +both sides. The larvae are of the usual cylindrical form, attenuated +at the extremities, and of a dull white colour, about ½ an inch in +length, and can be found in all stages of development in November. The +pretty banded bees, formerly known under the name of _Anthophora_, but +now placed in the Genus _Podalirius_, are world wide in their range. +All our species have the head and thorax clothed with a dense coat of +buff or pale yellow hairs, and the body banded with black and blue of +various tints. _Podalirius emendatus_, our largest species, is found +on the northern rivers of N.S. Wales and is common in Queensland; it +has the head and thorax covered with rusty red pubescence, and the low +abdominal bands broad. _P. cingulatus_ is slightly smaller, with the +pubescence pale buff, the abdominal bands much the same; _P. pulcher_, +much smaller, with the pubescence darker, is our commonest species +about Sydney. _P. aeruginosus_ has the whole of the abdomen as well +as the head and thorax thickly clothed with a dull greenish yellow +pubescence. My specimens of this species come from Mackay, Queensland. +Five new species are added to this genus by Cockerell. + +The Genus _Crocisa_ contains a few very handsome moderate sized bees of +a uniform black colour with smoky rings, and brightly marked bodies. +_Crocisa albo-maculata_, our largest species, has the face, upper +and under surface, and legs thickly marked and spotted with white +pubescence. It is a somewhat rare insect about Sydney. _C. lamprosoma_ +is a smaller bee with the marks and spots pale blue, those upon the +abdomen forming a more regular pattern of four well defined rows. +In _C. nitidula_ the pubescence forms rich metallic blue spots and +blotches, most brilliant on the upper surface of the abdomen, where +they run right round the basal segment and form a regular row of short +bands on either side but not meeting on the dorsal surface. It is found +in New South Wales and Queensland. + + [Illustration: Plate XVI.--HYMENOPTERA. + + Family APIDAE. + + 1. _Xylocopa aestuans_ (Linn.). ♂. + 1. _Xylocopa aestuans_ (Linn.). ♀. + 2. _Lestis aeratus_ (Smith). ♀. + 2. _Lestis aeratus_ (Smith). ♂. + 5. _Crocisa nitidula_ (Fabr.). + 6. _Crocisa lamprosoma_ (Boisd.). + 7. _Sarapoda bombiformis_ (Smith). + 8. _Megachile pictiventris_ (Smith). + 9. _Megachile blackburni_ (Froggatt). + + Family ANDRENIDAE. + + 3. _Hyleoides concinna_ (Fabr.). ♀. + 10. _Paracolletes crassipes_ (Smith). + + Family EUMENIDAE. + + 4. _Abispa splendida_ (Guérin). + 11. _Odynerus nigro-cinctus_ (Saussure). + 12. _Rhynchium mirabile_ (Saussure). + 14. _Eumenes arcuatus_ (Fabr.). + + Family SPHEGIDAE. + + 13. _Ammophila impatiens_ (Smith). + + Family PHILANTHIDAE. + + 15. _Cerceris sp._ + + Family VESPIDAE. + + 16. _Polistes tepidus_ (Fabr.). + + (Original photo. Burton.)] + + [Illustration: _Plate XVI.--HYMENOPTERA._] + +The great Genus _Megachile_ contains the leaf-cutting bees, so called +from the curious habit they have of cutting circular pieces out of the +leaves of growing plants with which they line their nests; these are +sometimes built in excavations in old walls, or dead wood, or simply +constructed like a cigar under stones. About 30 species have been +described from Australia; the two largest are _Megachile monstrosa_, +figured in Brenchley’s “Cruise of the Curaçoa,” published in 1873; and +_M. blackburni_, described by me from specimens obtained from Central +Australia by the Elder Exploring Expedition. _Megachile mystacea_, a +medium sized species found in Queensland and Northern Australia, is +also recorded from India; it is black, with the head and face clothed +with silvery hairs, and the whole of the abdomen covered with rich +reddish brown pubescence; while _M. pictiventris_ has the hind margin +of the thorax clothed with silvery hairs, the apical half of the +under-surface with reddish brown hairs which extend to form a fringe +round the extremity. _M. chrysopyga_ is a native of Tasmania and +Victoria. I found a nest of this species under a stone in the latter +State, which could be lifted up bodily without breaking. It was about +the shape and length of an ordinary cigar, and consisted of about nine +cells containing the larvae. These cells, like a series of shallow +thimbles, were enfolded in the outer shell of looser leaf. + +The Genus _Coelioxys_ comprises a number of curious bees that in +general appearance are so very like the “leaf cutters,” that a French +naturalist having bred one out of a Megachile’s nest described it as +the male form of the species. They are now known to be parasitic in the +nests of these bees in Europe, so that the similarity in form may be +of great protective value to them. They differ chiefly in the form of +the abdomen, which in the males is produced into forked spines at the +extremity, and in the females into a sharp point. + +I have two undetermined species in my collection from Queensland +obtained some years ago, but until last year the presence of this group +had not been recorded from Australia. Cockerell recorded (1905) two +species from this country; _Coelioxys albolineata_, measuring about ⅓ +of an inch in length, comes from Queensland, and is of the usually grey +and brown tints. + +The last group we have to deal with are the Australian stingless honey +bees, belonging to the Genus _Trigona_, which range all over Australia. +They collect quantities of dark coloured somewhat acid flavoured honey, +which they store up in little jug-shaped cells of dark brown wax, +forming an irregular comb attached to the walls of the cavity in which +they have constructed their hive by a network of irregular rods of wax. +They generally choose a cavity in the heart of a large gum-tree with +a small opening from the outside, and before commencing to make their +comb they plaster up all the cracks and inequalities of the chamber +with the sticky sap or gum of the Turpentine Tree (_Syncarpia_). This +chamber is usually about the size of a man’s head, and the comb as +a rule contains not more than a pint or two of honey. This is the +typical nest found in N.S. Wales, but in the tropical scrubs of North +Queensland many of them form a small funnel or spout projecting round +the opening, composed of a waxy-substance an inch or more in length. As +the green tree ants often capture these bees and are always swarming +over the tree trunks, this is probably a necessary protection. The +honey gatherers of _Trigona carbonaria_, our common species, are black, +thickset little bees measuring about ⅙ of an inch in length. They are +fearless little creatures when at work, and will allow themselves to +be picked off the flowers without any attempt to fly. Several species +have been recently added to our fauna, and though Dalla-Torre in his +Catalogue places the members of the genus Trigona in the _Melipona_, +which until then had only contained the allied stingless bees of South +America and the tropics, Cockerell retains them in the old genus, +describing a new species from Port Essington, and recording a species +known in Ceylon (_Trigona canifrons_) also from the north coast of +Australia. + + + + + Order V.--COLEOPTERA. + + Beetles. + + +This group is the best known of all the orders, for nearly every +entomologist starts collecting as a “beetle hunter.” They are the most +frequently observed because they are found everywhere; there is hardly +a log or stone that does not shelter some beetle; they infest all kinds +of timber, damage the living trees in the forest, devour foodstuffs, +stored grain, skins, furs and drugs; others are attracted to all kinds +of decaying animal or vegetable matter; while hundreds either in the +larval or perfect state are to be found all through the year upon the +flowers, foliage, or bark of trees and plants. + +Thus they are readily collected, and when obtained are much more easy +to look after and keep than the more delicate insects, on account of +their stout horny structure. + +Beetles are typical insects in that the head, thorax, and abdomen are +very well defined, and can be readily distinguished from each other; +the insect is more or less protected with a stout horny integument. +But the joints are flexible, so that though the parts fit close and +the body appears ensheathed in regular armour plate, most of the +species are very active. They are all furnished with cutting, biting, +or chewing jaws, and are therefore called mandibulate insects; and +with very few exceptions have well developed eyes and antennae, the +latter produced into all kinds of curious shapes in some groups, but +usually slender, filiform and many jointed. The thorax consists of one +solid segment, the three portions, so apparent in some insects, being +soldered together to form one uniform mass when viewed from above. The +large abdomen is said to contain ten distinct segments on dissection, +but when viewed from the under-surface generally only five can be seen. +Instead of the thin flying, or membranous fore-wings of other insects, +the first pair in the beetles are transformed into two horny plates +completely covering the dorsal surface of the abdomen and called the +elytra. When at rest they fit close together over the back, but can +be readily opened out in flight. Though of little use in flying, they +probably assist a large heavy beetle in balancing or steering through +the air, and always cover the two large pointed membranous hind flying +wings, which when not in use are folded up beneath them. In some +beetles the elytra are not divided, but form a solid shield; and the +hind wings are wanting, or if they exist are simple pads. The various +families have the head, mouth parts, and legs admirably adapted to +their different habits and diet. + +Their larvae are also as variable in form as the perfect insects; many +are active, slender grubs with three pairs of legs, and large powerful +jaws, as in the carnivorous species; elongate cylindrical jointed +creatures with scaly heads, or short and wrinkled grubs like the wood +borers; others quite slug-like feed upon the surface of the foliage; +and a few are clothed with fine hairs. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 54.=--Diagram of a Water-Beetle, + showing the Dorsal surface. + + 1, Labrum; 2, clypeus; 3, head; 4, prothorax; 5, maxillary + palpus; 6, antennae; 7, eyes; 8, elytron; 9, wings; 10, + scutellum; 11, abdominal segments; 12, scutellum of the + metathorax; 13, claws of the feet or the fore leg; 14, tarsus; + 15, tibia; 16, femur; 17, middle leg; 18, spines or spurs on + tibia; 19, tarsus; 20, hind leg. + + (Redrawn from Westwood [Griffiths’ Animal Kingdom].)] + +In the pupal state, for all beetles undergo a complete metamorphosis, +they are inactive, mummy-like creatures showing the outlines of the +future beetle, with the wings, antennae, and legs closely folded down, +and the whole enveloped in a thin membrane. Some form regular cocoons +from the material among which they feed; others seal up at both ends +the cavity in which they have been feeding before they pupate; but many +do not even take this precaution. + +The classification of the Coleoptera has been undertaken by many +entomologists. In Gemminger and Harold’s great Catalogue of the +Coleoptera, seventy-five families were enumerated; Sharp has recently +adopted eighty, but when it comes to the larger sub-divisions none +of them agree. Westwood in his Classification has an alarming array +of sections, tribes, stirps, and sub-families: Kirby gives fourteen +sections in his Text Book; while Sharp simplifies the matter by forming +six series, some of them on the old lines, but his third series is +apparently more of a dumping ground than anything else for those that +will not fit into the other five, for it includes such dissimilar +families as the Staphylinidae, Buprestidae, Coccinellidae and many +others. + +As Masters’ Catalogue of the Described Coleoptera of Australia is the +list used by all Australian collectors, I shall follow his grouping +of the families (originally based on that of Gemminger and Harold), +defining the groups of each important or distinct family, though +through want of space many of them can be only briefly noticed. + +There have been so many describers of Australian beetles, that their +names alone would take some enumerating; so that I propose to omit them +here and notice them later on when dealing with the families upon which +they have worked. Australia is rich in large and handsome specimens, +which attracted the attention of the colonists at a very early date +in the history of the country, and quite a number of collections were +made and the specimens forwarded to England. Most of the exploring +expeditions that traversed the back country had a collector of some +sort on their staff, and it was usually beetles that formed the bulk of +the entomological specimens obtained. Again the Scientific Exploring +Ships, fitted out by our own and foreign countries, that visited the +different ports, collected many zoological specimens, so that many +of our larger beetles were known and described many years ago. Over +7,200 are listed in Masters’ Catalogue, and since its publication some +thousands have been added to our list. + + + Family 1. Tiger Beetles. + + CICINDELIDAE. + +This family is well represented in Australia by about forty-five +species, chiefly described by Macleay (Trans. Ent. Soc. N.S.W. 1871), +and later on (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 1887–8); and Count Castelnau +(Trans. Royal Soc. Victoria). The typical Tiger Beetles are slender +graceful insects, with broad short heads, furnished with large +projecting eyes, and great powerful jaws; the thorax is produced into a +cylindrical neck; and the short rounded elytra cover large wings. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 55.=--_Megacephala cylindrica_ + (Macleay). + + The Metallic Green Tiger Beetle. + + (Original photo. Burton.)] + +The larvae are elongated creatures, with large curving jaws; they +live in burrows in the ground, generally in the vicinity of a +waterhole or creek where there is a sandy shore; here they remain +hidden during the day, and come out at night to capture and devour +the less powerful insects they come across. One of our largest and +most handsome species is _Megacephala cylindrica_, found in the +western country, where it hides deep down in the cracks of the soil; +it lives chiefly upon ants. It measures over ¾ of an inch in length, +and is of a rich metallic green colour: the mouth, antennae and legs +are brownish yellow. A second species, _M. frenchi_, has been +recently described by Sloane, and ranges from North West Queensland +into Western Australia. The Genus _Tetracha_ contains a number +of handsome, shorter, broad-bodied Tiger Beetles with green metallic +tints and reddish brown or yellow legs, and similar coloured markings +on the wing covers. They form burrows, like their larvae, along the +sandy margins of rivers and water-holes, coming out and running along +the water’s edge at twilight, and often flying into the lamp at night. +_Tetracha australis_ has a wide range from the Murray river to the +interior; I have dug them out of the sand round an artesian bore near +the Queensland border. It is smaller than the previously described +one, which it somewhat resembles in general colour, but can be easily +distinguished by the larger jaws, shorter body, and the elytra tipped +with yellow near the apex. + +_T. australasiae_ and _T. hopei_ are smaller species, dull +green, marked with reddish brown on the wing covers; they are found in +North West Australia, while several other species are recorded from +Queensland. + +The _Cicindela_ are not common about Sydney; two species, however, +are to be found; _Cicindela ypsilon_, about ½ an inch long, is +so named from the dark markings on the cream-coloured wing cases +resembling the Greek E; they are to be found running about on the +seashore in hundreds in midsummer, and can easily be caught by throwing +a handful of sand over them: though so numerous, I have never been able +to find their larvae. In captivity one ate raw beef quite readily, +burying its jaw in the strange food and sucking up the juice. + +_C. circumcincta_ is a smooth, dark green beetle with the outer +edges of the wing covers marked with yellow; it is sometimes taken +about Sydney, but is not very common. + +The smallest Australian species is _C. tenuicollis_, described +by Macleay from specimens I collected on a sandy flat near the +Barrier Ranges in N.W. Australia; it is a rich, metallic red insect +with slender legs and small thorax. On a sandy road near Cairns, N. +Queensland, several small species were so plentiful that they often +flew up in clouds, and I have taken scores in half an hour with a +butterfly net. + +The tropical Genus _Distypsidera_ is represented by about a dozen +species, chiefly confined to North Queensland, where they hunt over the +stems of trees; when approached they run round the trunk to keep out of +sight; they are broader and more thickset than the _Cicindela_, +and their eyes are very large and prominent; _D. flavicans_ is the +only one that comes down as far as Northern N.S. Wales. + +The researches of Hacker in North Queensland have added several new and +interesting species of Tiger Beetles from the Coen River, some of which +are closely allied to New Guinea forms. + + + Family 2. Carnivorous Ground Beetles. + + CARABIDAE. + +These are broader and thicker set than the Cicindelidae, varying in +size from several inches to a line in length; the head is smaller than +the thorax; and most of them are black or reddish brown, while others +are richly marked with metallic tints. + +They are most numerous in open forest country, hiding under logs or +stones during the day and hunting over the ground at night: when camped +in the bush, where logs are plentiful, the entomologist can often trap +many interesting species by sinking empty tins into the soil, into +which they readily tumble. + +The larvae are slender creatures with three pairs of simple legs; their +bodies are protected with stout horny plates, and the head is furnished +with large powerful jaws; they are found in the same situations as the +adult beetles, and devour all kinds of insects that they can capture; +the larger ones even eat small frogs. This family has been divided +into a great number of sub-families which it is hardly necessary to +enumerate here. + +Australia is very rich in _Carabidae_; over 1,600 species have been +described. Chaudoir described many in Russian and Belgian; Newman, +Westwood, Pascoe, Hope, and Bates in English; Castelnau, Macleay, +and Sloane in Australian scientific journals; so that the literature +dealing with these beetles is very scattered, but the references can be +found in Masters’ Catalogue. + +_Calosoma schayeri_ is our type of this cosmopolitan genus. They live +in cavities in cultivated fields, and are very useful insects where +numerous, for they devour the larvae and pupae of many species of +cut-worms. It measures about 1 inch in length, has a small head, narrow +rounded thorax, and very broad, short, rounded abdomen; the whole is +bright metallic green. It has a wide range over Australia, and may +sometimes be even taken in the Sydney streets. + +The Genus _Pamborus_ contains many distinctive black beetles, some of +which are marked with coppery green tints; they measure up to 1 inch +in length, and are broad in proportion. When captured, many of them +discharge an acrid fluid or gas that stains the fingers reddish brown. + +_Pamborus viridis_ is black, with the wing covers thickly ridged with +parallel punctured striae marked with green. + +_P. alternans_ is a larger beetle, 1¼ inches long, with the same +small head, and rounded thorax tapering and narrow behind; the +coppery-tinted elytra have very broad parallel ridges. + + [Illustration: =Figs. 56–59.=--Typical Carabidae. + + 56. _Helluo costatus_ (Bonelli). The Desert-Carab. + 58. _Hyperion schroetteri_ (Schreib.). The Forest-Carab. + 57. _Trichosternus renardi_ (Chaud.). The Scrub-Carab. + 59. _Catadromus australis_ (Casteln.). The Swamp-Carab. + + (Original photo. Burton.)] + +_Drypta australis_ is a small beetle about 5 lines in length; it has a +pointed head, large projecting eyes, and the thorax forms a cylindrical +neck hardly broader than the head; the wing covers do not quite cover +the tip of the abdomen. In general colour it is yellowish brown, with +the antennae, legs, a broad stripe down the centre and the edges of +the wing covers dark purple to black; the wing covers are very finely +striated and punctured. They live on the edges of swamps, and sometimes +fly into the lamp at night. + +A beetle with a very wide range is _Helluo costatus_; it is a medium +sized brown beetle; the head and thorax are about the same length, the +latter rounded on either side in front but narrowed behind; the wing +covers are flattened, broadly ridged, and not reaching to the tip of +the abdomen. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 60.=--_Pheropsophus + verticalis_ (Dejean). + + The Yellow Bombardier Beetle which discharges an acrid gas + when disturbed. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +Our Common “Bombardier Beetle,” _Pheropsophus verticalis_, is another +widely distributed species; it measures over ½ an inch in length, and +is of a general dark brown tint, with the head, antennae, and thorax +dull yellow; the wing covers, which do not reach to the tip of the +abdomen, are blotched on either side and the tip with the same colour. +It can be found in any damp spot under stones or logs; and as soon +as disturbed, it discharges a small cloud of vapour with a distinct +report, and which feels quite warm to the fingers. + +The Genus _Scopodes_ contains a number of tiny beetles that are common +on the plains and about crabholes and swamps. + +_Scopodes sigillatus_ has the wing covers roughened, and measures about +2 lines in length; with its large projecting eyes it might be mistaken +for a small Tiger Beetle. + +We now come to a group, PSEUDOMORPHIDES, comprising a number of genera +that live under the loose bark on tree trunks; they have adapted +themselves to their confined hiding places, so that they have become +flattened and rounded, and even remarkable in colouration; and so, +unless a collector carefully examines them, he would never at first +sight think of including them among the Carabidae. + +The Genus _Silphomorpha_, in which over 40 species have been described, +are yellow and black, or yellow and brown beetles up to ½ an inch in +length; all their parts fit close together into a convex or oval form +very like some of the water-beetles. + +_Silphomorpha colymbetoides_ and _S. nitiduloides_ are found about +Sydney. The first has the head and thorax reddish brown, the elytra +pale yellow broadly blotched in the centre with black: the second, much +larger (¼ of an inch in length) is blackish, and the centre only of +each wing cover blotched with dull yellow. + +The members of the Genus _Adelotopus_ are mostly black, narrow, and +shield-shaped, with the tips of the wing covers truncated; while in +_Philophloeus_, though very thin and flattened, they have the head +and thorax well divided from the broad abdomen; and are dull yellow, +striped, and barred with darker brown. + +Turning from these we come to the giant of all our carabs, _Hyperion +schroetteri_, which lives in cavities in tree trunks, where it is often +found by splitters in the red gum forests in Victoria and N.S. Wales. I +have taken it at night round the camp fire on the Murray frontage. It +is shining black, and measures 2½ inches in length, but being narrow +in proportion it appears much longer than it really is; while with its +large elongate head and immense jaws it is a very formidable-looking +creature. + +The next in order is a large and interesting group, the SCARITIDES, +which are not only wingless, but have the wing covers soldered together +into one solid armour plate; their legs are adapted for digging, and +many of them live in underground tunnels of considerable length. In +most species the head, armed with large powerful jaws, fits close into +the thorax, so that they move together; and in some groups the insect +appears to be formed only of two parts, for the head and thorax taken +together are as long and broad as the abdomen. After a heavy fall of +rain in the interior, some species may be found in numbers under logs +and stones, driven out of their holes and deep burrows. They are much +sought after by collectors; and Macleay, Blackburn, and Sloane have +described a number of curious species. + +_Eutoma tinctilatum_, found about Sydney, and typical of the elongate +slender Scaritides, was described by Newman many years ago, and figured +by Westwood in his “Arcana Entomologica 1841”; it is a shining black +beetle about 8 lines in length. + +_Carenum bonelli_, the commonest Sydney species of this genus, measures +about ¾ of an inch and is broad in proportion; it is black, with bright +metallic green tints on thorax and elytra. + +The members of the Genus _Philoscaphus_ are short and broad, with the +elytra covered with rows of warts. + +_P. tuberculatus_ has a wide range over the western country; it +measures over 1 inch in length; is black; the head and thorax are +broader than the body; the latter oval, with the elytra finely rugose. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 61.=--_Euryscaphus lobicollis_ + (Sloane). + + The Great Ground Scaritid Beetle, found in the interior.] + +The Genus _Euryscaphus_ contains the giants of the group. + +_Euryscaphus titanus_, a shining black beetle, is nearly 2 inches +in length, and measures ¾ of an inch across the elytra; while _E. +lobicollis_, a smaller beetle, has the body still broader in proportion +to its size; both these and several other fine species are not uncommon +on the Western Australian goldfields about Kalgoorlie. + +The allied CLIVINIDES, recently monographed by Sloane (Proc. Linn. +Soc. N.S.W. 1896) are like elongate miniature Carenums furnished with +dilated fore-legs adapted for digging; they are generally taken along +the edges of swamps and watercourses under logs or the debris on the +soft mud. They are world wide in their distribution, and are most +plentiful in the warmer portions of the globe: Australia is rich in +species: Sloane lists 55 species in his paper. + +_Clivina basalis_ has a wide range over S. Australia, Victoria, and +N.S. Wales; it measures ¼ inch; is black, with the basal portion of the +elytra and the legs red. + +_C. australasiae_, slightly larger, is all black; it has a similar +range, and is also recorded from New Zealand and Lord Howe Island. + +The next group comprise the typical _Chlaenius_; they are rather +long-legged beetles with a small head and somewhat heart-shaped +thorax forming a slight neck behind, and with a broad, oval, convex +abdomen. They are active beetles, generally found under stones or wood +near water-holes; many of them have a greenish dull metallic tint. +_Chlaenius puncticeps_ is black, with the legs and an irregular blotch +at the apical half of each wing cover dull yellow. _C. maculifer_, from +Queensland, is smaller; _C. laeteviridis_ is dull green with the edges +of the wing covers yellow; _C. marginatus_ is a larger and brighter +green beetle with the wing covers marked with yellow in a similar +manner. + +_Promecoderus concolor_, typical of the genus, is a shining black +beetle about ½ inch in length, of a curious cylindrical shape with +the head turned down in front. These beetles are found all over the +interior in dry country under stones or logs. The allied Genus _Parroa_ +was formed by Castelnau for several curious beetles taken in the +interior near the Paroo River. _Parroa noctis_, from Kalgoorlie, W.A., +measures over 1 inch in length, and is a rounded solid-looking black +beetle. The bulk of the species once included in the Genus _Harpalus_ +is now divided up into a number of groups; most of the small black +carabs running about in the suburban gardens in the early summer belong +to this division. + +The FERONIDES comprise a number of our largest carabs: _Catadromus +australis_ measures nearly 2 inches in length, is broad in proportion; +it is shining black with the wing covers broadly ridged, and their +margins and the hind portion of the thorax richly marked with bright +metallic green. _C. lacordairei_ is smaller, and similar in general +form, with the thorax smaller and the metallic colouration on the +thorax running right round to the hind margin of the head. Both these +beetles are found along the edges of swamps and lagoons in the Murray +country living under dead logs, where their black banded larvae may +also be found, sometimes feasting on small frogs. + +All the beetles known under the Genera _Homalosoma_ and _Trichisternus_ +have been placed in the new Genus _Castelnaudia_ by the Russian +entomologist Tschitscherini, as both the former names were +preoccupied. This group contains many large handsome beetles, chiefly +confined to our coastal forest country, where they live under dead logs. + +_Castelnaudia renardi_ is one of the common species in the Tweed River +scrubs; it measures 1½ inches in length; is black with the parallel +striae on the elytra widely apart; the head very large, is turned down +and furnished with long powerful jaws. + +_C. imperiale_, from Southern Queensland, is a very handsome species; +it is about the same size as the former but has the thorax and elytra +more flattened; and the head, thorax, and margins of the wing covers +are rich metallic green. + +In November I took several specimens on the top of Mt. Tambourine, +S. Queensland, under deeply buried logs by the roadside, where they +live in broad excavated galleries; in two nests I found three larvae +and eggs. The former, probably by their size only a few weeks old, +were elongate, flattened, light brown to ochreous coloured creatures, +with the head and dorsal surface of segments chocolate brown. The +head is broader than long, flattened, and furnished with long curved +brown jaws, and has also a stout incurved tooth near the base of +each jaw. They were very active creatures and lived for over a month +in captivity. The eggs were dull yellow, ⅜ of an inch long, broadly +rounded, and were enclosed in a thin clay shell like the rind of an +orange. + +The Genus _Notonomus_ has been recently revised by Sloane (Pro. Linn. +Soc. N.S.W. 1902); in this paper he enumerated 72 species, a number of +them previously undescribed. These beetles are apterous, and confined +to the coastal forests of Eastern Australia. Sloane says: “From the +Grampians in Western Victoria, along the coast of Eastern Australia as +far north as the Burnett River in Queensland, and many species are very +restricted in their range.” + +_Notonomus australasiae_ is one of the commonest species around Sydney; +it measures under ¾ of an inch in length, and is of a uniform black +colour; the broad thorax is arcuate behind the head, swelling out and +broadly rounded on the sides; it has a rich blue metallic tint, and +a distinct medium suture; the wing covers are distinctly striated, +forming broad parallel ridges. + +Passing over a number of more or less important genera we finish with +the Genus _Bembidium_, which contains a number of small active beetles +generally found along the edges of swamps. + +_B. ocellatum_ is a shining black beetle under ⅙ of an inch in length, +with a broad head, and the thorax rounded on the hind margin. + + + Family 3. Water Beetles. + + DYTISCIDAE. + +This group contains the first division of the Water Beetles; these have +the antennae bare and filiform; short palpi and undivided eyes; the +legs fringed with hairs, the front pair not longer than the hind pair, +adapted for swimming. They live in the water both in the larval and +beetle stage; the former are slender, elongate creatures, with a body +consisting of twelve segments; the head is broad and furnished with +powerful hollow jaws; they are very voracious creatures, devouring all +sorts of aquatic insects, and even the smaller and weaker of their own +species. When full grown they pupate in cells which they form in the +soft mud. + +These beetles are perfectly at home in the water, and breathe by coming +to the surface; turning head downwards, and with the tip of the wing +covers slightly raised, they draw in a supply of air which occupies a +cavity on the back, and when the elytra are closed down, the beetle can +remain under water until the supply is exhausted. Many species can be +easily captured in the water with a small hand-net; on a warm summer +night numbers leave the water and come flying in to the lighted lamps. +Many are very small, few over ½ an inch in length; they are quite as +numerous in the colder waters of the globe as in the tropics, and many +species have a very wide distribution. + +We have representatives of most of the typical genera; our species have +been described by Clark (Journal of Entomology 1862), and Sharp (Trans. +Dublin Soc. 1882). + +The members of the Genus _Bidessus_ are small, brown, boat-shaped +beetles not much over ½ an inch in length; about 18 species are +listed in Masters’ Catalogue; _Bidessus bistrigatus_ has the head +marked with black and the wing covers clouded with dark brown; it +has a wide range over Australia. _Antiphorus gilberti_ is more than +twice the size, has the wing covers mottled, and is common in the +waters of Victoria and South Australia. _Macroporus howetti_ is dark +brown, more shining and slightly larger, the dark markings forming +two irregular black bands connected by a dorsal stripe. _Hydroporus +collaris_, from the north-west coast of Australia, measures under 2 +lines in length; it is all black with the dorsal surface convex and +finely rugose. _Platynectis 10-punctata_ was described by Fabricius +at a very early date from Australia; it is common along the edges of +the Murray lagoons, where it is to be found in the soft mud under the +water-weeds. It is a smooth, shining black beetle, with very convex +wing covers. _Rhantus pubescens_ is an oval beetle, under ½ an inch +in length, of a dull brown colour, with the whole of the wing covers +granulated with black. _Colymbetes lanceolatus_ is a more elongate +insect of a similar brown colour, the back of the head and wing covers +marked with irregular parallel black lines, thickest in the middle. +_Copelatus acuductus_ is a larger shining black beetle, typical of the +genus, of which about twenty species are described from this country. + +_Cybister tripunctatus_ is one of our largest species; it measures over +1 inch, and is broad and flattened in proportion; it is of a blackish +or dark olive colour, margined right round from the front of the head +to the tips of the wing covers with a dull yellow stripe. As children +we often pulled these beetles out of the water hanging on to the bait +used for catching crayfish, and we called them “clocks,” why I do not +know. This species has a very wide range over Australia, and it is +recorded from Lord Howe Island. It was once known under the name of +_C. gayndahensis_. A second species has been described by Blackburn +under the name of _C. granulatus_ from the Northern Territory of South +Australia. _Eretes australis_ is another widely distributed species; it +measures about ½ an inch; is broad and flattened, and is of a general +yellowish brown tint, marked with black between the eyes, and the wing +covers are finely punctured with close black spots. + + + Family 4. Whirligig Beetles. + + GYRINIDAE. + +This family, small in number of species, is well known to all lovers of +Nature, for it contains the water beetles that float about in shoals on +the margin of any quiet stream or waterhole, or dart about like bits of +silver, twisting and turning round in most remarkable gyrations, from +which they take the popular name of Whirligig Beetles. + +They are distinguished from the last family (which they resemble in the +earlier stages of their development) in having very short antennae; +the fore-legs much longer than the two hind pairs; and in having the +eyes on either side divided, thus having two eyes looking down into the +water and two above, so that they can see both sides at the same time, +an admirable adaptation of vision for beetles living so much on the +surface of the water and liable to be attacked from above or below. The +tip of the body is not covered by the elytra, and when diving downward +they carry a bubble of air attached to the extremity. These beetles +are well represented in Australia, and have been described by Clark +previously mentioned, Regimbart (Annals Soc. Ent. France 1882), Macleay +(Trans. Ent. Soc. N.S.W. 1871), and Boisduval in the “Entomology of the +voyage de l’Astrolabe.” Our common species about Sydney, _Macrogyrus +canaliculatus_, is of the usual boat-shaped form, silvery black, with +the wing covers finely striated; it measures about ½ an inch in length. +_M. oblongus_ is a somewhat smaller species not so broad in form; is +browner, and the wing covers are very slightly striated; it is also +found in the vicinity of Sydney. _M. paradoxus_ was described and +figured by Regimbart from Australia with no exact locality, but I have +collected it on the North West coast of Australia, and seen others from +Southern Queensland, so that it has a wide range. It is not much over ¼ +of an inch in length; is dark olive; the outer margin is dull yellow, +and it has a few fine striae on either side of the elytra. I have +found the pupae of one species, probably _M. oblongus_, in clay cells +attached to a bit of board on the bank of a waterhole in the western +country of N.S. Wales. + + + Family 5. Clubbed-horned Water Beetles. + + HYDROPHILIDAE. + +This family is also known under the Group _Palpicorna_ in reference to +the clubbed antennae, and made to include a second family, which are +very closely allied but are terrestial in their habits. + +These beetles have five jointed tarsi; short clubbed antennae, with the +palpi slender and much longer than the antennae. Most of the beetles +are vegetarian in their diet, though many of them in the earlier stages +of their existence are carnivorous. + +These are the largest of the Water Beetles; and the typical species +are ovate and very convex in form; the thorax very broad; the tibiae +slightly spined on the edges, terminating in a stouter spine at the +apex; the tarsi ciliated. They are poor swimmers when compared with the +two last groups. + +Most of our species have been described by Macleay (Trans. Ent. Soc. +N.S.W. 1871), and Blackburn (Pro. Linn. Soc. 1888). _Hydrophilus +latipalpus_ is of the usual boat-shaped form; shining black; and the +wing covers are very finely marked with punctured parallel striae. It +measures nearly 1½ inches, and is found about Sydney. _H. albipes_ is +a much smaller beetle of similar form and colour; it is found in the +Murray River districts. + + + Family 6. Rove Beetles. + + STAPHYLINIDAE. + +These peculiar beetles can be readily distinguished from most of the +other families by their abbreviated elytra, which do not protect more +than a third of the abdomen leaving the hind portion quite bare; while +the well developed hind wings are tucked away out of sight under them, +but can be quickly extended and used for flight. The apical segments +of the abdomen are very flexible, and most species have the habit +of turning up the tip of the body when running along; others have +the power of discharging a strong scent, in some cases with quite a +pleasant odour. + +They are slender elongate insects with stout jaws, and the antennae +thickened or clubbed at the extremities; the tarsal joints are variable +in number. Rove Beetles are found in many different situations, but +chiefly upon the ground in the vicinity of manure, decaying vegetable +matter, dead animals, and even on the seashore hiding under stones and +seaweed, though most of them only seek these places to devour other +small creatures, for they are carnivorous in their habits. Some of the +foreign species are found living in the nests of ants, but I do not +think any with this peculiarity have been recorded from Australia. + +The principal writers on our Staphylinidae are Macleay (Trans. Ent. +Soc. N.S.W. 1871), and Fauvel in his work on “Les Staphylinides de +l’Australie et de la Polynesie” (1878). In 1886 Olliff commenced his +revision of the Staphylinidae of Australia (Proc. Linn. Soc.), but this +only ran into the third part and was never finished. Others have been +described by Blackburn (Trans. Royal Soc. S.A. 1887). About 400 species +have been recorded from this country representing most of the typical +sub-families. + +The Genus _Aleochara_ contains a number of small short black beetles +with thickened antennae; those in _Homalota_ are even smaller but more +slender; several species are found under cowdung. + +_Quedius luridipennis_ measures over ⅓ of an inch in length; the +shining black head and thorax are almost globular, the latter the +larger; the broad flattened fore wings are red; the margins of the +abdomen are flanged and slightly spined, and the tip fringed with three +tufts of bristles. + +The Devil’s Coach-horse, _Creophilus erythrocephalus_, is our largest +common species and has a very wide range; it measures over ¾ of an inch +in length and is very broad in proportion; its general colour is black +with the head bright red, the eyes and a rounded spot between them +black; the elytra have a metallic purple tint. It can be often found in +stables, or hunting round dead animals in the bush; when disturbed it +cocks up its head, turning up the tip of its body at the same time in a +very comical manner, from which habit the allied European species has +probably derived the above popular name. + +_Actinus macleayi_ is slightly longer but more slender, and is our +most beautiful species of this somewhat dull coloured family; the +head and thorax are rich metallic coppery green, the elytra deep +metallic purple; the basal portion of the abdomen is black, and the +tip, antennae, and legs bright yellow. It is a native of the tropical +scrubs of North Queensland; in the neighbourhood of Cairns I captured +specimens in tins I had baited with bits of meat and had sunk in the +ground to trap Carabidae, and into which they had been attracted by the +food. + +_Xantholinus erythrocephalus_ lives in the stems of rotting grass +trees, where the beetles can be collected in all stages of development; +the beetle measures over ½ an inch in length; is of a much more +elongate form; black; the elytra dull red, and the tip of the abdomen +yellow. + +_Paederus cruenticollis_ is one of our commonest species, and is +often found under stones in the bush; it is a very distinctly marked +little beetle about ¼ of an inch in length, slender in form with long +thickened antennae; black, with the thorax and centre of the abdomen +red, and the elytra deep metallic blue. + +_Sartellus signatus_ is a curious little yellow beetle quite unlike the +typical Rove Beetle; it is short and rounded in form, with the fore +wings much longer than usual; is of a uniform light yellow colour, +with a curious reddish brown mark in the centre of each elytron. It +is common on our sandy beaches, where it hides under the seaweed and +rubbish and feeds chiefly upon dead barnacles. + + + Family 7. Ant Beetles. + + PSELAPHIDAE + +This group includes a number of small beetles that have the elytra +usually not covering more than half of the abdominal segments; the +antennae thickened toward the tips; maxillary palpi large, and the +tarsi three jointed. The ordinary collector is very apt to pass over +these small creatures, but many interesting forms are found in this +country by sifting rubbish, or examining debris along the water’s edge, +which can be gathered up in a stout bag and afterwards shaken over a +sheet of white paper. I have captured them along the edges of lagoons +in summer time by pouring buckets of water over the dry cracked mud, +and as they were drowned out gathering them into small tubes. They can +also be taken with a sweeping net when on the wing; in Europe many +species are found in ants’ nests. Westwood believes that they feed +chiefly upon _Acari_ and other small creatures. + +Large numbers have been described from this country, chiefly through +the researches of the Rev. R. L. King (Trans. Ent. Soc. N.S.W. 1865). +Messrs. Sharp, Westwood, Schaufers and Blackburn added to this number; +while in 1900 Raffray published his Monograph on the family (Pro. Linn. +Soc. N.S.W. 1900), in which he described 45 new species, and brings the +number known up to 200. + +_Pselaphus lineatus_, a reddish beetle, measures 1½ lines in length, +and is found about Sydney; it has a wide range over N.S. Wales, +Victoria, and South Australia. + +Lea (Pro. Royal Soc. Victoria 1905) records four species of the Genus +_Articerus_ found in ants’ nests, all of which appear to have a wide +range; _A. curvicornis_, originally described by Westwood from ants’ +nests in Melbourne, is also found in Tasmania, S. Australia and N.S. +Wales. + + + Family 8. Comb-horned Beetles. + + PAUSSIDAE. + +These are remarkable looking beetles, easily distinguished by their +broad flattened toothed antennae curving round on either side. The +head is short and angular on the sides; the thorax flattened; and the +elongate elytra truncate at the apex and not quite covering the tip of +the abdomen. Most of the species are of moderate size, and reddish +brown in colour; they are confined chiefly to Africa, the East Indies, +and Australia. Most of the African species are said to dwell in ants’ +nests, but though I have had several records of species being found +under stones in ants’ nests, most of ours are found under logs, bark, +or crawling about on the grass or ground. This family attracted the +notice of entomologists at a very early date; Latreille formed the +family to contain the two genera _Paussus_ and _Cerapterus_, which he +called _Paussili_, afterwards changed by Leach to _Paussides_. Donovan +described the first species from this country in 1815. Westwood has +written a great deal about them; he monographed the family (Proc. +Linn. Soc. 1849–1850); in his “Arcana Entomologica” he described a +great many from Australia and other countries; others in the “Annals +of Natural History,” 1851; and again figured others in his “Theosaurus +Entomologica,” Oxen. 1874. Macleay added 32 new species (Trans. Ent. +Soc. N.S.W. 1873), all belonging to the Genus _Arthropterus_; while +Blackburn placed 3 more to the list 1891–1892, one of them in the +typical Genus _Paussus_. + +_Arthropterus brevis_ is one of our smallest species; it measures +slightly over ¼ of an inch in length; the antennae are rather short and +broad; the thorax broad and rounded on the sides; the elytra expanded +slightly to the truncate tips, leaving the apical portion of the +abdomen exposed. This is our commonest species, and can be sometimes +obtained in numbers near Sydney under the papery bark of the ti-trees. + +_A. humeralis_ comes from the Wellington district, and measures under +¾ of an inch; the antennae are large; the head angular; the body +long, narrow, and rounded to the extremity, with the elytra short and +truncate above the tip of the abdomen. General colour dark reddish +brown, lightly clothed with short scattered brown hairs. + + + Family 9. Ant Beetles. + + SCYDMAENIDAE. + +The members of this family are minute creatures of which little is +known. Sharp says: “Allied to the _Silphidae_, with the hind coxae +separated, and the facets of the eyes coarser; tarsi five jointed; the +number of abdominal segments visible six.” + +It is owing to the Rev. R. L. King that we first knew anything about +this group in Australia; he described about 15 species (Trans. Ent. +Soc. N.S.W. 1864); to which 2 more have been added by Macleay and Sharp. + +_Heterognathus carinatus_ was described by King from the nest of small +black ants found in the neighbourhood of Parramatta; Lea has lately +recorded it from the nests of ants (_Iridomyrmex nitidus_) taken in +the Mallee country of North Western Victoria. He says: “It can be +distinguished from all its congeners by the prothorax having a short +longitudinal carina at the base, on each side of which is a transverse +impression.” + + + Family 10. Burying Beetles. + + SILPHIDAE. + +The typical European species are popularly known as Burying Beetles +from the curious habit they have of excavating the ground beneath any +small dead bird or animal they find, and finally burying it under +the soil. This family contains a number of interesting beetles both +large and small; the antennae are thickened or clubbed; the tarsi 4 +or 5 jointed; and the whole dorsal surface flattened. They are poorly +represented in this country, but there are several large distinctive +species found about dead animals or decaying vegetable matter. A large +number of blind Silphids are found in the caves of Europe and America, +but I have never found any as Australian cave fauna. + +Thirteen species have been described from this country by a number of +different writers, chief of which is Blackburn (Trans. Royal Soc. S.A. +1891–94). + +_Necrodes osculans_ comes from Queensland; I found it common about +Cairns, feeding amongst decaying matter in the scrub. It measures over +1 inch; is a broad flattened beetle of a general black colour; the +elytra mottled with dull orange, ribbed, and truncate at the extremity, +showing the tip of the abdomen. The head is small, turned down in +front, but furnished with large clubbed antennae; the thorax is finely +punctured and rounded in front. + +_Ptomaphila lachrymosa_ is a dull reddish brown beetle, with the centre +of the head and thorax black, the head small and somewhat hidden by +the large flattened thorax; the elytra round, somewhat depressed; both +marked with irregular parallel black ribs and bosses; they feed about +dead animals. Length about 1 inch. + +In the following family, TRICHOPTERYGIDAE, only two species are +described, one from Tasmania, and the other from West Australia. +They are minute beetles with fringed wings, the middle joints of the +antennae smallest. + + + Family 11. Round Fungus Beetles. + + SCAPHIDIDAE. + +The members of this family are small, broad, short insects that live +in fungus, and are very active. Macleay described several species from +Gayndah (Trans. Ent. Soc. N.S.W. 1871): Reitter and other foreign +writers have added to the list. + +_Scaphidium punctipenne_, though described from Queensland, is also +found in the neighbourhood of Sydney. It is a small rounded seed-shaped +insect, but with slender legs and slightly clubbed antennae; its upper +surface is deep orange yellow irregularly barred with black. + + + Family 12. Mimic Beetles. + + HISTERIDAE. + +When touched these beetles contract their legs and pretend to be dead, +from which habit they take their family name from _Histris_, the +Latin for a stage mimic. They are shining black, or metallic coloured +beetles; many are flattened and broad in shape, with the elytra +truncate at the apex, leaving the tip of the abdomen uncovered; the +exposed integument is however very much thickened, and all the parts +fit close together; the antennae are thick, clubbed at the apex; the +legs short and stout. Most of the flattened forms are found under bark, +others in or under dead animal matter; both the beetles and their +larvae are carnivorous. + +This family is well represented here: Macleay described some from +Gayndah; Marseul described others in the Annals Museo Genevre 1879, and +the Annals Ent. Belg. 1870; Schmidt in the Ent. Nachr. 1892; and a few +are described by other writers. + +_Hololepta sidnensis_, one of our commonest species, can be collected +in early summer by chopping up the dead grass tree stems; but I have +never been able to find the larvae. It measures ½ an inch, and is +shining black; it is very much flattened and broad in proportion to +its length; two stout horns project in front of the eyes, coming +together at the tips; the thorax is slightly impressed in the centre, +and punctured on the sides; the elytra is smooth and shining, but the +exposed abdominal plates are spotted with large punctures. Many of this +genus are found under bark or crawling about on tree trunks. + +_Platysoma strongulatum_ is a broadly flattened black insect about ⅙ of +an inch long; the head is small; the thorax truncate; the elytra smooth +in the centre, with four distinct striae on each side, straight at the +apex, with the tip of the abdomen turning downwards. This is another +common Sydney species found at the base of the flower stalks of the +“grass trees” (_Xanthorrhoea_). + +_Saprinus laetus_, typical of another group, is a short, thickset, +rounded, oval beetle, ¼ of an inch in length, with the upper surface +convex; the head is small, shining green; the thorax broad, bright +metallic pale copper; and the short truncate elytra and exposed tip +of the abdomen deep metallic green. This almost seed-shaped beetle is +usually found under dead birds or animals lying in the bush. It has a +very wide range over Australia. + + + Family 13. + + PHALACRIDAE. + +Only one species of this family is listed in Masters’ Catalogue, +described by Erichson from Tasmania in 1842; but in Blackburn’s paper +(Trans. Royal Soc. S. Australia 1891) 16 new species are described +from all parts of Australia. They are short oval beetles, very small, +the largest not much over ¹⁄₁₂ of an inch in length; black or brown in +colour. + +_Litochrus palmerstoni_ is of a uniform ferruginous colour, with the +apex of the elytra pale testaceous; without the punctures of the other +species; of the typical oval form; and only ⅘ of a line in length and +¹⁄₂₄ of an inch in width. This tiny creature comes from the Northern +Territory of S. Australia. + +This family is not an important one, but is well represented in Europe +and America, where the larvae live in flowers, boring their way down +the stems and pupating in earthen cocoons. + + + Family 14. Fruit Beetles. + + NITIDULIDAE. + +These are all small black or brownish beetles that breed and feed upon +decaying vegetable matter, and some are very partial to ripe fruit. +Some have well developed wing covers, but in others these are very +short, reminding one of the smaller Rove Beetles, but the club of +each antennae consists of three joints, and fewer abdominal segments +are exposed to view. About eighty species have been described from +Australia, chiefly by Reitter (Verh. Ver. Brünn, 1874–75, and other +Journals); Murray in his Monograph of the Family; Macleay (Trans. Ent. +Soc. N.S.W. 1871); and Blackburn (Trans. Royal Soc. S. Australia 1891). + +_Brachypeplus binotatus_ is one of our commonest species, widely +distributed over Australia; it is a typical form of the family, about +⅕ of an inch in length; of a general dark brown colour, with reddish +brown antennae and legs; the abbreviated wing covers leaving the +abdominal segments exposed, the latter marked with deep orange yellow. +Olliff (Agricultural Gazette N.S. Wales 1893) describes and figures +this beetle and its larva, which he describes as feeding upon the +fungus on the damaged sugar cane. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 62.=--_Pochadius pilistriatus_ + (Macleay). + + Living in the seed pods of the Kurrajong. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The Genus _Carpophilus_ contains 11 described species, most of which +have a wide range over Australia; two are well known about Sydney +from their habit of crawling into damaged fruit and feeding round the +stone, causing it to decay very rapidly; they are also said to cluster +round the fruit stalks, and by gnawing the base cause the fruit to +drop. _Carpophilus pilipennis_ is a small reddish brown boat-shaped +beetle, with the wing covers cut off at the hind margin, exposing the +tip of the abdomen; it measures 1½ lines in length. _C. aterrimus_ is +a somewhat larger flatter species of a uniform black colour, with the +whole of the upper surface finely punctured; the legs and antennae are +reddish brown. The abdomen is not so pointed as in the first species +and much more of it is exposed on the dorsal surface. A curious little +species, _Pocadius pilistriatus_, about ⅙ of an inch in length, is an +elongate rounded brown beetle clothed with fine hairs. It feeds and +breeds in the seed cases of the Kurrajong; the larvae are reddish brown +grubs, elongate in form; they have three jointed antennae, and short +black jaws, with well developed legs, and the tip of the abdomen bears +two pairs of spines, the first pair erect, the second at the extremity +but turning upwards. + + + Family 15. + + TROGOSITIDAE. + +These are beetles of moderate size with five jointed tarsi, the first +so small that unless closely examined it is not noticeable. They are +found chiefly under dead bark or wood, but are carnivorous in their +habits, and very dissimilar in form. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 63.=--_Lophocateres pusillus._ + + A tiny introduced Beetle belonging to the Family + _Trogositidae_ that attacks dried fruit. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The cosmopolitan “Cadelle,” _Trogosita mauritanica_, frequently found +in bagged wheat, where the larvae gnaw out the embryo of the grain, is +world wide in its range. It is a flattened, shining, black beetle; it +was once placed among the _Heteromera_; and at first sight might be +taken for a flattened carab. + +The Genus _Leperina_ contains a number of curious, elongate beetles +flattened on the under surface; the dorsal surface is convex, and +rounded at the extremities, with the integument covered with mottled +grey, brown, and black tufts of scales imitating moss, and probably of +a protective character, for they are generally found clinging to bark. +_Leperina decorata_ was described by Erichson from Tasmania in 1842, +but it has a wide range over the mainland. It measures from ¼ to ½ an +inch in length; its ground colour is light chestnut brown mottled with +black; the sides of the thorax deeply blotched with creamy white, and +the back marked with indistinct patches of whitish scales. + + [Illustration: =Figs. 64 and 65.=--Life History of the + Cadelle. + + 64. _Trogosita mauritanica_ (Linn.). + 65. „ „ Larva. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +Pascoe described some of ours (Annals of Nat. Hist. 1872), and the +Journal of Entomology 1860. Macleay described others in 1871; Reitter +in 1876–77; Olliff (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1886); and later Blackburn +(Trans. Royal Soc. S.A. 1891). + + + Family 16. + + COLYDIDAE. + +These are small, reddish brown or black beetles, elongate in form, with +four jointed tarsi, the coxae of the two pairs of fore-legs globular, +and those of the hind legs transverse. They are usually found under +dead or decaying bark, or among rotten wood. Several members of the +Genus _Bothrideres_ are found about Sydney; they have the thorax +flattened and the elytra ribbed. + +About 70 species of this family have been described from this country, +chiefly by Macleay 1871; Pascoe in the Journal of Entomology 1860; +Reitter in 1877 in several German journals; and later by Blackburn +1891; and Olliff in the Memoirs of the Australian Museum 1889 on +species from Lord Howe Island. + + + Family 17. + + RHYSODIDAE. + +This family consists of only a few known species; Olliff has described +one species, _Rhysodes lignarius_ (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1885), a +pitchy black shining beetle about ⅓ of an inch in length; it was found +in rotten wood at Yass, N.S.W. + + + Family 18. Bark Beetles. + + CUCUJIDAE. + +The members of this group are very curious beetles, most of our species +being found under dead bark on the trunks of the smooth gums; both the +beetles and their larvae have adapted their form in such a remarkable +manner to their surroundings that they are often as flat and thin as +a bit of paper, while others living in more roomy quarters are quite +normal in shape. + +_Hectarthrum brevifossum_ is a slender, somewhat cylindrical, shining +black beetle, with thickened antennae composed of eleven bead-shaped +joints; the head is depressed in front, with the thorax more +elongated, and the slender ribbed elytra rounded at the tips. + +_Platisus integricollis_ is a reddish brown beetle, the basal joints +of the antennae elongated and the apical ones bead-shaped; the head is +angular, buried in the short broad thorax; the body is flattened, with +the elytra slightly ridged round the edges. The larva is as flat as +a knife blade, with a large head armed with stout jaws; the thoracic +segments are furnished with short thick legs; it has seven simple +flattened abdominal segments, with an eighth spade-shaped one, on which +is a four-pronged trident-like process standing up at the apex, and +a small spine at either side. The insects both in the beetle and the +larval stage are often to be found under the same bit of bark. + +_Brontes lucius_, found in the same situations, is a darker reddish +insect with the antennae very long and slender; the front of the thorax +is spined on the sides; the elytra slightly convex, elongated and +rounded at the extremities. _B. militaris_ can be easily distinguished +from the last species by its darker colour, more flattened smooth +elytra, with two oval light brown blotches on the basal half of the +wing covers. About 60 species are described from Australia; among the +chief writers are Grouvelle (Bull. Soc. Ent. France 1877); and other +Journals 1876–1883, &c.; Olliff (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1885); Reitter +1878, and Blackburn 1892. + + + Family 19. + + CRYPTOPHAGIDAE. + +In Masters’ Catalogue only one species (_Cnecosa fulvida_) is recorded, +described by Pascoe in the “Journal of Entomology” 1865, from Sydney. +Since then Blackburn has described 12 more species (Trans. Royal Soc. +of S.A. 1887). They are all minute beetles which feed upon mould. In +Europe the larvae of several genera live in the nests of bumble bees, +and the perfect insects in flowers. + + + Families 20–21. + + LATHRIDIDAE and MYCETOPHAGIDAE. + +These are composed of minute beetles found on fungus. Macleay in 1871 +described some; Blackburn others (Trans. Royal Soc. S.A. 1887–1891); +most of these were found in fungi or under bark. They are very small, +the largest about ⅒ of an inch in length. In Europe the larvae of some +species are covered with curious hairs, and the perfect beetles of +others live in ants’ nests; but nothing is known about the habits of +our species. + + + Family 22. Bacon Beetles. + + DERMESTIDAE. + +This is a well-known group, for the hairy larvae do a great deal of +mischief to sheepskins by gnawing holes in them when they are piled on +each other; getting into bacon and other animal foods; even gnawing +holes in bones. The beetles have somewhat short antennae clubbed at the +tips; five jointed tarsi; the coxae of the fore-legs conical, the hind +ones cylindrical. + +The typical Genus _Dermestes_ contains 5 species found in Australia; +most of them have been introduced from other parts of the world, and +several have penetrated far into the interior. + +_Dermestes cadaverinus_ measures over ⅓ of an inch; the upper surface +is clothed with pale pubescence, and the under-surface thickly clothed +with white hairs. Its general form is elongate; the head is tucked +under the front edge of the thorax, which forms a slight hood. + +_D. vulpinus_ is slightly larger; has the same elongate form; is black, +with the dorsal surface covered with short brown hairs, and the under +surface with more buff coloured pubescence. Both these species have +a very wide range, and can be found under dead animals in the bush, +in sheepskins, bacon, &c., and I have even taken larvae in bags of +grain. Under favourable conditions these beetles increase in countless +numbers; quite recently, Mrs. Black, writing from N. Queensland, +says that toward the end of the drought when the country was covered +with bones and dead stock, whenever the station hands camped to eat +their dinners, these beetles would swarm out in thousands from under +logs and stones to pick up the bits of food scattered about. Gilbert +in Gould’s “Birds of Australia,” records a similar instance on the +Hautmann’s-Abrolhos Islands off the coast of W. Australia, a great +nesting place for the Noddy Tern, where immense numbers of the young +birds are killed by the lizards, which only eat the brain and marrow. +The remains cumbering the ground were food for _Dermestes lardarius_, +which swarm over the islands in immense numbers. + +This is the common European Bacon Beetle, and is listed in Masters’ +Catalogue as found in Australia, but I have never seen an Australian +specimen of this very distinct beetle, and think Gilbert may have +mistaken the species. + +The members of the Genus _Trogoderma_ are small, broad, and rather +flattened black beetles, generally found under bark on tree trunks in +the dead pupae of moths upon which they feed. + +_Trogoderma froggatti_ is short and broad; it measures under ⅙ of an +inch; is a shining black beetle, with the elytra clothed with dark +scattered hairs; it was bred from larvae taken close to Sydney. _T. +apicipenne_ is slightly larger, and darker black, very thickly clothed +with black hairs; a dull red blotch on either side of the apical half +of the elytra gives it a very distinctive character. These beetles and +their hairy larvae feed upon the remains of dead caterpillars under the +dead bark, pupae and other organic matter. + +The _Anthrenus_ are known as “Museum beetles,” for they are the +greatest pests that curators of Museums have to deal with; their small +hairy larvae attack every kind of specimen, and are most destructive to +pinned insect collections, though the adult beetles are generally found +in the gardens frequenting flowers. + +_Anthrenus varius_ is our greatest pest; it is an introduced species, +variable in size, the largest measuring about 1½ lines; it is almost +round, with the small head furnished with clubbed antennae tucked +down when at rest or disturbed; the ground colour is black, but it +is so thickly clothed with grey and brown pubescence that it has a +mottled buff appearance. Blackburn states that this is the species that +has been confounded with _A. museorum_, which he says is not found +in Australia. _A. nigricans_ is about the same size; black, with a +delicate fascia of fine white hairs which give it a very distinctive +character. + +About 44 species of Dermestidae are recorded from Australia: Fabricius +and Linneaus described the earlier ones: Macleay others from Gayndah +1871. Reitter described more in several German publications: and +Blackburn all the later ones (Trans. Royal Soc. S.A. 1891). + + + Family 23. Pill Beetles. + + BYRRHIDAE. + +These are small beetles, found under stones. They take their popular +name from their rounded form, which is more noticeable from the fact +that their legs and antennae are retractile. Thirteen species are +described from this country. + +_Microchaetes sphaericus_, described by Hope from W. Australia, is also +found in N.S. Wales; it is a small, rounded, black beetle, under 2 +lines in length; is very rugose on the upper surface, which is covered +with tufts of brown scales which give it a curious roughened appearance +and a brown tint. + + + Family 24. + + GEORYSSIDAE. + +This family is a small obscure group. They are small beetles with +short clubbed antennae, inhabiting damp wet ground. Only a dozen are +described from all parts of the world, two of which are peculiar +to Australia. King described one from Parramatta under the name of +_Georyssus australis_: Macleay the second from Gayndah, Queensland. + + + Family 25. + + PARNIDAE. + +These are aquatic beetles living under stones or close to water; they +are thickly clothed with fine silky hairs like a waterproof coat; their +antennae are thickened, and sometimes very short. Six species were +described by King (Trans. Ent. Soc. N.S.W. 1864); and two others by +Messrs. Blackburn and Lea (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1894–95). Most of +these belong to the typical Genus _Elmis_, the members of which are +found clinging to stones under water. + + [Illustration: Plate XVII.--COLEOPTERA. + + Family LUCANIDAE. + + 9. _Lamprima latreillei_ (W. S. Macleay). + 11. _Cladognathus arfakanus_ (Lansb.). + + Family CETONIDAE. + + 4. _Trichaulax macleayi_ (Kratz). + 7. _Eupoecila inscripta_ (Janson). + 8. _Chlorobapta besti_ (Westwood). + 10. _Diaphonia olliffiana_ (Janson). + + Family RHIPIDOPHORIDAE. + + 2. _Pelecotomoides conicollis_ (Castelnau). + + Family SCARABAEIDAE. + + 1. _Bolboceras proboscidium_ (Schreibers). + 3. _Onthophagus australis_ (Guérin). + 5. _Trox dohrni_ (Harold). + + Family TENEBRIONIDAE. + + 6. _Zopherosis georgii_ (White). + + (Original photo. Burton.)] + + [Illustration: _Plate XVII.--COLEOPTERA._] + + + Family 26. + + HETEROCERIDAE. + +This group contains a number of small beetles that are semi-aquatic +in their habits; these are also clothed with fine hairs, and have +short clubbed antennae with the two basal joints enlarged. They are +found burrowing in mud or wet sand close to water. Only seven species +are recorded from this country, most of them belonging to the Genus +_Heterocerus_; Westwood described two (Proc. Ent. Soc. London 1874): +Macleay another from Gayndah 1871: and Blackburn four others (Trans. +Roy. Soc. S.A. 1887–91). + + + Family 27. Stag Beetles. + + LUCANIDAE. + +This is the first group of the Lamellicorn beetles, which are defined +by the structure of their short antennae composed of 9–10 joints +ending in a three-jointed lamellated club. In the Stag Beetles the +antennae are ten-jointed, and in the typical forms have the mandibles, +especially in the males, produced in front of the eyes like horns. +Australia is rich in these beetles, both in number and beauty of form +and colouration. The chief writers upon them are Macleay (Proc. Linn. +Soc. N.S.W. 1885); and Westwood (Trans. Ent. Soc. London 1885–63–71). + +_Rhyssonotus nebulosus_ is a dark brown beetle mottled with black upon +the dorsal surface; the small narrow head is furnished with projecting +horns with several distinct points; the thorax is broad, curiously +divided into rounded areas interspersed with depressed punctured +patches; the body is rather short; the wing covers very indistinctly +ribbed and mottled with black. It measures slightly over 1 inch in +length, and has a wide range over N.S. Wales and Southern Queensland. +I have bred this beetle from the fleshy white grub of the usual +Lamellicorn Beetle type taken under rotten logs. + +In the Genus _Lamprima_ we have 12 described species of our beautiful +“Gold Beetles,” which in the larval state live in rotten wood, from +which the beetles emerge and crawl up the twigs of the young gum +saplings; in favourable localities they can often be taken in great +numbers while mating. They are all rich metallic green, gold, blue, +or coppery in tint; the horns, projecting and turning up in front, +are clothed with fine hairs along the inner margin; the thorax is very +convex, rounded on the sides; the fore-legs very robust; the body not +twice the length of the thorax, and rounded at the apex. Many species +are so variable that it is probable that when carefully studied the +number of species will be much reduced. + +_Lamprima latreillei_ is our commonest species; it measures 1¼ inches +in length; the head is rich coppery red, the rest metallic green; the +thorax deeply and coarsely punctured. It is however a very variable +species both in size and colouration; in a large series we can find +them all shades to metallic blue; with stout horns or long horns; and +ranging from the dimensions given to ½ an inch smaller. + +_L. rutilans_ is the southern form found in Victoria: _M. insularis_ +is only found in Lord Howe Island. _Phalacrognathus muelleri_, one of +the largest and most beautiful of all our beetles, was named by Macleay +after Baron von Mueller, from specimens obtained from Cairns, North +Queensland; it could be best described as a giant gold beetle, 2 inches +long; of a brilliant green and coppery red tint. The male has the horns +greatly produced in front of the head. + +_Lissapterus howittanus_ measures nearly 1½ inches, and is broad in +proportion; the abdomen is shorter than the head and thorax combined; +the horns curve round in front and are thickened and serrate at the +base; the rugose head forms a ridge in front, fitting closely into the +punctured thorax. The female is about 1 inch in length; has the head +more flattened, and furnished with short, stout, toothed mandibles. +This curious beetle is peculiar to Victoria. + +The Genus _Ceratognathus_ contains 7 species of our smallest Stag +Beetles, none of which measure ½ an inch; they are black or brown; +the mandibles of the male are produced into short curved horns with +a square flange on the outer basal margins. I obtained the larvae of +the species named after me by Blackburn in considerable numbers in the +outer bark of _Eucalyptus robusta_. The larva is a white, shining, +semitransparent grub with a slender abdomen; the pale brownish head is +round and slightly elongate, with stout three-toothed mandibles; with +long slender legs; and with the dorsal surface of the body clothed with +fine ferruginous spines interspersed with hairs. + +_Figulus regularis_ is a small, shining, elongate black beetle +measuring slightly over ½ an inch; it has short angular mandibles, +finely punctured thorax, and striated elytra. It has a wide range over +Australia, and is very common under decaying logs. + +The PASSALIDES are a group of what might be called flattened hornless +Stag Beetles (some of very large size), that are found under rotting +logs. _Aulacocyclus kaupi_, measuring 1¼ inches, is shining black; has +short curved mandibles in front; the head is excavated in the centre, +with a short, bent, finger-like horn curving forward above the hollow; +the thorax is broad; and the elytra ribbed. The larva is dull white, +long, slender, and somewhat cylindrical; it has a small head, and very +long legs furnished with sickle-shaped claws. When full grown, they +pupate in elongate, oval, smooth, brown cocoons of earth and woody +matter. + +Kaup in 1871 published a Monograph of the _Passalidae_, in which many +of our species are described. + + + Family 28. Digger and Chafer Beetles. + + SCARABAEIDAE. + +The group contains an immense number of handsome beetles, among which +are some of the giants of the beetle world, though there are also +many tiny ones; most of them in the earlier stages of their lives are +thick, fleshy, white grubs that live in the ground or decaying woody +matter, and sometimes do a great deal of damage to the roots of grass +and cultivated crops. Though these beetles vary much in form and size, +they have the antennae always produced at the tip into a laminate or +pectinate club, which when expanded forms a comb or brush-like process. + +Kirby divides this family into eleven sub-families; Westwood into ten; +while Sharp reduces them to five, which is quite sufficient for our +purpose. + +The first comprise the COPRIDES, or true Dung-burying Beetles; they +feed upon animal droppings, boring vertical shafts beneath fresh dung, +and carrying portions several inches under ground; on this they not +only feed, but also deposit their eggs in rounded balls of the same +material. In the more tropical parts they are also attracted to dead +animals, which they feed on in the same manner. They have a shovel-like +rim round the front of the head, often ornamented above with spines or +horns both on the head and thorax, particularly in the male sex; and +their legs are admirably adapted for digging. + +The Sacred Beetle, worshipped and carved on the monuments by the +ancient Egyptians, _Ateuchus sacer_, is typical of the group. + +_Cephalodesmius armiger_ is a black beetle, about ⅓ of an inch in +length; it has a small head produced in front along the outer margin +into four spines or horns standing out straight in front, the two +middle ones longest; the thorax is finely punctured; and the wing +covers are slightly striated. + +_Temnoplectron rotundum_, about the same length, is a shining black +beetle; the head is flattened and turned down; the whole of the dorsal +surface is smooth, and the wing covers are oval toward the apex. + +The Genus _Onthophagus_ contains most of our typical Dung Beetles; over +60 species have been described, chiefly by Macleay, 1864–1887–1888, and +Harold 1869. + +_Onthophagus pentacanthus_ is ¾ inch in length; the male has a large +slender horn rising up from the centre of the head; a curved shorter +one on either side; and a short two-pronged process in the centre of +the thorax, which is finely granulated above, and clothed with reddish +hairs on the under side. + +_O. kershawi_ has the head armed with a similar horn but without the +side ones on the thorax; the central ones are longer and more slender +than those on the process of the previous species. _O. cuniculus_, +one of our commonest species, is only about ¼ inch long; the head and +thorax are bright metallic green; the central portion of the latter +is produced (in the male) into a conical point; the wing covers are +shining black and rugose. Another common species, _O. granulatus_, +is slightly smaller; it has the dorsal surface flattened; the head +and thorax dull metallic blue; and the wing covers are mottled, light +chocolate brown and finely granulated; the whole insect is covered with +short reddish hairs, lightest on the dorsal surface. _O. rufosignatus_, +which I once took in numbers busily engaged burying a dead wallaby in +N.W. Australia, is slightly over ¼ inch in length; it is black with the +centre of the thorax and sides of the elytra richly blotched with red. + +The members of the Genus _Bolboceras_ are even more remarkable in +regard to the peculiar forms into which the head and thorax are +produced in many species; most of them are reddish brown, and thickly +clothed with coarse reddish hairs on the under surface. In structure +they are somewhat similar to the former species. They are commonly +taken at night flying to the lamp or camp fire. + +_Bolboceras sloanei_ is a broad hemispherical beetle, just under 1 +inch in length; the male has a great horn standing up in the middle +of the head, and a shorter one on either side of the thorax, with an +excavation above and below them; the female is about the same size +without any appendages, and the front of the thorax is hollowed out +and the hind portion very rugose. _B. proboscidium_ is common in the +southern districts; it is smaller than the last species; of a darker +reddish tint. The male has the front of the head produced into a +lance-shaped process, standing out straight; this tapers toward the +tip, which turns down like a hook, and has a short blunt spine on the +upper surface. The female has a small truncate head, quite unlike the +male. About 30 species were described in Masters’ Catalogue; Blackburn +in his Monograph of the group lists 43 species (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. +1904). + + [Illustration: =Fig. 66.=--_Phyllotocus macleayi_ + (Fischer). + + The Honey Beetle, common on flowers in summer time. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +Members of the Genus _Trox_ feed chiefly on decaying animal matter, +and are to be found under dead animals, and a few in caves among the +accumulated dung of bats; they are curious dull brown insects, convex +and rounded on the upper surface; the head is so small and retractile +that it appears to be wanting. _Trox dohrni_, from Central Australia, +one of our largest species, is just under 1 inch; is almost black, +covered with a regular armour plate of shining black bosses and ridges +all over the dorsal surface. _T. australasiae_, our common species, is +about half the length, and is dull brown, with the bosses on the elytra +more regular and ridged. + + * * * * * + +The MELOLONTHIDES are mostly small beetles with the tip of the abdomen +not always covered; they feed chiefly upon the foliage of plants. +The Genus _Phyllotocus_ contains about 27 described species of small +reddish brown beetles with long black or yellow legs: some species are +very abundant about Sydney, swarming over the flowers of native scrubs; +they even come to the garden plants to feed upon the honey. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 67.=--_Diphucephala aurulenta_ + (Kirby). + + The Metallic Green Wattle Beetle. In Tasmania it damages + young apples by eating off the skin. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +_Phyllotocus macleayi_ has even been found swarming round bee-hives, +probably attracted by the smell of the honey. It is a smooth, shining, +yellowish brown beetle about ⅓ of an inch in length, with the apical +portion of the wing covers blackened. _P. marginatus_ is smaller than +the last, and of the usual dull reddish colour; the head, centre of +thorax, and stripe down the centre of the wing covers black; the whole +lightly clothed with fine hairs. _Diphucephala aurulenta_, typical +of another group of bright, metallic coloured, broad bodied beetles, +measures ¼ of an inch in length, and has the dorsal surface of a rich +reddish-copper tint, thickly and coarsely punctured; the under surface +and legs are deep green, clothed with fine grey hairs. It is common +upon the foliage of the black wattle about Sydney. _D. rufipes_, a +smaller beetle, is coppery green with reddish legs; is not uncommon +about Sydney. _D. colaspidoides_, a southern species, is metallic +green; the thorax smooth; the elytra deeply and thickly marked with +punctured striae. _Maechidius tibialis_, representing another group, +is a flattened, reddish brown beetle over ⅓ of an inch; the head is +produced into two shell-like flanges in front of the eyes; the thorax +is finely punctured; and the elytra ribbed, with closely punctured +striae. I have found both the beetle and its larva, a soft white grub, +in numbers in the open galleries of the termitaria built by our common +White Ant (_Termes lacteus_) in the Shoalhaven district, N.S.W., where +they seemed to live in harmony with the swarms of White Ants. + +_Xylonychus eucalypti_ is a large cockchafer-like beetle about 1 inch +long; it is of a delicate pale grass-green colour; its under surface +and legs darker and thickly clothed with fine hairs. This beetle feeds +about Sydney upon the foliage of the Swamp Mahogany (_Eucalyptus +robusta_), and is not uncommon in early summer. The members of the +Genus _Liparetrus_ are small, dark reddish brown, or almost black +beetles, often thickly clothed with fine hairs; the wing covers are +generally shorter than the abdomen. Many species swarm over the tops of +the young gum trees devouring the foliage. Nearly 100 species of this +extensive group have been described from Australia, chiefly by Macleay +and Blackburn (Proc. Linn. Soc. of N.S. Wales, 1886–1888). + +_Liparetrus marginipennis_, common about Sydney, is black; it measures +under ⅓ of an inch; the elytra, except the basal edges, are dark +reddish brown; the whole insect is thickly clothed with light brown +hairs that form a fringe round it. _L. hispidus_ is a smaller dark +brown beetle, thickly clothed with dull yellow hairs. + +_Lepidoderma albo-hirtum_ is a large cockchafer; it measures 1¼ inches; +all the dorsal surface of the head and thorax and both dorsal and +ventral portions of abdomen are reddish brown; ventral surface of head, +thorax and legs black. The whole of the upper and portion of the under +surface are so thickly clothed with fine pale scales that it has a +uniform grey tint. The larva, a large white grub, is a well-known pest +to the Queensland sugar planters, for it eats off the roots of the +growing cane; they are so numerous in some districts that as much as a +shilling a pint is paid for these sugar cane grubs. + + * * * * * + +The RUTELIDES comprise a number of large beetles, popularly called +Cockchafers; some species swarm out in immense numbers, stripping the +foliage off the native bush and sometimes attacking the shade-trees +in the gardens. Most of their larvae are large, white, subterranean +grubs, either feeding on roots of grass and plants, or living in or +under decaying logs. Dr. Ohaus has just published a “Revision des +Anoplognathides” 1904, in which he describes 72 species included in +13 genera. _Repsimus aeneus_ has a dark blue to coppery tint; the tip +of the abdomen is reddish, and the hind legs are thickened. They are +found clinging to low bushes, and are common about Sydney. + + [Illustration: =Figs. 68.= and =69=.--Life History + of the Shining Cockchafer. + + 68. _Anoplognathus porosus_ (Dalm). 69. Larva. 69a. Pupa.] + +_Calloodes grayanus_ is a very handsome bright green beetle with the +outer margins of the thorax and wing covers edged with yellow; it +measures 1¼ inches long; is found in Queensland, but seldom in numbers. +The two beautiful, little, metallic gold coloured species placed by +Macleay in this genus have been removed by Ohaus into _Anoplognathus_, +which now contains 41 species. Among these are our large reddish brown +cockchafers. _A. viridaeneus_, the “King-beetle,” is our largest +cockchafer; it measures 1½ inches and is broad in proportion; has +a general bright metallic reddish golden sheen; and the tip of the +abdomen is deep green. It is usually found clinging to the foliage of +the smaller gum trees in early summer. _A. velutinus_ takes its name +from the velvety patches of curious little white scales scattered +all over its dull brown coat; it is found about Sydney, but is not +plentiful. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 70.=--_Pentodon australis_ + (Blackburn). + + The larva and adult feed upon grass roots and sometimes + damage growing corn. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +_A. porosus_ is a light brown beetle; the wing covers are marked with +tiny dark spots that form irregular, short, parallel lines; the head +and thorax are shining; it is ¾ of an inch in length. It, and _A. +analis_, a large reddish shining beetle furnished with a tuft of hairs +at the tip of the abdomen, are two of our commonest species; their +larvae have been found destroying strawberry plants by eating off their +roots; and they are frequently met with when digging over the garden in +early summer. + +_Anoplostethus opalinus_, just under 1 inch in length, is a very +beautiful pale opaline green beetle, and is peculiar to Western +Australia. + + [Illustration: =Figs. 71= and =72=.--Life History + of the Queensland “Elephant Beetle.” + + 71. _Xylotrupes australicus_ (Thorn), Larva. 72. + _Xylotrupes australicus_, Male Beetle. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + * * * * * + +The DYNASTIDES contain the giants of the family, and in several genera +the males have the head and thorax greatly enlarged and produced into +blunt spines and horns; while the female has them of the usual rounded +form. _Oryctes barbarossa_ is one of our largest black lamellicorns; it +comes from N. Australia. _Pentadon australis_ is a shining black beetle +about ¾ of an inch in length, which has been found damaging young +maize plants about Sydney. The Queensland Elephant Beetle, _Xylotrupes +australicus_, in the larval state feeds upon decaying vegetable matter, +from which the beetles emerge and climb up the first tree to hand, and +upon which they cling during the day, but come buzzing round to the +lamps at night. The male measures 2 inches in length; is of a uniform +black colour; the head curves out in front into a double-pronged horn; +and the front of the thorax is produced into a second swollen one +curving downward over the horns on the head, arcuate and toothed on +either side of the tip. The female as usual in this group is smaller, +and the head and thorax are of the ordinary rounded structure. + + * * * * * + +The CETONIDES comprise the beautiful “Rose Chafers,” with their +shorter, broader, flattened bodies, small heads, and the angular thorax +broadest behind. Australia is rich in these flower-haunting beetles, +and some species are very abundant in the summer months. A great number +were at one time placed in the Genus _Schizorrhina_, but in 1880 Kraatz +in a paper on the revision of the family (Deutsche Ent. Zeit. xxiv.) +divided them into a great many new genera, in some cases with very +little reason. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 73.=--_Merimna atrata_ (Lap. + et Gory). + + A Buprestid Beetle that has the curious habit of flying into + the fire. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The members of the Genus _Lomaptera_ are chiefly found in the more +tropical parts of this continent, and are easily distinguished from +the other groups by the shape of the thorax, the hind margin produced +into an angular wedge into the centre of the elytra; while in the other +typical Rose Chafers the thorax is truncate, and a wedge-shaped piece +separated from the thorax occupies the centre of the back. _Lomaptera +wallacei_ is of the usual flattened form; uniform rich shining green; +and measures just an inch in length. It is found upon flowers in the +tropical scrubs of North Queensland. _L. duboulayi_, about the same +size, is of a duller green tint, with the outer margin of the head, +thorax, elytra and under-surface dull yellow: _L. cinnamea_, slightly +smaller, is of a uniform shining reddish brown colour. + +_Dilochrosis atripennis_ is one of our largest typical cetonids; it +measures over 1½ inches in length and is broad in proportion; it is +shining black, with the sides of the thorax and elytra, except a stripe +down the centre (broadest in front), rich reddish brown. It is not +uncommon about Cairns, N. Queensland, and ranges down, according to +Masters, to the extreme north of N.S. Wales. The Fiddler, _Eupoecila +australasiae_, about ¾ of an inch in length, is black and reddish +brown, marked upon the thorax and elytra with green stripes, forming +a fanciful resemblance to a lyre upon the back, from which it takes +its popular name. The larvae of this and the following species, (thick +fleshy white grubs) feed in the rotting trunks of dead grass trees, +forming stout oval cocoons in the larval stage; and the beetles are +very abundant upon the Angophora flowers in the early summer. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 74.=--_Cisseis leucosticta_ + (Kirby). + + A Leaf-eating Flower Beetle, common on the Black Wattle. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +_Micropoecila cincta_ is another common species about Sydney; is +slightly smaller; of a general black colour, the outer edges of the +thorax and wing covers broadly margined with reddish yellow; and its +life history and habits are identical with the “Fiddler.” + +_Polystigma punctata_ is one of our smaller common species; is of a +dull yellow colour irregularly but finely spotted all over the upper +surface with black dots. A second species, described under the name of +_P. octopunctata_, is I think only a variety; my specimens all come +from the Shoalhaven, N.S.W. _Cacochroa gymnopleura_, about the same +size, is black, rather downy on the under surface; and is remarkable +for having a variety as common as itself, with reddish brown thorax and +elytra. + +The members of the Genus _Trichaulax_ are remarkable for having +the elytra deeply furrowed, and these depressions filled with +close short hairs. They are all large fine beetles over an inch in +length; _Trichaulax philipsii_, taken about Sydney on the flowers +of the blood-wood late in the summer, is marked with grey hairs. _T. +marginipennis_ is common to N.S. Wales and Queensland; it has bright +reddish hairs completely clothing the tips of the wing covers and +abdomen. + +_Diaphonia dorsalis_ is a large common species, of a general black +colour, with the upper surface of the thorax and elytra yellowish brown +variably marked with black in the centre. It often comes flying about +the garden with a loud hum, and even sometimes comes in through the +open window. + +_D. olliffiana_ is a very rare species about the same size, with the +upper surface reddish brown and the wing covers irregularly marked with +black blotches. All the specimens known, about half a dozen in number, +come from the same locality, Colo Vale, N.S.W., and nothing is known +about their habits. _Glycyphana brunnipes_ is common on the flowering +scrub about Sydney, and has a wide range round the coast of Australia; +it measures about ⅓ of an inch, and varies from dull brown to green in +colour, irregularly spotted and marked. + + + Family 29. Jewel Beetles. + + BUPRESTIDAE. + +This is one of our largest and most typical groups of the Coleoptera, +containing a great number of large beetles rich with metallic tints, +chiefly found upon flowering shrubs, and most plentiful on the coastal +districts of Victoria, New South Wales, and West Australia. They are +elongate in form, with the head short, fitting closely into the broader +thorax, and furnished with large eyes and slender, slightly serrate +antennae. The abdomen is long with closely fitting wing covers, and +well-developed wings which enable them to fly well, though they usually +drop to the ground when disturbed. The larva is a slender flattened +white grub with small black jaws and head; the thoracic segments are +very broad behind and rounded to the much narrower abdominal segments. +They are wood borers, feeding in the sapwood under the bark, and +finally burrowing into the solid timber where they pupate; some of the +smaller ones feed in dead wood; and a few form regular galls upon the +roots or branchlets of shrubs. + + [Illustration: Plate XVIII.--COLEOPTERA. + + Family BUPRESTIDAE. + + 1. _Stigmodera fortnumi_ (Hope). + 2. _Stigmodera macularia_ (Donov.). + 3. _Stigmodera pascoci_ (Saunders). + 4. _Stigmodera thoracica_ (Saunders). + 5. _Cyria imperialis_ (Donov.). + 6. _Stigmodera variabilis_ (Donov.). + 7. _Calodema regalis_ (Lap. et Gory). + 8. _Chalcophora vittata_ (Waterhouse). + 9. _Julodimorpha bakewelli_ (White). + + (Original photo. Burton.)] + + [Illustration: _Plate XVIII.--COLEOPTERA._] + +The Banksia beetle, _Cyria imperialis_, has a wide range and is common +about Sydney upon the foliage of the stunted honeysuckle bushes +(_Banksia_); the larvae feed in the stems. It measures 1½ inches in +length; is of a uniform shining black colour, richly marked on +the upper surface with bright yellow forming four irregular bands +across the elytra, and the under surface is lightly clothed with grey +hairs. The Genus _Diadoxus_ contains two very distinct species, the +larvae of which feed chiefly on the stems of our native cypress pines, +and sometimes attack and destroy introduced pine trees. _Diadoxus +scalaris_, very variable in size, measuring from ¾ to 1¼ inches, is +a slender pale yellow beetle, with the hind margin of the head and +thorax marked with black, and the wing covers so thickly mottled with +reddish brown that the yellow only forms a row of blotches down the +back. It has a wide range from N.S. Wales to West Australia. _Diadoxus +erythrurus_ known in the west as the “pine scrub beetle,” is a much +smaller insect slightly over ½ an inch; the head and thorax are almost +black; the wing covers are dark, the basal portion has a double blotch +of yellow on each side followed by a row on either side of three spots; +the under surface has a greenish tint when alive. The larvae of this +species first feed round the stem under the bark, cutting the sap wood, +and where the infested tree is small, cause it to snap off. + +The large rich metallic green or coppery _Chalcophora_ are more +tropical beetles, the largest of which are restricted to Queensland and +North Australia; Masters lists 24 species in his catalogue, chiefly +described by Saunders (Trans. Ent. Soc. London 1872), and Waterhouse in +the same Journal three years later. + +_Chalcophora vittata_ measures nearly 1¾ inches in length, and is broad +in proportion; its general colour is deep metallic green, with the head +and thorax shaded with rich coppery tints; the elytra are finely ribbed +and are powdered with a yellow pubescence lining the parallel striae, +and also forming two spots on the sides. _Chalcophora farinosa_ is a +smaller and more slender species with a narrow thorax, and pointed wing +covers; in the neighbourhood of Cairns, N.Q., I used to take them in +the early morning resting on the wild banana leaves. + +_Nascio parryi_ is a small black beetle with a long thorax of a +uniform width; the wing covers are short in proportion, and curiously +marked with reddish orange. It is generally found upon the foliage of +eucalypts, but nothing is known about its life history. The members +of the Genus _Melobasis_, of which about 30 have been described, are +small, brilliantly coloured metallic green and gold beetles. _Melobasis +splendida_, not much over ¼ of an inch in length, is bright green, the +thorax and elytra marbled with dull purple. The larvae feed in the dead +branches of _Acacia longifolia_. + +_Julodimorpha bakewelli_ is found in South and Western Australia; it is +a large handsome beetle with a deep coppery red thorax and deep yellow +wing covers. It is elongate, but more cylindrical in form than the +_Stigmodera_. + +The typical Australian Genus _Stigmodera_ contains about 240 described +species which are found in open scrubby country where flowering shrubs +are abundant; the extensive scrubs round Sydney, and similar class of +country on the west coast of the continent are the head quarters of +most of the larger species. _Stigmodera tibialis_ measures 2 inches in +length, and is broad in proportion; the head, thorax and under surface +black, with the wing covers reddish chestnut with two irregular bands +of dull orange yellow across the apical half. _S. heros_ is half an +inch longer, one of the giants of the group; it has the under surface +dark bronzy brown, the dorsal surface deep dull red; the thorax finely +punctured, and the elytra coarsely striated. Both these beetles range +from South to Western Australia. _S. pascoei_ is a handsome rare +species from Western Australia, measuring under 1 inches in length; it +is of a rich yellow tint with the upper surface of the head, thorax, +and legs rich metallic coppery red, and the apical third of the finely +striated elytra black with a fiery red sheen. _S. thoracica_, slightly +smaller, is black on the under surface except the sides of the thorax +and tip of abdomen; the dorsal surface is yellow, except the head, a +band through the centre of the thorax, and the tip of the wing covers +which are bluish black. _S. fortnumi_ is one of the few large species +found in the interior; it measures 1¾ inches in length, and is broad +in proportion; the under surface is rich metallic green marked with +yellow; the upper surface yellow with the greater part of the thorax +and three broad bands across the elytra deep metallic blue. + +_Stigmodera grandis_ sometimes measures 2 inches, and is the largest +species found about Sydney; its general colour is dark bronzy brown +with the outer edges of the thorax and elytra margined with yellow. +The common jewel beetle, _Stigmodera variabilis_, is very abundant +when the _Angophora_ is in bloom; its general colour on the under +surface, head and thorax is bronzy black, with the edge of the latter +and the wing covers bright yellow; the markings upon the latter are +most variable; specimens are sometimes thickly barred with black, +others without a spot upon them, so that it is difficult to get two +alike. _S. macularia_ is purple to black, with the wing covers bright +yellow deeply pitted all over with purple dots. _S. jacquinoti_ might +be easily mistaken for the last, which it resembles both in size and +markings, but the tips of the wing covers are produced into sharp +spines; and the markings are coarser; it is a much rarer beetle than +the former, which is one of the commonest large species. _S. gratiosa_ +is the type of a group from W. Australia, all of a rich metallic green +tint with deeply punctured wing covers; it has the head and thorax +bronzy green and very finely punctured, with the elytra green and very +coarsely punctured; its length is about ½ an inch, and it is short and +broad in proportion. This brilliant little beetle is plentiful in some +districts, and specimens set in gold are often used for earrings and +brooches, for which its solid integument makes it adaptable. + +_Calodema regalis_ from the scrubs of Southern Queensland and the +extreme north of N.S. Wales, is possibly our most beautiful beetle in +shape, size, and colour. Measuring nearly 2 inches in length and broad +in proportion, the whole of the under surface, head and thorax are +rich metallic green, with two conspicuous blotches of dark red on the +dorsal surface of the thorax; the wing covers are bright yellow, almost +smooth, slightly spined at the tips, with a very fine pencil of green +down the sides of the inner edges. + +The members of the Genera _Ethon_ and _Paracephala_ form galls; the +first are short, thickset beetles of a dull coppery tint, with wavy +markings on the wing covers. _Ethon corpulentus_ and _E. marmoreum_ +make rounded galls upon the roots of _Dillwynia cricifolia_, sometimes +as many as twenty on one plant clustering round the base of the stem. +_E. affinis_ forms galls upon the stems of _Pultenea stipularis_. +_Paracephala cyaneipennis_ forms galls on the branches of the stunted +Casuarina (_C. distyla_), growing about Sydney. It is a slender dull +metallic green beetle about ⅓ of an inch in length. The Genus _Cisseis_ +contains a number of very pretty little metallic tinted beetles, the +larvae of which feed in the wood of _Acacias_ and other small shrubs, +and the perfect beetles feed upon the foliage. _Cisseis 12-maculata_, a +pretty deep blue-black beetle covered with large white spots, is found +on the grass tree; _C. leucosticta_, _C. similis_, and _C. maculata_ +upon the black wattle. + + + Family 30. False Click Beetles. + + EUCNEMIDAE. + +The beetles in this group form a sort of connecting link between the +Flower Beetles and the Clicks: many of them are very like the latter, +but they cannot jump; they have a large terminal joint in the palpus, +and the antennae when resting are hidden in the grooves along the under +side of the thorax. + +Sixteen species are listed in Masters’ Catalogue, all of which, with +one exception, are described in Bonvouloir’s Monograph of the family +(Annals of the Soc. Entom. France 1871–7). + + + Family 31. Click Beetles. + + ELATERIDAE. + +These beetles are found in many different situations, upon flowers, +hidden under bark, or in cracks on the tree trunks. They are well +known from their habit of flying in to the lamp at night, and falling +on their backs go skipping all over the table. They are elongate in +form, with slender serrate antennae, and a small head deeply sunk into +the thorax, which is rounded in front, truncate on the hind margin and +with a slight spine on the edge; while on the under side the thorax is +furnished with a process that fits into a groove in the first segment +of the abdomen, which enables it to get enough leverage, by pressing +the head down when on its back, to jump a considerable distance upward. +The larvae are slender, cylindrical, shining brown grubs popularly +known as “Wire Worms,” and some European species are said to do +considerable damage by eating off the roots of grass and crops. + +About 350 species have been described from Australia, most of them +dull brown or black in colour, though a few are brightly tinted or +marked. _Agrypnus mastersi_ measures 1 inch, and is of a uniform brown +colour clothed with fine buff down; it ranges from Queensland to +Western Australia. The Genus _Lacon_ contains a great number of short, +broad, dull brown clicks usually found under bark or stones. _Lacon +caliginosus_, half an inch in length, is dull brown; it ranges from +Tasmania to Queensland. _Alaus gibboni_ comes from the Richmond River; +it measures 1¾ inches, and is broad in proportion; its true colour is +black, but it is so thickly clothed with fine short grey down that it +is almost a dull white. _A. sericeus_ is a smaller beetle clothed with +an admixture of buff and chocolate down; I have found them pupating +in decaying bark on dead trees on the Richmond River. _Tetralobus +cunninghami_ is typical of a group of the large cylindrical “clicks,” +in which the male has feather-like antennae, and the thorax is rounded. +It is 1½ inches long, dark brown, with the under surface of the thorax +clothed with reddish hairs. These large clicks are generally found +in the interior on the trunks of trees. The Genus _Monocrepidius_ +contains a number of slender black or brown insects usually living on +flowers or foliage. _Ophidius histrio_, 1 inch long, is black, richly +marked with dark yellow lines forming four parallel bars down the +thorax, and a more irregular lance-shaped pattern on the wing covers; +this is another fine species from the Northern Rivers, N.S.W. _Anilicus +semiflavus_ is found on the Angophora flowers about Sydney; it is ½ an +inch long, black, with the basal half of the elytra bright red. + + + Family 32. Feather Horns. + + RHIPIDOCERIDAE. + +This is not a big family; the species are confined to the warmer parts +of the world, and are chiefly distinguished by the peculiar structure +between the tarsal claws, and the beautiful feathery antennae of the +males. _Rhipidocera mystacina_, our typical form, is ¾ of an inch +in length, elongate in form, with narrow sloping thorax and large +feather-like antennae; the general colour is black, with the sides of +the thorax and whole of the wing covers thickly spotted with white +downy dots. I have often taken this insect in numbers in the North-West +of Victoria. + + + Family 33. Fire-Fly Beetles. + + MALACODERMIDAE. + +The members of this family have a softer integument than most beetles. +They do not all emit light; the true “fire-flies” and “glow-worms” +belong to the sub-family LAMPYRIDES. + +The Genus _Metriorrhynchus_ contains about 50 small, elongate, +flattened beetles of a dull red colour marked with black; the wing +covers are deeply ribbed but soft and flabby. The larvae are curious, +smoky black creatures with blunt spines along the sides of the body, +and live under stones or logs. _M. rufipennis_, one of the largest, is +¾ of an inch in length; the head and thorax are black and roughened; +the wing covers are light red, deeply ribbed and reticulated: +Waterhouse figured and described many of these (Trans. Entom. Soc. +1877). Our true fire-flies belong to the Genera _Luciola_ and +_Atyphella_. On these Olliff has written an interesting paper entitled +“New Species of Lampyridae with notes on the Mount Wilson Fire-fly” +(Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1889). Our fire-flies are small, light brown +beetles, which during the day cling to the foliage, flying about at +night, emitting a bright flash of phosphorescent light from the tip of +the abdomen as they move their wings. Several species are found on the +Blue Mountains and in the tropical scrubs of North Queensland; they are +very brilliant after night-fall: _Luciola flavicollis_, ¾ of an inch, +is our common species. The Soldier Beetles, chiefly belonging to the +Genera _Telephorus_ and _Selenurus_, are common upon low bushes and +flowering shrubs. _Telephorus pulchellus_, ½ an inch in length, is a +slender, dull orange coloured beetle; the dorsal surface is shining +blue black except the apical half of the thorax, which is bright +yellow. This beetle sometimes appears in great numbers; I have seen the +Melaleuca scrub on the Blue Mountains black with them. + + + Family 34. Hunting Beetles. + + CLERIDAE. + +There are many handsome little beetles in this family which spend their +time hunting over logs, tree trunks, or in flowers to catch smaller +insects which they devour; most of them lay their eggs in the bodies +of the pupae of wood moths and other insects. A freshly fallen tree is +a good locality to look for Clerids, as they find many small beetles +attracted by the withering bark: in Europe the larvae of several groups +infest the nests of wild bees. + +_Natalis porcata_, 1 inch in length, is black covered with a whitish +down, and is found under the dead bark on tree trunks; it is probably +parasitic upon the grubs of longicorn beetles (_Phoracantha_). +_Cleromorpha novemguttatus_ measures only ⅕ of an inch; it is rich +metallic blue, lightly clothed with black hairs, and the elytra spotted +on either side with white dots: it is common in the flowers of the +_Angophora_ in early summer. The Genus _Aulicus_ contains a number of +bright metallic green or blue beetles which live on flowering shrubs; +about 20 species are described, chiefly by Cheverolet (Memoirs of the +Cleridae 1878). _Aulicus instabilis_, one of the smallest, is only ¼ of +an inch in length; it has a wide range over Australia. _Trogodendron +fasciculatum_ is another widely distributed species, and may be often +seen flying about in the height of summer; if captured it bites most +viciously. I have on several occasions pulled its body off, leaving +the head with the jaws buried in my finger: it is parasitic on the +pupae of our large wood moths. It is variable in size, about 1 inch in +length, thickset and broad in proportion; is dark brown, with bright +yellow antennae, and broad black fasciae at the base and apical half +of the elytra. _Zenithicola obesus_, ⅓ of an inch in length, is like +the last in general form, but with dull yellow thorax and shining black +elytra marked with white: _Z. australis_, a slightly larger species, +has a black thorax. The members of the Genus _Eleale_ are elongate, +dark metallic green or blue beetles clothed with fine hairs and deeply +punctured wing covers; they also live among flowers. _Tarsostenus +zonatus_ is typical of the small, slender, cylindrical clerids that +infest the gall-making coccids, and are often bred from these galls. +It has a bright reddish brown head and thorax, and green wing covers +barred across the centre with white. _Lemidia hilaris_, ⅙ of an inch +long, is a short broad beetle of a shining black tint, with the basal +half of the elytra red. The Red-legged Ham Beetle, _Necrobia rufipes_, +an introduced species, is found all over the world. In the interior it +swarms under dead animals, feeding upon fresh bones; and is also often +found about cheese and other preserved foods in the pantry. + + + Family 35. Anobiums. + + PTINIDAE. + +These beetles are small insects, with the head hidden under the +thorax; they have filiform, pectinate or slightly clubbed antennae; +and several species are world wide in their range, for as they live +in all kinds of dried food stuffs they are easily introduced into new +countries. _Gibbium scotius_ is a curious little beetle hardly over +¹⁄₁₂ of an inch in length, with a bright shining brown body, and the +legs and antennae covered with yellow scales; it feeds upon feathers, +and is often found in birds’ nests. _Anobium paniceum_ is known as the +“Biscuit Weevil,” but feeds upon all kinds of things; I have found +it in boots, seeds, drugs, botanical specimens, and it is said to +have been found burrowing through sheet lead. The Cigarette Beetle, +_Lasioderma serricorne_, is another little brown beetle common in +Sydney in waste tobacco. Olliff has described a number of Australian +species (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1886); and Westwood others (Ent. Soc. +1869), among which are several members of the Genus _Ectrephes_, which +live in ants’ nests. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 75.=--_Sitodrepa (Anobium) + panicea_ (Fabr.). + + The omniverous drug-store beetle (Introduced). + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + + Family 36. Powderpost Beetles. + + CIOIDAE. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 76.=--_Lyctus brunneus_ + (Douglas). + + The Beetle so destructive to Rattan furniture. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +Though small in size and number of species, these are very important +beetles on account of the damage they do to rattan furniture and +sapwood in unseasoned timber. _Lyctus brunneus_, a small elongated, +reddish brown beetle about ⅙ of an inch in length, lives and breeds in +wood, and is only too common about Sydney. A second species has been +described from South Australia by Blackburn. + + + Family 37. Auger Beetles. + + BOSTRYCHIDAE. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 77.=--_Bostrychopsis jesuita_ + (Fabr.). + + The Auger Beetle which attacks dead or dying trees. Orange + tree stem in which a number have been feeding. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +These beetles are easily recognised by their curious cowled thorax, +with the head turned down beneath, and the last 3 joints of the +antennae forming a well-defined club; the body is long and cylindrical, +adapted for burrowing in dead wood. Specimens of these beetles +can generally be found upon fallen trees or freshly-cut timber. +_Bostrychopsis jesuita_, one of the largest of the group, about ½ +an inch in length, is black, cylindrical, with the rounded thorax +rugose in front, and the tip of the wing covers truncate. _Bostrychus +gibbicollis_, about ⅓ of an inch, is dark reddish brown, with a spined +thorax and the tips of the wing covers produced into blunt teeth. +_B. cylindricus_, about the same size and similar colour, has elytra +furnished with three curled spines on each side. It has been found +damaging wine casks. In the Genera _Apate_ and _Rhizopertha_, also +found in dead timber, we have a typical form in _Apate collaris_, +measuring ¼ of an inch in length, with a dull yellow thorax, dark brown +wing covers spined at the tips. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 78.=--_Bostrychus cylindricus_ + (Macleay). + + The Wine-cask borer. + + (“Agricultural Gazette.” N.S.W.)] + + + Family 38. Mealworm Beetles. + + TENEBRIONIDAE. + +This is a very large family of beetles, generally dull brown or black +in colour, but varying much in shape; many of the more typical forms +are found under logs and stones, and might easily be mistaken at first +sight for carnivorous carab beetles until the mouth parts and head are +noticed. They have somewhat thickened antennae placed on the sides of +the head; some have wings, others are wingless; most of them are slow, +heavy beetles, very easily captured. The larvae are usually slender +shining cylindrical brown worm-like creatures living in rotten wood, of +which the introduced Mealworm is a typical example. Our species have +been described by a great many English and foreign writers, chief among +which are Pascoe, in the Journal of Entomology 1869, and Annals of +Natural History 1869–80; Hope in the Transactions of the Entomological +Society of London 1842–48; Bates in the same journal 1873; and later +on in the Proceedings of the Australian Societies by Macleay and +Blackburn. Carter has within this last year described a number of new +species (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1905–6). + +The Ironbark Beetle, _Zopherosis georgii_, is found in the northern +scrubs of N.S. Wales, generally climbing on tree trunks; it is an +elongated, flattened, dull brown beetle, slightly over 1 inch in +length; the antennae thickened, and the whole of the upper surface +covered with rounded irregular knobs; it is not unlike a caricature of +a large click beetle. + +The members of the Genus _Pterohelaeus_ are smooth, shining, +tortoise-shaped black beetles, found under dead bark on the trunks of +trees. _P. piceus_, common in S. Australia and N.S. Wales, is just +under 1 inch in length, but broad in proportion. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 79.=--_Helaeus subserratus_ + (Blackburn). + + The Tortoise Beetle. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +_Helaeus subserratus_, from Western Australia, is typical of a very +curious group not only wingless, but having the elytra and abdominal +segments soldered together into a broad flattened box with a wide thin +flange running right round, continued round the thorax, and overlapping +in front of the head, which latter is turned down and is thus situated +in a regular frame; this one is dark brown, with the outer flange +lighter coloured; it measures 1⅓ inches in length, and is broad and +rounded in form. These beetles are usually found in the driest parts +of the interior, where they live under stones or logs among the dust, +and in spite of their size, remain so motionless that they can be very +easily overlooked. + +_Saragus floccosus_, found on tree trunks in the north of N.S.W., is +a smaller tortoise-shaped insect, under ¾ of an inch; is convex and +keeled down the centre of the thorax; and the elytra have a more +narrow flange running right round but curving in and rounded on either +side of the head. When alive, it has the whole of the upper surface +covered with loose flocculent matter like soft sawdust, evidently +as a protective covering, but this is easily brushed off when dead. +_Hypaulax tenuistriata_ is one of the common large black beetles found +under dead bark; it measures about 1 inch in length; the head is small, +projecting; the thorax broad, rounded, shining; and the broad wing +covers are distinctly ribbed with punctured striae. + +_Chartopteryx childreni_ is one of our most remarkable and rare +species; it is 1 inch long; the only specimen I have seen alive, +I caught alighting on a tree trunk at Mosman, near Sydney; it is +elongate, broad, oval in form, with the head and thorax turned down, +and the convex, shining, black elytra deeply punctured and clothed with +dull yellow moss-like material; the head and thorax are ornamented +with fine white hairs, forming an elongated mark on either side of the +latter and two parallel lines down the centre of the head and thorax. + +_Blepegenes aruspex_ is a shining coppery black coloured beetle +measuring ¾ of an inch; it is slender in form, remarkably like a carab, +with a small thorax that is produced into a spine on either side; the +elytra are deeply ribbed; it is found under logs in the Illawarra +district, N.S.W. + +_Cardiothorax howitti_ is also found under logs; it is an elongate +beetle, black with a dull purple tint on the thorax, which is flattened +and almost round, a regular rim running round the margin; it is arcuate +behind the head, and produced into a spine on the hind margins; the +wing covers are elongated to the apex, and ribbed. The members of the +extensive Genus _Adelium_ are found under logs; some species are quite +common, clustering together in considerable numbers; they are all black +or coppery tinted. These beetles are about ¾ of an inch in length; the +thorax is roughened, and the wing covers more or less striated. + +The Genus _Chalcopterus_, which now includes most of those described +as _Amarygmus_, are black or brightly metallic coloured beetles; the +head and thorax are small and curve downward; the wing covers are +large, convex, and pointed at the tips. They are found crawling about +on tree trunks, or hidden under dead bark, and give out a very pungent +offensive odour when handled. _Chalcopterus variabilis_ measures ½ an +inch in length; its head and thorax are black, the elytra rich coppery +red, and it is common about the Sydney scrubs. + +The common Mealworm, _Tenebrio molitor_, has a world-wide range; it +was introduced into Australia at a very early date, and not long ago +a packet of seeds imported from England was found on examination by +one of the inspectors of the Agricultural Department N.S.W. to be full +of the shining wireworm-like larvae of these beetles. It is a common +beetle in stables and produce stores. + + + Family 39. + + CISTELIDAE. + +These are delicate, elongate, long-legged beetles, with weak +integument, and are closely allied to the TENEBRIONIDAE, only differing +from them in having comb-like or pectinate claws on the tarsi; and +their larvae are like wireworms. The Genus _Atractus_ comprises a +number of slender beetles of bright metallic tints common upon the +flowering shrubs in summer; _Atractus viridis_, ½ an inch in length, +is bright metallic green, with the thorax and shoulders tinted with +coppery red, the wing covers deeply marked with punctured striae. _A. +virescens_ is a smaller species with a more dull metallic coppery +tint. The members of the Genus _Allecula_ are larger beetles, with +long slender legs and antennae, shining brown or black in colour, +with finely striated elytra; the larvae are slender, dark, shining +brown wireworms living in decaying wood. _Allecula subsulcata_ is +slightly over ½ an inch in length, of a uniform black colour, with the +last three joints of the antennae and the last two of the tarsi pale +ferruginous. The larvae breed in the rotten stems of dead grass trees, +and the beetles are generally found hiding among the foliage. + + + Family 40. + + LAGRIIDAE. + +This is another small group containing few species, but _Lagria +grandis_ is one of our very common beetles, and can be collected on +low scrub anywhere about Sydney. The larvae are to be found under logs +or among damp leaves on the ground, and are thickset, black, shining +creatures. covered with short reddish hair on the upper surface; short +antennae standing out in front; and the tip of the abdomen is produced +into a pair of pointed spines. The beetle is light reddish brown, +closely covered with fine confluent punctures and short scattered brown +hairs. It is slightly over ½ an inch in length, with a small head, +slender, narrow thorax, and with the front of the wing covers forming a +broad shoulder in front. + + + Family 41. + + ANTHICIDAE. + +These are small ant-like beetles, with the head having a regular neck +and the thorax narrow and elongate; most of them are found among +rubbish upon the ground, or along the edges of creeks and watercourses. +It is chiefly owing to the researches of King, who collected and +described a great number of the species found about Sydney (Trans. Ent. +Soc. N.S.W. 1869), that we know much about this family. + + + Family 42. + + PYROCHROIDAE. + +This is a small group containing some beetles with the head attached +to the thorax by a neck, and with the wing covers much broader than +the thorax: _Lemodes coccinea_ is a pretty little bright red beetle +with black legs and antennae, the latter tipped with white; it measures +slightly over ¼ of an inch in length; is common under logs in the +Illawarra district. Another species, _L. splendens_, has recently been +described by Lea (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1906) from specimens obtained +by me at Noundoc, N.S. Wales. + + + Family 43. Pintails. + + MORDELLIDAE. + +This group, in which the _Rhipidophoridae_ are now included, are very +distinctive beetles; they have the head tucked down in front; the +thorax large, broad, and rounded at the base, with the hind margins +angular and fitting closely into the wing covers, which taper down +to the apex; the end of the abdomen forms a stout spine-shaped tip +extending beyond the wings. + +They are very active little beetles; several species are very numerous +and swarm over the flowers of the low scrub. _Mordella leucosticta_, ½ +an inch in length, is black; the whole of the upper surface is thickly +spotted and marked with dull white, and the legs and under surface +are also mottled. _M. limbata_ is a much smaller black beetle ⅙ of an +inch in length, and has a pale silvery sheen: _Tomoxia flavicans_, +from the northern rivers, is a shorter broader insect. _Pelectomoides +conicollis_ is 1¼ inches in length; is of a uniform dull brown colour, +with pectinate antennae; the head is small, turned down, and the thorax +is broad and rounded. This fine beetle is found about Sydney. Lea has +described and listed the members of this family (Trans. Ent. Soc. +London 1902). + + + Family 44. Oil and Blister Beetles. + + CANTHARIDAE. + +The true Blister Beetle is a slender insect with soft integument, +and a small head produced into a neck behind; the thorax is small in +proportion to the slender rounded abdomen and wing covers. A number of +species have been described from this country by different writers, +among whom Fairmaire has been chief (Stett. Ent. Zeit. 1880). Most of +them belong to the Genus _Zonitis_, of which about 40 species have been +described. _Zonitis bipartita_, under ½ an inch in length, has the +head, thorax, base of the wing covers, and under surface of abdomen +orange yellow, with the abdomen and rest of the elytra dark shining +blue: _Z. brevicornis_ is a very similar insect, but has the whole of +the wing covers deep metallic blue. + +The true Oil Beetles are more rare; unable to fly, they are found +crawling about on the ground with the body distended and the wing +covers overlapping each other at the base. Nothing is recorded about +the larvae of our species of this family, but in other countries they +are known to feed upon the eggs of locusts; others attach themselves to +bees, and are thus carried into their nests, where they devour the eggs +and afterwards the honey. + +The OEDEMERIDAE are somewhat similar looking insects to the Blister +Beetle; _Ananca puncta_ is found in the northern parts of N.S. Wales; +it is a very slender long-legged beetle over ½ an inch in length, of a +general dull yellow colour, with the head, thorax, and legs mottled +with dull blue, and the whole of the elongated wing covers dull blue +except a dorsal stripe of the prevailing yellow which widens out +towards the apex. + + + Family 45. Woodborers. + + SCOLYTIDAE. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 80.=--_Hylesinus fici_ (Lea). + + The Fig-branch Beetle, better known under the name of _H. + porcatus_ (Chap.). + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +This is a group the members of which are allied to the Weevils, but +differ in having a short broad snout with clubbed antennae, and +the tibiae toothed on the outer edge. Only a few species have been +described from this country, but several of them are well-known +pests, and like the smaller species of the Auger Beetles are usually +attracted to dying trees. In the Genus _Hylesinus_ we have one, +_H. porcatus_, which attacks the terminal buds of both the wild +and cultivated figs. It is a short thickset black beetle, about 2 +lines in length, with the head turned down to the fore-legs, and the +clubbed antennae 5 jointed; the head and thorax are rugose, and the +wing covers finely striated; the whole insect is lightly clothed with +fine hairs. The Ambrosia Beetle, _Xyleborus solidus_, is a common +beetle in the bush, and has lately turned its attention to fruit trees; +boring into the branch and then gnawing a chamber right round under the +bark, she deposits her eggs at the end of the burrow, at the same time +killing the branch and causing it to snap off. This beetle is about +⅛ of an inch in length, of a uniform black colour, with the legs and +antennae reddish brown. It is stout and cylindrical in form; the head +is turned down in front and hidden from above; the rounded thorax is +nearly as large as the body, covered with short rasp-like points in +front; the wing covers are flattened and squared off at the tips. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 81.=--_Xyleborus solidus_ + (Eichhoff). + + The Scolytid Beetle that damages the Apple tree Branches. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + + Family 46. Slender Weevils. + + BRENTHIDAE. + +These are remarkable looking beetles, very long and slender in form, +with the snout never turned down but standing out straight in front +of the head; the antennae not elbowed, but composed of a number of +bead-like joints attached near the tip on either side; and the jaws +situated at the extremity of the snout. In many of the larger forms the +males are much bigger than the females, and have the snout much longer; +they are chiefly found in the tropical scrubs, two small species +however coming from the south. _Trachelizus howetti_, a shining reddish +brown beetle about ¼ of an inch in length, has the antennae thickened +to the tips; and _Cordus hospes_, a larger beetle of a somewhat darker +colour, is found under dead bark on the tree trunks, and also sometimes +in ants’ nests. _Ectocemus pterygorrhinus_ comes from North Queensland, +and is common on the low scrub about Cairns where timber has been +felled; it is somewhat short and thickset; the male is about 1¼ inches +in length, with the tip of the rostrum produced into an angulate +process, and very long cylindrical antennae. The general colour is +dark reddish brown, with the wing covers ornamented with four parallel +rows of shining dull yellow bars. _Ithystenus hollandiae_, also from +Cairns, is found in similar situations; it is very long and slender, +1½ inches long, blackish brown, with two parallel light reddish brown +lines down the centre of the wing covers, and the extremities produced +into a tooth at either side. _Homocerus fossulatus_, found under rotten +bark, is of a general dull brown colour; is thickened and flattened, +with the wing covers much roughened. The male measures about 1¾ inches +in length, but the female is much smaller. _Mesetia amoena_ is a very +pretty, slender, bright reddish yellow beetle, with the head, legs, and +sides of the thorax black, and a dark medium stripe down the thorax +and elytron. It is about 1 inch in length, and is common in the scrubs +about the Richmond River N.S.W. + + + Family 47. Carnivorous Weevils. + + ANTHRIBIDAE. + +These beetles are allied to, but very distinct from, the true weevils, +and are usually found on the trunks of dead trees, where they hunt for +and devour the small wood-boring beetles that are attracted to the dead +twigs, or which breed out of fungus. They have a short blunt snout, and +many have long slender antennae which are not elbowed; they are most +plentiful in the northern scrubs and forests. + +_Ecelonerus albopictus_ is typical of those with short antennae clubbed +at the tips; it is a stout thickset dark brown beetle, thickly covered +with pubescence, and the whole of the under surface, front of thorax +and middle and tip of the body blotched with white pubescence. It +measures over ½ an inch in length, and is found in the northern parts +of N.S. Wales. + +_Ancylotropis waterhousei_ is a good example of the long-horned forms; +it measures over ½ an inch in length, but looks shorter as its head and +thorax are curved downwards. It is a very slender beetle of a uniform +brown tint, but thickly clothed with buff and grey down; the thorax +tapers to the front, and the head is elongated but swells out again in +front, and is furnished with long slender antennae. _Doticus pestilans_ +is known as the “Dried Apple Beetle,” from the habit that the beetle +has of laying its eggs in any dried immature apples that are left over +the season upon the trees; in its native state the larvae breed in +the large wattle galls. It measures only about ⅓ of an inch, and is a +short, thickset beetle, with the head turned downward, furnished with +slender clubbed antennae. The general colour is reddish brown; it has +a raised ridge on either side of the wing covers; the fore-legs are +curiously prolonged with large tarsi, and it has a peculiar jumping +habit. Pascoe has described most of our beetles belonging to this group +(Journal of Entomology 1860, and Annals and Magazine of Natural History +1859). + + [Illustration: =Fig. 82.=--_Doticus pestilans_ + (Olliff). + + The Jumping Anthribid or “Dried-apple Beetle.” + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + + Family 48. Weevils. + + CURCULIONIDAE. + +The Weevils or Snout Beetles are one of the largest and best defined +groups of the Coleoptera, and though they comprise a great number of +very different looking beetles in shape, they all have the front of +the head produced into a more or less elongated snout with the jaws +placed at the tip, and with the distinctly elbowed antennae standing +out on either side of the snout, forming a regular angle. Most of +them are provided with well developed wings, the elytra being usually +very solid; and the whole insect is encased in thick armour plate +integument. The majority are slow, sluggish beetles, that trust as a +rule more to their shape and protective colouration harmonising with +their surroundings, than to their activity. They feed chiefly upon +foliage and bark, and when at rest cling to the twigs or stalks of +their food plants, falling at the least alarm to the ground, where +they remain perfectly motionless, with their legs and antennae tightly +closed until the danger has passed. + +Those living in the dry western country are represented by curious +wingless forms with very short stout snouts, and are usually found +under logs and stones in open grass lands; while in the tropical scrubs +they are chiefly arboreal, and frequently richly coloured. They are all +vegetarian in their habits both in the larval and perfect states; some +infest seeds, others destroy the buds, foliage or roots of plants and +do a great deal of damage to farms and gardeners’ crops. About 1200 +described species are listed in Masters’ Catalogue, and a great number +of new species have been added during the last few years by Messrs. +Blackburn and Lea in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of N.S. +Wales, and Transactions of the Royal Society of S. Australia. Pascoe, +one of the most prolific writers on this family, described a great many +between the years 1869–1883 (Journ. Linn. Soc. & Ann. Nat. Hist.). They +have been divided into a number of sub-families, among which only the +most important can be noticed here. + +The remarkable Long-necked Weevil, _Rhadinosomus lacordairei_, measures +under ½ an inch in length; is of a uniform dull reddish brown tint +with a silvery white spot on either side of the rounded elytra, which +are produced into a spine on each side. It breeds in the cavity in the +large _Brachyscelid_ galls, feeding on the woody tissue; Lea says that +in Tasmania it is a pest to strawberry growers. + +The members of the Genus _Myllocerus_ are dainty little oval weevils +found resting upon grass stalks or among the foliage of small shrubs +peculiar to North Queensland and North West Australia. _Myllocerus +carinatus_ is about ⅓ of an inch in length, and is finely striated and +densely clothed with metallic green scales. _Catasarcus spinipennis_ +is another West Australian insect of a brownish buff tint, with the +abdomen broadly rounded; and the hind portions of the elytra covered +with sharp spines. About 40 species of this genus are described, all +of which with one exception are confined to West Australia. _Cherrus +ebeninus_ is one of the large stout black weevils common in the bush +around Sydney, where it is usually found clinging to the twigs of the +blood-wood, _Eucalyptus corymbosa_. It is black, with broad rugose +thorax and ribbed wing covers. + + [Illustration: =Figs. 83= and=84.=--_Wattle + Weevils._ + + =83.= _Rhinotia hœmoptera_ (Kirby). The Red Weevil. + + =84.= _Leptops tribulus_ (Fabr.). The Wattle + “Pig-beetle.” + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The Genus _Leptops_ contains a large number of very characteristic +beetles feeding upon the foliage of wattles and other scrub trees. They +are usually grey, buff, or dark brown insects with thickened snouts +and broad bodies. The Apple-root Borer, _Leptops hopei_, is sometimes +a pest to the orchardist, damaging the roots of his apple trees; the +beetle emerging from the soil crawls up the tree trunk, and laying her +eggs upon the leaf, turns the edges over and gums them together with a +sticky secretion; the young grubs hatch and crawl down to the roots. +_L. tribulus_, often called by the Sydney boys the “Wattle Pig,” feeds +upon the foliage of the black wattle; it is a much larger species, +about 1 inch in length; dark brown to black in colour; the broad +rounded body covered with short blunt spines, thickest towards the +apex. The Grey-banded Leaf Weevil, _Ethemaia sellata_, described from +S. Australia, has a wide range over the interior. The larvae are pale +green legless creatures about ⅓ of an inch in length, lightly clothed +with short hairs; they remain buried in the soil, coming out at night +to feed upon plants, but if disturbed by a light they will drop to the +ground and bury themselves very quickly. The beetle is ⅓ of an inch in +length, dark brown, shaded with grey, which forms an irregular pattern +on the thorax, legs, and elytra; rugose, deeply pitted; and the whole +surface is clothed with white and brown scales. + +The AMYCTERINAE are a large group of weevils with such short thick +snouts that they are quite unlike the typical forms generally found +in open forest country among grass or hiding under logs or stones; +they are wingless, the elytra soldered together forming a very thick +solid integument. Macleay described a great number (Trans. Ent. Soc. +N.S.W. 1865). _Psalidura elongata_, common in the interior, measures +slightly over 1 inch in length; is of a uniform black colour with a +reddish brown tint; the short head and flattened thorax are finely +granulated, with the elytron closely ribbed and punctured. _Talaurinus +tuberculatus_, about ⅔ of an inch in length, is black, very coarsely +granulated on the thorax, with the whole of the flattened elytron +thickly covered with blunt tubercules. Nearly 90 species or this +genus have been described, chiefly by Macleay, ranging all over +Australia. _Amycterus draco_ is one of the most remarkable armour +plated species in the interior; it is black, with a small deeply +ribbed head and angulated thorax; and the broad, somewhat elongated +elytron is turned down at the extremity and covered with rows of +raised bosses. _Acantholophus echinatus_, as the generic name implies, +represents a group containing a number of species covered with spines +that extend even over the upper surface of the head and thorax. The +Genus _Cubicorrhynchus_ contains the smaller ground beetles, almost +cylindrical, with short rounded head and thorax: they dwell under +stones, and when exposed lie quite motionless as if dead, their dull +brown tints matching the ground. _C. morosus_, about ⅓ of an inch in +length, is of the usual form and colour, with a very wide range, and +often very numerous in grass lands. + +The GONIPTERINAE comprise a number of diverse forms found upon foliage +clinging to the twigs. The Genus _Oxyops_ contains a number of stout +moderate-sized beetles which are remarkable for the curious habits +of their legless slug-like larvae, which, covering themselves with +a slimy secretion, crawl about over the surface of the eucalyptus +leaves, feeding upon the epidermis and covering their backs with their +excrement; when full grown they pupate on the ground among the rubbish +beneath their food plant. _Oxyops concreta_ has a narrow short head +with the thorax broadest behind; the elytra broadly swollen, rounded, +deeply striated, and clothed with fine scales. _Bryachus squamicollis_ +has a wide range over Australia, and is usually found clinging to the +twigs of stunted gum trees; it measures about ½ an inch in length; +is of a uniform dark chocolate brown, but thickly mottled all over +with fine grey and black scales. This beetle forms rounded cells of +a brown gummy substance (very much like large Lecanium scales) which +are attached to the twigs, in each of which she places three eggs; +from these emerge pale yellow oval larvae; when full grown the larva +is an oval smooth rounded grub of a purplish tint, legless, flattened +on the ventral surface, and with the head hidden from above, like a +“pear-slug” larva; when adult it falls or crawls to the ground, and +pupates among the rubbish. Mr. Gurney first discovered the curious +egg-capsules on trees in the Bogan River district N.S.W. _Gonipterus +gibberus_ is a small reddish-brown beetle with a white blotch on either +side of the elytra; it has an elongated head and thorax, and is usually +found clinging tightly to the tip of a eucalyptus twig. _Aterpus +cultratus_, typical of the next group, measures ⅓ of an inch in length; +the dorsal surface is flattened; is of a general dull brown tint, with +the head, front of the thorax and tip of the abdomen buff. Usually +found under dead bark on tree trunks, its larva forms a loose cocoon of +bits of bark on the stems of Melaleuca bushes. _Lixus mastersi_, the +weed weevil, is very common in neglected gardens, as its larvae feed in +the roots of _Amaranthus_ and _Chenopodium_, causing them to swell out +into cylindrical galls; the beetle is ⅓ of an inch in length, slender +and cylindrical in form, of a light brown tint, but when freshly +emerged is covered with a yellow mealy pubescence which soon rubs off. + +The “Botany Bay Diamond Beetle,” as Donovan described it, _Chrysolophus +spectabilis_, is one of our commonest and at the same time one of +the most beautiful of our weevils. It has a very wide range all over +Australia, and is found wherever the black wattle thrives, but also +feeds upon many other species. It is very variable in size, measuring +to 1 inch in length; is of a uniform black tint, but so thickly covered +with patches of bright metallic green scales, that in freshly emerged +specimens it seems more green than black. It deposits its eggs about +the butt of the wattle tree buried in the bark; the stout fleshy grubs +form irregular tunnels in the wood. + +The Elephant Beetle, _Orthorrhinus cylindrirostris_, whose stout +fleshy grubs do a good deal of damage to citrus trees, has a very wide +range over Australia: it is a dark brown weevil, covered on the dorsal +surface with fine buff and grey scales; the thorax is covered with +irregular bosses which form ridges on the elytra. It measures about ½ +an inch in length, and has a long slender snout turned down in front, +and very long fore-legs terminating in large feathered tarsi; in its +native state it feeds upon gum trees. _O. klugi_ is a much smaller +species that feeds and breeds in wattles, but is also known as an +orchard pest, infesting the canes of vines, and also eating the leaf +buds. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 85.=--_Chrysolophus + spectabilis_ (Fabr.). + + The Botany Bay Diamond Beetle. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +_Eurhamphus fasciculatus_ is one of our largest and most remarkable +looking weevils; it measures 2½ inches in length, and is of a general +black tint, but the greater portion is finely clothed with grey and +rusty red scales, which give it a uniform buff tint; it is further +clothed with tufts of long soft reddish brown hairs forming a raised +ridge down either side of the thorax, and are scattered in rows on the +elytra intermixed with small tufts of long grey hairs, giving it a very +remarkable spiny appearance. It is a rare insect as a rule, ranging +from Pine Mountain, Queensland, to the Clarence River, N.S. Wales; but +many years ago Masters when collecting in the north came upon a large +dead pine tree in the scrub literally covered with hundreds of these +great weevils boring into the dead timber with their long slender +snouts, making a distinct scratching sound. It is therefore probable +that they are confined to the strip of country where the Hoop or +Maryborough Pine grows, and breed on it. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 86.=--_Myrmacicelus + formicarius_ (Chev.). + + The Ant-like Weevil. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +_Tranes sparsus_, ⅓ of an inch in length, is common among the coarse +palm-like foliage of the Currawong; it is of a uniform reddish brown +tint with a slender snout, rounded flattened thorax, and oval, +flattened, finely striated elytra. A smaller black species, _T. +xanthorrhoeae_, is found in the foliage of the grass trees. The Genus +_Belus_ contains a number of very slender weevils with the snout +standing out in front of the head, long antennae, thickened thighs, +and the slender elytra coming to a point at the apex. They feed upon +wattles, and are very active, flying about in the heat of the day. +_Belus semipunctatus_ is about ¾ of an inch in length; of a uniform +dark reddish brown tint, with a broad white stripe down each side +of the thorax and down the centre of the back, with small spots on +each side. _B. bidentatus_ is a stouter thickset beetle; and is of a +darker brown colour, with a rounded buff spot on either side of the +wing covers. _B. plagiatus_ is a smaller almost black species, richly +variegated with reddish yellow spots and blotches; it comes from the +more tropical scrubs of N.S. Wales and Southern Queensland. _Rhinotia +hoemoptera_, a very handsome slender cylindrical weevil, is about ¾ of +an inch in length, with the snout furnished with thickened antennae +turned down below the head; it is rich black with bright brick red +wing covers which have a fine dorsal black stripe down the centre. The +curious large-headed larvae feed in the stems of the Sweet-scented +Wattle, _Acacia suaveolens_. _Eurhynchus acanthopterus_ is the type +of another group, which has a shorter snout, and the head broad and +rounded, fitting closely into the somewhat attenuated thorax; the body +is broadly oval, and the wing covers furnished with short conical +spines in the centre of the back. It measures about ½ an inch, and +is of a uniform reddish brown tint. The Ant Weevil, _Myrmacicelus +formicarius_, usually found crawling about on the trunks of wattle +trees, is a shining black weevil about ⅙ of an inch in length, and is +as ant-looking as its names suggest. The Genus _Balaninus_ represents +the tiny little rounded weevils with very long slender snouts adapted +for feeding upon seeds. _B. amoenus_ is black spotted with white; is +almost oval in form, and about ⅙ of an inch in length. It feeds upon +the ripe fruit of the little yellow fig, _Ficus rubiginosa_. + +The Genus _Laemosaccus_ contains a number of short flattened weevils +of a general black or dark brown colour ornamented with white or buff +down; they are generally found feasting upon the bark of freshly fallen +tree-trunks, particularly wattle and eucalypts, in which they also bore +holes and deposit their eggs. _Laemosaccus electilis_ measures ¼ of an +inch in length; is black with white pubescence on the under surface, +and white markings on the tips of the wing covers, which are finely +striated. My specimens come from Condobolin, N.S. Wales. + +The members of the Genus _Haplonyx_ contain a number of curious, +short, broadly rounded beetles generally found clinging to the twigs +of eucalypts, but their larvae breed in the fleshy galls of the +Brachyscelid coccids, where they destroy the gall makers and pupate +in the cavity. _Haplonyx centralis_ is a typical dark brown species +with a large white circle occupying the centre of the back. _Perissops +ocellatus_, about ½ an inch in length, comes from the Tweed River N.S. +Wales and Southern Queensland: it is of a general light brown tint; is +oval and rounded in form, with the wing covers marked with buff, so +that when viewed from behind it resembles a pair of eyes and nose on a +man’s face. + + [Illustration: =Figs. 87 and 88.=--Kurrajong Weevils. + + =87.=--_Axionicus insignis_ (Pascoe). + + The Mimic Bark-weevil. + + =88.=--_Tepperia sterculiae_, (Lea). + + The Seed-pod Weevil. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +_Axionicus insignis_ is always found upon the trunk of the Kurrajong +tree hidden in the crevices of the bark, where in spite of its size +(¾ of an inch in length) it is very difficult to detect, owing to the +exact blending of its white grey and brown markings with the tints of +the bark. It lays its eggs in the injured bark; the larvae are typical +obese legless white grubs; they feed between the bark and the wood +often in such numbers as to kill large branches. They pupate in regular +oval cocoons formed of gnawed wood and bark. _Tepperia sterculiae_ +breeds in the seed pods of the Kurrajong, and is a smaller but +somewhat similar tinted beetle clothed with brown and grey scales, the +latter forming a well defined patch toward the apex of the wing covers. +The two species of the Genus _Enteles_ are smaller, smooth, shining, +black beetles, with the head and legs curving underneath the body; +they are both found in the semi-tropical scrubs of the north. _Enteles +vigorsi_ is marked with two white transverse lines crossing the elytra; +while _E. ocellatus_ has more parallel lines crossing the transverse +ones, making an eye-like pattern upon the back. The Grass-tree Weevil, +_Trigonotarsus rugosus_, is 1½ inches in length; is of a uniform +black colour; and of the typical Calandra or palm weevil shape, with +a slender curved snout, and small head sunk into the thorax, with the +dorsal surface of the thorax and elytra flattened. The obese white +larva feeds in the roots of the grass-trees. Allied to this are the two +tiny cosmopolitan grain weevils, _Calandra orizae_ and _C. granaria_, +which are destructive pests to all kinds of grain and other food stuffs. + + + Family 49. Longicorns. + + CERAMBYCIDAE. + +The longicorn beetles from their number, variety, size, and the damage +they do to timber and plants, are well known beetles, and have always +been a favourite group with collectors. They are usually elongate +in form, with powerful gnawing jaws, and long slender many-jointed +antennae standing out in front of the head, the basal joint often half +encircled by the large compound eye; the elytron is always divided down +the centre, and the large hind wings well adapted for flight are folded +beneath them; the legs are strongly developed, well adapted either for +running about or clinging to their food plant. + +They deposit their eggs in bark or timber; the larvae burrow into +the tissue beneath, upon which they feed; they often remain, long +cylindrical or flattened naked grubs, for several years before they +pupate in the end of their last gallery. + +They are divided into three large sub-families by modern entomologists; +our species have been chiefly described by Newman in “The Entomologist” +1842; “Annals of Natural History” 1840; and a number of other Journals. +Pascoe contributed a great many papers to over half a dozen of the +leading entomological societies in England between 1857 and 1875. Hope, +in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society of London 1841, and +other Transactions, added largely to our list, while Messrs. Boisduval, +Germer, White, Saunders, and others described odd specimens. In our own +Journals, Macleay and Blackburn have also dealt with these beetles. + +The PRIONINAE comprise a number of large broad thickset beetles with +the front coxae large and transverse, and the prothorax having well +developed side margins. The determination of several of our commonest +species was a matter of some doubt, so I submitted most of our common +forms to Professor Lamare of Brussels, who has identified them and +enabled me to speak with some authority. + +_Sceleocantha glabricollis_ is one of the shortest thickset forms; +about 1¼ inches in length; of the usual uniform reddish brown tint; +the small shining thorax furnished with a fine spine on either side; +and the broad rounded elytron finely granulated. It is found along the +southern coast of N.S. Wales. The common large white grub which bores +in the trunks of the honeysuckle (_Banksia serrata_) growing along +the coast of the south-east of N.S. Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, is +the larva of _Paroplites australis_ described in 1842 by Erichson; in +most of our Museum collections it is known as _Macrotoma servilis_. +It is variable in size, measuring to 2 inches in length, and is of +a dull dark brown tint, with a flattened rugose thorax with serrate +edges. _Eurynassa australis_ is a large somewhat slender species 2¼ +inches in length; the broad flattened dull coloured thorax is marked +in the centre with two shining triangular patches pointing toward the +head; the reddish brown elytra are finely granulated. _E. odewahni_ is +a smaller species, with the thorax more constricted, shining, rugose, +and serrate on the margins; it is found in the interior, and has an +extended range westward from N.S. Wales to W. Australia. _Agrianome +spinicollis_ comes from the north-east of N.S. Wales; it is a broader +more flattened form, about 2 inches in length; the thorax is rounded +and serrate on the sides; and the general colour is light reddish +brown. _Iotherium metallicum_ hardly measures over ½ an inch; is of a +rich metallic purple tint; the thorax is produced into a broad spine on +the sides; and the wing covers are broadly round at the apex. The male +is a much smaller coppery tinted beetle, and was described under the +name of _Phaolus macleayi_; it is usually taken on grass stalks in open +forest country. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 89.=--_Eurynassa odewahni_ + (Pascoe). + + The great brown Longicorn. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The CERAMBYCINAE comprise a much larger division of the longicorn +beetles, differing from the last group in having the first coxae not +greatly extended transversely; the thorax not margined, and the last +joint of the maxillary palpus usually broad. _Pachydissus sericus_ is +a slender silvery dark brown beetle about 1¼ inches in length, with +the tip of the wing covers spined and the basal joint of the antennae +thickened. It is generally found clinging to the rough bark of tree +trunks. They deposit their eggs in the bark of _Acacia longifolia_; the +larvae bore all through the trunk and larger branches; they have a wide +range over the southern half of Australia. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 90.=--_Pachydissus sericus_ + (Newman). + + The Silvery Longicorn, breeding in the stems of _Acacia + longifolia_. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +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. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 91.=--_Strongylurus + thoracicus_ (Pascoe). + + The Pittosporum tree borer, and larva. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + [Illustration: =Fig. 92.=--_Lygesis mendica_ + (Pascoe). + + The slender grey-haired Longicorn. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + [Illustration: =Fig. 93.=--_Uracanthus + cryptophaga_ (Olliff). + + The great Orange-tree Borer. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +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. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 94.=--_Batocera frenchi_ + (Blackburn). + + The great Fig-tree Longicorn. + + (Original Photo. Burton.)] + +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. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 95.=--_Hebecerus + marginicollis_ (Boisd.). + + The White-cheeked Longicorn. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +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. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 96.=--_Symphyletes + vestigialis_ (Pascoe). + + The Buff-painted Longicorn. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + + 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. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 97.=--_Calomela paralis_ (Lea). + + The Green Striped Wattle Beetle. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +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. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 98.=--_Paropsis immaculata_ + (Marsham). + + A typical Leaf-eating Beetle. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + [Illustration: =Fig. 99.=--_Monolepta rosae_ + (Blackburn). + + The Painted Leaf Beetle. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” 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. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 100.=--_Epilachna 28-punctata_ + (Fabr.). + + The Spotted Leaf-eating Lady-bird. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + +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. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 101.=--_Epilachna + guttatopustulata_ (Fabr.). + + The Potato-leaf Lady-bird. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + [Illustration: =Fig. 102.=--_Leis conformis_ + (Boisd.) + + The Common Spotted Lady-bird. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +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. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 103.=--_Thea galbula_ + (Mulsant). + + The Yellow-shouldered Lady-bird. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + [Illustration: =Fig. 104.=--_Verania frenata_ + (Erichson). + + The Striped Lady-bird. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +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. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 105.=--_Orcus chalybeus_ + (Boisd.). + + The Steel-blue Lady-bird. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + [Illustration: =Fig. 106.=--_Orcus australasiae_ + (Boisd.). + + The Six-spot Blue Lady-bird. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +_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. + + + + + Order VI.--LEPIDOPTERA. + + Butterflies and Moths. + + +Butterflies and moths are scale winged insects, and are among the +giants of the insect world; they can be defined as insects with two +pairs of membranous wings well adapted for extended flight, clothed +with scales overlapping each other like the slates on the roof of a +house, flattened and rounded on the surface of the wings, but more +or less hair-like upon the body. The head is usually provided with a +tubular proboscis or mouth, that can be curled up like a watch spring +when at rest, and is admirably adapted for sucking up the honey from +flowers when expanded. + +The caterpillars may be smooth and naked, or thickly clothed with +spines or hair; with few exceptions they feed upon the foliage or +wood of plants: after undergoing a series of moults they either +spin a cocoon, bury themselves in the ground, or (if wood borers) +close themselves up in the burrow where they undergo a complete +metamorphosis. If the larva of a butterfly, the caterpillar attaches +itself to a twig by the tip of its tail and casts the larval skin, +which slips off, leaving the naked transformed pupa simply enclosed +in a stout, close-fitting pupal jacket. Some species of moths appear +in such numbers at times that they do a great deal of damage to plant +life, and are very serious pests. + +Lepidoptera on account of their beauty and size have always been very +popular with entomologists, and large numbers have been collected from +all parts of the world, so that this is one of the best known orders. +Sharp estimates that 50,000 species are described, and every year adds +to this long list. + +They are divided into two great groups, somewhat artificial, but +definable as RHOPALOCERA, butterflies; and HETEROCERA, moths. + + + RHOPALOCERA. + + Butterflies. + +The typical butterflies are usually slender-bodied insects, with +filiform and more or less clubbed antennae, delicate legs, and large +richly tinted wings; they fly about in the bright sunlight, visiting +flowers and feasting upon the nectar that they find in the blooms. +They have large compound eyes so that they can see very well; and the +slender tubular mouth is very highly developed in all butterflies. The +eggs are laid upon the food plant: the caterpillars are generally more +or less elongated, and naked or covered with scattered tubercles rather +than hairy; when full grown they attach themselves to the under side +of a twig or leaf by the tip of the abdomen. Some groups are furnished +with a silken girdle round the middle attached at each end to the leaf +or twig; and another section roll themselves up in leaves. They do not +form a cocoon, but as the larval skin slips off, it reveals the regular +pupal form fitted with a skin-like jacket through which the indistinct +lines of the rudimentary wings, legs and antennae can be traced. The +pupa may remain in this quiescent state for several months before the +butterfly splits the skin and emerges, a perfect, fully developed +insect. + +As many of our butterflies have an extended range, some of them were +originally described from other countries, and when captured here were +named as new species; so that a good deal of confusion has existed in +the proper identification of some of our common species as to whether +they were Australian or only varieties of foreign species. In 1805 +Donovan figured some of our commonest species in his “Insects of New +Holland.” After Kirby’s “Catalogue of Rhopalocera” was published in +1871, Masters compiled and issued a list of our Australian species. +In 1878 Semper published his list of Australian species; and in 1891 +Miskin produced his “Catalogue of the Australian Butterflies,” in +which he included and described some new species (No. 1, Annals of the +Queensland Museum); this remained our working list until Waterhouse +published his “Catalogue of the Rhopalocera of Australia” as No. 1 +Memoir of the New South Wales Naturalists’ Club 1903. In Waterhouse’s +list a great many changes have been made in the genera and species; +a number of our well-known names have vanished, with very little +explanation; for example, _Pieris teutonia_, our common white, +appears under the name of _Belenois java_; this is unavoidable +to a certain extent in bringing Catalogues up to date, but is very +confusing to beginners in the work of classification. + +For a list of the writers upon, and references to our butterflies, the +student is referred to Waterhouse’s Catalogue. + +I am indebted to Messrs. Anderson and Spry for notes on the life +histories of some of the southern species described in their “Victorian +Butterflies” (Melbourne 1893). + + + Family 1. Brush-footed Butterflies. + + NYMPHALIDAE. + +This group comprises a number of large or medium sized butterflies that +are known as “Fritillaries,” “Emperors,” “Admirals,” and many other +popular names in England, and are generally brightly coloured; many +have a very wide range over the world. The fore-legs of both sexes +are imperfect, the male with one or two, the female with four or five +tarsal joints. The larvae are usually spiny, or clothed with hairy +warts; and the pupae are suspended by the tail. Sharp places them in +eight sub-families, four of which are well represented in Australia. + +The DANAINAE are brightly coloured butterflies of a general reddish +brown tint with blackish markings; the larvae are smooth cylindrical +caterpillars with the tips of the body ornamented with a fleshy tail. +The Genus _Danais_ contains six species, of which the best known in +Eastern Australia is the “Monarch” or “Brown Gypsy,” originally a +North American insect but now almost world wide in its range; it is +known under at least four names, and though usually figured as _Danais +archippus_, its correct name is _Danais menippe_. The handsome banded +black and cream coloured larva feeds upon the introduced “bladder-weed” +(_Gomphocarpus fruticosus_), and turns into a beautiful pale green pupa +with metallic markings. This large, deep reddish brown and black lined +butterfly is too well known to require description. + + [Illustration: Plate XIX.--LEPIDOPTERA. + + Family PIERIDAE. + + 1. _Pieris teutonia_ (Fabr.). Eggs on foliage. + 2. _Pieris teutonia_ (Fabr.). Eggs enlarged. + 3. _Pieris teutonia_ (Fabr.). Caterpillar. + 4. _Pieris teutonia_ (Fabr.). Caterpillar (enlarged). + 5. _Pieris teutonia_ (Fabr.). Pupa (enlarged). + 6. _Pieris teutonia_ (Fabr.). Pupa on leaf. + 7. _Pieris teutonia_ (Fabr.). Showing upper surface. + 8. _Pieris teutonia_ (Fabr.). Showing under surface. + + This butterfly is now known under the name of _Belenois + java_ (Sparrman).] + + [Illustration: _Plate XIX.--LEPIDOPTERA._] + +_D. petilia_, a much smaller butterfly, has broader white markings +on the tip of the fore wings and none round the edges of the hind +pair. It has a wide range over Australia, across Asia to Europe. The +caterpillar is of a lavender colour and feeds upon the cotton grass; +it transforms into a beautiful green chrysalis marked with scattered +golden spots and a band of the same colour round the abdomen. _D. +hamata_, a fine pearly blue and black species, is recorded by Olliff +from Cape York to as far south as Shoalhaven, N.S.W., but is a rare +insect in the south. + +Fourteen species of the Genus _Euploea_ are described, of which +_E. corinna_ is a mottled black and white species, very abundant +in sheltered gullies in N. Queensland, also ranging southward to +Sydney. The larva feeds on a creeper (_Mandevillia_); it is a slender, +dull-coloured caterpillar with four pairs of fleshy tentacles on the +back. The pupa is suspended to a leaf, and is a rich, bright metallic +silver. + + * * * * * + +The ACRAEINAE contains a single species, belonging to the typical +Genus _Acraea_, which is found from North Queensland to Sydney. _A. +andromacha_ measures 2¾ inches across the wings; is blackish brown; the +fore wings are transparent with dull brown markings; the hind pair are +opaque, creamy white, edged with brown; it always looks as though badly +rubbed. It has a range from New Guinea, Fiji, and Samoa into Australia. +The yellowish brown caterpillar clothed with branched fleshy spines, +feeds upon the passion vine, and is not uncommon in Sydney gardens. + + * * * * * + +The NYMPHALINAE comprise a number of handsome butterflies, which differ +from the previous ones in having the cells of both pairs of wings open +or imperfectly closed. The larvae are very variable, some being slender +hairy caterpillars or armed with spines and tubercles; others are short +and cylindrical, furnished with horns upon the head. + +The fine East Indian Genus _Cethosia_ is represented by three species: +the Crimson-winged Butterfly, _C. cydippe_, is not an uncommon insect +in North Queensland frequenting the clearings on the edge of the scrub; +it measures 3½ inches across the large rounded wings, the hind margin +of the second pair being deeply scalloped; the central portion of both +surrounding the body is bright red, the outer deep purple, with white +markings toward the tips of the front pair; and the under surface of +both is barred and spotted. _Cynthia ada_, ranging from Brisbane to +Thursday Island, is a large light ochreous yellow butterfly, with a +dark line diagonally crossing both wings from the middle of the fore +pair to the level of the tip of the body; a double band of crenulated +markings encircle the wings; and there are a pair of eye spots on the +hind ones. _Cupha prosope_ is the representative of another northern +genus ranging from the Richmond River N.S.W. to Thursday Island. It is +a medium sized butterfly with dark orange coloured wings, the front +pair tipped and edged with black; all the under-surface is pale orange +yellow, mottled and barred, with a row of eye spots round the edge of +the wings. The Australian Fritillary, _Argynnis inconstans_, measures +about 3 inches across the wings; it is of a uniform dull yellow colour +with a double row of black spots along the edge of the wings, with the +inner portion covered with an irregular pattern of spots and dashes. +It is common along the cleared tracks in the Queensland jungle, and +has been recorded from as far south as Hunter River, N.S. Wales. +_Pyrameis kershawi_, figured and described by McCoy from Victoria, is +found throughout Australia, and is so closely related to the “Painted +Lady,” _P. cardui_, of Europe, that it was until lately only considered +a variety. It measures under 2 inches across the wings; its general +colour is dull brown mottled and barred with black and white. The +larvae feed upon “everlastings” (_Heliochrysum_) and the introduced +cape weed; they are slender brown creatures covered with black spines, +and the chrysalis suspended by the tail is marked with shining golden +spots. _P. itea_, slightly larger than the previous species, has the +edges of both pairs of wings scalloped; the fore wings are black, each +with three small yellow spots at the tip, and a large elongated patch +crossing through the centre, with the inner portions of both pairs +bright ferruginous brown, and a row of four small black eyes on the +hind wings. The slender spiny caterpillars feed upon the foliage of +nettles. The angulated chrysalis is often marked with golden spots. +The Genus _Junonia_ contains two common butterflies, one _J. villida_ +found all over Australia; it measures about 2 inches across the wings +and is of a general brown tint edged with delicate white and grey +markings, and ornamented with a pair of eyes on each wing ringed with +yellow. It has a curious habit of flying along the track in front of +one, settling on the ground, then flitting ahead again. The cylindrical +somewhat stout larva is blackish brown, spined behind the head and +clothed with fine hairs; it feeds upon rib grass (plantains). The +short stout chrysalis is light brown marked with darker spots. _J. +albi-cincta_ does not come south of Brisbane; it is about the same +size, with the eyes upon the wings smaller, and the hind wings mauve, +giving out a bright metallic sheen. The Brown Leaf-winged Butterfly, +_Doleschallia australis_, is nearly 3 inches across the wings, which +are elongated and oval in form, with the tip of the hind pair produced +into a tail; the upper surface is dull reddish brown with yellow in +the centre, while the under surface is greyish brown mottled with wavy +lines, with a central larger bar crossing the centre and running out +into the tail. It flits about in the undergrowth, a conspicuous insect +when on the wing, but the moment it settles and folds its wings over +its back, it is lost to sight, for its leaf-like wings, when closed +with the tail forming a stalk, so closely resemble the foliage, that +while it remains at rest it is very difficult to detect. It ranges +from the Richmond River to North Queensland. The Blue-eyed Butterfly, +_Hypolimnas bolina_, ranges from Cape York to Sydney, but is a rare +insect about the latter place. It differs in the sexes both in size +and markings; the male is rich velvety black; has both wings deeply +scalloped, a double white spot towards the tip of each, with a blotch +of opaline white in the centre encircled with iridescent violet blue. +The play of colour in this beautiful butterfly flashing about in the +bright sunlight with its ever changing tints of blue and black, makes +it one of our most striking species. The female is somewhat larger; +has the central markings on the fore wings more elongated and lighter +coloured, with a blotch of fulvous red below it; the hind wings are +much whiter in the centre and are only slightly clouded with blue. +_Neptis shepherdi_, ranging from Brisbane to Cape York, has the typical +delicate black wings spotted and striped with white. The Tailed +Emperor, _Charaxes sempronius_, is our sole representative of the +genus, the home of which is Africa and the East Indies; it is nearly 4 +inches across the wings, the inner portions of which are creamy white, +the outer edges, tips and margins black, and with a row of creamy spots +along the edges and two spots behind. The marginal black edging on the +hind wings is broad, shaded on either side with pale blue, which covers +the broad scallops in the wings; there are two stout wedge-shaped +tails on each hind wing, and a bright reddish-yellow blotch on each +inner edge. The larva is a very curious, short, stout, pale green +caterpillar, with a slightly forked tail, and four short stout horns +on the top of the head; it feeds upon the foliage of the black wattle. +This species ranges from Sydney to Derby, N.W. Australia, where I took +a specimen upon a baobab tree which is now in the Macleay Museum; +Waterhouse gives Cairns, Q., as its northern limit, but this gives it a +much extended range. + + * * * * * + +The SATYRINAE are chiefly small butterflies, black, brown, or sometimes +white, generally marked with eye spots, and the wings are rounded. The +larvae feed upon different grasses, and are smooth or clothed with fine +short hair: the head is round; and the body tapers to each extremity, +and ends in a forked tail. + +The Genus _Mycalesis_ contains five species; they are all reddish-brown +butterflies of small size, that flit about in open forest country, of +which _Mycalesis terminus_ is a very good type: it measures 1½ inches +across its dull, rusty red wings, which are indistinctly marbled, and +darkest at the tips; the edges of the hind pair are marked with fine +black lines. On each wing are a pair of small eyes, the hind one on +each wing being largest; these also show on the under surface, and +those on the hind wings are encircled with silvery lines. It is a +northern species found along the coast of North Queensland. _Tisiphone +abeona_ is a common species in Victoria and on the eastern coast of +N.S. Wales, usually found flitting along damp gullies, never flying +high or in open country. It measures about 2½ inches across the wings, +and is of a uniform dark brown tint: the front wings are ornamented +with two eyes, the first smallest; a broad irregular band of yellow +bisects the wings about the middle, crossing behind the eyes; the hind +wings are plain, with a small eye on the inner margin, and are slightly +scalloped round the edges. The delicate green caterpillar has a small +rounded head; it is broadest in the centre, tapering to the head and +forked anal extremity. It feeds upon the sedges. The chrysalis is of +a delicate emerald green tint, with the edges of the wings outlined +in yellow. _Ypthima arctous_ ranges from Sydney to Cape York; it is a +small, dull brown insect with a very large eye on the tips of the fore +wings, and a very small one on the hind pair. + +The Genus _Heteronympha_ contains seven species, all of which have a +wide range along the coast; the Yellow Wood Nymph, _H. merope_, being +one of the commonest in all open forest country from Tasmania to +Brisbane; it is remarkable from the fact that the sexes differ both in +size and markings. The male measures 2½ inches across the wings, which +are of a general dull tawny yellow colour mottled with black and brown, +the fore pair in a scroll-like pattern, the hind ones only barred +along the edges and slightly touched with black. The female, ½ an +inch broader, has the greater part of the fore wings black, enclosing +two yellow patches fading into tawny yellow toward the basal portion, +and with a large yellow angular blotch standing out on the posterior +sides; each wing in both sexes has a small eye towards the tip. The +dull brown larvae feed upon various grasses, and hide close to the +roots. The chrysalis is not attached to the food plant, but rests in a +frail network on the ground. _H. mirifica_, found between Sydney and +Brisbane, is about the same size as the female of the last species; it +also haunts sheltered country. It is of a uniform, blackish brown tint +with small eye spots and a broad irregular white stripe across the +middle of the fore wings. + +The Genus _Xenica_ is peculiar to Australia; it contains nine species, +four of which are confined to Tasmania, several being found only on +the higher portion of the mountain ranges. They are all small, tawny +yellow or reddish brown butterflies of small size, spotted and mottled +with brown, and have small eyes upon the tips of the wings. _Xenica +achanta_, one of the largest, measures about 2 inches across the wings, +and is of a uniform dark orange yellow, with the apical portion of the +fore wings marbled with dark brown; the hind pair are regularly mottled +all over; and the margins of both are edged with two fine black lines; +it ranges from S. Australia to Queensland. Several smaller species have +been described from the Australian Alps. _X. correae_, described by +Olliff from Mt. Kosciusko, feeds upon the native fuschia: _X. fulva_, +also described by Olliff, is the male of this species. + + + Family 2. Horned Butterflies. + + LIBYTHEIDAE. + +This family contains only a single genus, representatives of which +are found scattered over all the warmer parts of the world, but the +largest and most brightly coloured forms are found in New Guinea. They +are remarkable for the formation of the palpi, which, standing out in +front like a beak, are four times the length of the head; the wings are +angulated, and the pupa hangs by the tip of the abdomen. One species, +_Libythea nicevillei_, ranging from Port Moresby across to Cape +York, represents the family in Australia. + +This group appears to form a connecting link between the Nymphalidae on +the one hand, and the Lycaenidae on the other. + + + Family 3. The Blues. + + LYCAENIDAE. + +The “blues,” “coppers,” or “hair-streaks” are so named on account of +their rich colourations or wavy markings on the under side of the +wings. Though often passed over by the ordinary collector because of +their small size, they are much sought after by lepidopterists for +their beauty and bright metallic tints. Their bodies are slender, and +the wings somewhat fragile; though they can fly well, they usually +prefer to flit about the bushes and sheltered gullies, and when they +settle have the habit of folding their wings in an erect position above +the body, so that unless disturbed they are not very noticeable. The +prevailing colours are metallic blue, or coppery red, with eyes upon +the wings in some groups, while others are ornamented with dainty +feathery tails, or lobes upon the hind wings. The colours and markings +of the sexes often differ in the same species on the upper surface, but +always correspond on the under-side. The legs are more developed than +in the Nymphalidae, the tarsi of the male somewhat aborted, but that of +the female complete. The larvae are curious, short, slug-like, greasy +grubs, dull brown or green; some of them are gregarious, clinging to +the twigs by day and feeding at night. The pupae are attached to the +twig by the tip of the abdomen and girthed with a silken thread round +the middle. + +In Miskin’s Catalogue 110 species were given under 18 genera; in +Waterhouse’s list 114 species are recorded, divided into 31 genera. +Waterhouse has monographed this family, where descriptions of all +the known Australian species will be found (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. +1902–1903). A number are rare and restricted in their range, and many +are confined to the rich tropical scrubs of North Queensland. The Genus +_Danis_ contains six species, most of which are confined to North +Queensland; _Danis taygetus_ is a very distinctive little butterfly, +common in the Queensland scrubs, and extending as far south as the +Richmond River, N.S.W. The male has the fore wings pale violet blue, +with the centre of the hind ones white, the edges of both pairs black; +in the female both pairs are marked with white with a faint shade of +blue; on the under surface the centres of the wings are white edged +with black, with a broad band of bright metallic blue occupying the +lower half of the hind pair encircling a row of black spots. The Genus +_Miletus_ contains fifteen species: _M. delicia_ has the upper surface +brownish black, with the base of the fore and centre of hind wings +pale metallic blue; the under side is dull yellowish brown, variegated +with angulated blotches or spots forming bands round the wings and +a parallel stripe across the front of the fore pair. This butterfly +ranges from Victoria to Queensland. _M. ignita_ has a very wide range +over the southern parts of Australia into Queensland; it was figured +and described by Leach in 1817. _Candalides absimilis_ is a medium +sized insect; the male has the upper surface dull blue with the +edges fringed with white; the female is dark brown with an oval patch +of white in the centre of both wings and metallic tints round the +body; the under surface is pale bluish white marked with fine wavy +lines round the wings. It is found from Victoria well into Northern +Queensland. _Polyommatus boeticus_ has had many names, for not only has +it a very wide distribution over Australia, but it extends over Asia, +Africa, and Europe. It is of a uniform brown tint; has the centre of +both wings shaded with pale metallic blue; the hind one terminates in +a fine slender tail, with two eye spots at the base; the under side is +creamy white with slate grey lines and eye spots touched with blue. + + [Illustration: Plate XX.--LEPIDOPTERA. + + Family PIERIDAE. + + 1. _Terias hecabe_ (Fabr.). + + Family PAPILIONIDAE. + + 2. _Papilio sthenelus_ (Macl.). + + Family NYMPHALIDAE. + + 3. _Junonia albi-cincta_ (Butler). + 5. _Pyrameis itea_ (Fabr.). + 6. _Pyrameis cardui_ (Linn.). + 7. _Danais petilia_ (Stoll.). + + Family HESPERIDAE. + + 4. _Trepezites symmomous_ (Hubn.). + + Family LYCAENIDAE. + + 8. _Chrysophanus aenea_ (Miskin).] + + [Illustration: _Plate XX.--LEPIDOPTERA._] + +_Lucia lucanus_, one of the smaller forms, has all the upper surface of +a dull ochreous tint, with the centres of the fore wings pale yellow. A +fine fringe of hair-like scales of alternate tufts of black and white +gives it a delicate pencilled appearance; the under surface is mottled +and brownish, the white of the fore wings showing through. It has a +wide range from South Australia to Mackay, Queensland, and is common +about Sydney. _L. pyrodiscus_ has the upper surface black, with the +centre of the fore wings and the greater part of the hind ones dull +red. The whole of the under surface is purplish and finely marbled with +a very fine tail on the outer edge of the hind pair. It ranges from +Victoria to N. Queensland. + +The Genus _Ogyris_ contains eleven species, most of which are recorded +from the southern portion of Australia. _Ogyris abrota_ has the upper +surface dark brown with a patch of pale metallic green in the centre +of each fore wing; the hind pair are all brown and scalloped along the +edges; the under side is pale creamy white mottled with wavy lines. The +larva feeds upon the foliage of _Loranthus_; it measures about an inch +in length; is of a uniform dark yellowish brown, with the upper surface +rough, clothed with fine bristles; they feed at night, and pupate in +the usual manner of all members of this family. + +The Genus _Ialmenus_ contains eight species, among them several of our +best known “Blues”: _Ialmenus evagorus_ ranges from South Australia +into Southern Queensland, and was figured by Donovan in his “Insects +of New Holland” in 1805. It is described by Olliff under the name of +the “Imperial Blue,” but I would suggest that the “Black-wattle Blue” +would be a much more distinctive name, for all along the coast the +short, dull green, slug-like grubs may be met with, congregated in +little groups clinging to the twigs of this wattle. Hundreds of ants +are always swarming over them attracted by the secretion they discharge +from glands on the back. + + [Illustration: =Figs. 107= and =108=.--Wattle + Butterflies. + + 107. _Ialmenus ictinus_ (Hewitson). + + The Inland Wattle Butterfly. + + 108. _Ialmenus evagorus_ (Donovan). + + The Coastal Wattle Butterfly.] + +The presence of ants is probably of great value to the larvae, for +they keep parasitic insects and birds from molesting them. When full +grown they sling themselves to the twigs to pupate, and are often so +numerous that the branches are covered with pupae hanging like bunches +of grapes. The butterfly measures nearly 2 inches across the wings, +which on the upper surface are black on the margin, with the rest pale +metallic blue shading into white in the centre; the hind pair are +scalloped and produced into fine feathery tails with spots of dark +orange yellow at the base; the under side is pearly grey, banded and +spotted with black. _I. ictinus_, with identical habits, about the +same size, takes the place of this species in the inland districts. +_Pseudalmenus myrsilus_ is a handsome little butterfly with the centres +of the wings deep orange divided with dark nervures, and the hind +pair with long black tails; it is found from Tasmania to the southern +districts of N.S. Wales. The last species of this family, _Liphyra +brassolis_, is only found in North Queensland; its larvae live and +pupate in the arboreal nests of the “Green Tree-ants.” An interesting +account of the life history of this butterfly is given by Dodd in the +“Entomologist” 1902. + + + Family 4. The Whites and Yellows. + + PIERIDAE. + +The members of this family are popularly known as “Whites” and +“Yellows” on account of their prevailing colours. Both sexes have six +perfect legs, and are butterflies of moderate size, with the hind wings +rarely crenulated or produced into tails. Their larvae are slender, +hairy caterpillars with small heads, and are often gregarious in their +habits; the pupae are sharply angulated to each extremity, attached +both by the tail, and a silken girdle round the body of their food +plant. + +In Miskin’s Catalogue 34 species are listed, contained in 7 genera; +Waterhouse reduces them to 31 species, and discards several well-known +genera. + +The Genus _Terias_ contains all the small “Yellows,” which are low +flitting, dainty, little butterflies found in the tropical jungle, but +equally at home in the far western scrubs and open forest land. _Terias +smilax_, our smallest species, is common about Sydney, and has a wide +range both north and south from Adelaide to Rockhampton. It is bright +yellow, with the black markings in the fore wings extending to the tips +of the hind pair. The Mottled Yellow, _T. hecabe_, is much larger than +the last; is of a bright yellow colour with the black markings coming +round to the edge of the hind wing and swelling out into a rounded +patch; the hind wings are lightly edged with black, and on the under +side are thickly mottled with yellowish brown spots. It extends from +Sydney to Queensland, and has a wide range out northward and eastward +among the islands. + +The Genus _Elodina_ contains several small, pearly white butterflies, +with wings edged with black. The small white, _Elodina angulipennis_, +is found about Sydney, ranging as far north as Mackay, Queensland. Our +common white butterfly known under the name of _Pieris teutonia_, and +the sole representative of that well defined genus, has been recently +identified as _Belenois java_, and as Sparrman described it some few +years before Fabricius, this well-known name will unfortunately have to +give way. This butterfly has a wide range over Australia, especially in +the interior, where several native shrubs belonging to the _Capparidae_ +are plentiful; upon these the slender brown and yellow caterpillars +feed. This is the species that sometimes comes flying over the eastern +coast in immense swarms. It measures 2½ inches across the wings, and +is black and white on the upper surface, with the under portion more +mottled with black and canary yellow. It ranges from Australia to +Fiji, Tonga, and the Malay Archipelago. The smaller Whites, which have +the under side of the hind wings of a more uniform yellow tint, are +represented by _Appias (Tachyris) ega_, first described by Boisduval in +1836; it has an extended range from Victoria to Cape York, Queensland. + +The typical Genus _Delias_ is represented in Australia by 8 species, +three of which can be collected from Sydney to Cape York, and two +others from South Australia northward. The Painted Delias, _D. +harpalyce_, first figured by Donovan in 1805, measures 3 inches across +the wings, which on the upper surface are creamy white, broadly +margined on the apical half with black, the fore pair banded with a +row of white spots; on the under surface the white markings above are +much broader, and the hind wings are blotched with a bright red band +surrounded with black but lined with white. The larvae feed upon the +native mistletoe (_Loranthus_) which grows upon the she-oaks, and are +slender, dark coloured caterpillars covered with fine hairs. They are +gregarious in their habits, often 20 to 30 in a family, and not only do +they keep together when feeding, but they spin a curious web over the +denuded twigs of their food plant to which they attach themselves when +pupating. The pupa is dark brown, slightly over 1 inch in length, armed +with short black spines along the sides of the body, and the front of +the head is furnished with a curious two-pronged fork. + +The Tinted Delias, _D. argenthona_, is a Queensland species, with the +outer half of the hind wings on the under surface black, enclosing a +number of bright red blotches; while on the hind wings of the Striped +Delias, _D. mysis_, the red forms a continuous broad curved band round +the tips. In the Yellow-tinted Delias, _D. aganippe_, the wings of +the male on the upper surface are creamy white, while those of the +female are tinged with yellow, and the black extends further into the +wing; on the under surface both sexes have the wings blackish, mottled +with large white blotches, and yellow markings; a patch of bright red +on the shoulders; and with a row of rounded spots of the same colour +running round the hind wings. The larvae feed upon the foliage of +_Loranthus_. The Dusky Delias, _D. nigrina_, generally flies high, and +is not so easily caught; it has an extended range from Sydney to North +Queensland; the upper surface is of the usual colour, but the whole of +the under surface of the wings is dull black washed with grey; there is +a band of yellow on the fore pair, and the hind pair is marked with +the same colour and a horse-shoe band of red. The larvae when full +grown are almost black spotted with yellow, and with fine white hairs; +they are gregarious and also feed upon the _Loranthus_. + +_Catopsilia (Callidyras) pomona_ is a large light butterfly, with the +upper surface creamy white tinged with yellow, and with dusky spots +toward the tips of the wings; all the under surface is dull yellow, +with a few white spots, and with pale purple markings, forming a darker +patch in the centre of each wing. It is found from Sydney northward +through the Malay Peninsula, and into Ceylon. + + + Family 5. Swallow Tails. + + PAPILIONIDAE. + +The members of this group of butterflies are popularly known as +“Swallow Tails” from the peculiar structure of the hind wings of the +typical species, which are produced at the tips into spatulate lobes or +tails; though in a large number these tails are wanting. They are all +furnished with well developed legs; antennae distinctly clubbed; and +the pupae are attached both by the tip of the body and a silken girdle. +In this family many of the largest and most beautiful insects in the +world are congregated. + +The Bird-winged Butterflies (_Ornithoptera_) are represented by +three more or less distinct species from the mainland, and a fourth +from Darnley Island. _O. richmondia_, typical of the group, is the +southern form, ranging from the Richmond River, N.S.W., into Southern +Queensland. The smaller male measures about 6 inches across the wings, +which are rich velvety black, with a bright green stripe along the +front of the fore wings; the whole of the body is golden; and the hind +wings except the black margins and four black spots are of a slightly +brighter tint. The large female is of a uniform dark blackish brown +with white markings on the wings. _O. (cassandra) euphorion_, found +from Mackay to Cairns, N.Q., is somewhat larger, with a second stripe +of green on the fore wings, and a row of golden spots on the hind pair. +The large black caterpillars have short black fleshy spines along the +sides of the body, with the front ones bright red. + +Rippon has recently monographed the Ornithoptera, and places +our species in the Genus _Troides_, but I prefer to retain the +original name, under which our species are so well known. The Genus +_Papilio_ contains 18 species in Miskin’s Catalogue, reduced to 15 +in Waterhouse’s list, many of them with a very wide range. _Papilio +sarpedon_ is common in Sydney gardens, and extends away up the coast +to India and Ceylon. Olliff called it the “Wanderer” from its rapid +restless flight. It is of a general black colour, with sharp angular +fore wings, and rounded crenulated hind wings coming to a blunt +finger-like tail at the tips. The centre of both pairs of wings is pale +green forming a broad elongate stripe, widest in the centre, and with a +row of fine crescent-shaped spots down the sides of the hind pair. The +larvae are short, green, slug-like creatures with a patch of yellow on +the back; they feed upon the foliage of the camphor laurel. + +The Black Orchard Butterfly, _Papilio erectheus_ (now known as _P. +aegeus_), is a larger black insect with an irregular band of white +crossing the tips of the fore wings; the centre of each hind one is +occupied by a rounded mauve patch; the edges are crenulated, tipped +with white, and have a red eye-like spot on the inner margin. The +female is much larger; has the inner portion of the fore wings black, +but the outer portions dusky white; the hind wings are black at the +base, banded with white shaded with black, and have a row of red spots +round the margins. The mottled orange green larva is furnished with a +broad head, from which shoot out a pair of retractile fleshy horns when +touched, at the same time giving off a musky scent. They feed upon the +foliage of orange trees, and when numerous are a nuisance in the plant +nurseries. The larvae of Macleay’s butterfly (_Papilio macleayanus_) +feed upon the foliage of the Sassafras in the Illawarra district, and +range from Tasmania to Cairns N.Q. The butterfly is somewhat after the +same slender shape as _P. sarpedon_, but has the hind wings produced +into slender swallow tails. The portion of the wings surrounding the +body is pale green, the outer parts black, with three small green +patches toward the front of the fore pair, and a row of small spots +along the lower edges of the hind pair. + +The Imperial Swallow Tail, _Papilio ulysses_, measures 5 inches across +the wings, which are rich metallic blue margined with deep velvety +black, and are produced into long swallow tails behind. It is found +in the tropical scrubs of North Queensland ranging up into the Malay +Archipelago, and for shape and colour is one of the most beautiful +butterflies in the world, but should be seen in its native haunts +to fully admire its beauty as it goes floating through the tropical +brushes. + + [Illustration: Plate XXI.--LEPIDOPTERA. + + Family NYMPHALIDAE. + + 1. _Heteronympha merope_ (Fabr.). ♂. + 2. _Heteronympha merope_ (Fabr.). ♀. + 3. _Danais hamata_ (Macl.). + 4. _Cethosia cydippe_ (Linn.). + + (Original photo. Burton.)] + + [Illustration: _Plate XXI.--LEPIDOPTERA._] + +The last of this genus I shall notice is the very distinct yellow +and black butterfly, _Papilio sthenelus_, which has a wide +range from South Australia to Queensland, and is one of the very few +large butterflies found far inland. The Painted Gauzewing, _Eurycus +cressida_, is a rare species in N.S. Wales, though recorded from as far +south as Sydney, but is abundant in the tropical northern scrubs. The +male has the fore wings denuded of scales and semitransparent, with the +shoulders and two spots in the front black; the hind ones are black +mottled with white and red, the latter colour also on the sides of the +thorax and tip of the abdomen. The female is smaller, of a dull brown +colour, with semitransparent wings, looking very much like a small +rubbed specimen of the male; the amateur collector generally discards +them under that impression. + + + Family 6. Skippers. + + HESPERIDAE. + +These butterflies are popularly known as “Skippers” on account of the +peculiar way they fly, so different from all the other groups. They +have broad, short, thickset heads and bodies; and the antennae, wide +apart at the base, are produced at the tip into an irregular club +or pointed hooked process. The legs are perfect in both sexes and +often spined; most of them are brown or reddish yellow, more or less +variegated. The larvae are long, cylindrical, naked caterpillars, with +the head hard and horny; the prothorax narrow, forming a regular neck. +When full grown they attach themselves by the tail to the leaf, which +they roll round themselves into a primitive kind of cocoon. + +Messrs. Meyrick and Lower have lately revised this group (Trans. Roy. +Soc. S.A. 1902), and list 79 species that they identify, and note +a number of others that are so badly described that they cannot be +determined. + +_Netrocoryne repanda_, one of our largest species, of a uniform light +brown tint, has the tips of the wings darkest, the centres of the fore +pair marked with large translucent blotches of a pale yellow tint, and +a single spot in each hind one. It has an extended range from Sydney to +N. Queensland. + +The Genus _Hesperilla_ contains 31 species, some of which are very +local, while others have a very wide range: _H. picta_ is about 2 +inches across the wings; its general colour is dark brown with a dull +greenish tint on the body, ornamented with five yellow spots on the +fore wing; the centres of the hind ones and the hind margins of the +same yellow colour, and with the markings on the under surface more +numerous. _H. ornata_ is a smaller species, of a general dark brown; +the fore wings carry a number of spots and four angular golden yellow +blotches; the hind pair are reddish orange mottled on the under surface +of the body, the tips of the fore and the whole of the hind wings with +pale yellow. It has an extended range from Victoria up to Cooktown +N.Q. _Trapezites iacchus_, one of our commonest species, described by +Fabricius in 1775, measures 1¾ inches in length, and is of a uniform, +dull brown colour shaded with yellow; the fore wings are blotched +with small irregular marks; those on the hind pair are parallel and +confluent. The under surface is dull yellow; the fore wings are mottled +and the hind ones marked with four to five small purple spots ringed +with black. It has a wide range from Tasmania over Australia. _T. +symmomus_ is a darker, larger species very similar in the markings, +only the yellow spots are more defined. It does not range further north +than Brisbane. + + [Illustration: =Figs. 109= and =110=.--Earlier + stages of the Palm Skipper, _Pamphila augiades_ + (Fielder). + + 109. Larva. 110. Pupa.] + +_Apaustus lascivia_ is one of the small dull brown skippers washed with +yellow, with pale slender transverse bars crossing the centre of the +wings; the body is marked with white; the under surface is dull yellow, +with the tips of the fore wings darkest. The larvae of _Pamphila +augiades_, another common species in the Sydney gardens, and found as +far north as Bowen, Queensland, feeds upon the foliage of young palms; +that of _Erynnis sperthias_ is found on the same plant. + +_Badamia exclamationis_ is a light brown species with the fore wings +narrowed to the extremities, and the hind pair arcuate on the edges. +It measures 2 inches across the wings, and ranges from Sydney to +Cape York. In the Genus _Hasora_ we have several large skippers, all +northern species, with the upper surface dark; the under surface richly +marked with purple and pale golden yellow in _H. discolor_; and with +simple silvery stripes on the under surface in _H. hurama_. + + + + + HETEROCERA. + + Moths. + + +Moths differ from butterflies in having the abdomen stout and thickset, +and not pinched or constricted in front at the junction with the +thorax; and the antennae, instead of being clubbed or thickened at +the tips, are either slender filiform appendages or are uniformly +thickened, pectinate, or feathered; when of the latter form they are +much more pronounced in the males. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 111.=--Head of Hawk Moth. + + _a_, upper lip; _b_, mandibles; _c_, + proboscis; _d_, lower lip; _e_, antennae; _f_, + eyes. + + (Redrawn from Duncan’s “Transformations of Insects.”)] + +Most moths are nocturnal in their habits; in the day time they are +usually found hiding among the foliage or resting in dark corners, +and many can be obtained by shaking the bushes over a net. The larger +species may be killed at once in the cyanide bottle, but must be +transferred to a box as soon as they are dead, for they rub very +easily; the smaller forms can be placed alive in glass-topped or chip +boxes, and afterwards killed, and then mounted before they are stiff. +The members of a few groups fly about in the daylight; for instance +_Agarista glycine_, our vine moth, but they are exceptions. The +beautiful hawk moths only flit about at twilight, and are known as +“crepuscular” moths. + +This great group contains some giants of the insect world, such as some +of the Atlas Moths of India, and Wood Moths of Australia, which are as +big as small bats; while among the Micro-lepidoptera we come to many +tiny creatures which require to be examined with a lens before their +identity can be established. + +The typical moth caterpillar constructs a stout silken bag or cocoon, +within the shelter of which it casts its skin and becomes a well +defined pupa; but there are many which bury themselves in the ground, +or pupate in cavities in timber that form no true cocoon but simply +undergo their transformations in such secure hiding places. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 112.=--Wings of Moth. + + _=A=_, Fore wing: _c.m_, costal margin; + _o.m_, outer margin or termin; _i.m_, inner margin; + _a.a_, apex; _o.a_, outer angle or tornus; _c_, + discoidal cell; _d_, discocellulurs. + + _=B=_, Hind wing: _c.n_, costal nervure; vein + 12 fore wing, 8 of hind wing; _s.n_, sub-costal nervure; + _m.n_, median nervure; _1a_, _b_, _c_, three + branches of internal nervure; _2_, _3_, two branches + of median nervure; _4_, _5_, _6_, three branches + of radial nervure; _7_, _8_, _9_, _10_, + _11_, five sub-costal branches of fore wing; _7_ + sub-costal nervure of hind wing.] + +Moths are well represented in all parts of Australia, but are most +numerous in well wooded country: a considerable amount of work has +been done in this group by Messrs. Lewin, Scott, Walker, Meyrick, +Lower, Turner, and others in Australia, and Messrs. Guérin, Boisduval, +and many other foreign writers. I have in the arrangement of the +families followed Lower’s Catalogue of Victorian Heterocera (Victorian +Naturalist Vol. x. 1893--Vol. xiv. 1898). + + + Family 1. Connecting-link Moths. + + CASTNIIDAE. + +The members of this group comprise a few insects that form an +intermediate state of development between butterflies and moths; +for while there is no doubt that they are moths, they have hooked +or thickened antennae like the “Skippers,” somewhat similar habits, +and even the general colouration. They are chiefly confined to South +America and Australia. _Euschemon rafflesiae_ is one of the +largest hesperid-like forms; is black, blotched with white, and is +found in the northern parts of Australia. + +The Genus _Synemon_ contains a number of small reddish brown moths +which flit about over the grass, just like small butterflies: _Synemon +sophia_ is about 1½ inches across the wings, which are brown, slightly +marbled in front, and the hind pair blotched with dull yellowish +brown; it is common on the grassy flats along the eastern coast. _S. +hesperoides_ is common in Victoria in similar localities; is about the +same size, but of a darker brown colour; the fore wings marbled with +fine wavy grey lines, and the hind ones with a rusty red tint. + + + Family 2. Butterfly Moths. + + URANIIDAE. + +These are large usually day-flying moths with slender antennae; broad +wings, the hind pair crenulated and produced into tails; the abdomen +like that of a stout butterfly, and never extending beyond the hind +wings. + +The typical species (Genus _Urania_) are found in America, others in +Madagascar; but our beautiful forms belong to the Genus _Nyctalemon_, +one species of which, _Nyctalemon orontes_, is very common in North +Queensland. In the neighbourhood of Cairns a score of this species can +often be taken in the early morning resting on the low scrub, and small +swarms of them can often be seen flying across the rivers in the middle +of the day. This species is a very handsome large velvety black moth +marked with broad dull green bands, and having short creamy swallow +tails. Several very beautiful species are also found in Southern New +Guinea. + + + Family 3. Day Moths. + + AGARISTIDAE. + +This family has been lately revised by Hampson (Catalogue of the +Lepidoptera Phalaenae Vol. I. British Museum 1898); he divides them +into 55 Genera containing 225 species, of which some typical forms are +peculiar to Australia; they are conspicuously coloured and further +noticeable from their habit of flying in the daytime. The members of +this family are chiefly confined to the tropical parts of the Old World +and the Australian region; in America a few only are found in Mexico +and Brazil. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 113.=--_Phalaenoides glycinae_ + (Lewin). + + The Caterpillar and Adult of the Vine Moth. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The Vine Moth, _Phalaenoides (Agarista) glycinae_, better known under +the old generic name of _Agarista_, is one of our regular vine pests +in the caterpillar state, devouring the foliage and young grapes. +The moth lays her eggs upon the vine canes; the grubs when full grown +measure up to 2 inches; are of a general deep greenish yellow tint, +with the whole of the upper surface covered with small tubercles each +bearing a single hair; and they have a band of bright red blotches +round the dorsal surface of the anal segment. They bury themselves +in the ground, forming a dark reddish brown chrysalid enclosed in a +primitive cocoon or covering of particles of earth. The moth measures +2¼ inches across the wings, and is of a uniform black colour marbled +on the head, thorax, and sides of the wings with white; the fore wings +are tipped with white, and an irregular transverse bar of pale yellow +is followed by a smaller blotch through the centre; in the hind pair +the outer margins are irregularly edged with white. _Phalaenoides +tristifica_, formerly known under the name of _Agarista lewinii_, is +slightly smaller; the fore wings are more mottled, and the hind pair +have an irregular white spot in the centre by which it can be easily +identified. _Cruria donovani_, also smaller than the Vine Moth, has +the fore wings mottled with a number of small white blotches, and a +broad irregular patch in the centre of the hind ones. _Eutrichopidia +latina_ comes closer still to the Vine Moth in size and colour, but +can also be easily recognised by having a single broader, irregular, +dull yellow band across the outer half of the fore wings. The Painted +Day Moth, _Agarista agricola_, attracted the attention of our earliest +entomologists by its brilliant colouration, and was described and +figured in colours by Donovan in his “Insects of New Holland” 1805, and +again by Dr. Leach in his “Zoological Miscellanies” published in 1815. +It has a wide range from Sydney northward, and the several sub-species +placed under this name extend its range to New Guinea and Timor. This +is now the sole type of the Genus _Agarista_, in which so many of our +species were formerly placed; it is a handsome black moth; measures +up to 3 inches across the wings, the fore-pair of which are richly +blotched with pale yellow, deep orange, and blue; in the hind pair +the centre is bright red and blue, and the margin is white. The head +and thorax are pale yellow above; the legs and under surface red; the +tip of the abdomen dark orange. The larva is a handsome dark coloured +caterpillar clothed with scattered and curious long clubbed hairs. + + [Illustration: Plate XXII.--LEPIDOPTERA. + + Family NOTODONTIDAE. + + 1. _Danima banksiae_ (Lewin). + + Family AGARISTIDAE. + + 2. _Hecatesia fenestrata_ (Boisd.). + 6. _Agarista agricola_ (Donov.). + + Family HYPSIDAE. + + 3. _Nyctemera amica_ (White). + + Family SPHINGIDAE. + + 4. _Cizara ardenia_ (Lewin). + 8. _Hemaris hylas_ (Lewin). + + Family LIPARIDAE. + + 5. _Darala ocellata_ (Walker). + + Family SYNTOMIDAE. + + 7. _Syntomis annulata_ (Fabr.). + + Family CASTNIIDAE. + + 9. _Synemon hesperoides_ (Feld). + + Family PYRALIDAE. + + 10. _Zenckenia recurvalis_ (Fabr.). + + (Original photo. Burton.)] + + [Illustration: _Plate XXII.--LEPIDOPTERA._] + +The Genus _Hecatesia_ contains our curious “whistling moths,” which +fly about just at dusk, making sharp continued notes like the calls +of some of our small cicadas. The sound is said to be produced by the +male rubbing his curiously clubbed antennae against a pellucid ridged +area in the front of the fore wings. Hampson doubts this, and says +it is probably caused by rubbing the tarsal spines against the ribbed +space. _Hecatesia fenestrata_ is a pretty little moth, about 1 inch +across the wings; is of a general dark brown tint; the outer margins of +the fore wings are provided with a broad semi-lunate ribbed band (the +musical apparatus) in front, and two white lines behind; the centre +of the hind pair and abdomen richly blotched with reddish yellow; the +head, antennae, centre of thorax, and outer margins of the wings marked +with white. + +Three species of this Genus are recorded from Australia, two of which +were described from the west coast, while _Hecatesia fenestrata_ has a +range from South Australia into N.S. Wales. + + + Family 4. Ringed Moths. + + SYNTOMIDAE. + +The typical Genus _Syntomis_, in which Hampson places all our species +that were previously described under the Genus _Hydrusa_, comprises +about 138 species, chiefly confined to Africa, Asia, the Malay +Archipelago and Australia; 12 species are recorded from this country. +They are all rather small moths of a general black or brown tint +mottled with orange yellow or lighter brown. + +_Syntomis annulata_, about 1 inch across the outspread wings, has a +very wide range from the Philippines through New Guinea and Australia, +and naturally varies much in different localities; our variety is of a +blackish tint, with six orange spots in the fore wings, and two more +angular blotches on the hind ones; the abdomen is regularly banded with +orange and black. _S. aperta_ measures 2 inches across the wings, which +are of a brownish tint with large blotches of orange yellow occupying +the greater portion of the surface, divided from each other by slender +lines. It ranges from New Guinea and Queensland round to S. Australia, +and has been captured out west about Bathurst, N.S.W. + +_Euchromia creusa_ is a very handsome form about 2 inches across the +narrow fore wings, which are black with two large transparent divided +spots forming a double row across them, and another very small one at +the base: the hind pair have two similar blotches. The head, thorax, +and basal portion of the abdomen are black, shot with metallic blue; +the basal abdominal segments are crimson, finely barred with black. +This beautiful moth has a wide range over the Malay Archipelago +and the Pacific Islands, coming down to Thursday Island and North +Queensland. + +Many of the foreign species in the larval state feed upon lichens or +grass. + + + Family 5. Burnet Moths. + + ZYGAENIDAE. + +These moths form an extensive family represented in most parts of the +world; they are also day-flying moths, and some are very brilliant in +colour. In England some of them are known as “Burnet Moths” and “Green +Foresters.” They have long narrow wings, and the antennae thickened +toward the middle. + +Most of our species belong to the Genus _Procris_, which are also +very abundant in Southern Europe. They are small creatures measuring +under 1 inch across the wings, and are of a general dark brown tint +with greenish markings. _Hestiochora bicolor_ is a curious little +moth remarkable for its bright colouration, which has a wonderful +resemblance to one of our small parasitic wasps (_Braconidae_). The +wings are clouded with black; the head and front of the thorax are red, +the hind margin of the latter black; the abdomen black and white. + + + Family 6. Hawk Moths. + + SPHINGIDAE. + +The hawk moths have a stout rounded abdomen tapering to a point; +thickened antennae; stout narrow pointed wings; the proboscis or +sucking mouth-tube very long, curled up under the head when at rest, +but capable of being uncurled in front of the head to suck up the +nectar from the deepest tubular flower while the moth is hovering over +it. They hide during the day, and are most active just at twilight, +when they dart about, over, and around the flowering shrubs. Their +caterpillars are very handsome thick cylindrical grubs marked with +brilliant eye spots and stripes of various striking colours, and are +easily distinguished by a curious curved fleshy horn on the dorsal +surface of the tail segment. + +They take their scientific name from the fanciful resemblance of their +stiff horny pupae (which are naked and generally buried in the sand +beneath their food plant) to the Egyptian Sphinx, and their popular +names of “hawk” and “humming-bird moth” from their powers of flight. + +Our species have been divided into five sub-families, and in Miskin’s +“Catalogue of the Australian Sphingidae” (Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland) +42 species are listed under 13 genera; to which list a few species have +since been added. + +The first group contains what are popularly called the “Clear-winged +Hawk-moths,” from the large bare scaleless areas in the wings; they fly +about in the daytime with a loud humming noise, very much resembling +some of the Carpenter-bees when hovering over the flowers. _Hemaris +kingi_ is marked with black and yellow, and has a thick tuft of stiff +hairs on either side of the abdomen; it is not uncommon in Southern +Queensland. _H. hylas_ is a similar stout moth with unspotted wings +which has an extended range across Queensland to Japan, Asia, and +Africa; while a third species, _H. janus_, ranges from Brisbane to +Rockhampton. In the Genus _Macroglossa_ 4 species are recorded from +Queensland, some of which extend into our north coast scrubs. + +In the second group we have a very distinctive little banded hawk moth, +_Cizara ardenia_, which ranges from New South Wales into Southern +Queensland; most of my specimens come from the Illawarra scrubs, +N.S.W., where the larva feeds upon the wild vine. Its ground colour is +dark brown with narrow grey bands running round and crossing the middle +of the wings, with a curious eye spot on the shoulders. The Genus +_Chaerocampa_ contains a number of large handsome hawk moths, some of +which are introduced species world wide in their range; about 17 are +recorded from Australia. The Silver Stripe, _Chaerocampa celerio_, is a +common European species, that is well known here. French describes the +caterpillar as a vine pest in Victoria; it is a cylindrical greenish +to purple tinted grub with eye spots on the hind segments. The moth +measures 3 inches across the wings; its ground colour is greyish fawn, +with four slender lines of silvery white forming a stripe down the +centre of the fore wings, and the body marked with silver spots; the +hind wings are bright pink. _C. oldenlandi_, which comes close to this +species, feeds upon vines in N.S. Wales. It differs in having no short +oblique silvery stripes on the front of the fore wings, hardly any red +on the hind ones, and has an unbroken silvery dorsal stripe down the +abdomen. _C. erotus_, about the same size, has dark reddish brown +fore wings, slightly marbled, and the hind pair yellow, darkened on +the hind margins; its larvae sometimes feed upon sweet-potatoes. _C. +scrofa_ is a much smaller species of a lighter brown colour, with the +hind wings dull brick red, darkest along the hind margin. This is one +of our commonest species with a wide range over Australia; the brown +small-headed larvae feed upon grass and low herbage. Among our most +striking forms are the two species of the Genus _Coequosa_, both about +the same size, sometimes measuring up to 7 inches across the wings. +_Coequosa triangularis_ is of a reddish brown and grey tint, mottled +on the hind wings with bright yellow, the darker brown forming a large +angular patch in the centre of the fore wings; _C. australasiae_ is +of a light buff or fawn colour, more marbled, with the wedge-shaped +blotch merging into the colouration of the tip of the wing; and the +hind pair yellow, only edged with brown on the hind margin. The +caterpillar of _C. triangularis_, our commoner form, is dull green, +with a rough granulated skin and a small elongate head; the tip of the +abdomen is furnished with a pair of stout plates used as claspers to +cling to its food plant; above this on either side is a black shining +bead-like eye, which is only an ornamental process, but this often +leads people to think that this is the head end, and in some places it +is known as the double-headed caterpillar. It feeds upon the foliage of +_Persoonia_ and _Acacia_, and when touched has a habit of swinging its +body round, as if trying to strike; when full grown it is enclosed in +a black shining pupa-case hidden among the rubbish beneath the trees. +The Genus _Macrosila_ contains 4 species, two of which are not uncommon +in N.S. Wales. The She-oak Hawk-moth, _M. casuarina_, measures up to +5 inches across the wings, and is of a general greyish mottled brown +colour, with a darker blotch in the centre of the fore wings, which +are slightly mottled with black toward the tip; and the hind wings are +often very dark brown. + +The Convolvulus Hawk-moth, _Protoparce convolvuli_, ranges all over the +world, the caterpillars feeding upon the convolvulus; and it is also +sometimes quite a pest upon sweet-potatoes. The moth measures 3½ inches +across the wings, and is of a general dark grey colour thickly mottled +with dark brown; the abdomen has a broad brown stripe down the centre +with short transverse white, pink, and black bars on either side. + +The Privet Hawk-moth, _Sphinx ligustri_, has light brown fore wings, +the abdomen and hind wings being marked with pink and black. It, like +the vine hawkmoth, has a world wide range, and the caterpillars, with +their delicate green tint beautifully striped with white, are very +common in our gardens toward the end of summer on privet and other +garden shrubs. In spite of their large size, they are very difficult to +detect until the damaged foliage calls attention to their presence. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 114.=--_Protoparce convolvuli_ + (Linn.). + + The Hawk-moth of the sweet potato and convolvulus. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + + Family 7. Wood Moths. + + HEPIALIDAE. + +This is a very distinct group, the members of which usually have +long deflexed wings rounded at the extremities, and the neuration of +both pairs of wings alike; the tongue is generally obsolete; ocelli +absent; the tibiae without spurs; while the abdomen is very long and +cylindrical in the typical forms. They lay their eggs upon the bark of +different forest trees; the little caterpillars, after feeding for a +short time on the surface, tunnel into the tree trunk, becoming fleshy +naked grubs which bore cylindrical chambers of various forms in the +timber, in which they sometimes remain for years, finally pupating in +the burrows. The moth develops and escapes in the summer from the pupal +case, which is frequently found projecting from the hole in the trunk +or root after it has emerged. The moths are generally found clinging +to the tree trunks, where they are easily captured. They frequently +come to the light at night, but are difficult things to kill and mount, +on account of their size and the ease with which the scales rub off. +The females of some species lay many thousands of eggs. If these eggs +are not removed from captured specimens and the bodies stuffed before +setting, they generally become greasy and spoil in a very short time. + +On account of their large size and beautiful colouration the wood +moths have attracted a great deal of attention; Scott figured and +described a number in his “Australian Lepidoptera,” part of which +has been published by the trustees of the Australian Museum N.S.W. +Meyrick published a revision of the family (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. +1889), which is much more satisfactory, and has been followed in these +notes. The moths, which Meyrick considers to be the ancestral forms +of the _Bombycina_, have a world wide distribution, and are well +represented in Australia. + +Donovan in his “Insects of New Holland” described one under the +name of _Hepialus australasiae_, which is now known as _Perissectis +australasiae_. With outspread wings it measures up to 3½ inches across; +the body and fore wings are of a general dark yellowish colour, marbled +and mottled with dark brown, and the hind wings have a reddish tint. +The Genus _Porina_ contains 8 described species from this country; +others are recorded from New Zealand and Africa; they are smaller moths +of a general brown, yellow, or grey tint. + +The Genus _Hepialus_ comprises a number of very beautiful moths with +all kinds of delicate green, yellow, pink, and silvery shades of +colour. The moth lays her eggs upon a tree stem; the newly hatched +larva eating off the surface of the bark forms a matted web under which +it bores into the centre of the branch, and then makes a vertical +shaft downward, varying in length from a few inches to several feet, +in which it feeds and pupates. The best method to obtain specimens of +these moths is to collect the infested branches or stems, cutting them +off a foot or more on either side of the silken webs (which often form +a regular ring round the stem), and placing them in several inches of +damp sand in a box, with a sheet of glass over the top. The wood thus +dries slowly and does not damage the delicate pupae or larvae from +which, if collected at the proper time, the perfect moths of several +species will readily breed out. The males and females of the same +species differ from each other in size, colour and markings. + + [Illustration: Plate XXIII.--LEPIDOPTERA. + + Family HEPIALIDAE. + + _Leto staceyi_ (Scott). + + (Original photo. Burton.)] + + [Illustration: _Plate XXIII.--LEPIDOPTERA._] + +Lewin’s wood-moth, _Hepialus lewini_, is one in which the sexes are +very different. The larger female measures 2½ inches across the wings; +the fore pair, head, and thorax are dull claret red, mottled on the +centre and tips of the wings with green; the hind pair dull yellow, +with a pinkish tint. In the male, the head, thorax, and fore wings are +pale green, the latter banded with opaline white; the hind pair of +a paler green with white tints. This is one of our common species, and +feeds in the stems of the Casuarina. + +The larva of _H. exima_ feeds on the stems of the “Lilly-pilly” and +Water-gums, forming quite a felted bag round the branch, and is said to +remain in the larval state for several years; like the great wood-moth, +before it pupates it eats the web off in front of its chamber and +replaces it with a wad to protect the opening; this it can easily +push out with its horny pupal head when ready to emerge. This is a +much larger green form, with the edges of the fore wings marked with +brownish yellow and two eye spots of the same colour in the centre; +the small male has the green fore wings marked with opaline white. _H. +ramseyi_ is easily recognised by its greater size and the green fore +wings richly mottled with large silvery white spots forming irregular +transverse bands. + +The Bent-wing, _Leto staceyi_, is one of our most remarkable moths +both for size and colour: it was originally described by Scott under +the generic name _Zelotypia_, but Meyrick placed it in the Genus +_Leto_, in which another species has been described from S. Africa. +Both of these species are peculiar in having the hind wings tufted +with stout shaggy hairs. This moth, chiefly obtained in the forest +country about Newcastle, has been largely bred from the infested timber +by miners in the district, who had a ready sale for them, and who at +this work naturally learnt a good deal about their habits. When the +young larva enters the tree trunk it covers the opening so carefully +with web and particles of bark, that it requires an observant eye +to detect the injury. According to some of the collectors the larva +lives and grows in its shaft, about a foot in depth, for a period of +six years (but this needs verifying); it generally pupates early in +December after blocking the opening with a felted wad; but soon after +its transformation it pushes this wad out. The chrysalid fits close +to its vertical shaft, and aided by rows of fine spines round the +apex of each abdominal segment can move up and down; when reaching +maturity it has a favourite habit of resting in the shaft with the top +of its head level with the transverse burrow, and dropping downward if +disturbed. Thornton, who bred or captured nearly 100 in the Newcastle +district, generally obtained them in the month of March, and found +that those under observation invariably came out about 3 o’clock in +the afternoon. The larger female measures up to 8 inches across the +wings, of which the front pair are long, slender, and arcuate on the +hind margins; these are of a general greyish fawn brown, wonderfully +marbled with black and brown, and with a large eye-spot in the centre +toward the tip: the hind wings and body are reddish yellow. Meyrick +suggests, in his paper previously quoted, that the curious eye-spots on +the wings, together with the general outline of the moth resting upon +the tree trunk, might be a case of protective mimicry, resembling a +snake’s head; this appears to me however to be very far fetched. Skuse +reproduced a drawing of the moth and a monitor lizard’s head in the +“Records of the Australian Museum,” to show this fancied resemblance, +but if the correct colouration had been added the resemblance would +have been very much less marked. + +The Genus _Pielus_ contains some large brownish moths with very +hairy legs, two of which have been described from Australia: _Pielus +hyalinatus_, slightly under 4 inches across the wings, is of a general +chocolate brown tint with an irregular silvery white stripe and dark +lines running through the centre of the fore wings; the hind pair are +brown. The larvae feed in the roots of several species of wattles, and +are frequently attacked by _Cordiceps_, the curious fungus that turns +them into what are known as “vegetable caterpillars.” This species +has a range from the southern parts of W. Australia through Victoria +to North Queensland. Messrs. Olliff and Prince figured and described +(Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1887) a handsome variety of this moth under +the name of _Pielus imperialis_. The marbled wood-moth, _Trictena +labyrinthica_, is a large dark brown moth, measuring up to 6 inches +across the wings, which are covered with a scroll-work pattern of +lighter colour. The larvae of these also feed upon the roots of trees. + +In the COSSIDAE we have a typical goat-moth, _Culama caliginosa_, +resembling the English species in form and habits. The larva is a +short, dull, red, naked grub that feeds in the stem of the apple-gum, +tunnelling round under the bark until nearly full grown, when it bores +into the wood and pupates in a cocoon at the end. The moth is of a +uniform delicate slate-grey, finely marbled with black lines all over +the broad rounded wings, which are folded downward when at rest. + +The ZEUZERIDAE comprise some of our giant wood-boring moths; some are +as large as small birds, with great rounded bodies, and grey wings +thickly mottled with black, brown and fawn: _Zeuzera eucalypti_ has +received an unfortunate specific name, for it feeds in the larval state +in the stems and branches of several different species of wattles, and +kills a great number of these trees by perforating them with great +circular burrows; when ready to pupate, it forms a silken bag close to +the outer skin of the bark, which has been gnawed away so that it can +easily push its way out when ready to emerge. The moths have the usual +brown tint mottled with irregular blotches of grey. The rust-coloured +wood moth is a much larger species, and is commonly known under the +name of _Z. liturata_, but is probably identical with _Z. cinerens_. It +measures up to 4¼ inches across the wings, and is of a delicate mottled +grey and brown tint, with the hind wings and central portion of the +dorsal surface of the abdomen bright chocolate brown. The larvae of +this and the following species live in the centre of the stems of large +forest gums, and are said to take a number of years to come to maturity. + +Macleay’s wood moth, _Zeuzera macleayi_, said to be identical with +Herrick-Schafer’s _Eudoxula boisduvalli_, has a large cylindrical body, +and is the giant of the family, measuring up to 10 inches across the +wings. They are brown thickly mottled with grey scales; when taken they +are generally found clinging to the tree trunks, upon which each female +deposits many thousands of small shot-like eggs. + +Olliff has given a detailed description of _Leto staceyi_, and an +account of a variety (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1887). In a general +account of these wood-moths (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1894) I recorded a +number of Thornton’s observations. + + + Family 8. Bag Moths. + + PSYCHIDAE. + +The members of this group are more remarkable in the caterpillar than +in the moth stage, for as soon as they emerge the larvae construct +protective caps of silken threads and bits of their food-plant, which +as they increase in size become regular silken sacks open at the neck, +through which the head and fore-legs protrude as they crawl about, +but retract at the least alarm. They take their popular name of “Bag” +or “Case Moths” from this peculiar habit, and the different species +construct different forms of bags and ornament them with sticks or +leaves. In Germany they are called “Sacktragers”; in America are known +as “Basket Worms”; and the family is fairly represented all over the +world. + +This country is rich in large species, some of which were noticed +as curiosities at a very early date, and Westwood described and +figured most of our bag moths (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854) under the +Genus _Oiketicus_: McCoy in his “Podromus of Natural History of +Victoria” Decade iv. gave additional notes on the habits of two of +our common species; and an interesting paper on how they construct +their portable homes will be found in the “Victorian Naturalist” by +Hill (1898). The caterpillars themselves are short, naked, dull green +creatures with stout horny heads, and are apparently so well protected +from their many enemies that one would hardly expect to find them +suffer from the attacks of parasites. But they must have some weak +point in their armour for a very large percentage, even when collected +and kept in breeding cages, produce only wasp and fly parasites. When +full grown the caterpillar closes up the neck of its bag and fastens +it by a stout silken band to a twig before changing into the chrysalid +state; but while the male turns round and pupates head downward, the +female remains head up as before, and when she casts her pupal skin +is an aborted wingless creature, with small head and legs; the body +simply develops into a great swollen sack of eggs, which hatch out in +her body, or in the shelter of the cocoon; and the larvae make their +way out at the open tip of the bag, each attached to a silken thread, a +squirming mass of hundreds of little black creatures, leaving her only +a shrivelled skin in the cocoon. The male moth, which is rare, is a +very active creature, which dashes about as soon as he emerges from the +pupal case, and damages his wings (even when bred in captivity) before +he can be caught. He has curious toothed antennae; the head and body +are thickly clothed with fine hairs; the body has telescopic segments, +capable of being protracted to double their ordinary length when +impregnating the female enclosed in her cocoon. The wings are narrow, +very lightly covered with scales, and without any very distinctive +pattern. + + [Illustration: Plate XXIV.--LEPIDOPTERA. + + Family LIPARIDAE. + + 1. _Teara contraria_ (Walker). ♀. + 2. _Teara contraria_ (Walker). Caterpillar. + 3. _Teara contraria_ (Walker). ♂. + 4. _Teara contraria_ (Walker). Bag shelter among + the foliage of _Eucalyptus albens_.] + + [Illustration: _Plate XXIV.--LEPIDOPTERA._] + +About 13 species of these moths are described from Australia, of which +several are very common at times in the bush. Saunders’ Case Moth, +_Metura elongata_, is our largest species; the larva constructs an +elongate silken sack often up to 4 or 5 inches in length, broadest in +the centre and tapering to both extremities; the outside is covered +with short lengths of sticks nibbled from the food plant, or picked up +during its wanderings. On an average these sticks are about as long as +wooden matches, and are securely attached at irregular distances, the +lower ones often extending beyond the silken tip. The caterpillar, of +which only the head, thorax, and fore-legs can be seen, is a stout, +naked, dull brown grub barred with black and reddish orange, +measuring about 2 inches in length. The female moth differs so little +from the caterpillar that it is hardly worth noticing, but the active +winged male, with a wing expanse of about 2 inches, has the head and +thorax thickly clothed with bright reddish orange down, and the dusky +wings are lightly clothed with fine scales. Though the moth is a +somewhat rare insect, the bag cocoon can be often found on a twig or +attached to a fence, for in spite of the large house they carry they +are great travellers. The Faggot Case-moth, _Entometa ignoblis_, forms +a very different kind of portable home; the silken sack is covered +with a coat of stout sticks which are generally cut from the gum trees +and laid parallel to each other, and closely fastened to the silken +surface, so that it reminds one of a bundle of faggots. They vary much +in size and length; the larger measures up to 3 inches; one stick will +be often found projecting an inch or more beyond the others; this is +said to be a resting place for the male moth when seeking the enclosed +female. She is of the usual obese form; of a general brown tint, the +head and thorax creamy white spotted with black. The male moth with +a wing expanse of 1¼ inches is of a uniform brown colour. The Leaf +Case-moth, _Thyridopteryx hubneri_, forms a shorter oval silken sack +averaging about 2½ inches in length and broad in proportion, covered +with different kinds of leaves, for they feed on many shrubs and trees; +but the commonest are clothed with bits of gum leaves attached only on +the upper edge, and might be likened to a rag mat. When they infest +pine trees in the garden, they are uniformly clothed with short lengths +of pine needles and have a much neater appearance. The caterpillar is +a stout black grub with the head and thorax dull white, mottled with +brown. The male moth is a pretty little creature, with reddish brown +antennae, the body thickly clothed with black down; the wings have very +few scales, and are almost transparent, with a slight blotch in the +centre of the hind pair. + +The Ribbed Case-moth, _Thyridopteryx herrichii_, differs from the +others in constructing a smooth white silken bag, oval in form, angled +on the sides, and with a slender tail at the base; and the long +attenuated neck forms a regular stalk when attached to the twig; it +measures about 2 inches, and is never covered with sticks or leaves. +The caterpillar is blackish brown with the head and first thoracic +segment lighter coloured. The moth is about 1 inch across the wings, +thickly clothed with black hairs, and a reddish orange spot behind the +thorax; the wings are semitransparent, with very few scales. + + + Family 9. Cup or Slug Moths. + + LIMACODIDAE. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 115.=--_Doratifera vulnerans_ + (Lewin). + + The “Cup or Slug Moth,” with larva and cup-shaped cocoon. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +These are moderate sized moths with plump bodies thickly clothed with +shaggy hairs, retracted heads, and toothed antennae. The caterpillars +are curious short stout slug-like creatures feeding on the surface +of the foliage; their feet are almost obsolete, while the under +surface is quite flat, soft and fleshy; the whole body rests on the +leaf when crawling along like that of a snail. The upper surface is +saddle-shaped, with the two extremities raised and ornamented with +fleshy spiny tubercles, with little bunches of sharp retractile spines +like rosettes, which can be withdrawn into the tubercle or erected at +will; the spines are sharp and appear to be hollow, and give a smart +sting if they touch the body; in some of the American species, the +stinging sensation is so severe as to cause serious swellings. When +full grown they spin curious egg-shaped, brown, parchment-like cocoons +attached at the base to the twig, with the apex rounded and forming +a circular cap or lid, which, closely cemented on, is loosened and +pushed off by the enclosed moth when she emerges. They do not pupate +as soon as the cocoon is finished, but remain for a long time in a +semi-caterpillar state before the chrysalis is formed. + + * * * * * + +The Painted Cup Moth, _Limacodes longerans_, is one of our commonest +species. The female is about 1¾ inches across the wings; has a very +large abdomen; is of a general dull brownish tint; the head and thorax +are slightly coloured with red, and the under surface dark brown, the +wings chocolate brown, with the outer margins light brown. The much +smaller male has semitransparent wings, with the head and thorax marked +with bright red. The larvae feed on eucalypts and are of a delicate +green colour and of the typical form; about 1 inch in length; with +four large tubercles at each end carrying a rosette of retractile red +spines; the centre is marked with red and blue, and the outer margins +are fringed with short tubercles. They form regular oval cocoons +generally attached on their sides to the twig or bark. The Mottled Cup +Moth, _Doratifera vulnerans_, is another common species, the larvae of +which sometimes attack the foliage of apricot trees. It is a larger +slug caterpillar than the last, with a patch of bright yellow in the +middle of the back. The cocoons are pear-shaped with the apex somewhat +contracted, showing the lid more distinctly. They sometimes swarm over +the bush about Sydney N.S. Wales. The moths are of a general reddish +brown tint with the fore wings marbled in the centre with a redder +shade; the hind wings are lighter brown; they are somewhat smaller than +the last species. + + * * * * * + +_Doratifera quadriguttata_ is of a dull reddish tint; the fore wings +are crossed with a row of 3 darker raised spots, the hind wings being +much lighter: the female measures about 1¼ inches, the male somewhat +smaller. The larvae, when young, cluster together up to a dozen in +number, and feed on the under-side of the leaf, but when full grown +they scatter about, destroying much of the foliage of the gum trees. +Numbers were collected near Gosford N.S.W. about the end of February. +They are short and broad, black, with a pair of dull yellow fleshy +horns in front, and 4 tubercles surmounted with bunches of yellow +spines tipped with black at each extremity; the centre of the flattened +back has rows of short yellow spines with a fringe of similar ones +round the outer margins. When full grown they form the usual egg-shaped +brown cocoon. + + * * * * * + +_D. acasta_ is a very similar moth, with a row of 6 or more similar +spots crossing the fore wings. The larvae feed in the same manner, and +are very plentiful toward the end of summer in the Bathurst district, +N.S.W. Rainbow has figured the larvae of this species in the “Records +of the Australian Museum” 1904. + +The curious warty, pale green, oval, slug-like caterpillar with a +yellow stripe down the centre of the back that is figured by Scott as +_Apoda xylomeli_ feeds upon the under surface of the leaves of the +waratah; and when at rest along the midrib of the leaf, with the yellow +dorsal stripe in line, in spite of its size it is very hard to detect, +and is a wonderful instance of protective colouration. + + + Family 10. Tiger Moths. + + ARCTIIDAE. + +This family, including the LITHOSIIDAE, known to collectors as +“Footmen,” is now one of the largest divisions of the moths that were +once all grouped among the true silkworms. The larvae of most of the +species are short hairy grubs popularly known as “woolly bears,” +feeding on all kinds of low plants, and common in our gardens. In this +country they comprise a number of delicate and often very handsome +moths of medium size, with moderately long pectinate antennae, the body +often large, and the wings brightly coloured. The “Footmen” differ from +the “Tiger” moths in having the fore wings longer, more slender, and +folded over the shorter, more elongate body; they take their popular +name from the livery-like pattern of their markings, as the latter take +theirs from the tiger-like stripes and spots; while others again are +known as “Ermine” moths from their soft silken wings. + +The Genus _Tigriodes_ contains a number of small moths hiding under +or among foliage and therefore not often noticed. _Tigriodes alterna_ +is of a uniform yellowish brown tint, with darker brown markings upon +the thorax and wings, forming zig-zag lines across the fore pair, and +clouding the hind ones. It measures about 1 inch across the wings and +ranges from Victoria into New South Wales. _T. furcifera_ is slightly +smaller, of a bright yellow on the fore wings, with three slender +parallel stripes separating into finer lines at the extremities; the +hind pair paler with traces of black lines toward the edges; there is +a wedge-shaped patch of the same colour on the thorax. Another species +common about Sydney N.S.W. is _T. heminephes_, pale orange yellow with +the apical edges of the wings and thorax blotched with blackish brown. + +Among the “Footmen” we have in the Genus _Spilosoma_ a number of fine +white to greyish brown moths, mottled with blackish spots and dashes. +The Light Ermine, _Spilosoma obliqua_, is common in Victoria and N.S. +Wales; it has a wing measurement of 2 inches; is of a uniform dull +white, lightly mottled over the wings with dark brown spots, some of +them forming a slender irregular transverse band across; the abdomen +is red with a dorsal stripe of black dots. _Spilosoma fulvohirta_ is +about the same size, but much more darkly and thickly marked with +brown, also forming dark stripes on the thorax. _Spilosoma fuscinula_ +is a much smaller moth, slightly over 1 inch across the wings; it has a +general rich pink tint, very variably spotted and blotched with black; +the latter is sometimes quite the predominating colour, in others only +marking the tips; the hind wings are spotted in the centre and on the +hind margins only. The larvae are short, flattish, hairy grubs of a +reddish colour, and feed upon the foliage of young gum trees. + + [Illustration: =Figs. 116= and =117=.--_Spilosoma + obliqua_ (Walker). + + 116. The Light Ermine Moth. + 117. Larva, known as a “Woolly bear.” + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The Genus _Termissa_ contains a number of smaller pretty little moths +flying low and hiding among the foliage; about 10 species are well +known. _Termissa shepherdi_, slightly over 1 inch across the wings, has +the fore pair broad at the tips, is blackish brown, with 3 irregular +yellow transverse bars; the hind pair yellow, with two rounded marks on +the outer margin. _T. nivosa_ is a smaller moth of a delicate creamy +white, with the front and outer margins of the fore wings delicately +edged with dark yellow and black, and with two indistinct spots on the +front margin; there is a small dot on each hind wing. Anderson says +about Melbourne the larvae are to be found under the bark of gum trees +in August. _Clauca rubricosta_ measures 1 inch across the wings; is +of a general blackish tint with the palpi and collar behind the head +dull red, a slender costal stripe of reddish yellow along the fore +wings, and a yellow spot on the centre of the inner margin forming a +distinctive mark when the wings are folded; the hind pair are pale +yellow with dark edges. The Genus _Mosoda_ contains several moths whose +larvae feed upon moss and lichens on the surface of the rocks about +Sydney. _Mosoda anartoides_, under 1 inch across the wings, has the +fore pair dark brown, delicately mottled; the hind pair dull orange +yellow irregularly edged with brown. _M. consolatrix_, a smaller moth, +has the fore wings greyish mottled brown; the hind pair pale buff. _M. +jocularis_ is slightly smaller, pale buff yellow; the fore wings tipped +and speckled with black and the outer tips of the hind pair clouded +with brown. The Genus _Comarchis_ contains 8 described species, all +small moths; _C. aspectatella_ is under 1 inch across the wings, the +fore pair grey barred with yellow, and the hind pair pale ochreous; it +is common in January on Mt. Kosciusko; _Eutane terminalis_ and _Asura +lydia_ are two little black moths thickly mottled with dark orange +yellow forming bars and spots on the fore wings; the hind wings of the +former are yellow in the centre, thickly margined with black; in _A. +lydia_ the yellow of the hind wings is divided in the centre by a black +band. The larvae feed upon moss. The larvae of the Speckled Footman +(_Deiopeia pulchella_) feed upon the forget-me-not; it is of a bright +leaden colour, with a white stripe down the back and red spots on the +sides of the segments. The moth has a very wide range over the world, +and has probably spread from Europe. I have generally taken these moths +on the grassy flats close to the sea shore; it is a slender winged +creamy white moth, the fore wings mottled with black and red spots, +and the hind pair irregularly edged with black. _Nola metallopa_ is a +silvery grey moth with the fore wings marked with darker coppery tints. +The curious hairy larva feeds upon the foliage of young gum trees; when +it moults the skin of the head remains attached to the hairs above the +head, forming a regular crest. + +The members of the small family HYPSIDAE, chiefly found in the tropics, +are represented in this country by 4 genera containing about 18 +species. They differ from the last in the venation of the hind wings, +and are medium sized brown or yellow moths. + +_Nyctemera amica_ is one of our commonest species with a wide range +from Victoria to Queensland; it may be found flying about or resting +on flowers at all times of the year. The larvae, marked with black +and red and furnished with tufts projecting on either side of the +head, feed upon the “native ivy” (_Senecio scandens_). The moth is of +a general blackish brown tint; the fore-wings are mottled with two +irregular pale yellow blotches forming a transverse bar toward the +tips; each of the hind pair has a more regular blotch in the centre. + + [Illustration: =Figs. 118, 119= and =120=.--Life + history of _Nola metallopa_ (Walker). + + The Seedling-gum Moth. + + 118. Moth. 119. Larva. 120. Pupa.] + + + Family 11. Brown Tails. + + LIPARIDAE. + +These are the “Tussock” moths of America, and the “Vapourers,” +“Brown-tails,” and “Black-arches” of English collectors; some of +ours are known as “Bag-shelter moths” from the curious silken bags +the gregarious larvae spin, in which they shelter during the day and +come out at night to feed upon the foliage. The typical “Brown-tails” +are stout, thickset moths with rather long hairy fore-legs generally +stretched out in front when resting; the antennae are pectinate in both +sexes, and the abdomen is tipped with tufts of downy hairs; in some +species the females are wingless. They lay their eggs in clusters on +the under-side of the leaves, covering them over with a felted mass of +the hairs from the tip of the abdomen. + +The famous “Gypsy Moth,” common in Europe, belongs to this group; it +was introduced into the State of Massachusetts, where it has multiplied +so enormously that it has become a regular plague, and though hundreds +of thousands of dollars have been spent in fighting it, it is still +a serious pest. _Porthesia obsoleta_, one of our typical species, +measures about 1½ inches across the wings, and is pure white with a +black body tipped with golden brown hairs. It was described by Donovan +in 1815 in his “Insects of New Holland,” and is more common in Victoria +than New South Wales. _Trichetra marginalis_ is a moth with a wingless +female; the male is a little larger than the last species; is of a +uniform greyish brown colour, with the outer edges of the fore wings +white, and the hind pair pale brown. The larva feeds upon the foliage +of gum trees. + + [Illustration: Plate XXV.--LEPIDOPTERA. + + Family PSYCHIDAE. + + 1. _Entometa ignoblis_ (Walker). Cocoon of Faggot + Case-moth. + 2. _Entometa ignoblis_ (Walker). Cocoon made with + Cherry stalks. + 3. _Thyridopteryx herrichii_ (Westwood). + 4. _Metura elongata_ (Saunders). + 5. _Thyridopteryx hubneri_ (Westwood). Cocoon made + of gum leaves. + 6. _Thyridopteryx hubneri_ (Westwood). Cocoon made + of pine needles.] + + [Illustration: _Plate XXV.--LEPIDOPTERA._] + +The Genus _Teara_ contains over 20 named species of the “Bag-shelter +Moths,” with gregarious larvae. _Teara contraria_, one of the largest +species, measures up to 2½ inches across the wings; it is of a general +dark brown tint with a small white spot in the centre of each wing; +the thorax thickly clothed with long lance-shaped plumes yellow at +the tips; and the abdomen rich orange yellow barred with black. The +caterpillars are thickly clothed with long hairs, and when they take up +a position on the branch of their food tree (generally a eucalypt or +wattle) they spin a silken bag, drawing the leaves and twigs together, +but not acting like the “Leaf-rollers,” for the silk forms a regular +felted brown covering which soon becomes full of their excrement and +cast skins, among which they rest during the day. They trail +out at night in a regular procession and often strip all the foliage +of the tree. When full grown they crawl down the trunk and pupate +in loose open cocoons (formed from their body hairs) buried in the +ground, and the large liver-coloured silken bag remains long after they +have deserted it. This species in some districts makes its home upon +wattles, but in other localities attacks the eucalypts in a similar +manner. _Teara tristis_ is not more than 1¼ inches across the wings, +and varies from blackish brown to silvery grey; the fore wings are +marbled with white and yellow and a light circular spot in front; the +hind ones are nearly black with a minute white spot in the centre; the +head and thorax are grey; the abdomen black, barred and tipped with +orange; it is common in Victoria and N.S. Wales, generally clinging +to some low bush, and slow and sluggish in its movements. _Teara +melanostica_ is larger than the last; silvery grey, spotted, with the +front edge and transverse bar black; hind wings yellow edged with +brown; head and thorax silvery white, hind portion dark brown; abdomen +barred, and tipped with yellow. The larvae feed upon the leptospermum +bushes, and form soft loose cocoons. _Ptilomacra senex_ is a large +handsome moth about 3 inches across the straight, square-cut fore +wings; is of a general dark brown colour with wavy irregular dark lines +and scattered grey scales giving it a greyish tint. It is remarkable +for its large feathery antennae. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 121.=--_Apina callisto_ + (Doubleday). + + The day-flying cut-worm moth.] + +_Apina callisto_ is a brightly mottled yellow and brown moth that flies +about in the daylight. Its curious hairy larvae feed upon the open +grass lands, and are often very numerous. It has a wide range over +Australia. + +_Chelepteryx collesi_ is one of our largest bat-like moths, measuring +to 6 inches across the wings; it is of a uniform dark brown colour +with an irregular marbled pattern upon the wings; but it varies much +in size and pattern in the sexes. Where common they may be often seen +fluttering round the street lamps in the suburbs of Sydney, N.S.W. +This handsome moth was first taken to England by a Mr. Colles, after +whom Grey described it (Trans. Ent. Soc. 1835). The caterpillars are +great, reddish brown creatures, thickly clothed with stout spiny +bristles, feeding on the small white stemmed eucalypts, and often found +crawling over the rocks and fences. They spin long silken cocoons, and +as they pupate force all the body spines through the silk, making the +cocoon a very awkward thing to handle, for the fine spines are easily +detached, and sticking into the fingers cause a very unpleasant itching. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 122.=--_Nyctolemon orontes_ + (Linn.). + + The great day moth of the Queensland scrubs. + + (Original drawing, W.W.F.)] + +The Genus _Darala_ is peculiar to Australia; about 30 species have been +described; their larvae are short, thick, black, hairy caterpillars +often found crawling about in the gardens, and constructing soft fluffy +or white silken cocoons attached to the foliage. _Darala ocellata_, +one of our commonest species, measures 1½ inches across the wings, +and is of a uniform brownish fawn colour, with two black spots in the +middle of the fore wings and a pattern of spots or parallel black lines +in the central portion. _Darala acuta_ is slightly larger, with very +variable markings upon a general greyish fawn to dull yellow ground; +the fore wings are broad with an acute point at the extremity. The +Wattle-moth, _Teia anartoides_, which in the larval state often appears +in the orchards and destroys the apple-tree foliage, is sometimes +very abundant. The larvae are short brown hairy grubs with a tuft of +hairs standing out in front on either side of the head, and several +stiff brushes of grey hairs upon the centre of the back. The males are +much smaller than the females, and in the pupal state when hanging +up in their loose flimsy cocoons can be easily distinguished. The +adult female is wingless, simply crawling on to the top of her cocoon +to lay her eggs and die. The male is a handsome little moth about +1 inch across the wings; the fore pair are dark brown marbled with +slender lines and black spots, the hind pair bright yellow surrounded +with black, and the outer edges yellow; the antennae are large and +feather-like. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 123.=--_Ocinara lewinae_ + (Lewin) and Caterpillar.] + +_Ocinara lewinae_ is a handsome light reddish brown moth with darker +lines running round the wings. It was described by Lewin in 1803, who +figured it in colours and called it the “Hook Tip.” The larva is a +slender caterpillar covered with fine hairs. They are gregarious, and +web the leaves of the eucalypts together with a loose, open, silken +strand. + + + Family 12. Silkworm Moths. + + BOMBYCIDAE. + +In this group I include several families that may be broadly placed +together as typical silkworm moths. Some writers divide them into three +families; Packard on the other hand adds a number of other well defined +groups, such as the Psychidae, Arctiidae, and others, to the Bombycidae. + +Typical silkworm moths have thick heavy bodies, with small heads +furnished with pectinate antennae and an imperfect mouth; the wings +are large and often falcate. The larvae are usually fleshy thickset +caterpillars covered with scattered tubercles, and are of somewhat +sluggish habits; but all form stout silken cocoons. Our silkworm moths +are more closely related to the Atlas moths of India, Saturnidae, than +to the silkworm moth of domestic fame, _Bombyx mori_, which, +originally a native of China, is now bred and cultivated in many parts +of the world for commercial silk. + +_Bombyx trimacula_ measures 1¾ inches across the wings; it is a dark +brown moth, mottled and marbled with white on the head, thorax, and +tip of the abdomen, and forming a delicate wavy pattern across the +fore wings interspersed with some blackish markings; it is found in +Victoria. _Odonestis australasiae_ has been known under many different +names: Lewin called it _Bombyx nasuta_, and his specific name was much +more appropriate than the former, as it has the head produced into +a regular point in front. The larger female measures about 2 inches +across the wings, which are of a uniform dull reddish brown colour +with faint markings on the fore wings; the hind ones are of a lighter +tint. The short hairy caterpillars have a tuft of hairs standing out +on either side of the head; in their natural state they feed upon the +foliage of the black wattle, forming white silken cocoons, attached to +the plant. It is sometimes called the “Long-nosed Wattle Moth,” and +in Victoria is said to turn its attention to the apple-tree foliage. +_Pinara despecta_ is a large, handsome, reddish fawn moth, with fore +wings ornamented with several zig-zag bands across the centre. It is +a thickset moth, often measuring over 3 inches across the wings. The +larva feeds upon the foliage of the eucalyptus, and is a very slender +caterpillar of a general greyish brown tint, with the sides of the body +fringed with fine downy hairs, and when it is resting the fringes lie +along the twig so closely that it is very hard to detect. It spins a +large silken cocoon tinted with pink, attached to the leaves of the +gum trees. _Cosmotriche exposita_ is a pretty little thickset moth of +a uniform greyish brown tint, covered with fine soft downy hairs round +the body and hind wings; the fore pair are thickly mottled with dark +brown; the larger female measures about 1½ inches across the wings; +the smaller male is a much darker brown insect with fine mottled +fore wings. The caterpillar feeds upon the foliage of the “she-oak” +(_Casuarina_), and is a slender greyish creature lightly clothed +with grey hairs, marked with yellow and carmine on the sides of each +segment, and black marks on the back. It forms an elongate oval cocoon +attached to the twigs. + +The second group, NOTODONTIDAE, are known as “Prominents” to English +collectors from the curious angular form of the caterpillars, though +this is not noticeable in our typical forms. The Banksia Moth, _Danima +banksiae_, was named by Lewin after its food plant, though it feeds +equally upon the Hakea bushes. It is a very handsome moth, nearly 3 +inches across the wings, which are of a general slate brown tint; +the thorax and tip of abdomen are thickly blotched with white, which +is also sprinkled over the body and fore wings in the form of little +white scales; the central portion of the abdomen is orange yellow. The +caterpillar is a rather slender, cylindrical, ochreous brown creature +with the tip of the body lead colour, and the whole surface irregularly +blotched with white spots encircled with black, forming irregular +bands round each segment. They are generally found feeding in groups +of three or four, and when disturbed turn both the head and tip of the +abdomen over the back, and protrude two red fleshy filaments from the +under-surface of the first segment. + +The SATURNIDAE are our most important group for size and colour, and an +immense fellow, _Coxinocera hercules_, is found in Cape York. Another +very beautiful Chinese species, _Attacus cynthia_, which feeds on the +foliage of _Ailanthus glandulosa_, has been accidentally introduced +into Australia, and is sometimes taken about the Sydney gardens. + + [Illustration: =Figs. 124= and =125=.--Life history + of the Australian Silkworm Moth. + + 124. _Antheraea eucalypti_ (Scott). Moth and Cocoon. + 125. Caterpillar.] + +The Genus _Antheraea_ contains some of our finest moths; others are +found in Japan and India that yield a strong brown silk. Our commonest +species, _Antheraea eucalypti_, is variable both in colour and size, +ranging from delicate fawn to dull brick red, and is from 4 to 5½ +inches across the wings, which in the male are smaller and narrower +behind; each wing is ornamented with a circular eye-spot in the +centre, those on the hind pair being larger and ringed with black, with +narrow irregular dark bands running round or across the hind margin. +The tip of the fore wings in the smaller males is rounded, corrugated, +and touched with pink. The large green caterpillar, covered with +scattered tubercles tipped with clusters of retractile red and blue +spines, feeds upon the foliage of eucalypts, but has acquired a taste +for the foliage of the cultivated pepper tree (_Schinus mollis_). It +constructs a stout, hard, dark brown cocoon in which it pupates, and +is furnished with a curious spine at the base of the fore wings, which +enables the moth to cut her way out through the tough cocoon when +ready to emerge. _A. helena_, very similar in general appearance to +the former, is slightly larger, with broader wings of a more uniform +reddish brown colour, without a white mark on the fore wings; the +inner bands are more irregular and rounded, with the parallel bar +not continued into the hind wings. _A. simplex_ is a smaller species +varying in colour from pale yellow to reddish brown, with smaller +eye-spots, those upon the hind wings somewhat oval, broadly marked +along the costal nervure; the parallel bar and band on each hind wing +are very narrow, and both pairs are wrinkled at the tips. The black +and yellow caterpillars are very common at times in the Richmond +and Clarence River scrubs, N.S. Wales, and more gregarious in their +habits, often covering the bushes with their light coloured rather +flimsy cocoons, which are very subject to the attacks of ichneumons. +_A. janetta_ is about the same size as _A. eucalypti_, but with +flatter broader wings of a much duller reddish brown tint without +any eye-spots, and only a simple white spot in the centre of each of +the fore pair; two fine irregular lines run round the outer half of +both pairs with an extra row of small spots along the hind wings. The +larva forms a hard shell-like cocoon on the trunks of the she-oaks. +_A. loranthiae_, described by Lucas from North Queensland, is a large +handsome reddish moth, the larvae of which when pupating form their +cocoons in a mass on the top of a stump or branch. + + + Family 13. Loopers. + + GEOMETRIDAE. + +In this family there are a number of handsome delicate moths with +slender bodies, large flattened wings often toothed round the edges, +which when the insects are at rest (usually upon the under surface +of leaves) are pressed flat and spread out like a fan against the +surface. The caterpillars are slender cylindrical creatures, green or +brown in tint and so imitative of the twigs or foliage among which +they feed, that it is possible to pick off a branch upon which a +caterpillar is resting without observing the creature until it moves; +they are furnished with the usual six legs on the thoracic segments +close behind the head, and two pairs of abdominal legs near the anal +claspers, so that they have legs at each end, and when moving along +they draw the hind portion of the body up to the head before the front +legs are moved: thus at every step forward the body is arched up into +a semicircle, from which habit they are popularly known as “Loopers.” +The best method of collecting the moths and their caterpillars is by +beating or shaking the low scrub in the early morning; and the latter +are very easily bred in captivity if supplied with material from their +food plants. These moths are well represented in Australia; most of the +earlier species have been described by Walker and Guérin (Proc. Linn. +Soc. N.S.W.). Meyrick has classified and described a great number of +species of this family in a series of papers entitled “A Revision of +Australian Lepidoptera,” which the student will find in the volumes +dating from 1886 to 1891. + +The Genus _Euchloris_ contains a number of beautiful moths with +delicate pale green wings frequently marbled with white lace-like +tracery. Meyrick (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1887) lists 43 species; and +Lower, in his “Catalogue of Victorian Heterocera,” published in the +“Victorian Naturalist,” lists 15 as Victorian species; but some of +these have a wide range. + +_Euchloris submissaria_ measures about 1½ inches across the outspread +wings; its general colour is rich deep green, with the antennae, front +margin of each fore wing, outer edges of both pairs of wings, a central +stripe on the thorax and body, and the legs creamy buff white. The +caterpillar is of the usual cylindrical form, varying from dull buff to +light brown, and it feeds upon the foliage of the black wattle. + +_Crypsiphona occultaria_ measures nearly 2 inches across the wings, and +is of a uniform light greyish brown on the upper surface, very finely +banded in irregular circles; but the under surface is pearly white, +spotted on the fore wings with black, crimson and brown; the hind ones +are banded with brown and crimson. It has a very wide range, and has a +habit of resting against weather-worn posts and walls, its outspread +wings matching the colour of its surroundings. The larva feeds upon the +foliage of the gum trees, and is of a uniform dull green tint, striped +down the sides, the head pointed in front; the whole caterpillar looks +wonderfully like a eucalyptus twig. + +The Genus _Selidosema_ contains a large number of cosmopolitan +species; Meyrick lists 29 species as Australian; they are usually grey +or brown with darker lines and blotches. _Selidosema lyciaria_ is one +of our largest species, measuring about 2 inches across the wings; +is of a uniform brownish grey, with both pairs of wings marbled in a +regular pattern with black and chocolate brown, and crenulated round +the edges. The larvae feed upon the black wattle, and vary much in +colour, from grey to dark brown; the head is curiously notched, and +there are two little projections upon the back by which they can be +easily identified. _S. excursaria_ has a range from S. Australia to +N.S. Wales, and is one of our commonest species; it measures 1½ inches +across the wings, and is of a uniform dull greyish tint, very finely +pencilled with darker transverse markings, but is somewhat variable in +colour. The caterpillars are of a general light brown colour, with the +sides pencilled with fine parallel white lines running down the whole +length of the body; they are said to feed upon a number of different +plants, but are common on the wattles. _S. canescaria_, slightly larger +than the last, has a dull grey tint, thickly mottled with dark brown +wavy lines; it ranges from S. Australia to Queensland. Another species, +_S. acaciaria_, is a little larger, of somewhat similar colour, with +whitish markings; it is common in this country, and is also found in +India, Ceylon, and S. Africa. + + [Illustration: =Figs. 126= and =127=.--The Marbled + Looper. + + 126. _Lophodes sinistraria_ (Guérin) ♂. + 127. _Lophodes sinistraria_ ♀.] + +_Lophodes sinistraria_ is slightly over 2 inches in the large females; +the sexes vary much in size and colour. They are of a general dark +chocolate brown tint blotched with grey along the front of the fore +wings, with a distinct row of short grey stripes round the hind wings +in a line with the dentate crenulations. It has a wide range over +Victoria and Eastern Australia. The larvae feed upon the foliage of the +black wattle, but I have also recorded them damaging the foliage of +young apricot trees. They are reddish brown caterpillars, covered with +transverse bands of darker coloured spots, and they measure about 1½ +inches in length. + +The Genus _Thalaina_ contains 5 described species, all of which are +very handsome moths easily separated from the other loopers. _T. +clara_ measures 1½ inches across the wings; it is of a uniform pearly +white, with the fore wings marked with regular transverse bands of +reddish brown forming the letter W when viewed from the side; the hind +pair have only a blackish blotch on the outer edge. It has a wide +range, and in the larval state feeds upon wattles. _T. inscripta_ is +about the same size, with a similar ground colour of white, but the +markings on the fore-wings form a less perfect W, and there is a row +of short bars of the same colour round the edges; the hind pair are +more deeply blotched. It has a wide range from Tasmania over the south +and eastern portion of Australia. _Gastrophora henricaria_ is a large +handsome moth, in which the sexes differ both in size and colouration; +the smaller brown male has bright orange hind wings, and very fine +feathered antennae; the female has the fore wings mottled but not +striped. The slender dark brown striped larva, according to Anderson +(Victorian Naturalist 1902) feeds upon the foliage of eucalyptus. + + + Family 14. Cutworm Moths. + + NOCTUIDAE. + +This from an economic point of view is a very important family, for +the cut-worms do an immense amount of damage to pasturage and gardens. +These moths are of medium size with stout bodies; their fore wings +generally speaking are narrow, stiff, and triangular, with the broader +rounded hind ones folded beneath; the antennae are only slightly +toothed in the males of a few species, and the mouth is produced +into a tubular proboscis with which they can suck the nectar out of +the flowers. In colouration they vary from bright brown to black, a +few being marked with white or metallic tints; they are nocturnal in +their habits, resting under bark, rocks or other sheltered places, and +at night often flying into the lighted lamps. The larvae, which are +known as “cut-worms,” “plague caterpillars,” and “army worms,” are +usually elongate, dull brown, or greenish, naked caterpillars of a +uniform thickness with 8 pairs of legs. When full grown they pupate +underground, forming no regular cocoon, though a few groups form a +flimsy silken one attached to their food plant. + +The world wide Genus _Agrotis_ contains a number of variable forms +whose larvae are typical “cut-worms,” hiding in the ground or under +rubbish during the day, and coming out at night to feed. The short +stout moths have the head scaly; the fore wings black to grey, the hind +pair always lighter coloured; the antennae of the males are slightly +pectinate. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 128.=--The Bugong Moth, or + Plague-Cutworm. + + _Agrotis infusa_ (Boisd.).] + +The “Bugong Moth,” _Agrotis infusa_, has gone under many different +specific names, and is quite an historical insect. It is a dark brown +moth, the fore wings marked with two parallel black lines, two dull +grey spots in the centre and wavy lines at the extremities; the hind +pair are light brown. These moths frequently appear in immense swarms, +and take their popular name from the Bugong Mountains among the rocks +of which they used to congregate in millions; they formed an important +food supply to the natives who used to sweep them off into their bags, +and after denuding them of their wings and scales over a small fire, +pound the bodies (at this time distended with eggs) into a dough or +paste. Dr. Bennett has given an interesting account of this in his +“Naturalist in Australia.” A rather curious error regarding this +Bugong Moth has crept into popular natural history books. In the Rev. +J. G. Wood’s “Insects Abroad,” he figures and describes a butterfly, +_Euploea hamata_, as the Bugong Moth; Aflalo in his “Natural History of +Australia” makes the same statement, and in a recent magazine article +on “Insects as Food” Theodore Wood repeats the same error. + +Scott (Trans. Ent. Soc. N.S.W. 1867) gives an account of an appearance +of Bugong Moths in Sydney, when they were so numerous one Sunday +morning at North Shore that the service at St. Thomas’ Church could +not be held, and some observant persons counted 80,000 moths on the +windows. They have appeared at irregular intervals about Sydney and the +coastal districts in similar swarms, the last time being in 1905. + +_Agrotis breviuscula_ is a smaller variable species ranging from +reddish brown to grey; the antennae are long; the fore wings have a +dark spot of irregular form in the centre, a few fine dots along the +edge, and a fine line round the tips; the hind wings are light brown. +_Agrotis ypsilon_ is not unlike the “Bugong Moth” and by some writers +is considered only a large variety, but it has a distinct mark like the +Greek letter e in the centre of the fore wings, the tips finely marbled +with wavy lines; and the light brown hind wings give a metallic sheen. + + [Illustration: =Figs. 129= and =130=.--The + Climbing-Cutworm or American Army-worm. + + 129. _Leucania unipuncta_ (Horvath). + 130. _Leucania unipuncta_, Larva.] + +_Leucania unipuncta_ is one of the most destructive caterpillars found +in North America, where it is known as the “Army worm,” devouring +crops, grass, and garden stuff. Though the moth has been known for +many years in Australia it was not until 1903–4 that it was observed as +a plague caterpillar, attacking crops and grass nearly all over Eastern +Australia. The caterpillars, 1¼ inches long, are dull olive green with +light stripes down the back and sides. The moth measures 1½ inches +across the wings, which are of a uniform reddish fawn colour finely +speckled with little black scales. + +The “Boll Worm,” or “Maize Moth,” _Heliothis armigera_, is another +cosmopolitan cut-worm which does a great deal of damage to cotton bolls +and maize; is common in the pea crops, and also damages tomatoes. The +moth measures about 1 inch across the wings; the fore pair are greyish +yellow with purplish-brown tints, but are very variable in colouration; +the hind wings are silvery grey with the apical portions dark brown; +the latter pair are constant in their markings. + +The handsome little moths belonging to the Genus _Thalpochares_ are +remarkable for their curious plump naked larvae, which feed upon +different kinds of scale insects, at the same time covering themselves +with a portable cocoon composed of fragments of the coccids matted +together with silken strands. _Thalpochares coccophaga_ is a pretty +creamy winged moth with the basal portion shaded with brown and reddish +tints, and measures about ¾ of an inch across the wings. The larvae +feed upon a number of different insects native to the bush, and have +lately been of some economic value in destroying olive scale (_Lecanium +oleae_) in the orchards. Several other species have been described with +identical habits. _Earias fabia_ is a pest of the cotton plant; I have +bred numbers obtained in the cotton bolls growing at the Hawkesbury +College, N.S.W.; the larva is a slender dull green grub, which when +full grown forms a stout, oval, light brown, felted cocoon attached to +the dead foliage. The moth is slightly over one inch across the wings, +which are of a uniform pale yellow colour, each with a greenish bar +in the centre; the hind pair are lighter. In forming such a well-made +cocoon this moth seems out of place in the Noctuids; and Lower says in +his Catalogue, “that some writers refer this moth to the BOMBYCINA.” +Westwood and Swinhoe place it in the TORTRICIDAE. + +The Genus _Hadena_ contains a number of Australian species rather more +abundant in Tasmania than the mainland; it is another cosmopolitan +group, found in Europe and America. _Hadena expulsa_, slightly over +1 inch across the wings, has the fore pair of a general grey tint, +mottled with brown; the hind pair are darkest towards the apex and are +fringed on the margin with fine white down. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 131.=--The Grey-Cutworm Moth. + + _Mamestra ewingii_ (Westw.).] + +_Mamestra ewingii_ is typical of another large world wide genus. Its +larvae are among our most destructive cut-worms to crops and grass: it +is a pale slate-coloured moth, marked with short parallel lines of a +darker tint on the tips of the wings. _Spodoptera exempta_ was figured +in the Agricultural Gazette 1898 under the name of _Phlegetona carbo_. +It is one of our climbing cut-worms, and in that year the caterpillars +swarmed all over the Camden and South Coast districts of N.S. Wales. +They are very active grubs, olive green to almost black in colour, +striped on the sides with fine yellow lines; and when full grown +measure 1½ inches in length. The moth is under 1½ inches across the +wings; is of a general dark brown tint, indistinctly mottled all over +the fore wings with yellowish or sometimes silvery grey scales; the +hind wings are silvery and semitransparent. + +_Prodenia littoralis_ is a handsome moth of about the same dimensions +as the last; the fore wings are dark brown finely striped and pencilled +with grey lines; the hind pair pearly white. The moth often lays her +eggs upon the foliage of apple and other trees; the young on hatching +out feed upon the foliage but afterwards make their way to the ground. +_Plusia verticillata_ is a species that feeds upon the foliage of +peas, beans, and potatoes; the slender pale green grub differs from +the typical “cut-worm” in moving about like a “looper,” and when full +grown pupates in a flimsy silken cocoon it spins upon the under surface +of the leaf. The moth, measuring 1½ inches across the wings, has the +fore pair brown tinted with mauve, marbled with a coppery tint, and +with two elongate oval spots of silvery white scales in the centre of +each, and fine lines behind; the hind wings are dark brown fringed with +grey down. _Plusia argentifera_ is a smaller form with a silvery mark +in the centre of each fore wing. The handsome dark brown caterpillar +of _Calogramma festiva_, which was figured by Donovan in his “Insects +of New Holland,” feeds upon the foliage of the Crinea lilies; they +are sometimes plentiful in the Botanic Gardens. This moth measures +1½ inches across the wings, and is of a uniform pale creamy-yellow +colour, thickly mottled on the base of the wings with red and black. + +We now come to a curious allied group, the OPHIDERINAE, the members of +which are known as the “Orange-piercing moths”; they are large handsome +insects with the head and thorax thickly clothed with scales forming a +regular crest, and furnished with a proboscis which, pointed and barbed +at the tip, enables them to thrust it through the rind of oranges and +other ripe fruit and suck up the juice. Tryon has figured and written +an interesting account of these moths in the Queensland Agricultural +Journal Vol. ii. 1898. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 132.=--Life History of the Bean + Moth, _Plusia verticillata_ (Guérin). + + Showing the half looper form of the caterpillar, and the + loose silken cocoon of the pupa.] + +_Maenas salaminia_ measures 3½ inches across the wings; the fore pair +are bright olive green, with a broad stripe of creamy white along the +anterior margins; the hind wings are an orange yellow colour, and +each with the margin and centre black. The thorax is bright olive +green, and the abdomen of an orange yellow colour. It ranges from the +northern parts of New South Wales to North Queensland, and at Cairns +I used to capture them at night with a net and bull’s-eye lantern, as +they hovered round bunches of ripe bananas hanging under the house. +_Othreis fullonica_, slightly larger than the last, has the fore wings +mottled with grey and brown among the olive green; the body and hind +wings are of the same rich orange colour as the former species, with +smaller black markings on the hind margins. This species ranges from +Queensland to Africa, India, Ceylon, and the New Hebrides. _Argadesa +materna_ is about the same size, but has lighter coloured fore wings, +and further distinguished by a much smaller black spot in the centre +of each hind wing. The caterpillars of these moths are large handsome +cylindrical creatures with the body humped up at the eleventh segment, +and two large spots like eyes on either side of the body. They feed +upon several different creepers in the scrub. + +The EREBIDAE contains a number of large dark brown moths often +curiously mottled with zig-zag lines running round the wings, and a +dull coloured eye-spot in the centre of each fore wing. Several species +are common in Australia; they often come into the house at night and +will be found resting on the ceiling in the morning. One of the largest +moths known, the great owl moth of Brazil, measuring a foot across +the wings, belongs to this family. _Dasypodia selenophora_ measures 3 +inches across the wings, and is of a uniform pale chocolate brown tint; +the outer margins of the wings are finely crenulated and spotted with +white; the centre of each fore wing has a large irregular eye-spot of +black, mauve and orange tints. It ranges from Australia to Tasmania +and New Zealand. _D. cymatoides_, about the same size, is of a much +darker brown colour, with less distinct eye-spots, a black transverse +band behind each white one, and the whole of the inner surface thickly +covered with zig-zag wavy lines. This species ranges from Sydney to +North Queensland. + +_Sericea spectans_ is a slightly larger moth not unlike the last, but a +little darker, with the transverse band thicker and more blurred, and +with an eye-spot on each hind as well as each fore wing. + + [Illustration: Plate XXVI.--LEPIDOPTERA. + + Family Ophiderinae. + + 1. _Moenas (Ophideres) salaminia_ (Fabr.). + 2. _Othreis fullonica_ (Linn.). ♂. + 4. _Othreis fullonica_ (Linn.). ♀. + + Family NOCTUINA. + + 3. _Sericea spectans_ (Guérin). + + (Original photo. Burton.)] + + [Illustration: _Plate XXVI.--LEPIDOPTERA._] + + + Family 15. Leaf Rollers. + + PYRALIDAE. + +These moths are a very interesting division of the smaller lepidoptera +on account of the habits of their larvae, which live upon the foliage +of different plants in small communities, matting and drawing the +leaves together with silken strands and feeding under the shelter thus +constructed; when ready to pupate they usually curl the remains of +one of the half-devoured leaves into a flimsy cocoon with a little +silk, from which the moth emerges later on in the season. + +The majority of these moths are small and unattractive; at the same +time we have some brightly green and yellow tinted species of medium +size. The caterpillars are slender naked larvae, often green marked +with black spots and a few scattered hairs; they are very active and +drop to the ground whenever disturbed. + +These moths are easily separated by specialists from the preceding +groups by the structure of the nervures of the hind wings. Several +specialists have undertaken their classification: Meyrick (Trans. Ent. +Soc. London 1890) placed them as a group containing 8 families: Ragonet +(Ann. Ent. Soc. France 1890), while restricting them to 2 families, +made 17 smaller divisions which he called tribes: Lower, who partly +follows Meyrick, gives 13 families in his “Catalogue”; I simply deal +with them here as a group, describing a number of typical forms with +their life histories. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 133.=--The Common Flour Moth. + + _Asopia farinalis_ (Linn.).] + +_Margarodes vertonalis_ is a handsome bright green moth, with the +margins of the outer edges of both pairs of wings marked with dark +reddish brown; it measures about 1½ inches across the wings. The +caterpillars, about an inch in length, are bright green mottled with +black; the head shining reddish brown. My specimens were collected in +the Botanical Gardens, Sydney, at the end of January; they were matting +the tips of the branches of one of the ornamental shrubs (_Ochrosia +moorei_) into irregular rounded masses. They pupated a week later and +emerged before the end of the month. + +_Sceliodes cordalis_, measuring slightly over 1 inch across the wings, +is of a uniform creamy tint; the whole of the fore wings are mottled +with light brown, the tips blotched with the same colour; and the hind +pair more spotted; my specimens were bred from the foliage of the egg +plant. + +_Asopia farinalis_ is the well known “meal moth” common, in most parts +of the world; the caterpillars feed upon all kinds of corn, bran, +pollard, and flour; it mats its food particles together with a silken +web into a tube in which it hides. The moth is often found upon the +walls of feed houses, mills, &c., and sometimes comes into the light at +night. It measures 1 inch across the wings, and has a ground colour of +yellow buff to dull greyish yellow, blotched with a darker tint at the +base and tip, the latter marbled with grey; the hind wings are silvery. +_Zinckenia recurvalis_ is a common little moth about Sydney; it is +under 1 inch across the wings, which are of a dark brown tint, with a +white bar traversing the centre of each wing, and with a second white +spot on each fore wing towards the tip. The caterpillars are sometimes +found destructive to salt-bush hedges about Sydney by stripping off the +foliage and causing the bushes to die back. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 134.=--_Notarcha clytalis_ + (Walker). + + The Kurrajong Leaf Roller.] + +_Notarcha clytalis_ is a bright yellow moth with an irregular wavy line +of black crossing the outer portions of the wings, and another shorter +band near the base of each fore wing. The gregarious larvae are green +spotted with black; they roll the leaves on the terminal branches of +the Kurrajong into regular slender masses up to a foot or more in +length, in which they finally pupate. It has a wide range over the +country, rendering these handsome trees very unsightly when numerous. +The larvae of _Godara comalis_ is a greenish yellow caterpillar barred +with lighter yellow at the back of each segment, and lightly clothed +with long brown hairs; it feeds upon the leaves of the horse radish and +turnip. The moth measures 1 inch across the wings; the fore pair are +buff irregularly mottled with dark brown; the hind wings of a uniform +silvery white with a brown patch at the apical margin. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 135.=--Nest of _Notarcha + clytalis_ (Walker). + + Showing how the caterpillars roll up the foliage.] + + [Illustration: =Fig. 136.=--_Godara comalis_ + (Guérin). + + The caterpillar of which webs the leaves of the horseradish. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + [Illustration: =Fig. 137.=--_Cognogethes + punctiferalis_ (Guérin). + + The Northern Peach Moth, with damaged peach.] + +_Mecyna polygonalis_ defoliates the tree lucerne (_Citysus prolifera_); +I have also bred it from broom bushes in gardens at Armidale, N.S.W., +and on a native bush (_Templetonia_) in the western plains, so that +it has a wide range: Mr. Lyell tells me it is very destructive to the +foliage of willows in some parts of Victoria. The caterpillars are +slender light green creatures spotted with black and white shaded with +yellow on the sides; when full grown they spin a loose silken cocoon. +The moth is slightly under 1½ inches across the wings; the fore pair +are light brown, and the hind pair each blackish brown round the outer +portion and bright yellow in the centre. The two introduced bee moths, +_Achraea grisella_ and _Galleria melonella_, belong to a division of +this family: the moths lay their eggs about the hive, the grubs crawl +in and feed upon the wax which they mat together with silken web, and +if overlooked they destroy the whole of the hive; in the days of the +old-fashioned hives they were a great source of trouble to bee-keepers, +but now with well constructed bar-hives they are easily checked. The +first named is of a uniform brown colour with the fore wings rounded; +the second has the wings arcuate behind and irregularly mottled. + +_Aphomia latro_ measures about 1½ inches across its slender somewhat +pointed fore wings; is of a general buff colour shot with fine black +spots, and divided down the centre of the fore wings with a broad dull +white parallel stripe; the hind wings silvery grey. The larvae live +in small communities feeding upon and matting together the scape of +the flower stalk of the grass trees, in which they pupate within an +elongate white silken cocoon. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 138.=--_Mecyna polygonalis_ + (Hubner). + + The Native Broom Bush Moth.] + +The Peach Moth, _Conogethes punctiferalis_, is a bright yellow moth +thickly mottled with black spots. The larvae attack peaches when +ripening, eating and webbing the surface and pupating on the side of +the stone. It is common in the northern districts of N.S.W. + +The “Mediterranean Flour Moth,” _Ephestia kuhniella_, though not an +Australian moth, is worthy of note, for it is widely distributed over +the country, and causes a lot of annoyance by the bad habits of its +larvae of webbing the flour into masses with its silken strands. +Another cosmopolitan moth, _Plodia interpunctella_, is known in America +as the “Indian Meal Moth,” though it feeds upon all kinds of dried +foods; it is a much smaller moth of a general brown tint, the apical +portion of the wings much darker than the basal part. This moth also is +very common in Australia. + + + Family 16. Bell Moths. + + TORTRICIDAE. + +These moths have slender bodies; short generally broad fore wings, +truncate at the extremities; the hind pair also broad; and when they +are at rest during the day time their wings are folded flat down. The +costal margins of the fore wings are much rounded when the wings are +folded, giving a general bell shaped form; from which these moths take +their popular name. They are sometimes called “leaf twisters” or “leaf +rollers,” but differ from the true gregarious leaf roller caterpillars +in seldom matting a number of the leaves together. The caterpillars +also feed upon seeds. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 139.=--_Cacaecia postvittana_ + (Walker). + + The light-brown Apple Moth.] + +The members of the Genus _Cacaecia_ are interesting insects because +several have been found attacking fruit in orchards: _C. postvittana_, +was recorded by Olliff gnawing in apples like a codlin moth. It +measures ¾ of an inch across the wings; is of a general dull yellow +marked with brown, but its colour and markings are very variable. It +has a wide range over Tasmania and the eastern coast of the mainland +into Queensland; and about Sydney the caterpillars feed upon half a +dozen different common native shrubs. French in his Handbook of the +Destructive Insects of Victoria Pt. I. 1891 has named and figured +one, _C. responsana_, the “Light Brown Apple Moth,” as an apple pest +in Victoria; this is probably _C. postvittana_. _C. Australasiae_ is +a larger species of a dark brown colour; the fore wings are lightly +mottled or marbled. _C. lythrodana_ is a smaller, similar coloured +moth, but the colouration is finer. _Paramorpha aquilina_ is a tiny, +creamy-grey moth not quite ½ an inch across the wings: in its native +state it frequents damp or marshy ground, flying low among the herbage. +The larva is a short, pale green grub that, in several of the orange +growing districts, attacks the ripening oranges; boring through the +skin, it feeds upon the pith between the rind and flesh, where it +finally pupates and causes the orange to turn yellow and drop off. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 140.=-_Paramorpha aquilina_ + (Meyrick). + + The Orange-skin Borer.] + + [Illustration: =Fig. 141.=--Life history of the Lucerne + Leaf Roller, _Tortrix glaphyriana_ (Meyrick).] + +The Lucerne Moth, _Tortrix glaphyriana_, is a small, dark yellow moth +about ½ an inch across the wings; the fore pair are light buff with +a silvery tint, blotched with irregular patches of dark brown. The +caterpillars are dark green with scattered white hairs on the segments; +they are a regular pest in lucerne paddocks in the Hunter River +district, N.S. Wales, feeding upon the lucerne tops and drawing them +together with silken threads. _Arotrophora ombrodelta_ is a handsome +little moth which I bred out of the seed pods of _Acacia farnesiana_ +growing near Lismore, N.S.W.; the yellowish brown caterpillar has a +pink stripe down the back, and each segment is spotted with green; they +devour the seeds and then pupate inside the pod close to the hole, +through which the pupa works its head just before the moth is ready to +emerge; the anal segments being ringed with fine spines enable it to +screw right out of the hard pod, so that the moth is not damaged. The +moth, under 1 inch across the wings, has the fore pair chocolate brown, +mottled and darkest at the tips; the hind pair are brown. Meyrick +says that the larva of another species feeds enclosed in a short, +stiff, silken tube among the leaves of _Lomantia silarfolia_; and a +third feeds in the flower cone of our common honeysuckle (_Banksia +serrata_). The Codlin Moth, _Carpocapsa pomonella_, the world-wide pest +to apple growers, is found in most parts of Australia; but though the +reddish tinted caterpillar is universally known, there are a great many +orchardists who do not know the moth, though it is easily recognised +from all other species by the copper coloured blotch on the apical +portion of the fore-wings. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 142.=--_Cryptophaga + unipunctata_ (Donovan). + + The Cherry-stem Borer, showing the larva.] + +We now come to an anomalous group, whose exact place in the +classification of Lepidoptera has puzzled entomologists, but which is +usually placed at the end of this family. These are the CRYPTOPHAGINAE, +whose larvae, naked, slender caterpillars, live in shallow chambers +or short tunnels in the branches of the smaller forest trees. They +cover the entrance to their burrow with a screen of loose silken web +covered with gnawed bark and droppings. Resting during the day, they +come out at night and, biting off some of the leaves, drag them down +into the burrow (the ends often sticking out through the web) to feed +on at their leisure. When full grown they pupate within the burrow. +_C. unipunctata_ is a very handsome satiny white moth about 1½ inches +across the wings; the fore pair each have a single black dot in the +centre; the abdomen is black fringed with yellow hairs forming a tuft +at the extremity. In its native state the caterpillars feed upon the +branches of our common honeysuckle (_Banksia serrata_), but have a +very great liking for the branches of cherry trees in the orchards; +where neglected, they often kill large branches by their attacks. _C. +irrorata_ is a larger moth, measuring up to 2 inches across the wings, +the fore pair being very broad and square at the extremities; they are +of a uniform greyish brown, slightly mottled with a darker pattern +round the outer margins; the hind pair are silvery brown fringed +round the edges. The larva feeds on the stems of _Casuarina_. _C. +rubriginosa_ is nearly as large as the last; the fore wings are reddish +brown. There is a salmon tint on the thorax extending on to the base of +the fore wings; the hind wings are brownish yellow. The larvae feed in +the stems and branches of several species of _Acacia_. + + + Family 17. Grain and Clothes Moths. + + MICRO-LEPIDOPTERA. + +In concluding the Lepidoptera I place these families, often grouped +together under the comprehensive term _Micro-lepidoptera_, in the +above division. Most of these moths are small, but the group is very +important in that it contains some of the most destructive pests of +grain, cloth, &c., and they are world-wide in their range. Meyrick has +made a special study of these moths, and has classified and described +an immense number in a series of papers in the Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. +1878–1904. + +The larvae of the different groups are usually slender naked grubs with +a few scattered hairs, and are sometimes legless; but others again have +from 14 to 18 pairs of legs. They feed upon all kinds of material, +sometimes forming tubular cells out of their food, while others move +about quite freely. The moths may be obtained by beating or shaking +bushes, or breeding them from the material among which they feed. + +The Family OECOPHORIDAE is the most extensive in Australia; in his +first paper on the group in 1883, Meyrick estimated that over 2,000 +species would be discovered, and later in 1889 he had actually +described 756 species, most of them new. The Genus _Philobota_ contains +105 described species, many of them handsome brightly marked little +moths. _P. arabella_, slightly over ¾ of an inch across the wings, +is of a general greyish brown tint, with the central portions of the +fore pair pale yellow edged with brown forming wedge-shaped patches. +_P. catascia_, slightly larger, has the fore-wings silvery white, +slightly clouded; the hind ones dull yellow in the centre fringed +with light brown. _P. productella_ a little smaller, is all silvery +white, with yellowish tints in the hind pair; and _P. agnesella_ is +a larger silvery one with a narrow irregular dark stripe along the +centre of each fore wing from the base to the apex. _P. gascialis_, +a very different larger winged form, has the fore pair dark orange +yellow, each with a broad brown blotch through the centre, and tip dark +brown; the hind pair dull brown fringed with fine plumes. _Macrobatha +platychroa_ is under ½ an inch across the wings; the fore pair are +marked with alternate bars of white and black, and the hind pair +greyish brown. _Heliocausta hemitelis_, about twice the size, has +the fore wings yellow, tipped and blotched with purplish brown, the +blotch on each hind margin angular; the hind wings brown. _Zonopetala +decisiana_, under ½ an inch across the wings, has the fore pair white, +each with a large brown blotch across the centre, and others at the +tip, and with a band of the same colour across the thorax; the hind +wings light buff and fringed with hairs. The caterpillar of _Ocystola +hemicalypta_ constructs a protective covering about as thick and long +as a large wax match out of a section of a gum twig, in which it lives +and feeds after hollowing it out like a tube; these curious cocoons are +not uncommon in the bush on the leaves of eucalypts. + +The GELECHIADAE is another large family recently revised by Meyrick +(Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1904); he says that these moths are not so +numerous as in Europe, but as they are such small, inconspicuous +insects there are probably a great number still to be discovered. He +describes 274 species, of which 207 are new, and 85 of which belong +to the Genus _Protolechia_. Several species that infest grain belong +to this group: _Gelechia simplicella_, a tiny little brown moth, +has pointed slender wings, the fore pair nearly black, with a very +distinctive irregular white bar across each apical half. Meyrick has +placed it in the Genus _Anacampsis_; it has a wide range over Tasmania +and Australia: I have bred it from the foliage of Soy beans, which the +larvae matted together and seriously damaged. _Sitotroga cerealella_ +is a tiny yellowish brown moth with pointed wings. It has a wide +range round the Australian coast, and has been introduced from Europe +or America with corn upon which the larvae feed. It is known as the +“Angoumois Grain Moth” from the province of that name in France, where +in 1760 it swarmed over the country and nearly caused a famine. I have +bred it from wheat at Bingara N.S.W. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 143.=--_Gelechia simplicella_ + (Walker). + + The Soy-bean Moth.] + +The ELACHISTIDAE were described and revised by Meyrick (Pro. Linn. Soc. +N.S.W. 1897), who lists 254 species, most of which were new. He says: +“The species of this family are almost all small and therefore often +neglected by collectors. Larva with 10 prolegs seldom almost apodal, +usually mining in leaves, or amongst seeds or in stems, sometimes +case-bearing, rarely amongst spun leaves.” + + [Illustration: =Fig. 144.=--_Batrachedra sparsella_ + (Walker). + + The larva of which constructs a web amongst, and feeds on, + scale insects.] + +The larvae of the members of the Genus _Batrachedra_, according to +Meyrick, feed usually upon seeds. _B. arenosella_, a small dull pale +yellow moth with spotted fore wings and grey hind ones, is common over +Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. The larvae web the seeds and +stalks of sedges together, and form a cocoon among the seeds. I have +bred a species of _Batrachedra_, _B. sparsella_, Walk., but can find no +record of this species in Meyrick’s list. The larva of this moth spins +a web on the trunks of trees that are infested with scale insects +which they devour, finally forming an elongate cocoon attached to the +bark; in the orchard they destroy white louse on oranges, and San Jose +scale on peach trees. _Strathmopoda melanochra_, a little brown moth, +has the fore wings dull white with metallic reflections and darker +markings; the wings are very finely fringed on the hind margins. + +The Family PLUTELLIDAE contains one very destructive little pest in the +Diamond-backed Cabbage Moth, _Plutella cruciferarum_; the slender green +larvae gnaw holes in the leaves and pupate in net-like cocoons on the +foliage. It has a world-wide range and is very common in Australia. + +The Family TINEIDAE, containing the clothes moths, is defined by +Meyrick (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1892) as the rough-headed _Tineina_, +with the palpi strongly developed in front of the head, and the hind +wings usually as broad as the fore wings, sometimes narrower but seldom +broader. Larva with 16 legs, or legs wanting. + +The Genus _Xystmatodoma_ contains 29 species, of which _X. guildingi_ +is a typical form described by Scott in his “Australian Lepidoptera”; +it is a slender-winged dull brown moth, the larva of which crawls about +in a stout silken sack like that of an immature case moth, and feeds +upon low scrub. _Scardia australasialla_ is a handsome little moth, +which is figured in Donovan’s “Insects of New Holland”; it measures +about 1¼ inches across the wings; the fore pair are dull brown but so +thickly covered with shining white to pale yellow spots that it looks +very brilliant; the hind pair are brown fringed with long plumes. +_Blabophanes ethelella_ is about ¾ of an inch across the wings; the +fore pair are dark brown finely spotted with white and some have a +comparatively large white dot in the centre of each wing, the hind +margin also edged with white; the hind pair light brown. The Genus +_Tinea_ is represented by a number of both native and introduced +species. The common clothes moth, _Tinea pellionella_, is too well +known to need description; it is world-wide in its range, and lays its +eggs upon clothes on which the larvae feed and finally use particles to +construct their cocoons. _T. tapetzella_ feeds among furs and skins. +_Tineola biselliella_ is a third cosmopolitan species of clothes moth. +_Tinea fuscipunctella_ feeds upon dried animal matter, refuse and such +like; it also is world wide in its range. Among our native species, +_T. nectaria_ is under ½ an inch across the wings; the fore pair have +the basal two thirds silvery yellow with the tips black; the hind pair +dull yellow darkest at the tips. Meyrick says that these larvae make +cases out of eucalyptus leaves, but my specimens were bred out of +blister-like excrescences or galls upon the leaves of a shrub in the +Botanic Gardens Sydney. _Thudaca obliquella_, about 1 inch across the +wings, is a beautiful little silvery white moth, with the fore wings +deep yellow thickly marked with parallel and transverse bars of silvery +white; the hind pair broad, silvery, lightly clouded, and fringed +behind with long plumes. + +The EPIPYROPIDAE comprise a small group of moths that have been raised +to the rank of a family by Perkins (Bulletin I. part 2, “Leaf Hoppers +and their Natural Enemies,” Hawaii 1905), though it would probably +be more correct to place them as a sub-family of the Tineidae. Sharp +(Cambridge Natural History: Insects part II.) places them in the +_Limacodidae_. They are small black, grey or brown moths, with small +eyes; no ocelli; the palpi wanting or very minute, and the mouth +parts little developed. They have remarkable parasitic habits in the +caterpillar state living upon the backs of different leaf hoppers +(_Homoptera_) and feeding upon the waxy or sugary secretions discharged +by their hosts. Perkins describes 7 new Australian species, which +are placed in three genera, based on the neuration of the wings. +Three species come from Cairns, N. Queensland, and four from the +neighbourhood of Sydney. _Heteropsyche melanochroma_ measures under ½ +an inch across the outspread wings and is of a general black or fuscous +colour with purple tints on the fore wings. Koebele records it as +common about Sydney, parasitic upon a number of different Fulgorids and +Jassids. + +Rothschild (Novitates Zoologicae 1906) has named another species, +_Epipyrops doddi_, after the well known collector, P. F. Dodd, who had +worked out its life history in North Queensland. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 145.=--_Plodia interpunctella_ + (Hubner).] + + + + + Order VII.--DIPTERA. + + Flies. + + +House flies are well known to everyone; but as a number of other +insects belonging to different orders are often called flies, such +as “saw-flies,” which are Hymenoptera, and “lace-winged flies” and +“May-flies,” which are Neuroptera, it is advisable to define them. +Some of the Diptera might be mistaken by a casual observer for +Hymenoptera which the members of several families often mimic in form +and colouration, but they can be readily separated by the absence of +a second pair of wings, which are represented by two little clubbed +processes, known as balancers, poisers, or halteres. The mouth parts +are very variable in structure in the different groups, but always +adapted for piercing or sucking; the eyes are large, often occupying +the greater part of the head and consisting of an immense number of +fine facets; the small ocelli are three in number; and the antennae, +except among midges, are short, composed of few joints, and often +terminate in a bristle. + +The thorax is not so distinctly divided into the three segments +as in some other insects, nor the parts so well defined as in the +hymenoptera; the wings, transparent or parchment-like, are seldom +coloured; the legs, usually not thickened, are furnished with five +tarsi, and well developed claws, with a small pad under each, known +as the pulvillus. The abdomen is composed of a variable number of +segments ranging from four to nine, but in the former case though +not visible the terminal ones are probably absorbed into the anal +tube at the extremity. Most diptera are brown, black, or grey, though +metallic tints predominate in some families; and are clothed with short +scattered hairs or bristles. + +The typical fly larva is an elongated legless maggot with the head +portion slender, enclosing a pair of black retractile hooked jaws, +with tracheae opening behind and running through to the broadened anal +segment where they form small rosette-like processes round the external +aperture. The eggs are laid in all kinds of decaying vegetable or +animal matter, with the exception of the few that produce galls, or +otherwise damage plant tissue; when full grown they change into a hard +shell-like chrysalis, the tip of which is pushed off by the perfect fly +when ready to emerge. + +Though this country is very rich in Diptera and many cosmopolitan +species have been introduced such as the house flies, they have been +much neglected by Australian collectors and entomologists. The Diptera +are divided into two large sections, which are further subdivided +into four main groups, to which a fifth has been lately added for the +reception of the fleas, which however are often placed by specialists +in a class by themselves (_Siphonaptera_). The older writers +subdivided them into about 70 families but latterly these have been +reduced, and most of our species will come under about 30 families, of +which I can only note our most striking representatives. + +In 1830 the French naturalist Robineau Desvoidy published his “Essai +sur les Myodaires,” in which some of our species were described. +Between the years 1834 and 1835 Macquart brought out his “Histoire +naturelle des Insectes Diptères” (forming part of the great French +work Suites à Buffon), followed (1838–42) by his “Diptères exotiques, +nouveaux ou peu connus” comprising two volumes and many plates, +with 5 supplements (1846–55). Walker between 1848 and 1855 compiled +a “Catalogue of the Diptera of the British Museum” consisting of 7 +volumes; and others are described in his “Diptera Saundersiana” 1856. + +In 1864 Dr. Schiner estimated that the number of described Australian +Diptera was 1056, including those which he described (Diptera des +Novara), collected by Frauenfeld in the neighbourhood of Sydney during +the visit of the Austrian Frigate. In a long series of papers reaching +from 1859 till just before his death in 1892 Bigot described a great +many species (among them some from Australia) chiefly in the Annales de +la Societé Entomologique de France. + +The only systematic Australian work is Skuse’s “Monograph of the +Australian Diptera” (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1888–90), which however was +never completed, dealing only with the NEMATOCERA comprising +the Culicidae, Tipulidae, Cecidomyidae and some of the smaller +families. There is no complete catalogue of Australian Diptera, but +I have been greatly assisted in my work on this family through the +identification of my specimens by Mr. Coquillett of Washington. + + + Family 1. Gall-Gnats. + + CECIDOMYIDAE. + +This is an extensive family of small delicate midges with long slender +antennae composed of many bead-like segments beautifully feathered with +whorls of hairs. The abdomen is stout at the base, short and tapering +to the tip; the legs are long and slender without spurs; the wings are +clothed with fine hairs that easily rub off, and furnished with very +few longitudinal veins, and in some genera only one cross nervure. + +They are known as “Gall-gnats,” or “Gall-flies,” and though the habits +of the larvae are very diverse, some living under bark, others in +animal matter, and a few predaceous or even cannibalistic in their +habits, the majority of them are found in plant tissue and produce +malformations or regular well defined galls, often of very remarkable +structure, upon the foliage or twigs of their food plant. + +The egg is deposited in or under the bark, epidermis of the leaf, +or frequently in the flower buds of plants, the irritation caused +by the active larvae producing the aborted tissue. These larvae are +very easily recognised if examined with a lens after they have been +extracted from the gall, as they are furnished with a “breast bone,” +an anchor shaped process that stands out very distinctly in the centre +of the ventral surface and is unknown in the larvae of any other +gall-producing insect. + +Through the discovery of Wagner, a Russian entomologist, that the larva +of a Cecidomyia produced young; also through the curious exudations of +the larvae and pupae of others which are sometimes called “flax seed” +from their shape; and the very destructive habits of several species +which damage the wheat, like the Hessian Fly in America, this family +has received a great deal of attention. Over 1,000 species have been +described from all parts of the world, and Australia is particularly +rich in these insects. Skuse (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1888 and 1890) has +described over 100 species and figured some of the most peculiar galls. + +_Cecidomyia frauenfeldi_ was named by Dr. Schiner after the naturalist +who collected the galls on _Leptospermum_ in the vicinity of Manly, +N.S. Wales. These galls are produced upon a leaf-bud and consist of a +number of rounded leaf-like bracts, not unlike the petals of a rose +bud; folding over each other, brown in colour, soft and loose, and +about the shape and size of a small marble. The enfolded larva will be +found in the base at the centre, and the gnats can be easily bred out +in a glass jar. The Acacia Gall-gnat, _C. acaciae-longifoliae_, infests +the flowers of this wattle, depositing its eggs in such numbers that +every tiny seed-pod is produced into a contorted mass of finger-like +tubes, together forming a rounded base attached by a stalk, and each +tube containing a larva. This is one of our commonest species and the +galls can often be collected in numbers in the neighbourhood of Sydney. + +_Diplosis frenelae_ produces very remarkable little light brown +spherical structures upon the tips of the foliage of the desert +cypress, about the size of small peas; these when mature split into +four shell-like sections, quite unlike the usual gall. They are very +abundant in the early summer upon cypresses in Wagga and the western +pine scrubs of N.S. Wales. _Diplosis paralis_ forms curious little +blisters upon the young foliage of _Eucalyptus corymbosa_, dotting +the leaves all over with reddish spots with a keyhole-like mark on +the apex. A third species, _D. eucalypti_, aborts the young twigs of +Eucalypts into gouty swellings in which a number of larvae feed and +pupate. + +There are certain red rounded shot-like galls of the Eucalyptus, +generally several in number on the midrib of the leaf, which, on +account of the pupal skins always remaining in the holes in the +sides of the galls through which the flies have escaped, can be +easily distinguished from many very similar ones that are the work +of micro-hymenoptera. These are formed by a large stout gnat named +_Hormomyia omalanthi_ by Skuse, who first obtained specimens from +galls on the under side of the leaves of _Omalanthus populifolius_. + +_Lasioptera miscella_ aborts the leaf stalks of _Eucalyptus +haemastoma_, one of our white stemmed gums growing about Botany, +N.S.W., with its irregular swellings. + +I have also bred several undetermined species from galls on the twigs +of the Weeping Myall, _Acacia pendula_, and other wattles in the +western scrubs. There is a rich field awaiting the naturalist who takes +up the study of the life-history of our Gall-gnats. + +Though the Hessian Fly, _Cecidomyia destructor_, is not known in +Australia it has been introduced into New Zealand, and in the United +States of America is one of the most serious pests that the wheat +farmers have to fight. This gnat deposits her eggs under the sheath +of the growing wheat stalks; the larva sucks up the sap, so that the +ear is impoverished and no grain forms in the head; and when they are +numerous the greater part of the crop is destroyed. + + + Family 2. Shade Midges. + + MYCETOPHILIDAE. + +These small flies, popularly known as “Midges,” are placed by Skuse +in four well defined families, which I place under the one heading as +their habits are very similar. + +The SCIARIDAE are the typical “Shade midges” infesting forest country; +their larvae live under dead bark or decomposing leaves and are +slender, cylindrical, semi-translucent maggots, white or pale yellow in +colour, with the body composed of 13 segments including the head. The +perfect insects have moderately long, curved, many jointed antennae; +two ocelli; long slender legs; and the wings often clouded. Skuse has +described 42 species in this group, all of which with one exception he +placed in the typical Genus _Sciara_; these have the wings longer than +the abdomen, the surface of them microscopically pubescent, and the +wing-lobes more or less developed. + +The MYCETOPHILIDAE are popularly known as “Fungus-midges” from the +fact that the larvae, which are slender white maggots attenuated at +both extremities, and with horny heads, are often found feeding upon +the juices of fungi; some spin silken webs under which they live, and +a few are said to be luminous. They are small flies with beautifully +marked wings in many species, and have slender antennae; 3 ocelli; +and a short proboscis; the rather long legs have the coxae elongated +and are furnished with spurs upon the tibiae; the wings, without a +discoidal cell, have more veins than those of the Gall-gnats. Walker +described 4 species (Insecta Saundersiana 1856); to which Skuse added +31 new species. _Lyomya setiosicaudata_ was described by Skuse from +the neighbourhood of Sydney in the Genus _Acrodicrania_, but it has an +extended range: I have taken it with a sweeping net about Inverell N.S. +Wales. It measures about ⅙ of an inch in length; has a shining head and +thorax; abdomen black, and variegated black and yellow legs. + +The SIMULIDAE contains a number of small Diptera abundant in Europe +and America, where they are known as “Sand-flies,” “Black-flies,” or +“Buffalo-gnats”; they swarm in the marshy lands of the Mississippi +where Howard says, “They rival the mosquito in their blood-thirsty +tendencies, and not only do they attack human-beings, but poultry and +domestic animals are frequently killed by them.” We are fortunate in +having very few of these pests; only one species was discovered by +Skuse, who named it _Simulium furiosum_, and says it is a rare fly +only found in the Gosford district N.S. Wales. These flies must not be +confounded with the midges known in Australia as “Sand-flies,” which +are very different insects belonging to the Genus _Ceratopogon_, of the +Family Chironomidae. + +The BIBIONIDAE are medium sized flies with thickset bodies somewhat +hairy; smoky wings; robust legs; short antennae; and three ocelli. The +females deposit their eggs in dung or vegetable matter, and the maggots +have rows of transverse bristles on the segments; and traces of eyes +can be found in the head segment. The perfect flies are sluggish in +their movements and are commonly found upon flowers. Twelve species +have been described from Australia, of which _Bibio imitator_ is our +commonest species; it is very abundant in the early summer upon the +flower heads of _Astrotricha floccosa_, which grows in most of the +valleys round Sydney; it has a wide range from Tasmania northwards in +similar forest country. The male is under ½ an inch in length and is of +a uniform black tint, with the thorax dull red; while the larger female +is of a uniform reddish brown, and both sexes have the typical dark +clouded wings. + +The South American Genus _Plecia_ is represented by four species, two +of which I collected in North Queensland. The North American Genus +_Scatopse_, the larvae of which breed in all kinds of decaying matter +and in sewers, is represented by two species, of which _Scatopse +fenestralis_ is so common about Sydney that Skuse says: “In the spring +months it is scarcely possible to find a window without one or two +specimens, while I have frequently seen hundreds swarming on the inside +of shop windows in the city.” + + + Family 3. Mosquitoes. + + CULICIDAE. + +No insect pests are better known or more world wide in their +distribution than mosquitoes. As might be expected, they are abundant +in tropical countries, yet one would hardly expect them to be much of +an annoyance in the temperate regions. Yet in Lapland, and even farther +north, they worry the inhabitants and the reindeer all through their +brief summer. + + [Illustration: Plate XXVII.--DIPTERA. + + Family CULCIIDAE. + + 1. _Culex fatigens_ (Wiedermann). Larva. + 2. _Culex fatigens_ (Wiedermann). ♀. + 3. _Culex fatigens_ (Wiedermann). Wing. + 4. _Anopheles annulipes_ (Walker). ♀. + 5. _Anopheles annulipes_ (Walker). Wing.] + + [Illustration: _Plate XXVII.--DIPTERA._] + +They are insects with long slender legs; delicate narrow wings folded +down over an elongate body; the head is provided with a proboscis +projecting below. The proboscis is adapted for sucking blood, though +many of the bush species seldom or never taste blood and obtain their +nutriment from the sap or moisture upon plants. The male mosquito +is a more delicate creature than the female, furnished with plumose +antennae; he does not bite, but hides away in dark sheltered corners +taking no food in his short life of four or five days, but has a +low droning hum, noticeable when a number are disturbed. The larger +females on the other hand swarm into the house, and bite whenever +they get the chance. She lays her eggs in little boat shaped masses +of elongate eggs, which within 24 hours give birth to larvae that +are often called water-fleas or “wrigglers.” Thread-like in form at +first, the “wriggler” has a rounded ciliate head, and the tip of the +body is provided with a pair of tubular breathing appendages. They +move about with a series of jerks, always coming to the surface head +downward; they increase in size rapidly and in seven or eight days are +full grown, when they change into pupae, the creatures becoming quite +different; the head and thorax are drawn up into a rounded mass with +two trumpet shaped horns, which are its new breathing tubes, rising +upon the sides. The abdominal segments are short and turn downward; +and though it does wriggle slightly, it usually rests in an upright +position floating close to the surface; it remains in this state for +two or three days, when the pupal skin splits along the top of the +head, and the perfect insect emerges, using the floating skin as a raft +from which to rise into the air and fly away. + +Only 9 species of mosquitoes had been described from Australia when +Skuse commenced his work on these insects in the Macleay Museum +Collections (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1889), where he listed all the +known species and added 19 new ones. Since then Theobald, in his +“Monograph of the Culicidae of the World” 1900–1903, with a great deal +more material to study, revised the genera, made several of Skuse’s +species synonymous, and described others, bringing our list to about 34 +species. + +The typical Genus _Culex_ contains 21 species scattered all over +Australia; several are cosmopolitan and have been introduced from +abroad. Our common house mosquito, that appears in the early summer, +is _Culex albo-annulatus_, a moderate sized species with the reddish +thorax densely clothed with brownish golden scales, traversed by five +very fine lines; it has regularly white banded legs. It was described +by Macquart in 1732, and ranges from Southern Queensland to Sydney, +Mittagong, and the Blue Mountains N.S.W. _Culex fatigans_ is widely +distributed over Australia: _C. macleayi_ and _C. skusei_ according +to Theobald are only sub-species or varieties; it is one of the +cosmopolitan mosquitoes also found in America, Africa and Asia, and +was probably introduced into this country in the water tanks of the +old sailing vessels many years ago. After New Year a smaller, darker +mosquito is the most annoying about Sydney; this has been described by +Theobald under the name of _Culex marinus_; its larvae were discovered +by Dr. Bancroft, Queensland, breeding in salt water. It also flourishes +freely in any stagnant water left in tanks, buckets, or water-holes, +and has a wide range down our eastern coast. + +Four species of the Genus _Anopheles_ are found in Australia; these +insects have long palpi with clubbed or spatulate tips, and dark +spotted wings. _Anopheles annulipes_, described by Walker, said to +be identical with Skuse’s _A. musivus_, is found about Sydney and +Newcastle N.S.W. ranging northward; the members of this genus are well +known as the mosquitoes that transmit the germs of malarial fever, and +have a wide range over the world. The important results that have come +from the study of the relation of tropical fevers to mosquito bites, +have led to the collection and description of these insects from all +quarters of the globe. _Mucidus alternans_, one of our largest species, +is thickly clothed with grey and light brown scales and hairs which +give it a striking appearance. It is a day flying species famous for +its biting powers; it has a wide range; in the Maitland district N.S.W. +about the Hexham swamps it is locally known as the “Hexham Grey”; in +Queensland it is sometimes called the “Scotch Grey.” I have also taken +it at Bourke on the Darling River N.S.W. Skuse described this species +as _Culex hispidosus_, but Westwood’s name, _C. alternans_, has a prior +claim. + +_Stegomyia notoscriptus_ is one of the small dark mosquitoes that bite +so sharply just at dusk in our gardens around Sydney in midsummer, +and has a wide range from Adelaide S.A. to Queensland. It belongs to +the same genus as the dreaded Cuban Yellow-fever Mosquito, _Stegomyia +fasciata_, which has been introduced into Hawaii. Theobald has in +the last volume of his Monograph formed a new Genus _Skusea_ for the +reception of two Queensland species and a third from Africa. + + + Family 4. Sand-flies. + + CHIRONOMIDAE. + +This group comprises a number of small flies which have the head +furnished with a fleshy proboscis; the slender antennae adorned with +fine hairs, thickest upon the male; and the ocelli wanting. Their wings +are usually narrow; and many of the large species have the general +appearance of mosquitoes. + +The members of this family are very extensive and world-wide in their +range; the larvae of the typical Genus _Chironomus_ live chiefly +in stagnant water. They sometimes swarm in such numbers in the North +American lakes that they form the chief food of the fresh-water fish. +In England on account of their colour they are known as “blood-worms.” +Some species live in salt water, and others breed in excrement and +dung. The perfect insects are easily collected with a sweeping net in +the vicinity of swamps and watercourses. + +Skuse has described 64 species from Australia (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. +1889), previous to which only 8 species, described by Messrs. Walker +and Macquart, had been recorded. The family is divided into a number of +genera, of which _Chironomus_ includes 21 species of the more typical +slender-bodied midges, and the Genus _Ceratopogon_ 17 species of our +vicious “Sand-flies.” These pests are also found in Great Britain and +in North America, ranging as far south as Chili. + +_Ceratopogon molestes_, described by Skuse, is our common “Sand-fly,” +though there are others probably quite as annoying if not so abundant. +It is a tiny little dark coloured midge, so quiet and small that it +is usually felt before it is seen. There is another very large grey +“Sand-fly” I have met with in the interior of N.S. Wales on the Darling +River that frequents grassy watercourses and flies straight at the +hands or face like a wasp. + +It has been reported from Central Queensland that after the great flood +and abundant growth of grass (1905) the sand-flies increased in such +numbers, that they caused the blindness and death of a great number of +marsupials, through biting them in the eyes. + + + Family 5. Crane-flies. + + TIPULIDAE. + +The Crane-flies or Daddy-longlegs are a large family with long slender +legs, from which they take their popular names, and might be described +as exaggerated mosquitoes that do not bite. They have the usual small +head and long thread-like antennae (in some groups the latter are +clothed with long hairs, in others short and feathered); in most +species the ocelli are wanting. The thorax has a V-shaped transverse +suture, and the well developed wings have a complete venation. They +are to be found in all situations among low scrub, but prefer the +shelter of cliffs, or tree trunks in damp gullies, often resting in +considerable numbers in retired spots during the day, where they can +easily be captured. They require to be killed and mounted in the place +of capture to secure good specimens, as their legs drop off very +readily, and on this account are not a popular group with the ordinary +collector. The larvae live in the ground or among decaying vegetable +matter. + +They are divided into two large groups, characterised by the possession +of long or short palpi, the _Tipulidae brevipalpi_ and _Tipulidae +longipalpi_; about 20 species had been recorded from Australia when +Skuse’s Monograph, “Diptera of Australia Pt. VII.” (Pro. Linn. Soc. +N.S.W. 1889) appeared; in this he added over 80 new species. + +The Painted Crane-fly, _Gynoplistia bella_, described by Walker in +1835, is one of our commonest species, frequenting flowers and low +scrub in the early summer months. It is a very distinctly marked black +and orange yellow fly, the wings thickly barred and mottled with the +former colour; and is one of the short-legged species. It has a wide +range from Western Australia and Tasmania to N.S. Wales; the genus is +represented by 17 described species in Australia. + +The Long-horned Crane-fly, _Macromastix costalis_, has a wide range +from Tasmania to Queensland. In the neighbourhood of Sydney they are +commonly found resting among the low scrub. It has a uniform dull brown +tint with clear transparent wings, striped along the front margin with +dull brown, and can be easily recognised from its large size, with +the long slender antennae three times the length of the wings in the +male, and its curious darting flight when disturbed. It was described +by Swederus as _Tipula costalis_ in 1787, and has been renamed half a +dozen times since. _Clytocosmus helmsi_ was described by Skuse from +specimens obtained at Mt. Kosciusko; it is a large handsome fly with +the stout thickened abdomen black, and bordered or mottled along the +segments with white; the wings are semitransparent shaded with yellow; +the head and thorax are reddish yellow. + +The Genus _Semnotes_ contains two very large and handsome crane-flies, +both of which were originally described by Westwood. They are giants of +the family, with a large thorax, and swollen abdomen narrowed slightly +into a waist, coming out broad and rounded to the tip; the general +colour is bright yellow mottled with black, with semitransparent wings. +_Semnotes ducalis_ has dark markings on the wing, and is the rarer +species. It is recorded by Westwood from North Australia, and by Skuse +from Manly, N.S.W. _S. imperatoria_ is found in Victoria, about Sydney +and the Blue Mountains N.S.W.; it is slightly larger than the former, +and can be easily distinguished by the very long tarsi, the plain +wings, and the different markings on the body. + + + Family 6. Soldier Flies. + + STRATIOMYIDAE. + +These are flat-bodied flies with narrow strongly veined wings; +3-jointed antennae; and the pronotum furnished with slender spines. +Comstock has called them “Soldier Flies” on account of the bright +coloured stripes with which many species are marked. The larvae of most +of these flies live in decaying vegetable matter, but some are known to +be carnivorous in their habits. + +_Neoexaireta spinigera_ is one of our commonest species, often to be +found in the early summer months resting on the window pane with its +broad hind legs flattened out; it is very easily captured. It is a +slender shining black fly about 1 inch in length, with banded legs; +the sides of the body fringed with white hairs, and the apical half +of the wings clouded with black enclosing a small white blotch; the +pronotum is furnished with four slender spines standing out from the +hind margin. The larvae are usually found under damp rotting bark or +decaying vegetable matter, and are elongate flattened brownish and +distinctly segmented creatures, with narrow horny heads standing out +in front like a stalk; they are sluggish creatures with very little +movement. I figured and described a species (doubtfully) under the +name of _Ephippium albitarsis_ in my “Entomology of the Grass-trees” +(Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1896) with somewhat similar larvae breeding +in the decaying stems of these trees. The little black fly measures +about ⅓ of an inch in length; it has white tarsi and dusky wings; the +pronotum has the usual short spine on either side; and the legs are +stout. _Odontomyia stylata_ is an elongate, broad, flattened, bronzy +green fly with the outer edges of the abdomen light green; and the long +pointed wings are folded down over the back; the head is very broad; +the rounded thorax is long, furnished with two small spines behind the +pronotum, and the abdomen is broadly rounded at the tip. It is a common +rather large fly about ½ an inch in length, usually found resting on +foliage in damp places. It has a wide range over Australia. In other +parts of the world these flies are numerous, and about 1,000 species of +the family have been described. + + + Family 7. March Flies. + + TABANIDAE. + +These flies are large or moderate sized insects, with broad heads +furnished with a fleshy proboscis well adapted for biting; the +4-jointed antennae stand out in front of the head and do not terminate +in a bristle; in the male the large eyes meet in front, but in the +female are separated; the wings are large, often long, and well adapted +for flight; the legs moderately stout; and the abdomen long, broad, and +somewhat flattened. + +They are common in the early summer months in open forest country, +and are popularly known in Australia as “March Flies”; in England and +America they usually go under the name of “Horse or Gad Flies,” and are +a great pest to both man and horse; they are so persistent in their +endeavours to bite and suck up blood that they are very easily captured +with the hand. + +The larvae of TABANIDAE live in damp earth, or are found in water; +they are carnivorous, feeding upon larvae and pond snails. The flies +deposit their eggs in bunches on herbage or low shrubs. These flies +are very interesting from an economic point of view, for they are said +to be sometimes responsible for outbreaks of anthrax by introducing +the bacillus when biting. Some years ago an outbreak of malignant +pustules on cattle in New Caledonia was said to have been traced to an +undetermined species of _Pangonia_ (Megnin and Germain, Bulletin Soc. +Ent. France Vol. viii. ser. 5). + +The Genus _Pangonia_ is well represented in this country by many +large handsome flies that differ from the typical _Tabanus_ in having +ocelli, and the third joint of the antennae elongate instead of +compressed. _Pangonia guttata_ was figured by Donovan in his “Insects +of New Holland”; it measures over 1 inch in length, and is broad in +proportion; its general colour is black, clothed with little tufts +of white downy hairs fringing the thorax in front of the wings, and +forming a band round the outer edge, with similar spots down the centre +of the abdominal segments; the under-surface is variegated with longer +white and black hairs, and the wings are clouded with black. This large +handsome fly is common in the coastal forests, usually found resting +on tree trunks in the heat of the day. _P. rufovittata_ is a smaller +more showy insect of a dull yellow colour. The eyes, parallel markings +on the thorax, and broad transverse bands on the abdomen of black, the +alternate abdominal bands of beautiful golden hairs, together with +the yellow clouded wings, give it a very striking appearance; it also +has a wide range over Australia, and is occasionally taken in the +neighbourhood of Sydney. _P. auriflus_, about ½ an inch in length, also +black, has the face, front of thorax, under-surface and outer margins +of the abdomen clothed with silvery hairs, while the hind margin of the +thorax, a blotch in the centre, and the tip of the abdomen are richly +coloured with bright yellow hairs. _P. concolor_, a much larger fly, is +of a uniform reddish brown colour, with black eyes, and mottled wings; +_P. violacea_ is a small bright metallic violet tinted insect not +unlike a blue bottle fly, but is easily distinguished when the antennae +are examined. + +The Genus _Tabanus_ contains many of the typical “March Flies”: +_Tabanus brevidentatus_ measures ½ an inch in length; is of a uniform +grey ash colour, with the hind edges of the abdominal segments barred +with light brown. _T. edentulus_ is a slightly larger, darker coloured +fly with greyer bands on the body; it is common on the slopes of Mt. +Kosciusko. _T. abstersus_ is still larger and darker, but with the +same general colour; the head and under-surface are clothed with +white hairs; the wings clouded; the base and sides of the abdomen +reddish brown with the dorsal surface barred with fine white hairs. +_T. sanguinarius_, one of the largest species, is of a uniform reddish +brown, with black eyes; the thorax tinted with yellow; and the wings +clouded. It has a wide range over Queensland and N.S. Wales. _Silvius +angusta_ is like a very small specimen of _Tabanus brevidentatus_. + +The members of the small Family LEPTIDAE are distinguished from the +preceding one, in having the third joint of the antennae simple and +furnished with a bristle, and the tibiae spined. The curious looking +larvae have the abdomen divided into two points at the tip; they live +in pits like the ant-lions. _Leptis aequalis_ is a greyish looking +species about the size of a house fly, with the head composed of two +large globular eyes touching in the centre; the legs are long; the +wings smoky; the elongated abdomen rounded at the tip, and barred +with black; the whole insect clothed with scattered hairs standing up +thickly on the dorsal surface. These flies are very common flying over +aphis infested wheat fields; my specimens come from Molong, N.S. Wales. + + + Family 8. Bee-flies. + + BOMBYLIDAE. + +These are popularly known as bee-flies, on account of their remarkable +powers of flight, and hairy appearance. They are all more or less +clothed with delicate downy hairs, furnished with 3 jointed antennae, +and slender legs terminating in fine claws. + +They frequent flowers, hovering over them like bees; and many species +have the wings richly marked with black. The life history of our +species is but little known, but I have bred several out of the clay +nests of wasps, and two out of lepidopterous pupae (_Agrotis sp._). +A European species is said to drop her eggs upon the clay nests of +wasps; the newly hatched larva is furnished with a boring apparatus in +front of its head by means of which it works its way through into the +chamber; there it undergoes another stage of development and emerges +from it with a simple sucking mouth to eat up the wasp larva. The larva +of those attacking the “cut-worms,” _Agrotis_, devours the whole of the +moth grub and pupates inside the chrysalid skin. The pupa is a very +curious looking creature enclosed in a dark brown shining skin about ¾ +of an inch long, with projecting spines on the head and extremity. The +body is cylindrical with the first 7 segments furnished with a band of +rasp-like spines or ridges on the dorsal surface, with which it moves +round and round when touched. _Anthrax nigricosta_ is a handsome little +black fly, with the head, under surface of the body, and two bands +across the abdomen fringed with white down. The wings are deeply marked +with black on the front margin, widest at the base. It measures about ½ +an inch in length, and comes from Queensland. _Comptosia albo-fasciata_ +is a large black fly shaded with fine reddish hairs on the dorsal +surface of the body; the wings are brown, very long, with white tips; +the body measures about ¾, and across the outspread wings 1½ inches. +_Neuria quadripennis_ is a much smaller, but somewhat similar looking +fly, with the dorsal surface and margins of the body more hairy; each +wing is darkly clouded, with the base light, and the tip white. Both +these species are not uncommon in New South Wales. + +_Acreotrichus gibbicornis_ is a beautiful little black fly with brown +eyes; not much over ¼ of an inch long; the elongate antennae and head +are clothed with tufts of black and white down; the rest of the body +is enveloped in long silvery white down. _A. fuscicornis_ is of a rich +violet black tint, a yellow line round the hind margin of the head, +and a broader band round the dorsal margin of the thorax of a similar +colour; the broad rounded abdomen is lightly banded with pubescence. +These flies were taken in numbers hovering over the flowers of +plum-trees in an orchard near Sydney. + + + Family 9. Bladder Flies. + + ACROCERIDAE. + +These are very curious looking flies with such very small round heads, +that at first sight one would think that they were broken off; but on +closer examination the little knobs in front will be found to consist +of two large eyes joining together on the inner edge, with small, 2 or +3 jointed antennae. Nothing is known about the larval habits of our +species, but in Europe they are parasitic on spiders or their cocoons. + +The members of the Genus _Pterodontia_ have the body inflated like a +bladder; we have several species in Australia, generally found resting +on twigs or tree trunks. _Pterodontia mellii_ measures under ½ an inch +in length; the thorax and body are swollen out like a bladder; it is of +a general black colour, with a mark on the back, the fore legs, and a +large blotch on either side of the body bright ochreous yellow; but the +dark portions are thickly clothed with fine black downy hairs like a +bumble bee. The wings on account of the swollen body look much smaller +than they really are. I have specimens from Queensland, and Hunter +River N.S.W., and they probably have a wide range. + +_Panops flavipes_ is a very curious looking fly from Moruya, N.S. +Wales, measuring over ½ an inch in length; it is of a general dark +bronzy black tint thickly clothed with fine down, silvery on the tip +of the abdomen. The head is very small, black and shining, with the +thickened cylindrical antennae standing out in front; the thorax, +swollen out behind the head, has a large angular white patch on +either side; the abdomen not quite as thick as the thorax is deeply +corrugated. The wings have the front half deeply clouded and the hind +portion transparent. + +_Acrodes fumatus_ is a much smaller species about ⅕ of an inch in +length; the head and thorax are black; the bladder shaped abdomen +is tawny yellow, with parallel stripes of black down the centre and +sides, and transverse white bars at the apex of each segment. They were +collected in numbers about Cook’s River, near Sydney. + + + Family 10. Mydas Flies. + + MYDAIDAE. + +These might be called “mimic flies,” because, with their large +thickened antennae (often swollen out into a compressed club at the +tips), their broad heads, elongated bodies, and bright variegated black +and yellow markings, they can be very easily mistaken at first sight +for Pompilid wasps. The mimicry is further emphasised by the thickened +spined legs, and coloured wings. + +We have a number of species in Australia; they are allied to the +“Robber-flies” which some of them resemble. The larvae of foreign +species are predaceous, feeding upon the grubs of various wood-boring +beetles. + +_Mydas fulvipennis_ has the greater part of the head, thorax, under +surface of the abdomen, and thighs black; with the face, antennae, +legs, wings and rest of the abdomen except two indistinct narrow bars, +bright reddish yellow. It measures over ¾ of an inch in length, and +is of the usual elongate robust form with long clubbed antennae and +thickened legs. My specimens come from Southern Queensland. + + [Illustration: Plate XXVIII.--DIPTERA. + + Family MUSCIDAE. + + 1. _Chaetogaster violacea_ (Macq.). + + Family TABANIDAE. + + 2. _Pangonia guttata_ (Donov.). + 6. _Pangonia auriflus_ (Donov.). + 14. _Tabanus abstersus_ (Walk.). + 7. _Lamprogaster laeta_ (Guérin). + + Family ASILIDAE. + + 3. _Asilis grandis_ (Macq.). + 8. _Craspedia coriaria_ (Wied.). + 12. _Phellus glaucus_ (Walk.). + 13. _Blepharotes splendissima_ (Wied.). + + Family DIOPSIDAE. + + 4. _Zygotricha sp._ + + Family BOMBYLIDAE. + + 5. _Comptosia albo-fasciata_ (Thomp.). + 11. _Trichophthalma eques_ (Sch.). + + Family DEXIIDAE. + + 9. _Rutilia decora_ (Guérin). + 10. _Amphibolia fulvipes_ (Guérin). + + (Original photo. Burton.)] + + [Illustration: _Plate XXVIII.--DIPTERA._] + + + Family 11. Robber-flies. + + ASILIDAE. + +This group is well represented in Australia by some very large handsome +robber-flies which attack and kill many insects larger than themselves, +transfixing them with their horny bayonet-like proboscis. The +large projecting eyes forming the greater part of the head are well +separated from the thorax; the three jointed antennae stand out at +an angle from each other; the legs are long, stout, and covered with +stiff hairs well adapted for holding their prey; they have more or +less clouded wings; and a slender, rather cylindrical body tapers to +a blunt tip in the female, but in the male terminates in a pair of +pincer-like processes. It is an extensive family, over 3,000 species +being described from all parts of the world; they are very numerous in +America, where one is a very serious pest to honey bees. Their larvae +live in the ground and are predaceous, feeding upon the larvae of other +insects, particularly those of beetles. + +The members of the Genus _Dasypogon_ are small delicate flies that +cling to grass stalks, and are easily taken with a sweeping net; they +have the typical form of the family, and their slender bodies taper +to a point. _Laphria diversipes_ is a common insect about Sydney +often taken on fences; it is slightly over ½ an inch in length; its +general colour is black, with stout reddish brown legs variegated with +black. The head is clothed with stiff grey hairs, the upper surface +mottled with golden pubescence, and scattered black hairs. _Laphria +rufifemorata_ is a somewhat large insect from Queensland, with the +abdomen of a deep metallic blue. _Leptogaster geniculatus_ is a +remarkably slender bodied fly, about the same length, found about the +Blue Mountains N.S.W. The head is short but wide across; the thorax +is oval, and the linear abdomen swells out slightly to the apex; the +legs are long and slender, the hind pair with the thighs swollen in the +centre. The general colour is shining black with the legs marked with +white. + +The typical Genus _Asilis_ contains some handsome flies generally +met with in open forest country: _Asilis inglorius_, over 1 inch in +length, has large black eyes; the front of the head is clothed with +grey bristles; the thorax is olive green, marbled with grey pubescence, +thickest on the ventral surface; the legs are red, the tarsi black; and +the wings are clouded with yellow; the abdomen is much elongated to the +pointed tip, reddish brown, the first 3 segments thickly clothed with +long, pale, golden, downy hairs, and with the terminal segments covered +with very short reddish brown hairs. _A. plicatus_ is slightly larger, +of a general greyish brown tint, with pale reddish brown markings on +the thorax; the legs are darker brown; the abdomen is lightly clothed +with fine scattered grey hairs. _A. fulvitarsus_ is a much smaller +species of a somewhat uniform buff tint, inclined to a golden tint on +the lower portion of the abdomen; the face is clothed with grey and +buff hairs, and the wings are light brown. + +_Blepharotes splendidissma_ is a very handsome fly with the abdomen +flattened, broad, and almost heart shaped; it measures nearly 1½ inches +in length, and 2½ across the outspread wings. It is of a general black +colour with the abdomen of a shining bronzy green tint; the face is +clothed with yellow bristles; the thorax has grey pubescence on the +sides, and the outer margins and tip of abdomen are fringed with tufts +of yellow and black downy hairs. I have frequently captured it flying +about in the Botanic Gardens, Sydney, in the early summer. _Phellus +glaucus_ is a very curious fly found in the interior of Western +Australia; it measures nearly 2 inches from the front of the head to +the tip of the wings; a great tuft of bright yellow hairs stand out +in front of the head; it is thickly clothed on the under-surface of +the head with pale yellow hairs; the legs are very stout and hairy, +and clothed with black down marked with white and large yellow tufts +on the hind legs. The abdomen is thickened, elongated and broadly +rounded to the tip, of a uniform deep metallic blue tint, but so +thickly clothed with short black down that its rich colour is somewhat +obscured. _Craspedia coriaria_ is one of our largest robber-flies, +widely distributed all over the interior of the continent; its mouth +is produced into a stout pointed awl-like process, with which it can +pierce the integument of the stoutest insect, and it can be often seen +flying along with its beak buried in the back of a large cockchafer +beetle (_Anoplognathus_), and with its large legs clasping its victim +as it sucks up its blood. Its general colour is black, with the broad, +flattened, more elongate abdomen thickly clothed with short brick-red +hairs; the legs and under surface are very hairy, with tufts of stiff +black hairs fringing the outer edges of the abdominal segments. The +wings are opaque and almost black, with an expanse of about 3 inches. + +_Saropogon princeps_, described by Macquart, has a large reddish brown +wasp-like form that at first sight might be easily mistaken for a +Pompilid wasp. It measures 1½ inches in length, with a wing expanse +of about 3 inches. The head, under-surface, centre of the thorax +above, the basal segment, and two bands on the abdomen are black; the +rest is dull red, with the hind margin of the wings hyaline. I have a +specimen from Mittagong N.S. Wales. _Brachyrhopala ruficornis_ comes +from Mackay, Queensland, and has a very wasp-like appearance both in +the colouration and shape of the body. It is under ½ an inch in length +with the typical robber-fly head and spiny legs, but the abdomen is +contracted into a cylindrical waist behind the thorax, rounded in the +centre, and tapered to the tip. The head and thorax are almost black; +the hind margin of the latter and legs are dull red; the abdomen is +dull yellow with the basal segments marked with blackish brown, forming +two almost confluent bands round the broad centre. + + + Family 12. False Robber-flies. + + APIOCERIDAE. + +These flies are of medium size not unlike _Muscidae_, with large +elongated bodies, short antennae, and clear wings. This is a small +family containing two genera, the species of which are peculiar to +North America, Chili, and Australia. + +_Apiocera bigotii_, described by Macquart, is about ¾ of an inch in +length; it has a short head not so wide as the thorax, with a long +projecting proboscis; the elongate broadly rounded thorax is truncated +behind; the abdomen is broadest in front, rounded, and tapers to +the tip, which terminates in a tuft of fine spines. The wings are +somewhat iridescent with reddish veins; the general colour of the fly +is a dull brown, with white hairs and silvery pubescence clothing the +hind portion of the head and under-surface of the thorax, and also +mottling the dorsal surface of the body with grey. Some specimens in +my possession come from the Shoalhaven district. _Apiocera asilica_ +described by Westwood is a larger much darker insect, with black hairs +on the upper surface and grey on the under surface; it ranges from +Queensland to the Blue Mountains N.S.W. + + + Family 13. Big-eyed Flies. + + PIPUNCULIDAE. + +These are tiny little creatures with very large heads consisting almost +entirely of two great hemispherical eyes. The short antenna terminates +in a bristle. + +About 80 species had been described, chiefly from Europe, until Perkins +published the descriptions of 26 species from Australia (Leaf Hoppers +and their natural enemies Pt. iv. Pipunculidae) Hawaii 1905. + +They are remarkable for their habits in the larval state, being +parasitic upon the larvae and pupae of frog-hoppers, chiefly Jassidae, +particularly those Homoptera that have the tip of the abdomen clothed +with waxy filaments. When full grown the dipterous larvae leave their +host and bury themselves in the soil, where they pupate. Mr. Koebele +allowed me to examine the collection he made of these little flies +before they were described by Mr. Perkins. Many of these he reared from +infested frog-hoppers in Queensland when studying sugar-cane pests. + +_Pipunculus helluo_ was observed swarming round the larvae of +_Siphanta_, which were abundant on fig trees near Bundaberg Queensland; +this species was also taken by Koebele near Sydney. _P. cinerascens_ +is remarkable in the larval form, as it does not fall to the ground +and pupate in the soil, but forms its puparium upon the surface of the +living leaves in the open. _P. cruciator_ comes from the district of +Cairns, N. Queensland. + + + Family 14. Hover Flies. + + SYRPHIDAE. + +Several species are well known and common in gardens, where they +are popularly known under the name of “Bee” or “Hover Flies” from a +way they have of poising, apparently motionless, over flowers and +aphid-infested bushes, for the movement of their wings is so rapid as +scarcely to be detected. The perfect flies, which among the carnivorous +species have slender bodies more or less barred or banded with yellow, +lay their eggs upon aphis-infested plants; the young larvae emerging +from the white eggs feed exclusively upon aphids and plant lice; the +full-grown larva is legless, very elongate in form, and has great +powers for extending and contracting its abdominal segments, so that +the body, from a rounded mass, can extend into a long and slender form. +The full-grown larva pupates in an oval hard chrysalid which usually +falls to the ground. + +The typical Genus _Syrphus_ is well represented in Australia by +several fine species, all of which are aphid eaters, and fly about +in the bright sunshine but shelter among the foliage at other times; +whenever aphis appear the syrphid flies soon follow, and I have seen +them round the aphid-infested briar bushes in countless thousands. +_Syrphus pusillus_, figured in the Agricultural Gazette N.S.W. 1904 +under the name of _Syrphus viridiceps_, is our commonest species found +upon aphis-infested rose bushes, orchard trees, and wheat fields. It +measures about ⅓ of an inch in length; has large reddish eyes, yellow +face, and dull metallic green thorax with yellow scutellum; the darker +abdomen is banded with three interrupted transverse yellow bands, and +smaller marks on the apical segments. _S. viridiceps_ is a more slender +form, with a green face; the whole of the thorax is shining lead +colour, with fine yellow bands on the abdomen; the legs are dark, and +the whole fly is lightly clothed with fine hairs. Both these species +may be taken on the same bush, and both have a very wide range over +Australia. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 146.=--_Syrphus viridiceps_ + (Macquart). + + A common Hover-fly that destroys rose and peach aphis. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The Drone or Bee Fly, _Eristalis tenax_, is another common garden +fly with a very wide range, and is an introduced European species. +It measures over ½ an inch in length and is broad in proportion; the +head and thorax are clothed with yellowish brown down, and the smooth +shining abdomen is mottled with black and brown. The larvae are dirty +white maggots with slender rat-tails at the tip of the body, and they +live in all kinds of rotten or semi-liquid refuse. + +_Helophilus bengalensis_ is a smaller, robust fly with rounded eyes; +the thorax is richly barred with parallel grey lines on the dorsal +surface; and there are two large lunate yellow spots at the basal +portion of the abdomen. The lower part of the abdomen tapers to a +rounded tip and is clothed with yellow down. This fly was originally +described from Bengal by Wiedemann; Schiner has reported it from +Batavia; my specimens come from Queensland. _H. griseus_ was described +and its life history given in my “Entomology of the Grass-trees” +(Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1896) under the name of _Orthoprosopa nigra_. +The larvae, elongate in form, with a short anal tubular tail, swarm +in great numbers between the outer shell and the caudex of the dead +rotting trunk of the grass-trees among the slime and water. They pupate +in the damp earth in captivity, forming a light brown oval case with +the remains of the larval tail shortened and retracted. This handsome +black fly, over ½ an inch in length, has the face and antennae bright +yellow; the dorsal surface clothed with fine black pubescence; the +scutellum smooth and shining; the sides fringed with scattered grey +hairs; and the wings clouded. There is a second species found in +similar situations; the larvae have the typical slender rat-tails, and +when they pupate transform the tail into a curved tubular process at +the extremity of the chrysalis. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 147.=--_Eristalis tenax_ + (Linn.). + + The Drone or Bee-fly; usually found upon flowers. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +_Sphiximorpha australis_, from Southern Queensland, is a very curious +broad thickset black and yellow fly, with spatulate tipped antennae +standing out in front of the two large eyes; the head is slightly +larger than the thorax, which is stout and thickened; and the broad +abdomen is rounded at the extremity. The general colour is black, with +the face, three spots on the sides of the thorax, scutellum, apical +portion of legs, and two bands on the abdomen rich yellow. The wings +are clear, except a dark stripe along the front margin. This curious +fly has a striking resemblance to some of the yellow banded mud-nest +wasps (_Odynerus_ and _Alastor_), but the reason for their bright +colouration and abnormal shape is at present unknown. + + + Family 15. Wasp-flies. + + CONOPIDAE. + +These are handsome flies of moderate size, many of which are very +wasp-like in the shape of the abdomen and in general colouration; they +have the proboscis prolonged but usually drawn up and hidden; the +3-jointed antennae inserted in front of the head are close together at +the base, with the first joint very short. Comstock says that the larva +of _Conops_ is a soft whitish 11-jointed flask-shaped grub, with +a long neck and mouth armed with lips and hooks (mandibles) and two +lateral elevated plates supporting the two spiracles. It was found by +Lachat and Audouin living in the body of a _Bombus_. Most of the +members of this family are found as parasites upon different bees and +wasps; the flies deposit their eggs upon the perfect insects; the larva +bores into the abdomen, feeds upon the contents, and finally pupates in +the shell of the body. They are considered by most writers to be allied +to the _Syrphidae_. + +This is a small family in regard to numbers of species, but they +are widely distributed: Van der Wulp lists 14 species of the Genus +_Conops_ from South Asia, including the Malay Archipelago (Cat. +Described Diptera 1896), and others have since been described. + +_Conops pica_, described by Macquart from Australia, is found in the +Mittagong district, N.S.W. It is slightly over ¼ of an inch in length; +has large lance-tipped antennae standing out in front; a large head; +the abdomen very slender at the base swelling out to a broadly rounded +tip, giving it a striking resemblance to the small “mud-nest wasps.” +This resemblance is further borne out by its general dark brown colour +marked and banded with yellow, which upon the abdomen forms two broad +bands, a spot on the sides, and a large rounded blotch on the extreme +tip; the legs are banded, and the wings are striped in front with brown. + + + Family 16. Fruit Flies, Leaf Mining Flies, &c. + + MUSCIDAE ACALYPTRATA. + +Under this heading Sharp places a large division of closely related +flies comprising 29 families, which he treats in a very brief manner; +we have a large number of interesting species in some of these families +that are worthy of notice, for some of them are very serious pests +to the gardener and orchardist. Sharp says: “Taken collectively, they +may be defined as small flies with 3-jointed antennae (frequently +looking as if only 2-jointed) bearing a bristle that is not terminally +placed; frequently either destitute of squamae or hairy, these +imperfectly developed so as not to cover the halteres; and possessing +a comparatively simple system of neuration, the chief nervures being +straight, so that consequently few cells are formed.” + +The DIOPSIDAE comprise in the typical Genus _Diopsis_ some very curious +looking flies, rather slender in form, with narrow wings, and the sides +of the head produced into an elongate stalk, at the tip of which is +placed the rounded eye, reminding one of the stalk-eyed crabs. Westwood +monographed this genus in the Transactions of the Linnean Society 1835, +where he figured and described 21 species from Africa, India and Java. +I have two very fine species from North Queensland, belonging to the +Genus _Zygotricha_, and a number of allied forms placed in the Genus +_Achias_ by Van der Wulp (Catalogue of the Described Diptera from South +Asia 1896) recorded from New Guinea. The Stalk-eyed fly, _Zygotricha +sp._, measures nearly ½ an inch in length, with the eyes measuring over +¼ of an inch from tip to tip; its general colour is yellowish brown, +the face bright yellow; eyes black; thorax finely striped with grey; +wings mottled; the curious angulated abdomen shining with metallic +tints, and tipped with stout hairs. + +The cosmopolitan “Skipper” in cheese, is the larva of _Piophila casei_; +it pupates in a slender dark chrysalid; the small slender dark fly +swarms round over-ripe cheese, fat, and other dried foods. + +The little “Fruit Flies” belonging to the DROSOPHILIDAE, sometimes +also known as “wine flies” from their habit of swarming round the +freshly-filled wine casks, lay their eggs in decaying vegetable matter; +they are often attracted to over-ripe fruit, and by their presence +sometimes cause it to decay; they are common all over the world. The +maggots sometimes found among pickles in vinegar and brine belong to +flies of this group. _Drosophila obscura_, a tiny light brown fly with +a dark coloured head, breeds in damaged tomatoes. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 148.=--_Dacus (Tephritis) + tryoni_ (Froggatt). The Queensland Fruit Fly. + + 1. Showing the jaws of the larva; 2. adult fly enlarged; + 3. larva; 4. chrysalid; 5. tip of the abdomen showing the + breathing orifices; 6. fly natural size.] + +The TRYPETIDAE comprise the true “fruit flies,” many of them very +handsome little creatures; some of them form regular galls in the twigs +of plants; others with their needle-like ovipositors puncture the +ripening fruit, depositing their eggs beneath the skin; the maggots +cause the fruit to rot, often before it can be gathered, and thus +do a great deal of damage in Australian orchards. The Queensland +Fruit-fly, _Dacus (Tephritis) tryoni_, ranges from Queensland (where +it probably originally infested native bush fruits) into N.S. Wales, +and is now a serious orchard pest in both States. It is a dull brown +insect marked with yellow, about the size of a large house fly, with a +rather wasp-shaped body, and large transparent wings. I have described +several other allied species coming into Australia from the Islands in +damaged fruit, “Notes on Fruit-maggot Flies with Descriptions of New +Species” (Agr. Gazette N.S. Wales 1899). _Dacus (Tephritis) psidii_ +was bred out of guavas imported from New Caledonia; it is about ¼ of +an inch in length; is dull yellow, with the thorax distinctly striped, +and the abdomen black; the transparent wings are thickly mottled with +brown. Tryon says that it is a common fruit-fly pest in Queensland, +damaging bananas and other fruits. _Trypeta musae_ was obtained from +bananas brought from the New Hebrides: it is a slightly larger fly, +with the head and thorax dull yellow; it has no distinct dorsal stripe +on the thorax, and the wings are very thickly mottled. _T. bicolor_ is +a larger native species with reddish brown head and thorax; with black +body; with beautifully mottled black wings having the base and sides +unclouded. I have taken it on the trunks of wattle trees near Bathurst, +N.S. Wales. The “Mediterranean Fruit Fly,” _Ceratitis (Halterophora) +capitata_, first recorded from oranges brought from the Azores to +London, was described by Macleay in 1826; it has a wide range, and was +introduced into New South Wales some years ago; it is now one of the +most serious pests that orchardists have to fight. It is a smaller more +thickset fly than the Queensland pest, with the thorax dark metallic +brown, and the wings richly variegated. The male is remarkable in +having a pair of spatulate hairs, like a second pair of antennae, +springing out in front between the eyes. _Trypeta poenia_ is a tiny +little fly with a grey pubescence over the thorax and abdomen; the +thorax is finely mottled, and the delicate wings are very finely but +thickly marked with dark brown; I have taken this species when beating +the low scrub in the western country round Condobolin, N.S. Wales. +_Lonchaea splendida_ is a very brilliant metallic green fly with pale +smoky wings; it is smaller than a house fly, with a much more elongated +body; its larvae infest decaying tomatoes, potatoes, egg-fruit and +other solanums; it has a wide range from the Pacific Islands and New +Zealand, over Australia. + +The family ORTALIDAE is represented here by a very handsome species, +_Ortalis coerulea_; it is about the size of a house fly, with deep +metallic blue thorax and banded black abdomen; the transparent wing is +clouded with black at the base and the tip, and has a black V-shaped +band in the centre. It is very common in summer usually resting on the +foliage of the grass-trees, and can be easily captured with a net. +_Lamprogaster laeta_ is another fine species, with a wide range from +Victoria to Queensland. It measures nearly ½ an inch from the front of +the head to the tip of the body; the large semitransparent wings are +blotched along the front with black. The dorsal surface and curious +angular abdomen are deep metallic blue; the legs and under-surface +reddish brown. I have usually found it on the highlands, and it is +common on the Blue Mountains N.S.W. in the summer months. + +The AGROMYZIDAE are small yellow flies, sometimes marked with green; +they puncture the tissue of plants and cause excrescences and galls +upon the foliage and flower buds. One tiny species, _Agromyza sp._, +attacks the midrib of the leaves of the “Blood-wood” (_Eucalyptus +corymbosa_), common about Sydney; producing soft yellow spongy +excrescences aborting all the young foliage. _A. phaseoli_ is a great +pest to the growers of french beans in the Gosford district N.S.W.; +the fly inserts her eggs in the stem of the young plant just above the +surface of the ground. It is a tiny black fly, with bluish tints on the +body. It was described by Coquillett (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1899) from +specimens I sent to him for identification. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 149.=--_Agromyza phaseoli_ + (Coquillett). + + The French-bean fly, the larva of which feeds on the stems. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + [Illustration: =Fig. 150.=--_Phytomyza affinis_ + (Fallen). + + An introduced Leaf-mining fly, and a common garden pest. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The PHYTOMYZIDAE are small dark coloured flies, whose larvae are leaf +miners; and several species are well known pests to the gardener. +_Phytomyza affinis_ breeds in the winter in the leaves of the sow +thistle; the next generation swarm on the marguerites, sunflowers and +many others of the _Compositae_, thereby causing them to wither and +fall. + +The SAPROMYZIDAE contain a great number of small flies which are +generally met with resting among the foliage when sweeping or beating +the scrub in the early morning. They seldom have the wings spotted, +and the abdomen is broader than that of the former group. The larvae +feed under the bark of trees, or among decaying vegetation. _Sapromyza +fuscicornis_ is of a uniform pale brownish yellow, with dark eyes, and +with scattered stout bristles on the thorax; it is a large species over +¼ of an inch in length to the tip of the closed wings. It has a wide +range over Australia. _S. decora_ is a very much smaller dark brown +fly, with a fine white stripe on each side of the thorax extending +across the sides of the head above the eyes. It is common in summer in +the orchards among the orange trees. + +In the members of the Genus _Celyphus_ the scutellum is so abnormally +inflated that it covers all the posterior parts of the body, so that +these tiny shining black creatures are quite unlike the typical +Diptera. A dark brown fly about the size of a house fly that has been +described under the name of _Batrachomyia nigritarsis_ by Skuse, is +a parasite in the larval state on the back of several of our common +frogs, where feeding under the skin it forms a regular blister; when +full grown the larva makes its way through the skin, and pupates in the +damp soil. + +The SCATOPHAGIDAE are slender, elongate, medium sized flies that can be +bred out of dung or decaying vegetable matter, and are found in most +parts of the world. _Scatophaga guerini_ measures over ⅓ of an inch +in length; it is of a dull greyish brown tint, marked on the head and +thorax with parallel whitish bars, thickly clothed on the stout legs +with fine hairs; and the long wings are folded over the back when at +rest. It has a wide range; I have it from Sydney, and have bred it from +the cylindrical white maggots in “toad-stools” collected on the banks +of the Darling River, N.S. Wales. + +The Genus _Nerius_ (placed by Van der Wulp in the Sub-family +CALOBATINAE, following the SCIOMYZINAE) is represented by two fine +species common in North Queensland. They are very slender, long-legged +flies, with long, straight-veined wings, rounded at the extremities, +and folded over the narrow pointed abdomen; the head, which has a +distinct neck, might be described as pear-shaped, with short, stout, +lance-shaped antennae standing out in front, and elongate flattened +eyes with a dorsal depression between them; the abdomen is elongate, +oval; and both species, about the same size, measure ½ an inch in +length. _Nerius inermis_, “the Banana-stalk Fly,” is of a uniform dull +brown colour, with the dorsal surface of the head and thorax striped +with white, and the whole of the under surface and thighs (except a +brown comma-like mark on the sides) white. The slender white maggots +feed in the ends of the decaying stalks of the bunches of Queensland +bananas, forming elongate reddish brown chrysalids when they pupate; +they are easily bred out in captivity. This species was originally +described from the Nicobar Islands by Schiner; and has also been +recorded from Celebes and Aroe. _N. lineolatus_, described by Wiedemann +from Java, is common in North Queensland; it differs from the last +species in having the dorsal surface more thickly and brightly striped +with white, and the legs being barred with white. + + + Family 17. Anthomyia Flies. + + ANTHOMYIDAE. + +In general appearance they are very like the house fly, of small size +and indefinite colour; they differ in the structure of the wings, and +the eyes of the male are generally large and in contact; the antennae +are bare or feathered. In their larval habits they vary very much: some +are simply scavengers; others feed on living vegetation, and like the +onion and cabbage flies are serious pests; and a few are parasitic. The +family is a large one, and species are found in most parts of the world. + +The common bluish fly resting on the decaying weed, and flying along +in front when one is walking along the sea shore, belongs to the Genus +_Lispe_; it looks like a house fly with longish legs and a pale tint. + +_Ophyra analis_ is a very common inland fly, and may be found swarming +round dead sheep, or bred from pupae found under carrion lying in the +bush. It is a shining blue black fly about the size of an ordinary +house fly, and is lightly clothed with bristles on the sides of the +thorax; it has a somewhat heart-shaped body, and clear wings. A +second species, _O. nigra_, originally described by Wiedemann from +China, is found in Australia, and is also recorded by Walker from the +East Indies. It may be found swarming about dead sheep in summer. +_Phoania personata_ might be taken for a large house fly from the +regular stripes on the thorax, but it is more thickly clothed with +bristles, and the abdomen has a deep metallic blue tint. I have bred +numbers from larvae pupating in rotting oranges piled on the ground. +_Limnophora ruficoxis_ is a somewhat smaller fly with the dorsal +surface of the thorax and abdomen clothed with a dull buff pubescence; +and the scutellum is smooth and shining. I have specimens from Sydney, +N.S.W., and Gatton, Queensland. + + + Family 18. Parasite Flies. + + TACHINIDAE. + +This is one of the most useful groups of flies to the agriculturist, +for nearly all the members deposit their eggs upon the living larvae of +other insects such as the plant-destroying cut-worms, many different +moths, and the grubs of our large saw-flies, and immature grasshoppers. +This is a family of considerable extent, for over 1,000 species have +been described from America alone, and in Van der Wulp’s Catalogue 187 +species are listed from South Asia, but very little has been done in +working up the Australian species. + +In general appearance they are not unlike large house flies, but more +bristly; the bristle of the third antennal joint is bare; the posterior +cell of the wing almost or quite closed, and the large squamae cover +the halteres. They attach their white eggs to the surface of the +caterpillar with a gummy secretion, and it is quite common in summer +time to find caterpillars thus infested, the perfect flies generally +emerging from the pupal shell of their victim. + +The members of the Genus _Winthemia_ are rather large flies, parasitic +upon the larvae of different moths; several American species are great +checks upon the increase of the “Army worm” (_Leucania unipuncta_). +_Winthemia lata_ measures slightly under ½ an inch in length, and +is thickset in proportion; it has a silvery face, with the brownish +thorax covered with short stout bristles on the sides; the abdomen +is black, with the sides and outer margin of the segments blotched +with dull yellow; and the whole upper surface is lightly clothed with +fine bristles. I have bred this fly from our Native Silkworm Moth +(_Antheroea eucalypti_), from Lewin’s Moth (_Ocinaria lewinae_), and +from an undetermined hawkmoth. + +The Genus _Miltogramma_ comprises a number of smaller flies common in +Europe, which lay their eggs upon the captured prey of the sand wasps +while the latter are placing them in their burrows in the ground; and +not only does the parasitic fly larva devour the food supply, but also +when that is finished, feeds on the baby wasp. An Indian species is +parasitic upon one of the large plague locusts. I have a very handsome +undetermined species from Southern Queensland which has the abdomen +ringed with bright yellow bands; this would suggest that it may deposit +its eggs in the underground chambers of a similarly banded _Bembex_. +Another much smaller species, not unlike the house fly in size and +general colouration, has the grey abdomen barred with black. + + + Family 19. Metallic Green Flies. + + DEXIIDAE. + +These flies differ from the Tachinidae, which they otherwise resemble, +in having longer legs, and the bristle of the antennae pubescent or +plumose. Australia is rich in large handsome species, often brightly +marked with metallic tints; they are usually most plentiful in open +forest country, often resting on tree trunks; when flying round they +make a loud humming sound. Most of them are parasitic in their habits, +depositing their eggs upon the larvae of lamellicorn beetles that are +buried in the ground. + +_Chaetogaster violacea_ is of the usual thickset form, with a broad +body and long pointed wings; it measures nearly 1 inch from the front +of the head to the tips of the folded wings. It is of a general dark +metallic blue colour, with the dorsal surface of the head and thorax +marked with grey, and the whole insect is clothed with scattered black +bristles. The wings are clouded with dull yellow on the basal half, +giving it a very distinctive appearance. _Amphibolia fulvipes_ is +another very handsome and smaller fly with a broader body than the +last, but the wings are shorter and clouded at the base; the head and +legs are yellow; the rest black, with the thorax spotted behind and +marked with a row of short broken parallel bars in front; the greater +part of the abdomen above and below is creamy white mottled with seven +bilobed blotches of black forming a pattern on the dorsal surface. It +is found about Sydney and has a wide range on the eastern coast. + +_Amenia leonina_ is about ½ an inch in length with a more rounded +abdomen. The large head is bright yellow, with the thorax and abdomen +rich metallic blue; the sides of the thorax and abdomen are marked with +several white circular dots, the last two on the tip of the abdomen +very distinct. It is found in Tasmania, and ranges along the eastern +coast of the mainland into Queensland. + +The typical Genus _Rutilia_ is well represented in Australia by a +number of large, showy flies rich in metallic tints, and as a general +rule not so thickly or coarsely clothed with bristles. _Rutilia +formosa_, originally described from New Holland by Desvoidy, is not +uncommon along the eastern coast in the summer months. It measures from +¾ to 1 inch in length; is of a general rich light metallic blue tint; +the abdomen indistinctly barred with black is rich metallic coppery +red, duller in the larger females, which have the abdominal segments +more hirsute and bristly. The larvae are parasitic upon beetle grubs, +probably those of the brown cockchafer (_Anoplognathus_). _R. decora_ +is about the same size and has much the same habits and range. The +thorax is rich metallic blue, darker in front, with a row of short +black bars; the abdomen is black with a double row of bright green +metallic spots down the centre, the two at the anal tip largest. _R. +vivipara_ measures about 1 inch in length, with a wing expanse of 1½ +inches; it is of a general dull greyish brown tint; the abdomen is +lighter brown, and has a dark line down the centre and the sides and +tips lightly clothed with grey hairs. _R. inornata_, about the same +size as the last species, is a much darker fly; the abdomen is of a +uniform dull shining black with grey hairs on the sides but none on the +tip. Both these species have an extended range in forest country. + +_Myocera longipes_ has the general colouration of a house fly, with +long, clear wings behind which are large white squamae; and it has very +long slender legs. It has a curious habit of resting on the tree trunks +with its long legs spread out in a very characteristic manner. + + [Illustration: Plate XXIX.--DIPTERA. + + Family MUSCIDAE. + + 1. _Lucilia tasmaniensis_ (Macquart). Large blue-bottle + fly. + 2. _Lucilia caesar_ (Linn.). Introduced sheep fly. + 3. _Lucilia sericata_ (Meigen). Metallic blue-bottle fly. + 4. _Musca domestica_ (Linn.). Common house fly. + 5. _Musca corvina_ (Fabr.). Bush fly.] + + [Illustration: _Plate XXIX.--DIPTERA._] + + + Family 20. Flesh Flies. + + SARCOPHAGIDAE. + +These flies differ from the true house flies in having the bristle +of the antennae plumose at the base but fine and hair-like at the +extremity. They lay their eggs or living larvae upon meat or other +exposed food, and are also known as “Scavenger” flies because they +frequent evil-smelling places like pig-sties and slaughter-yards. Some +species are known to deposit their larvae in the nostrils of animals, +and there are several records of the death of human beings from +infestation by these maggots. + +The typical Genus _Sarcophaga_ is world-wide in its distribution, and +contains a number of well known species. _Sarcophaga aurifrons_ is +our commonest species in Australia, and is also found in the Malay +Archipelago. It is over ⅓ of an inch in length; the front of the head +is golden; the large eyes deep red; the legs black; and the thorax +and abdomen black but thickly clothed with silvery grey pubescence; +the black shows through, forming three black bands on the front of +the thorax; and the abdomen is mottled with indistinct spots. _S. +frontalis_ is a slightly larger species with the face very bright +golden yellow; the black bars on the thorax finer and darker; and the +abdomen mottled with a more irregular pattern. A much smaller species, +hardly larger than a house fly, was described by Skuse (Agricultural +Gazette N.S.W. 1891, p. 251) as a parasite of the plague locust; he +named it _Masicera pachytyli_; this fly Mr. Coquillett says belongs +to the Genus _Sarcophaga_. I have since bred a much larger species +from the bodies of locusts in the Bombala district, N.S.W. _Tachina +oedipoda_, described by Olliff (Agr. Gaz. N.S.W. 1891, p. 769), I am +also informed by Mr. Coquillett, should be _Sarcophaga oedipoda_, and +is closely allied to _S. aurifrons_: it also is a parasite on the same +species of locust. + + + Family 21. House Flies. + + MUSCIDAE. + +This group comprises all the typical house flies, some of which are +world-wide in their distribution. All of them have the bristle that +forms the tip of the antennae hairy or plumose, while the abdomen is +spineless, without bristles except at the extremity. + +They deposit their eggs in stable manure or other decaying matter; the +maggots, developing very rapidly in warm weather, form the usual hard +parchment-like chrysalids from which the perfect flies emerge. Many +interesting observations have been lately made on the habits of house +flies and the danger of their spreading diseases by carrying germs or +particles of putrid matter upon their feet, and thus contaminating +food or transferring germs into open wounds; it was proved in the +Spanish-American war that the swarms of flies had a great deal to +do with the spread of fever in this manner. _Musca domestica_, the +common house fly, is almost world-wide in its distribution, and is the +chief species found inside the house. In the larval state it chiefly +develops in stable manure. It measures about ¼ of an inch in length; is +of a uniform black tint but is so thickly clothed with grey tomentum +that it appears to be brown; the eyes are red; the thorax is clothed +with stiff black bristles, and has four parallel bars down the centre +of the dorsal surface. The freshly deposited eggs hatch within a day +or two; the maggots develop within six days, and remain in the pupal +state for only a few days in the summer; so that it is no wonder that +they multiply with such marvellous rapidity, particularly when we +discover that one house fly will lay over 1,000 eggs in the season. +_Musca corvina_ is a smaller darker tinted species, showing only two +parallel stripes down the thorax. It is a common bush species and a +great pest in the bush all through the summer, swarming in countless +thousands from the eastern coast into the interior. It has a wide +range over Europe, North America, Ceylon, and the Malay Archipelago. +_Stomoxys calcitrans_ is of a more brownish tint, with the abdomen more +flattened, and it differs from the last two species in having a well +developed biting mouth; this fly is a troublesome pest to horses, and +will alight on one’s hand and bite quite sharply. It has a wide range +from Europe across Asia to Ceylon, Java, and Australia. + +The Genus _Calliphora_ is well represented by several very distinct +species of typical “Blow-flies”; but though the common European +species, _Calliphora vomitaria_, is said to be common in New Zealand +I have never taken it in Australia. _C. villosa_ is our large common +blow-fly; it measures about ½ an inch in length; is of a general +slate grey colour with the abdomen thickly clothed with fine golden +pubescence giving it a bright mottled yellow tint. _C. oceaniae_ is the +smaller blow-fly with a steely blue abdomen, the base on either side +bearing a dull yellow blotch by which it can be easily distinguished. +Both these species are found in the bush and in the house; they lay +their eggs on any food they can gain access to; but in the summer, or +when they cannot get at food in time, the egg is hatched in the body of +the mother and dropped as a living maggot. Some of the bright metallic +species also come in this Genus; _C. rufifaces_ is a much smaller +bright rich metallic blue fly, with a silvery face, red eyes, and white +flaps behind the wings; it, and the much smaller _C. varipes_ with a +yellow face and darker tinted body, are common about dead sheep or +decaying matter in the interior. + + [Illustration: Plate XXX.--DIPTERA. + + Family MUSCIDAE. + + 1. _Calliphora oceaniae_ (Desv.). Blue-bodied blow-fly. + 2. _Calliphora oceaniae_ (Desv.). Maggot. + 3. Head segment of maggot, showing mouth hooks. + 4. Anal segment of maggot, showing tubercles. + 5. Pupa. + 6. _Calliphora villosa_ (Desv.). Yellow blow-fly.] + + [Illustration: _Plate XXX.--DIPTERA._] + +_Neocalliphora ochracea_ is somewhat thicker and broader than +_Calliphora villosa_, and a much rarer species; it is of a general dull +reddish brown colour, with the head and thorax darkest. + +In the Genus _Lucilia_ we have the typical “Bluebottle” flies, which +are well represented in this country: _Lucilia sericata_ and _L. +caesar_, both of a moderate size and deep metallic green and coppery +tints, are widely distributed. _L. tasmaniensis_ is a larger species, +measuring under ½ an inch in length; it is of a uniform bright metallic +blue, and has a wide range. + + + Family 22. Bot-flies. + + OESTRIDAE. + +The members of this family are well known in most parts of the world +in the larval state as “bots,” internal parasites in the stomach of +the horse, in the nostrils of sheep, and the skins of cattle. The +life history of the common European bot-fly, _Gastrophilus equi_, is +well known; the active fly lays her eggs upon the shoulders or jaws +of the horse, attaching them to the hair by a gummy secretion; the +horse licking itself transfers the eggs into its mouth, where the +tiny maggots hatch out and are carried down into the stomach. They +are provided with a pair of fine curved hooks in front of the head by +which these little creatures hook themselves into the membrane of the +stomach, absorbing their nutriment from the liquid with which they +are surrounded. When fully developed these oval spiny bots detach +themselves and pass out with the excrement, the maggots at once burying +themselves in the damp soil and pupating; the perfect fly emerges early +in February in most parts of N.S. Wales. The flies, about ½ an inch in +length, have large thickset bodies thickly clothed with short brown +or golden hairs, giving them the general appearance of a hairy bee; +the male has a short rounded abdomen; that of the female is greatly +elongated and usually curled up underneath. There are probably several +introduced species now common in Australia with a wide range over the +country. It is remarkable that though they do not bite or sting the +horses when laying their eggs, yet as soon as the horses hear the loud +hum of the bot-fly they gallop about and show an inherited fear of this +pest, which, though it does not kill them, must be a very unpleasant +parasite when numerous. The members of the Genus _Hypoderma_ are a very +serious pest in Europe and other countries where they infest cattle, +and are known both as “warble” or “bot-flies.” The fly lays her eggs +upon the back of the beast; the tiny larva makes its way through the +hide, beneath which it lives and feeds upon the putrid matter caused +by the irritation of its presence; it finally produces an inflamed +blister-like swelling or “warble,” eventually working its way out +through the hide and falling to the ground, where it buries itself and +pupates. No species have been found in Australia, but in some parts of +England very serious damage is caused to the health of the beast, and +the skin by being perforated loses value for making leather. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 151.=--_Gastrophilus equi_ + (Fabr.). + + 1 and 2, The introduced Bot-fly, showing dorsal and lateral + view of female; 3, eggs attached to hairs of horse; 4, egg + enlarged (the eggs should be more truncate at the tips); 5, + larval bots attached to piece of the stomach of a horse; 6, + bot much enlarged; 7, enlarged head of bot showing the mouth + hooks.] + +The Sheep Nostril Fly, _Oestrus ovis_, has a wide range over the +world, and was probably introduced into Australia many years ago, +though it has been noticed only quite recently as a serious pest. +This fly lays living maggots in the nostril of the unfortunate sheep; +the maggots work their way up into the frontal sinuses of the head, +where they remain until fully developed, when they turn downward and +are usually sneezed out by the sheep in their efforts to get rid of +the obstruction. The fly is slightly under ½ an inch in length; the +upper surface of the head and body are grey to dull yellow, spotted or +mottled with darker tints; the abdomen is yellowish mottled with darker +markings. It has been found chiefly in the Blue Mountains N.S.W. + + + Family 23. Louse or Spider Flies. + + HIPPOBOSCIDAE. + +These are parasitic Diptera, that having taken to idle and slothful +habits (though some of them can fly very well), take up their quarters +among the fur or feathers of different animals and birds, where they +live and are carried about by their hosts. To suit this method of +existence they have become quite altered in structure; they have flat +leathery bodies, and their feet are produced into large pincer-like +claws which enable them to cling to the skin of their host. Some have +large wings with stout nervures but very rudimentary venation; a few +though provided with wings at birth bite them off soon after; and +others like the well known “sheep tick” are wingless. + +As a rule their presence even when numerous does not seem to incommode +the infested animals after they have become used to them, for the +wild ponies in the New Forest in England are often covered with the +horse-fly, _Hippobosca equi_, and they take no notice of them. Yet +if one alights upon a horse unaccustomed to the presence of the fly +he becomes almost crazy with fright, probably from the pinching or +tickling sensation produced by their claws. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 152.=--_Ortholfersia macleayi_ + (Leach). + + A parasitic fly that lives upon wallabies. Figured by me + as _Olfersia macleayi_ (Leach) in the “Agricultural + Gazette,” N.S.W.] + +The Common European Sheep Tick, _Melophagus ovinus_, was introduced +at a very early date into this country among the wool on the backs +of sheep. It is a dark-brown, wingless creature thickly clothed with +fine hairs, more like a stout-legged spider than a fly in general +appearance, but it has not the requisite fourth pair of legs. These +bristly legs are furnished with the usual stout curved claws, between +which is a slender appendage like a short string, supposed to be used +to hang on with by coiling it round the wool. From their blood-sucking +habits and these pincer-like claws, they are very annoying to the sheep +when numerous. + +The Wallaby Louse Fly, _Olfersia macleayi_, is very common on small +marsupials in Australia and Tasmania. When the dogs while hunting pull +down and kill a wallaby, these flies generally crawl off and cling +to the dog’s nose, rendering him very unhappy. It is a winged form, +measuring under ½ an inch to the tip of the folded wings, and is of a +uniform shining dark brown tint with a greenish shade very noticeable +in the legs. Speiser (Annals Musei Nationalis Hungarici 1904) has +placed this species in his Genus _Ortholfersia_. + +_Ornithomyia perfuga_, taken on an owl (probably _Spiloglaux boobook_) +near Brisbane, has been recently described by Dr. Speiser: it is a +larger species of a more reddish brown colour. A very fine louse fly, +also taken in Southern Queensland upon a white hawk, measures nearly ¾ +of an inch to the tip of the folded wings, and has been identified by +the same gentleman as _Ornithoctona nigricans_, described originally +by Leach. Among the few other species described from Australia is one +found on our pretty little emu wren, which was described by Schiner +in the “Zoology of the Voyage of the Novara 1850” under the name of +_Ornithomyia stipituri_. A number of our native birds act as hosts +for these curious flies; the fruit pigeons, swallows, fly-catchers, +and others are known to have them; and when they are systematically +collected our list will probably be a large one. + +The NYCTERIBIIDAE are another typical family of louse-flies found +upon different bats, which are very small in comparison with the +true louse-flies: they are always wingless, and have a world-wide +distribution. They are reddish brown creatures covered with stout +spines; the head is buried in the thorax; and the legs, very long and +slender, terminate in immense pincer-shaped claws. Nearly all our +bats are more or less infested with these “spider flies,” and several +species have been described. Rainbow has recently described one under +the name of _Nycteribia pteropus_ from a flying fox taken at Batavia +River, N. Australia (Records Australian Museum 1904). + + + Family 24. Fleas. + + PULICIDAE. + +The classification of the fleas has always been a matter of doubt; +modern entomologists usually place them at the end of the Diptera, +considering them a group of degraded flies that from their parasitic +habits have become wingless, and have developed wonderful jumping +powers; other specialists who have devoted much attention to the +question consider them as worthy to rank in an Order, and follow +Latreille, who called them SIPHONAPTERA; other writers, like +Taschenberg, who wrote his Monograph entitled “Die Flöhe” in 1880, +formed them into distinct families. The latest revision of the family +is Baker’s “Revision of American Siphonaptera, &c.” (Smithsonian +Institute 1904); in this he gives a list of the described species, +placing them in five families, and records a total of 134 species from +all parts of the world. + +Messrs. Jordan and Rothschild in a “Revision of the Sarcopsyllidae” +(University of Liverpool 1906) criticise Baker’s classification, +and reduce the families to four, extending the limits of the Family +SARCOPSYLLIDAE, and adding seven new species. + +The flea differs from most other insects in having the whole +wedge-shaped body vertically flattened. It is admirably adapted for +crawling through hair or feathers, and the large stout spiny legs are +well suited for jumping. The head, indistinctly separated from the +body, is short, furnished with jointed antennae situated above but +behind the eyes; the mouth is produced into a stout pointed proboscis +with which it punctures the skin and sucks up the blood of its host. +They are all of a more or less reddish brown tint, clothed with +scattered stout bristles, and the abdomen is rounded at the apex; the +legs are furnished with a pair of tarsal claws. The fact that fleas are +capable of spreading the germs of plague and even leprosy has caused +a great deal of attention to be devoted to this group, and they have +during the last few years been sought for and collected from all parts +of the world. + +Two species are common in the house in Australia, of which the +“domestic flea,” _Pulex irritans_, is too well known to need much +description. They deposit their eggs, which are tiny ribbed crystalline +spheres (very beautiful objects under the microscope) in the dry dust +in cracks and crannies in the floor, or in the corners of badly-swept +rooms. From these eggs hatch out slender, legless, transparent grubs +with several short bristles on the anal extremity; these grubs feed +upon the dust and, when full grown, spin a silken tube in which they +pupate buried in the dust. + +_P. serraticeps_ is known as the dog and cat flea, though it is not +uncommon at times in the house where animals are running about; but +though it sometimes comes on man, it is an accidental infestation, and +it gets away to its natural host as soon as it can escape. It can be +easily distinguished from the common house flea by its more elongate +form, and by the black comb-like spines fringing the back of the head +and the first thoracic segment, which are absent in the former. + +The Rat and Mouse Flea, _P. fasciatus_, is a paler coloured, more +slender flea, also with a very extended range over the world. It is +notorious as the species that, when living upon plague-infested rats, +can transmit bubonic plague to man. + +Denny (Annals and Mag. Nat. Hist. XII. 1843) has described another +species, which he placed in this Genus, obtained from Tasmania and +found upon the _Echidna_, and which he has called _Pulex echidnae_. +About a dozen indigenous species have been recorded from Australia. + +The Genus _Echidnophaga_ was created by Olliff (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. +1886) to contain a species he described under the name of _Echidnophaga +ambulans_; it is remarkable for its very long proboscis, and short +legs which render it unable to jump. Large numbers of this flea were +found upon a Porcupine Ant Eater (_Echidna hystrix_) in the Australian +Museum. Messrs. Jordan and Rothschild in the Revision previously +noticed place 8 species in Olliff’s Genus, adding two more to the +Australian fauna, _E. macronychia_ from West Australia found upon a +small marsupial (_Bettongia lesueuri_), and _E. liopus_ also from +West Australia on _Echidna aculeata_, at the same time recording the +last-named species upon rats at Agra, India. They give a number of +additional hosts of _E. ambulans_, namely: the opossum, several other +marsupials, and the brown snake; and they extend its range from Sydney +to West Australia. + +The Chicken Flea, _E. gallinaceus_, which they place in this Genus +(originally described by Westwood under the generic name _Sarcopsylla_) +though it has not been recorded from Australia has a range from +America, Africa, and Russia to Fiji; it infests a great number of both +wild and domestic animals and birds. + +Skuse (Annals of the Australian Museum 1893) described a very curious +flea, found in the pouch of a native cat (_Dasyurus_) which he called +_Stephanocircus dasyuri_. I have since had the typical legless larvae, +found also in the marsupial pouch of the same animal, and it is also +common upon the bandicoot in Queensland. This flea has an elongate +body, with the front of the head flattened and fringed with fine +spines; it has no eyes. + +Skuse is said to have described two species belonging to different +genera as the sexes of his flea; and Rainbow in the same journal +(Records Aust. Mus. 1905) proposes the name of _Ceratophyllus +rothschildi_ for the second. Rothschild has described two other species +in this genus, _C. hilli_ from N.S. Wales on the native cat, and a +second, _C. woodwardi_, from W. Australia. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 153.=--_Stephanocircus + dasyuri_ (Skuse). + + Flea of the “Native-cat” and “Bandicoot.” + + (Original photo. G. Turner.)] + +Rothschild also describes two other species which he places in Skuse’s +Genus _Stephanocircus_, namely _S. thomasi_ (Nov. Zool. X. 1903) from +Barrow Island N.W. Australia, and _S. simsoni_ (Entomologists’ Month. +Magazine XVI. 1905), which comes from Tasmania, taken upon a native +cat, _Dasyurus maculatus_. In the Entomologists’ Monthly Magazine +1906 Rothschild forms a new Genus _Pygiopsylla_ for a large Tasmanian +flea taken on a native rat which he calls _Pygiopsylla colossus_. He +makes _Ceratophyllus hilli_ the type of this new genus, in which he +also places three other Australian species originally described in the +latter genus, namely: _C. woodwardi_, _rothschildi_, and _echidnae_, in +the new one. + + + + + Order VIII.--HEMIPTERA. + + Bugs, Frog-hoppers, Scale Insects, &c. + + +The structure of the mouth is the distinctive character of the insects +of this great Order. Instead of the biting jaws (or sucking mouth) +of many other insects previously described it is produced into a +slender pointed tube of complicated structure, which usually lies +along the under-surface of the head and thorax. This beak, called the +rostrum, consists of a jointed sheath (labium) enclosing hair-like +setae (mandibles and maxillae). When the insect feeds the sharp tip +is pressed into its food, and the sap or juice sucked up, not by the +proboscis-like sheath, but by the delicate enclosed setae. Kirkaldy +doubts if the sheath “ever even penetrates the tissues, either +vegetable or animal, unless these be already lacerated by the setae”; +and it is often used only as a fulcrum to steady their operations. + +In the outward appearance (often a deceptive character in +classification) the members of this group are very dissimilar; probably +no two insects could be more unlike than the typical plant bug and the +ordinary scale insect. + +They all undergo an incomplete metamorphosis, often changing their +colours and even shape in the various moults before they are fully +developed. The eggs of those living upon plants are generally deposited +in clusters, and these are often very beautiful crystal spheres with +stellate caps upon the summits. In other groups the eggs are buried +in the tissue of the food plant or covered with woolly or sticky +secretions. + +They take the name Hemiptera from the structure of the fore wing, +one half of which is, in the typical bugs, horny and the rest +semitransparent. + +The families of the plant and water bugs are much more closely related +to each other than to the frog-hoppers, cicades and scale insects; and +the whole Order has been separated into groups or sub-orders, viz., +HETEROPTERA; HOMOPTERA; ANOPLURA; MALLOPHAGA. + + + Sub-order I. HETEROPTERA. + + Bugs. + +This sub-division contains all the plant, carnivorous, and water bugs, +which vary in size and shape from the tiny little leaf-infesting +forms to the great “fish-killer,” _Belostoma indicum_, found in our +water-holes. + +They are usually furnished with two pairs of wings. The basal portion +of the front pair is horny and opaque, and the apical half more or less +transparent; this pair covers the larger hind pair, which, well adapted +for flight, are folded up beneath when at rest. The members of some +groups however are apterous. + +Many are furnished with glands on the body secreting an offensive, +buggy-smelling fluid, which they discharge when handled or disturbed. + +Some species are serious pests to plant life, and swarm in countless +thousands over vegetation, sucking up the sap and causing it to wither +and die in consequence, as in the case of the Chinch Bug of North +America upon wheat, and the Rutherglen Bug in Australia among field +crops. Others are predaceous and very useful, destroying great numbers +of leaf-eating grubs and caterpillars. + +These insects are well represented in Australia, and many of the larger +and more showy ones were collected and described at a very early +date, and their descriptions are scattered through the pages of many +scientific journals. Numbers of our species have been described by +Westwood (Hope Catal. 1837); Dallas (List Hemip. 1851); Walker (Catal. +Heter. Brit. Museum 1867); Distant (Trans. Ent. Soc. London, 1886, +etc.); Kirkaldy (The Entomologist); and others in English journals; +while among the Continental writers Messrs. Stal, Bergroth, Montandon, +Horvath, and Reuter have been the chief workers. + +In 1893 Messrs. Lethierry and Severin commenced a “Catalogue of the +Described Heteroptera of the World”; three parts were published, but, +probably owing to the death of Lethierry, it was never completed, part +three closing with the ANTHOCORIDAE, and most of the aquatic groups are +not listed. Dr. Mayr has in his “Monograph of the Belostomidae 1871” +noted our species. + + [Illustration: Plate XXXI.--HEMIPTERA. + + Family PENTATOMIDAE. + + 1. _Biprorulas bibax_ (Bredden). + 3. _Peltophora pedicellata_ (Kirby). + 4. _Chaerocorus paganus_ (Fabr.). + 7. _Plautia affinis_ (Dallas). + 8. _Cuspicona simplex_ (Walk.). + 10. _Dindymus versicolor_ (Herr. Sch.). + 11. _Tectocoris lineola_ (Fabr.). + 13. _Oncoscelis sulciventris_ (Stal.). + + Family PYRRHOCORIDAE. + + 2. _Dysdercus sidae_ (Montrz.). + + Family COREIDAE. + + 5. _Mictis profana_ (Fabr.). + + Family LYGAEIDAE. + + 6. _Oxycarenus luctuosus_ (Mont.). + 12. _Oncopeltus quadriguttatus_ (Fabr.). + 15. _Lygaeus hospes_ (Fabr.). + +Family REDUVIIDAE. + + 9. _Ptilocnemus femoralis_ (Horvath). + + Family TINGIDAE. + + 14. _Froggattia olivina_ (Horvath).] + + [Illustration: _Plate XXXI.--HEMIPTERA._] + +The Heteroptera have been divided into about twenty families, chiefly +defined by the structure of the head and wings; these families are +again subdivided into a great number of sub-families, many of the more +important being represented in Australia. + + + Family 1. Shield Bugs. + + PENTATOMIDAE. + +This group comprises many of our largest and most brilliantly marked +tropical plant bugs, distinguished from all those of other families +by the remarkable size of the scutellum which frequently covers the +two pairs of wings and dorsal surface of the abdomen. The majority of +these insects fly well. The head is usually furnished with 5-jointed +antennae (though some are restricted to four joints), and two ocelli. +It is one of the largest groups, and has been divided into fourteen +sub-families. There are over 4,000 species in the family, and it is +well represented in Australia. This family is sometimes known under the +name SCUTELLERIDAE. + +The Cherry Bug, _Peltophora pedicillata_, is a bright metallic green +bug mottled with black spots on the back; the greater part of the under +surface, edges of the thorax, and two blotches at the base of the +scutellum are bright coral red: it measures ½ an inch in length and is +broad in proportion. It has a range from New South Wales (where it is +often found on strong-scented flowering shrubs and has been recorded as +a cherry pest) to N. Queensland, where it is very abundant on the wild +fig trees. _Tectocoris lineola_ is so variable in size and colouration +that it has been described under eight varietal names and has an +extended range from the north of N.S. Wales through Queensland to New +Caledonia and China. It has a broad, elongate, convex body of a bright +orange colour edged on the margins of the body with metallic green; the +dorsal surface is covered with curious green or blue patches reminding +one of Chinese letters; sometimes these markings are almost absent, +in others so confluent that it is more blue than red. Donovan named +our variety _T. banksi_, after Sir Joseph Banks, who first obtained +specimens from Australia. _Chaerocoris paganus_ is under ½ an inch in +length, and of an oval, beetle-like form; its general colour is red +with dull metallic green forming blotches on the back, head, and sides +of the thorax. It is very common at times crawling about on the rocks +and ground about Sydney. _C. similis_ is a smaller darker form, only +taken about Gunnedah, N.S.W., but it probably has a wider range. + +_Philia basalis_ is one of the common fruit bugs of N. Queensland. It +is slightly over ½ an inch in length, with elongate convex scutellum, +and a uniform rich metallic green tint, with a bright coral-red spot +behind the head and two similar ones at the base of the scutellum; the +sides of the abdomen are bright red on the under surface. _P. senator_ +is a smaller, more variable form, with the coral-red markings not so +distinct. _Philia regia_, about the same size as the last species, is +of a rich coppery-red tint, with the hind portion of the back bright +yellow, and the ventral surface and legs bright green and yellow. Both +these species and _P. senator_ are found along the Queensland coast. + +The Genus _Calliphara_ contains a number of large bugs, elongate but +broadly rounded in front, with the scutellum forming a complete convex +shield over the back; 26 species are described ranging from China +through the Malay Peninsula to Queensland. _Calliphara imperialis_ +measures over ¾ of an inch in length, and has the whole of the dorsal +surface, except the tip of the abdomen, bright shining red; the +under surface, legs, and tip of abdomen are dark metallic green. _C. +billiardierei_, about the same size, has the back and the under surface +of the abdomen (except the tip) red; the head, thorax, legs and tip +of abdomen deep metallic green with dull purple tints. _C. cruenta_ +is a much smaller species, the thorax and basal half of the back red, +shading into purple toward the tip. _C. nobilis_ has the head and +thorax dark, with the dull red back spotted with black. All our species +of this genus are found in the tropical scrubs of N. Queensland. + +_Cantao parentum_ measures over an inch in length, and is more elongate +in form; it is of a uniform dull red tint, with the whole of the dorsal +surface marked with small irregular black dots; the legs and under +surface are black. It ranges along the Queensland coast. It has been +reported to have attacked cherries in Southern Queensland. The Genus +_Testrica_ contains several little brown bugs, short and broad, with +the front of the thorax more or less produced into a spine, and the +extremity of the abdomen broadly rounded. _Testrica bubala_ is not more +than ⅙ of an inch in length, with the shoulders sharply spined; it is +found upon the foliage of small gum trees. + +The sub-family CYDINAE contains a number of curious little black +shining bugs that live on the ground and are often found hiding under +stones. They are quick and active in their habits, and might easily be +mistaken for small black beetles. _Geobia australis_, under ¼ of an +inch in length, is of a uniform pitch-black colour, with the exposed +tips of the elytra greyish-brown; it has spiny legs; the head is +clothed with scattered hairs forming a fringe. _Adrissa_ atra is a much +larger black bug; it has pitch-coloured elytra with brown tips. This +common species is found about Sydney under stones and rubbish. + +In the PENTATOMINAE we have a large number of species. They are +broadest across the base of the thorax, which is sometimes slightly +angulate; the scutellum is large and angular, occupying the centre +of the back but not covering the whole of the wing covers. _Notius +depressus_ measures over ½ an inch in length, and is broad in +proportion; the general colour is deep blue to purple, the sides of the +head and thorax and ventral surface marked with yellow. It ranges from +Tasmania to N.S. Wales. + +_Eumecopus australasiae_ has a wide range, and is often found in wattle +scrub resting on tree-trunks. It measures about an inch in length, is +a very active insect, and flies readily when disturbed. Its colour is +dull brown, mottled with small dull yellow spots; these form several +short parallel rows on the pointed head, and there is a distinct yellow +spot at the apex of the scutellum. + +The Genus _Poecilometis_ contains 14 species peculiar to Australia. +They are of the same general form as the last group, are found in +similar localities, and are all of a more or less reddish-brown tint. +_Poecilometis histricus_, about ¾ of an inch in length, is of a light +brown colour with ochreous markings. _P. gravis_, found upon wattle +scrub, is smaller than the last species and is of a more reddish-brown +tint. _P. strigatus_, about ½ an inch in length, is of a similar +brownish colour. + +_Dictyotus plebejus_ is one of our commonest little dull brown bugs; is +about ¼ of an inch in length and nearly as broad as long. It has a wide +range over Eastern Australia, and is found, often in numbers, under +stones, dry cowdung, or dead logs. The genus is peculiar to Australia, +and contains 18 described species. + +_Commius elegans_ is common on the foliage of the native cherry about +Mittagong, N.S.W.; it is just under ½ an inch in length; is of a +general blue black colour with the thorax and under surface yellow +blotched with black; the sides and apex of the scutellum are edged +with yellow; and a narrower transverse band of dull white crosses the +back just below the tip of the scutellum. It has a wide range over +Australia, and was described by Donovan in 1805. _Plautia nigripennis_ +is a much smaller plant bug, with the upper surface green, and the +sides and tips of the elytra reddish brown; it ranges up the Queensland +coast from the Tweed River, N.S. Wales. _P. affinis_ is a pretty little +green insect which feeds on rice and other plants in the northern +district of N.S.W. It measures about ⅓ of an inch in length. + +The members of the Genus _Cuspicona_ range from India to Australia and +New Caledonia; eight species are described from Australia. _Cuspicona +simplex_ is a finely rugose and green coloured bug about ⅓ of an inch +in length, with the sides of the thorax produced into blunt spines, +and the elytra broadly rounded to the tip. It infests many field crops +and has been reported as doing serious damage to growing potatoes. +_C. thoracica_ is a small green species, with the thorax produced +into a stout spine on each side. The head and a broad band across the +thorax are reddish brown; the margins of the thorax and the centre +of the scutellum are marked with bright yellow. It is common in the +eastern coastal districts, and has been found feeding on ground crops +about Gosford, N.S.W. _C. forticornis_ is a larger green species with +the thoracic spines red, and the dorsal surface thickly and finely +punctured. It is common in the northern scrubs of N.S. Wales. + +The ASOPINAE contains two well known species of Australian bugs: +_Cermatulus nasalis_ is common on the Richmond and Tweed Rivers, +N.S.W. It measures slightly over ½ an inch in length, and has a +somewhat rounded form, with a small projecting head. Specimens vary +from an olive brown to almost black colour, and are mottled with +deep red; the upper surface is deeply and closely punctured, and the +tips of the elytra are metallic bronze. The Vine-moth Bug, _Oechalia +schellembergi_, is one of our most interesting species from an economic +point of view because it preys upon the caterpillar of the vine moth +(_Phalaenides glycine_), several species of cut-worm, and the larvae of +the fig-leaf beetle (_Galeruca semipullata_). They lay their rounded +glassy eggs in patches of about a dozen upon the foliage, and the +freshly emerged bug is dark brown, and flattened in form. The adult bug +varies very much in size; the largest is about ½ an inch in length; +it is very finely punctured, and is of a general light reddish brown +colour mottled with yellow; the sides of the thorax are stoutly spined, +and the abdomen is rather tapering toward the tip. It has a wide range +over Australia, and is recorded from New Zealand. + +The Spined Orange Bug, _Biprorulus bibax_, is a well known orange pest +about Moree and the Tweed and Richmond Rivers, N.S.W. It is a handsome +bright green bug when alive, but after death usually changes to dull +yellow; it measures nearly an inch in length and ¾ of an inch across +from tip to tip of the large thoracic spines; the front of the thorax +between these stout spines is somewhat depressed; the abdomen is broad +and rounded, and the dorsal surface finely punctured. + +The TESSARATOMINAE are usually large insects found upon plants, and +among them are several destructive species. Among a number of hemiptera +submitted to D’Horvath for identification were two species, viz., +_Rhoecocoris (Oncoscelis) sulciventris_ and _Stilida indecora_, which +both in the larval and perfect state swarm over the orange orchards +in the north of N.S. Wales and, by sucking up the sap of the stalks, +cause the unripe oranges to fall. Their habits and life history +being identical, _Rhoecocoris (Oncoscelis) sulciventris_, which was +identified by Olliff in the Agricultural Gazette N.S.W. 1892, I at +first confused with _Stilida indecora_ (Ag. Gazette, N.S.W., 1901). _S. +indecora_ is of a more reddish brown tint than _R. sulciventris_, with +the dorsal surface of the thorax not punctured, and the apical areas of +elytra more bell shaped, while the venation is much finer; while the +thorax of _R. sulciventris_ is distinctly punctured and the anterior +edge of the apical area of the elytra is broadly rounded. _Oncomeris +flavicornis_ is our largest Australian plant bug, over 1½ inches in +length, of a broad shield shape, over ¾ of an inch across the rounded +thorax, and of a general dark reddish brown almost black colour on the +dorsal surface; each elytron is richly marked on the basal half with +bright yellow, and the apical portion is rich metallic purple. It comes +from the tropical scrubs of N. Queensland. + +In the Sub-family DINIDORINAE we have _Megymenum insulare_, a typical +form very common on the foliage of the low scrub of the semi-tropical +forests of N.S. Wales and Queensland. It is of a general chocolate +brown tint, with the inner apical markings of the elytra dull white; it +measures just under ½ an inch; the sides of the head and the front of +thorax are furnished with short angular spines, which are also present +round the outer edge of the abdominal segments; and the whole of the +dorsal surface is rugose. The immature larvae are brown, flattened, and +fringed right round with bract-like processes. + + + Family 2. Gum-tree Bugs. + + COREIDAE. + +This group contains bugs in which the scutellum does not extend as +far back as the middle of the body; the head is generally furnished +with four-jointed antennae inserted above on the sides of the head; +there are two ocelli; and the sheath of the proboscis consists of +four segments. Many species have the femora of the hind legs dilated +or armed with blunt spines. The majority are dull coloured insects +that have no distinctive common name in Australia, so for want of +better, I propose to define them as “Gum-tree bugs,” as many typical +forms feed upon the young shoots of our gum trees (_Eucalyptus_). In +America they are sometimes called “Squash Bugs” from their fondness for +pumpkin plants. Over 1,500 species have been described and placed in 29 +sub-families; and they are well represented in Australia. + +The MICTINAE are represented by one of our best known species, which +I called the “Crusader Bug,” _Mictis profana_. It is a somewhat +variable elongate insect just under an inch in length, of a uniform +dull drab-brown, with the inner edge of each elytron marked with a dull +yellow stripe, which, intersecting each other in the centre, produce a +distinct cross on the back. The hind legs are thickened and the apex of +the tibia forms a blunt spine. It has a wide range over Australia, and +of late years has been found infesting the citrus orchards, where it +punctures the young shoots and causes them to die back. + +The Genus _Amorbus_ contains 15 described species peculiar to this +country, most of which feed upon the foliage of young gum trees and +give out a very strong odour when touched; the young larval forms are +often brightly coloured, but in the adult state all these bugs are +dull brown. _Amorbus angustior_, under ¾ of an inch in length, has the +dorsal surface flattened; the abdomen swells out on the sides beyond +the edge of the folded elytra, and the whole surface is granulated or +roughened. It is of a uniform chocolate colour with the antennae and +abdomen rusty red. _A. robustus_ is a much larger species, stout in +proportion, with the same elongate form, but the edges of the abdomen +not projecting beyond the wings. + +_Mutusca brevicornis_ is a very slender brown bug, about ½ an inch in +length, usually found resting among the grass. The head and thorax are +elongate, with the former produced in front of the antennae into two +slender lobes; the elytra are long and slender, and the wings well +adapted for flight. _Riptortus robustus_ is also an elongate bug, but +shorter and stouter, with the head short and angular; the thorax is +short, rounded in front, and produced into a ridge behind, with a stout +spine on either side. The body is long, constricted in the centre, and +rounded at the tip: the thighs of the hind legs long, thickened and +armed with a row of spines along the inner edge. The general colour is +reddish brown. + +The Genus _Leptoglossus_ contains some handsome species which are +remarkable for having the tibiae of the hind legs dilated into +leaf-like processes. _Leptoglossus membranaceus_ is an elongate, +flattened, black bug banded with a slender red line across the thorax; +the head is small, projecting in front of the triangular thorax; and +the shield shaped body comes to a rounded tip. The fore legs are +slender, but the hind pair are slightly thickened on the thighs and +roughened on the inner edges; and the tibiae have leaf-like projections +on either side, giving it a very remarkable appearance. It is common +in North Queensland and ranges over Africa, India, Ceylon, and the +Philippines. + + + Family 3. Chinch Bugs. + + LYGAEIDAE. + +This is a family containing about 1,400 described species divided into +thirteen sub-families, but many of the latter are very restricted +in their numbers, the majority coming under the typical sub-family +LYGAEINAE. Their general characters are similar to those of the +Coreidae except that the antennae are inserted below the eyes, and the +head is not so flattened and more angular in front. They are smaller +bugs of more delicate structure, and their prevailing colours are brown +or black variegated with red and yellow; some of them, such as the +Chinch Bug of North America, are very destructive pests. As they have +no distinctive group name I have adopted Professor Comstock’s name of +“Chinch Bugs.” + +The LYGAEINAE contain most of the bright coloured species, often marked +with red; the wing covers are usually of a somewhat delicate texture. + +_Astacops laticeps_, about ⅓ of an inch in length, is a slender black +bug with the head and sides of the elytra bright red. _Scopiastes +vitticeps_, about the same size, has the head, thorax, and sides of the +body red. Both these insects are common on the grass and field crops +on the Northern Rivers of N.S. Wales. _Lygaeus hospes_ measures ½ an +inch in length, is of the typical elongate form, and is black marked +with bright red forming a broad indistinct cross on the basal portions +of the elytra. It has a wide range from China and India to Australia +and New Caledonia. _L. mactans_ is a much smaller insect, with the +head, base of thorax, and the greater part of each elytron bright red. +It has a wide range over Australia, and is also recorded from Fiji. +_L. decoratus_, about ½ an inch in length, has the whole of the head, +thorax, and sides of the elytra banded with red and black; it comes +from Queensland. + +The Cotton Bug, _Oncopeltus quadriguttatus_, figured in my notes in +the Agricultural Gazette 1901, should be according to Horvath _O. +sordidus_, Dallas, though the latter name is given as a synonym of the +first in L. and S.’s Catalogue. It measures ½ an inch in length, is +of a general black colour, with the head and two depressions in the +centre of the thorax dull red, and the scutellum and basal half of each +elytron deep orange red; the abdomen is dull red and clothed with short +down. They lay their eggs to form a ring round a twig, sometimes as +many as a hundred in a cluster; the larvae are flat and almost circular +in form, of a general red colour mottled with metallic blue spots, and +the legs and antennae are dark coloured. This bug is common on the +cultivated cotton plants about the Richmond River, and ranges from +Sydney into Queensland. + +The Rutherglen Bug, _Nysius vinitor_, is one of the most destructive +plant bugs in Australia; breeding in grass lands, during the summer +it swarms over all kinds of field crops and fruit trees in countless +millions, sucking up the sap of both the foliage and fruit. It has a +very wide range, and takes its popular name from the town in Victoria, +in which it was first recorded damaging grapes. It is a tiny creature, +under ⅙ of an inch in length, is dull brown to grey in colour with +silvery grey wings; it is very active and flies well. It is so common +that under favourable conditions it might become here as serious a pest +as the Chinch Bug of North America. The Genus is a very extensive one, +containing 69 species distributed from Greenland to S. America, thus +almost world wide in its range. + +The Coon Bug, _Oxycarenus luctuosus_, is a tiny black and white bug +about the same size, originally described from New Caledonia. It is +very common, chiefly in the inland districts, swarming over the ground +in millions. When in the larval state, before the wings are developed, +its general colour is bright red, and it is then much more noticeable, +giving the fences on which it rests in the day time a curious blood-red +tint. So far it has never been recorded as a plant pest, but that is +probably only because it is chiefly a western species, where little +fruit is grown. + + + Family 4. Fruit Bugs. + + PYRRHOCORIDAE. + +These bugs differ from the last family only in the fact that they are +not provided with ocelli. It is a small family containing under 400 +described species, placed in two sub-families. + +The LARGINAE contains a number of red coloured bugs, the majority +of which are confined to South America. The members of the Genus +_Physopelta_ however belong to the Indian and Malay region; and _P. +famelica_ ranges from Ceram to Woodlark Island, and down the Queensland +coast to the Tweed River. It measures under ¾ of an inch in length, is +of the typical form, and of a general dull red tint, with the head, +centre of the thorax, and legs dark brown; the centre of the scutellum +and four spots on the sides of the elytra are black. + +The PYRRHOCORINAE comprise the bulk of this family, which are chiefly +found in Africa and Asia. The “Harlequin Fruit-bug,” _Dindymus +versicolor_, was originally described from Tasmania, but has a wide +range over Australia. They shelter and breed in the crevices on tree +trunks, and often damage ripe fruit. It measures slightly over ½ an +inch in length; the under surface is yellowish, with the head and +thorax blood red, the latter barred with white. The upper surface and +legs are black, with the greater part of the thorax and basal half +of the side of each elytron bright red. _Dindymus circumcinctus_ is +a slightly smaller, much darker species, the red only showing on the +outer margins of the thorax and elytra. I have specimens collected near +Sydney. + +_Dysdercus sidae_ belongs to a genus world wide in its distribution, +and containing over 50 described species. This species is common on the +Richmond River N.S.W., frequenting the cultivated cotton plants, where +it can be seen running over the opening cotton bolls, and discolouring +them with its excrement in the same manner as the “American Cotton +Stainer,” _Dysdercus suturellus_, is reported to do in the United +States. Our species measures about ½ an inch in length; it is red, with +the scutellum and a distinct rounded spot in the centre of each elytron +black. The antennae, eyes, and apical areas of the elytra are also +black; the front and sides of the thorax marked with dull white. + + + Family 5. Lace Bugs. + + TINGIDAE. + +These are all small plant bugs without ocelli; the terminal joint of +the antennae is swollen or clubbed; the pronotum is large, covering +the scutellum; the neuration of the elytra is very distinct, forming +intricate, lace-like patterns; the feet consist of two joints. They +are true plant-feeding bugs, generally sucking up the sap from the +under-side of the leaf, and when numerous often become pests. Between +four and five hundred species of TINGIDAE have been described, +and are placed in two sub-families. Few species have been recorded from +Australia, but this is probably not owing to their absence, but because +collectors are apt to overlook these small creatures. + +_Serenthia pectipennis_ is a tiny dark brown bug, hardly ½ of an inch +in length; the oval body is convex, and broadly rounded to the apex, +with a curious lighter brown pattern on the elytra. It comes from Glen +Innes, N.S.W. + +The Olive-tree Bug, _Froggattia olivina_, was described from specimens +sent to Horvath; its native food plant is the wild olive (_Notalaea +longifolia_); the larvae infest the under surface of the leaves, and +cause them to wither and drop off. It has now transferred its attention +to the cultivated olive, and when numerous will almost defoliate the +trees; it has a wide range over N.S. Wales, but I know no record of +it from the other States. It is a slender, handsome little dark brown +bug, about ⅙ of an inch in length, and has typical clubbed antennae. +The elytra are swollen out toward the base, arcuate on the sides, and +rounded at the extremities, with lace-like reticulations on the apical +areas; the thorax is rounded and convex. + +_Oncophysa vesiculata_ is another curious little elongate bug, about +the same length; of a uniform dark brown tint; the upper surface is +marked with distinct ridges and fine punctures, and a pair of large +bulbous processes stand up prominently at the base of the elytra. It is +common about Sydney, where it feeds upon the little native cotton bush. + + [Illustration: Plate XXXII.--HEMIPTERA. + + Family REDUVIIDAE. + + 1. _Opistoplatys australasiae_ (Westw.). + 3. _Pirates ephippiger_ (White). + 6. _Pristhesancus papuensis_ (Stal). + 12. _Gminatus nigroscutellatus_ (Bredden). + 15. _Gardena australis_ (Horvath). + + Family PENTATOMIDAE. + + 2. _Cuspicona forticornis_ (Bredden). + 4. _Poecilometis strigatus_ (Westw.). + 7. _Megymenum insulare_ (Westw.). + 8. _Philia basalis_ (Grey). + 9. _Poecilometis histricus_ (Stal). + 13. _Cermatulus nasalis_ (Westw.). + 14. _Geobia australis_ (Erich.). + 16. _Notius depressus_ (Dall.). + + Family COREIDAE. + + 5. _Amorbus robustus_ (Mayr). + + Family GALGULIDAE. + + 10. _Mononyx annulipes_ (Horvath). + + Family PENTATOMIDAE. + + 11. _Oechalia schellembergi_ (Guérin).] + + [Illustration: _Plate XXXII.--HEMIPTERA._] + + + Family 6. Fungus Bugs. + + ARADIDAE. + +These are dull coloured black or brown bugs of moderate size, with the +dorsal surface very rugose, and the whole insect thin and flattened, +admirably adapted to the life it leads hidden under the dead bark on +tree trunks, their chief food being fungous growths found upon the damp +bark. Howard calls them “Flat Bark Bugs,” and remarks that they look as +if they had been stepped upon. + +They have the tip of the abdomen exposed, as the elytra are shorter +than the body, which is also exposed on the sides when the wings are +folded. Like the Lace-bugs (_Tingidae_) they have no ocelli, but, +unlike them, they have the scutellum exposed. This family contains +about 300 described species, divided into four sub-divisions. Erichson +has described several from Tasmania (Arch. 1842); Bergroth (Verh. Z. b. +Ges. Wien 1886) and Walker (Cat. Heter. 1874) others from Australia. + +There are a number of undetermined species in our Museum collections, +most of which are to be found upon fallen timber where the bark is +rotting and peeling off the trunk. + + + Family 7. Water Striders. + + HYDROMETRIDAE. + +These are aquatic insects, living upon the surface of the water, +and some are even found on the open ocean, hundreds of miles away +from land. They, like most other water-dwellers, are covered with a +velvet-like pubescence; the head is ornamented with large projecting +eyes; the antennae are four-jointed. They may be wingless; when +present, the elytra are of a uniform texture. Most of the species are +furnished with very long legs. The tarsi are two-jointed. About 160 +species are described under four sub-families; only three or four are +described from Australia; but more from the open waters of the Pacific +Ocean. + +In the genus _Gerris_, Skuse (Records of the Australian Museum, 1893) +described a species from the waters of Sydney Harbour under the name +of _Gerris australis_. It varies from dark shining olive to black on +the dorsal surface; the ventral surface is yellow with grey tints. It +is covered with a fine silvery pubescence, and measures ⅓ of an inch +in length. _Hydrometra strigosa_, described by Skuse from specimens +from the swamps about Botany, N.S.W., is a larger insect, of a uniform +brownish yellow tint; and it has a more slender shape. + +_Halobates whiteleggi_ is a small ochreous water-bug about ⅙ of an +inch in length, and was obtained by Skuse in swarms in the sheltered +nooks of Sydney Harbour. Another species discovered in Torres Straits +has been named _Hermatabates haddeni_, after its discoverer, Professor +Hadden. + +The closely allied small family HENICOCEPHALIDAE consists of a single +genus, the members of which are widely distributed. We have one +described from Tasmania by Westwood under the name of _Henicocephalus +tasmanicus_. They fly in swarms, dancing in the air together like +midges. It is noticed they give off a musk-like smell. + + + Family 8. Assassin Bugs. + + REDUVIIDAE. + +This is a large division of the Hemiptera, and its members are +carnivorous, destroying different kinds of insects, which they impale +with their beaks, and from which they suck the blood; many can give +a painful stab with the stout beak if handled carelessly. The head +is long, narrowed behind, and freely movable; the rostrum or beak is +short, stout, and is curved under the head, not extending far under +the thorax; the antennae are long, slender towards the tips; the legs +are long, slender, and often hairy; the elytron consists of three +divisions. Some species are wingless. They exhibit much variety in size +and colouration, and their shape is often adapted to their habits. The +large immature forms of one undetermined species, found plentifully +about Maitland, N.S.W., hides in the sand under the shelter of a +log or stone; each covers its back with bits of sand or dirt, and, +thus disguised, it lies in wait for its prey. Over 2,000 species are +described from all parts of the world, and they are grouped into 14 +sub-families. + +The EMESINAE contain a very curious group of slender grey bugs with +long legs. They might at first sight be mistaken for “daddy longlegs” +or “crane-flies”; and are found, too, in similar situations, viz., +resting on tree trunks or under the cover of logs and bark; and they +probably live chiefly on these long-legged flies. _Gardena australis_ +is of a uniform brown tint, mottled on the legs and elytra with grey. +It is of the usual slender form, with elongate hairy legs. It and +several similar but undetermined species are common about Sydney. + +_Opistoplatys australasiae_, representing the small sub-family +TRIBELOCEPHALIDAE, was described and figured by Westwood in 1859; it +is not uncommon on tree trunks about the Richmond River, N.S.W. It +measures over ½ an inch in length, and is flattened on the dorsal +surface; the abdomen is elongate, and rounded at the apex; its general +colour is dull chocolate brown, with the centre of the back slightly +pubescent. + +In the group HOLOPTILINAE are some species with feather-like hind legs, +the tibiae being densely clothed with long dark hairs. They are usually +found on the trunks of dead trees, under the shelter of the drying +detached bark, where they are found in all stages of development; +they probably feed upon the small insects that come there for +shelter. Horvath has identified those I have sent him as _Ptilocnemus +femoralis_, a new species, though there are four other species +described from Australia. This new species measures over ⅓ of an inch, +and has the head, thorax, and joints of the legs dull yellow; the under +surface and apical areas of the elytra are marbled with black and +brown; the antennae, head, thorax and legs are fringed with long black +hairs, which on the hind tibiae are so thick as to give the appearance +of a feather or brush. _Aradellus cygnalis_, figured and described by +Westwood (Thesaurus Ent. 1874), is also found hiding under dead bark on +tree trunks. Some specimens were taken at Gunnedah, N.S.W., but I also +have a closely allied, if not a new species, from Bathurst, N.S.W. It +measures slightly over ⅙ of an inch in length, is of a general blackish +brown colour, with yellowish legs, and the elytra are black, mottled +with blotches of white; the curious thickened antennae and legs are +fringed with short stout, bristle-like hairs. + +The ACANTHASPINAE are larger slender-legged bugs, well represented +in Australia. The genus _Sphedanocores_ contains several distinct +species with a wide range. _S. distinctus_ measures over ¼ of an inch +in length, and is mottled and barred with dark orange and black; the +head is turned downwards and the rostrum is stout; the thorax is very +rugose. _Reduvius personatus_ is a cosmopolitan species that takes +up its quarters in the house, covering itself with bits of dirt and +feeding upon the common bed bug. It is recorded both from Australia and +Tasmania. The larval form of an allied bug has the broad back concave, +and covers itself with particles of sand; it rests under the shelter of +logs and stones where it lurks during the day. _Reduvius rivulosus_ is +a large bug measuring ¾ of an inch in length; it is of a general dull +brown colour with the elytra mottled with dull yellow, while the whole +insect is clothed with fine woolly hairs, denser upon the legs. It +comes from the Shoalhaven district, N.S.W. + +The PIRATINAE comprise some of the so-called “Assassin bugs”; in colour +most of them are dark brown or black, marked with dull yellow; they +hide under stones in the daytime, and often in summer come flying to +the lights in the house at night, when, if carelessly handled they can +inflict a very severe stab with the beak. _Pirates ephippiger_ is one +of our largest species, measuring over ¾ of an inch in length. It is of +a uniform dull black, with the stout legs reddish brown in colour, and +there is a heart-shaped patch of bright yellow behind the scutellum. +The prothorax is narrow, smooth and rounded, with a constriction +separating it distinctly from the broader mesothorax which is also +smooth and rounded. _P. flavopictus_ is a very much smaller species, +black in colour, with the yellow blotch behind the scutellum. The whole +insect is clothed with fine hairs. It is a common species in New South +Wales, and has a wide range over the southern part of the continent. +Twelve other species of this large genus are described from Australia +and Tasmania. + +The HARPACTORINAE is the largest division of this family, and comprises +both the large spiny “assassin bugs” that crawl about among the foliage +or hunt over the tree trunks, and some typical forms, most plentiful in +tropical countries. + +_Havinthus depressus_ is a small, flat, dark brown species, under ½ +an inch in length, with the outer margins of the body mottled with +dull red. _H. rufovarius_ is a larger bug of a general black colour, +with the head, front of thorax, legs, bases of the elytra, and under +surface of the abdomen marked with deep red. The body is rugose and +clothed with short stiff hairs. It has a wide range over Australia; and +a very large variety, with blood red markings, from Kalgoorlie (W.A.), +measures over an inch in length. + +The members of the Genus _Gminatus_ are peculiar to Australia, and +are found hunting over tree trunks and flowers. The body is somewhat +constricted behind the thorax, broadening towards the rounded apex. +_Gminatus nigroscutellatus_, over ½ an inch in length, is of a +general bright red colour, with the legs and scutellum black, and the +apical areas of the elytra rich metallic bronze. The dorsal surfaces +of the head and thorax are ornamented with a number of tubercles +or spines. _G. australis_, slightly smaller and more slender than +the previous one, differs in having the head black; the prothorax +black and furnished with two pairs of black spines, and the shorter +spines in the rest of the thorax tipped with black. The Bee Killer, +_Pristhesancus papuensis_, is a large brown bug, nearly 1¼ inches in +length, and thickly clothed with short buff hairs. The outer edge of +the thorax is produced into erect blunt tubercles, seven in number, +forming an angle on the outer margins. The dorsal surface of the +abdomen is very concave; the folded elytra lie sunk well below the +sides of abdomen, which are flanged and raised. + +It has been observed sitting on the tassels of maize cobs, catching and +sucking the blood out of hive bees as they come for the pollen. It is +common on the Tweed River, N.S.W., and in Queensland. + +The members of the Genus _Helonotus_ are similar large carnivorous +bugs. Specimens are recorded from Cape York (Queensland), and the +tropical scrubs of New Guinea. + + + Family 9. Bed Bugs. + + CIMICIDAE. + +The family to which the common bed bug of unsavoury reputation belongs, +is a very small one, comprising only a few genera and about a dozen +species. They have no ocelli; the wing cases are short and do not reach +to the tip of the abdomen; the head is short, with the rostrum when at +rest fitting into a groove beneath it. + +_Cimex lectularius_, the common house bug, is supposed to have come +originally from Asia into Europe, and thence transported over the +world. Several other species are found in Europe and America, another +in India, and indigenous species both in Chili and the Isle of Bourbon. +A fossil bug has been found in the Lower Tertiary beds in Scotland +which is said to be very similar if not identical with the present +household pest. Kirkaldy has recently created the Genus _Klinophilos_ +to contain our common bed bug, though it has always been considered to +be Linne’s type of the Genus _Cimex_. + + + Family 10. Leaf Bugs. + + CAPSIDAE. + +These are all small plant-eating bugs of somewhat delicate structure, +and form a family of considerable size; over 2,000 species having been +recorded from all parts of the world. Several species are well known +pests in India and Ceylon, and a few in America are said to prey on +small insects. Very little attention has been paid to the collection of +these small bugs in this country, but Mr. Kirkaldy informs me that 35 +species have been described from Australia, chiefly by Walker, Reuter, +Distant and himself. + +They have no ocelli; the antenna is four jointed, with the second joint +usually very long; the scutellum is triangular and very small; the +elytra and wings are large, the former remarkable for having only two +cells in each apical area; the female is furnished with a well-defined +ovipositor. In his “Memoir upon the Rhynchotal family Capsidae” (Trans. +Ent. Soc. London 1902), Kirkaldy lists 6 described species, and also +defines 5 new species which were collected at Alexandria, Victoria. +_Eurybrochis zanna_ is a mottled reddish brown insect, darkest towards +the extremity, measuring under ¼ of an inch in length, and of the +usual form. _Austomiris viridissimus_ is a longer, more slender bug of +a general greenish tint. _Zanessa rubrovariegata_ is again a little +longer, of a uniform brown tint marked with red on the elytra. + +Stal (Eugenie’s Resa Novara 1859) described 3 Australian species. + + + Family 11. Water Bugs. + + CRYPTOCERATA. + +The several families included in this group comprise a number of +aquatic or semi-aquatic bugs. + +The GALGULIDAE, known as “Sand-bugs,” are curious little creatures +distinguished from the others in having ocelli. They are very short +and broad in form, with projecting eyes, and in general appearance +each suggests a miniature crab. They have short four jointed antennae +situated below the eyes, and are furnished with legs well adapted +for running on the ground. They are found on the edges of swamps or +creeks, and feed upon different kinds of small insects. In colour they +are usually of a uniform dull brown to black; the upper surface is +generally much roughened. Never moving unless touched, they trust to +their sordid colours to escape detection, for as they match the ground +so well, they are difficult to find. + +_Mononyx annulipes_, one of our commonest species, is about ¼ of an +inch in length; is of a uniform dirty brown tint, with the legs and +under surface dull yellow; the body is very rugose and fringed on the +outer edges with fine bristles. Montandon has described several other +Australian species (Bulletin, Societé des Sciences, Roumania, 1899). + +The NEPIDAE are popularly known as “water scorpions” on account of +the curious tail appendages projecting from the tip of the abdomen. +They live in ponds, and feed upon different water insects, attaching +their eggs to the leaves of the plants. They have the wing covers +folded closely over the back protecting the wings from the water, and +fly rapidly from pool to pool when the water dries up. There are many +species found in Australia, most of which have a wide range. _Rantara +varipes_, under 1 inch in length, has a tail about as long again as the +body, and is of a light yellowish brown colour. It might be likened to +a mantis, with its slender form and fore pair of legs furnished with +spines on the inner edges to hold its prey. The other legs are long and +slender with curved claws at the extremities. + +In the Genus _Nepa_ the insects have the head and body flattened; +the elytra cover the wings; the abdomen is broadly rounded at the +extremity, terminating in a pair of long slender bristles. The beak +curved under the head is large and stout; the eyes are large, the fore +legs are spined, and the other legs furnished with a pair of slender +curved claws. + +_Nepa tristis_, measuring about 1 inch to the tip of the body, is of +the usual form and dull brown colour, with the upper surface of the +abdomen showing bright red when the wings are expanded. It is found in +the bottom of ponds crawling about among the weeds. + + + Family 12. Fish-killers. + + BELOSTOMIDAE. + +In the typical genus of this family we have some of the largest known +Hemiptera, measuring up to 3 inches in length and broad in proportion. +They are aquatic, generally living in still waters, feeding on small +fish which they capture with their stout spined legs; they play havoc +with the small fry in a pond, and are popularly known in consequence as +“Fish-killers.” + +The body is broad, but flattened on the dorsal surface, coming to a +rounded point at the apex; the well developed wings are folded beneath +the horny elytra; the whole shape being well adapted to the life they +lead. In summer time they often leave their ponds, and, attracted by +the light, come flying to the windows. + +_Belostoma indicum_ has a wide range from Southern India to Australia; +it measures slightly under 3 inches in length, and is of a uniform dark +brown colour. The large curved beak bent under the head, projecting +eyes, and great spined fore legs show its carnivorous propensities; +the middle and hind legs are fringed with delicate swimming hairs, and +terminate in a pair of fine claws. Unlike most of the other aquatic +hemiptera, the abdomen terminates in an oval tip without any anal +appendages. + +Sharp speaking of this family (Insects Pt. II. p. 567) says: “In the +waters of the warm regions of the continents of both the Old and New +Worlds they are common insects, but as yet they have not been found in +Australia.” However, Mayr records it from Australia, “Die Belostomiden +1871” (Verh. Z. C. Gesell, Wien); and I have a specimen from Port +Darwin, Northern Territory, and also a number of specimens from +Southern Queensland. + +_Sphaeroderma equis_ is a curious oval-shaped water-bug that crawls +about among the mud and water weeds in water-holes and creeks; it has +a very wide range, probably all over Australia; the female has the +curious habit of carrying her eggs stuck upon her back in a regular +sheet covering the whole of the elytra. It is of a uniform shining +brown colour, and measures ¾ of an inch in length; the head is smaller +than that of _B. indicum_, with the eyes not so prominent and angular. + + + Family 13. Back-Swimmers. + + NOTONECTIDAE. + +These water-bugs have oval convex bodies and always swim with the belly +upwards; their eyes are very large, situated on the sides of the head, +the latter inserted into the prothorax, which overlaps it. The front +legs are shortest, the fore tarsi not flattened but furnished with two +claws. Their bodies are provided with long hairs which enable them to +carry an air supply about with them. They are very active insects, and +can be often observed in our water-holes and ponds swimming beneath +the water, or coming to the surface and raising the tip of the body to +obtain a fresh supply of air, when they can be easily captured with a +hand net. + +They insert their eggs in the stems of water plants, which the female +pierces with her sharp ovipositor; and some European species are known +to hibernate in the mud at the bottom of the pools and water-holes. + +Several species are common in our ponds and creeks, and are savage +little creatures destroying many other aquatic insects, and even small +fish. + +_Enithares bergrothi_ is our common species with a very wide +range over Australia. In their larval state they are silvery white in +appearance, but as the elytra develop and cover the back they change to +dark brown, mottled, shining creatures, with the body measuring about ⅓ +of an inch in length. + + + Family 14. Water-Boatmen. + + CORIXIDAE. + +The members of the family CORIXIDAE differ from the “Back-swimmers,” +though both are often called “Water-Boatmen,” in having the fore tarsi +flattened, fringed with hairs on the edges, but without any claws, +while the head overlaps the thorax. They swim the opposite way (with +the back upwards), and are flattened on the ventral surface. One or +more species may be often captured with a net in the same situations as +the members of the former group. + +_Corixa eurynome_, described by Kirkaldy, is our common species found +in creeks and water-holes all over Australia. It measures over ⅓ of an +inch in length, with the scythe-shaped hind legs projecting behind; it +is of a uniform chocolate brown colour on the dorsal surface, except +the space between the eyes, which with the legs and ventral surface +are dull yellow. The large flattened lead-coloured eyes are almost +triangular. + + + Sub-Order II.--HOMOPTERA. + +This sub-division was formed to include some families of haustellate +insects which, though closely related to the true plant bugs, have +well-defined characteristics that bring them into a natural Sub-Order +of their own. They all have the typical suctorial mouth, but the front +of the head is much inflexed so as to be in contact with the coxae. The +front pair of wings are not true elytra, being generally membranous, +and are usually referred to as tegmina. Some, like the aphids, have +both pairs of wings delicate and transparent; while in the scale +insects, the females are always wingless, and the male is provided +with a single, imperfectly veined pair only. When at rest, the wings +in the typical homoptera are folded over the back like a roof, forming +a ridge. All the families are well represented in Australia, except +the _Aphidae_, of which no indigenous species have been recorded, the +_Psyllidae_ with similar habits taking their place, at any rate in our +western scrubs. Like true hemiptera, they each undergo an incomplete +metamorphosis, some moulting many times before the final ecdysis; and +all feed in the immature and perfect state on the sap of plants. + +Kirkaldy has recently described about 200 new species of the families +Fulgoridae, Membracidae, Cercopidae, and Jassidae (Leaf Hoppers and +their Natural Enemies Bulletin I. pt. IX., Hawaii 1905), collected +by Messrs. Koebele and Perkins chiefly in Queensland. In his +classification based on Hanson’s (Ent. Tedssker xi. 1890) he divides +them into 8 families and creates 76 new genera. + + + Family 1. Cicadas. + + CICADIDAE. + +The most familiar sound in the summer months in Australia, particularly +along the coastal districts is the harsh, incessant screech of the +cicadas; the hotter the day the shriller the tone, and from the first +week in November to the end of January it is more or less constant. +They are too well known to need much description, but it might +be remarked that it is very unfortunate that they are commonly called +“locusts” for, strictly speaking, the term “locust” should only be +applied to the short-horned grasshoppers belonging to a different +order, Family Acridiidae. + + [Illustration: Plate XXXIII.--HOMOPTERA. + + Family CICADIDAE. + + 4. _Cyclochila australasiae_ (Donovan). + 1. Pupa on emergence from the ground. + 2. Pupa casting its skin. + 3. Fore-leg of pupa. + 5. Ovipositor and sheath separated. + 6. Side view of ovipositor. + 7. Ovipositor viewed from above. + 8. Cross section of ovipositor, showing cutting saws and egg + passages.] + + [Illustration: _Plate XXXIII.--HOMOPTERA._] + +The head is broad, more or less truncate in front, with prominent +eyes on the sides, and small gem-like ocelli arranged triangularly on +the summit; each antenna consists of one stout basal joint surmounted +with several (usually four) segments forming a bristle. The tegmina or +fore wings, larger and stouter than the hind pair, are furnished with +thickened veins, and are frequently mottled with brown, usually forming +bands or spots on the cross nervures. The swollen fore legs are spined; +the thorax is well developed; and while the large hollow abdomen of +the male is pointed at the extremity, that of the female (usually the +larger insect) is furnished with a horny retractile ovipositor, which +is adapted for cutting the bark of the twig, wherein she deposits her +eggs. + +The complicated musical apparatus of the male is situated between the +thorax and base of the abdomen, and consists of a large plate on either +side attached to, but extending over the basal portion of the abdomen +(these plates are often called the drums or opercula); beneath in the +abdomen is a cavity formed into two cells within which are two thin +glass-like plates called mirrors; above these mirrors are bundles of +muscles which lead to two membranes formed like kettle-drums; each +membrane has a concave and a convex surface, the latter folded and full +of ridges. + +Haswell (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1886) describes it thus: “The loud +shrill note emitted by the insect is the result of a quick succession +of crackling sounds produced by the movement of the stiff membrane +with its horny ribs, through the agency of the muscle. Under ordinary +circumstances, the sounds follow one another with sufficient quickness +to produce a continuous note, and this is effected not by the +contraction of the muscle as a whole, but by the successive contraction +of individual _fasciculi_ (different filaments forming the whole), +all of which act on the horny plate, and thus the movements of the +muscle on the tendon during the production of the note resemble those +of the hammer-board of a piano when a number of keys are being struck +in quick succession.” + +The life history of cicadas has attracted much attention; on first +emerging from the eggs they might easily be taken for minute shrimps, +apparently all heads and claws. They cast themselves off the branch +and, falling to the ground, burrow into the soil and follow down the +roots, where they feed upon the sap and undergo a series of moults. We +do not know the length of time that they take to develop underground, +but the adults of several of our large species, though each year more +or less in evidence, appear in greater numbers every third year, so +that it is probable that three years is about the cycle of their +subterranean existence. The grotesque pupa burrowing upward when fully +developed, bores a vertical shaft often several feet long before it +comes to the surface, when it crawls out and climbs up the nearest tree +trunk or fence, where it clings till the skin splits down the back, and +the perfect cicada emerges. The dry brown pupal shells firmly attached +by the sharp claws remain long after the inmates have departed. + +Cicadas are well represented in our insect fauna, a number of large +handsome species being found along the coastal forest country, and many +smaller ones in the interior. The large ones attracted the attention of +collectors at a very early date: Donovan, Leach, and Guérin described +several, and Walker (British Museum Catalogue, Homoptera 1850) added a +number of new species from material in the Museum collections, but his +localities and descriptions are very vague and unsatisfactory. Since +then Distant between 1882 and the present date has greatly increased +our list of described species. In 1904 Dr. Goding and I monographed the +Australian Cicadas (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.), describing a number of new +forms, and bringing the number up to 120 species in 18 genera. Last +year (1906), the Trustees of the British Museum issued a “Synonymic +Catalogue of Homoptera, Part I., Cicadidae,” compiled by Distant; in +this a number of alterations in the earlier classification are made, +as indicated in his recent contributions on this family in “The Annals +and Magazine of Natural History” 1900–1906. He places them in three +distinct sub-families which are subdivided into seventeen smaller +divisions. Many of our species are now placed in other genera. + +The sub-family CICADINAE contains many of our largest and most striking +species. Its members have the front edge of the basal abdominal segment +on each side produced forward in a leaf-like expansion, which more or +less covers the sound organs. + +The genus _Thopha_ contains two very fine species: _Thopha saccata_, +“The Double Drummer,” takes its popular name from the great size of +the opercula projecting on the sides of the thorax. It is a reddish +brown cicada, its wings marked with brown and black, and it measures 5 +inches across the outspread wings; it lives in open forest country; has +a loud, distinct note; and ranges from South Australia to Brisbane. +_Thopha sessiliba_ is a somewhat smaller but brighter-coloured species +ranging northward along the Queensland coast from Townsville, and is +found in Central Australia at Tennant’s Creek. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 154.=--_Thopha saccata_ + (Fabr.). + + The large Cicada called by the children “The Double Drummer.” + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The Genus _Arunta_ was formed by Distant to contain two Australian +species, of which _Cicada perulata_ described by Guérin is the type. It +is a handsome insect, 4 inches across the wings; is of a reddish brown +tint mottled with lighter colours; the wings are unspotted; and the +male can be easily recognised by the large white frosted opercula. It +is not a very common species; it is taken sometimes about Sydney. + +The next division contains three genera typical of Australian species. +The Genus _Cyclochila_ until lately contained a single species, but +Distant has lately described a second from N. Queensland. _Cyclochila +australasiae_ is our common large green cicada, called by the children +the “Green Monday.” The whole insect is rich green, the colour +extending into the nervures of the tegmina; there is a yellow variety +not so common, called in consequence the “Yellow Monday”: I have +counted as many as 40 of these fine insects resting on the trunk of a +small oak-tree in my garden in the early morning. + +The Genus _Psaltoda_ contains 7 species peculiar to Australia. +_Psaltoda moerens_, our common black cicada, is called the “Red Eye” +by the Sydney boys on account of the bright colour of the ocelli. +It measures over 4 inches across the wings, which are mottled with +black on the tegmina, and marked with the same colour on the wings. +It frequents the smooth white-stemmed gum trees, and ranges from +Brisbane, Queensland to Adelaide, South Australia, and is also found +in Tasmania. _P. harrisi_ is a smaller and somewhat variable form both +in size and colour; it varies from black to brown and even dull green; +the wings are very slightly mottled, and it can be easily distinguished +from the “Red Eye” by the more distinct silvery patch on the sides of +the body. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 155.=--_Psaltoda (cicada) + moerens_ (Germer). + + The Common Black Cicada or “Red Eye.”] + +The members of the Genus _Henicopsaltria_, four in number, are also +peculiar to this country. _Henicopsaltria eydouxi_, one of our +commonest species, frequents the trunks of the rough-barked gum trees; +I have counted over 300 on a single tree on the coast near Gosford, +N.S.W. It measures nearly 5 inches across the wings; is of a general +mottled light brown and chestnut colour, with the wings infuscated with +three zig-zag bands of brown; the opercula are orange red. _H. fullo_, +peculiar to W. Australia, is a very distinctive blackish coloured +species measuring about 3 inches across the wings; it can be easily +identified by its banded wings and the dorsal surface of the abdomen +ornamented with a transverse white band about the centre of the body. +The Genus _Macrotristria_ now contains 7 species; most of these were +originally described in the Genus _Cicada_, and have representatives +in all parts of Australia, two coming from W. Australia, and two +richly-coloured green species from the tropical forests of N. +Queensland, while _Macrotristria angularis_, our common, large, dark +brown species, variegated with light yellowish spots on the head and +thorax and with deeply infuscated wings, ranges from Adelaide, S.A., to +Queensland. + +The Sub-family GAENINAE contains a number of South American and Asiatic +cicadas, among them some with very brightly coloured wings. Two members +of the Genus _Tettigia_ are found in North Queensland and North +Australia, both of which were once placed in the genus _Tibicen_; +while _Tettigia tristigma_ is the type of the Genus _Tamasa_. The +handsome black and yellow mottled _Gaeana maculata_, common in India +and China, has been recorded by White from Australia, and Goding and I +had specimens from the Northern Territory of S. Australia, but Distant +does not notice this record. + +The Sub-family TIBICININAE have the front edge of the basal abdominal +segment straight, not produced forward; and the sound organs are +entirely uncovered. _Venustria superba_ is a curious ferruginous insect +with rich coppery tints upon the tegmina and wings, which comes from +North Queensland. Dodd usually collected it in the neighbourhood of +termite nests. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 156.=--_Henicopsaltria + eydouxi_ (Guérin). + + The Mottled Grey Cicada. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The Genus _Abricta_ now includes most of our species previously placed +in the Genus _Tibicen_; thirteen are listed from Australia. _Abricta +curvicosta_, one of the largest, measures about 4 inches across the +wings; is reddish brown with a pale stripe down the centre of the +prothorax, and three black spots on each of the tegmina. It is one of +the common species about Sydney, N.S.W., in midsummer, and is called +the “Floury Miller” on account of the silvery pubescence covering the +body which makes it look as if it had been dusted with flour. _A. +aurata_ ranges from Tasmania and Victoria into the southern districts +of N.S. Wales, and is usually found upon the fern trees; it is a +smaller darker coloured cicada with a large, sometimes double, black +spot on each tegmina. + +Distant (Pro. Zool. Soc. 1882) described a number of new species +chiefly obtained from North Queensland; and, finding it difficult +to give them distinctive specific names that would define their +peculiarities, he got over the difficulty by naming them after +Australian explorers. _A. willsi_ is a small species measuring +about two inches across the wings, which are marked with two small +spots, and it can be easily distinguished from all the others by the +curious rugose yellowish patch on the sides of the prothorax. It has +a very wide range over N.S. Wales, Queensland, North, and probably W. +Australia, both along the coast and in the interior. + +_Parnkella muelleri_ is only about 1½ inches across the wings which +have two spots on each tegmina, and is of a pale yellow tint. It is +restricted in its range to North Queensland. The tiny little yellowish +green cicada found upon the grassy plains of Southern Victoria and S. +Australia, described as _Tibicen infans_, is now placed in the South +African Genus _Quintilia_. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 157.=--_Macrotristria (cicada) + angularis_ (Germer). + + The “Fiddler.” + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +The Genus _Chlorocysta_ contains two curious pale green insects with +vitreous tegmina and wings, the former much more closely reticulated +than the ordinary cicada, with many cross and parallel nervures. The +head is small, and the body of the male is swollen and cylindrical. +_Chlorocysta vitripennis_ was described by Westwood (Ann. Nat. Hist. +1851); the larger male measures slightly over 2 inches across the +wings. The female is greenish or reddish, the abdomen conical but not +inflated. They frequent low scrub; the southern forms found about +the Tweed River, N.S.W., are green or yellowish; those from North +Queensland quite brown. _Glaucopsaltria viridis_, described by Goding +and me from S. Queensland, is placed by Distant in this genus. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 158.=--Section of stem of + eucalyptus, in which the Black Cicada (_Psaltoda + moerens_) has laid her eggs.] + +The Genus _Melampsalta_ contains a great number of our small black or +dark brown cicadas often marked with orange red or dull yellow. The +members of the genus are found over Asia, Africa and Europe, over 40 +are described from Australia, and 7 from New Zealand. Some species are +very numerous in early summer, and are known as “Squeakers” on account +of their musical notes. _Melampsalta torrida_, originally described by +Erichson from Tasmania, has a wide range round from Queensland to W. +Australia. It is almost black, with several light marks in the centre +of the thorax, and two irregular rounded confluent black spots at the +tips of the tegmina. It measures about two inches across the wings, but +is variable both in size and in the wing markings. _M. abdominalis_, +about the same size, is black, with two lines of reddish yellow on the +apical portion of the dorsal surface of the abdomen, and the under +surface red; when the tegmina are closed there is a distinctive opaline +mark on either side. It is common in S. Australia and N.S.W. _M. +eyrei_ is a much smaller species, with the head and thorax black, lined +with yellow, and the whole of the abdomen except the black tip, bright +yellow; it is common in N. Queensland. + +The members of the Genus _Pauropsalta_ are easily distinguished +from those of the previous group by having five apical areas in the +wings, while the former have six. Sixteen species are described from +Australia. _Pauropsalta encaustica_ is our commonest species with a +very wide range over Australia; it is of a uniform black tint, with +faint pale brown marks on the head and prothorax, and an infuscated +patch on the hind margins of the wings; the abdominal segments +are finely ringed with white to reddish brown. _P. annulata_ is a +synonym of this cicada. _P. nodicosta_ is a small brown species from +Kalgoorlie, W.A., with a curious node in the centre of the costal +nervure of the tegmina. _P. mneme_, larger, and broader than _P. +encaustica_, has the abdominal segments richly edged with red. It is +common on the Blue Mountains, N.S.W. + +The Genus _Cystosoma_ was created by Westwood (1842) to contain the +great green “Bladder Cicada” which he called _Cystosoma saundersi_, +that at one time was common in the orange orchards around Newcastle, +N.S.W. Mrs. Ross says it is now common about Armidale, N.S.W., on the +sweet brier, and I have also had it on willows from Glen Innes N.S.W. +A second much smaller species, with similar opaque green tegmina, _C. +schmeltzi_, ranges up the coast of North Queensland. + +The two curious hairy brown cicadas belonging to the Genus +_Tettigarcta_ are restricted in their range. _Tettigarcta tomentosa_, +the darkest in tint, has each side of the thorax produced into a +distinct spine; it is only found in Tasmania. _T. crinita_ comes from +similar country in the Gippsland forests, Victoria; it is not quite +so hairy, and has the thorax rounded on the outer margin without any +spines. + + + Family 2. Frog-Hoppers. + + CERCOPIDAE. + +The members of this family are not very numerous though world-wide in +their distribution. They are stout, wedge-shaped, elongate insects +of moderate size; the head is furnished with large flattened eyes +on the sides; with a few exceptions two ocelli are present on the +vertex between the eyes; the small, short antennae, composed of two +bead-shaped joints surmounted with a bristle, are placed in front +of and between the eyes. The pronotum is large with the triangular +scutellum occupying the centre of the back; the tegmina, longer than +the body, are coriaceous, reticulate, with two long discoidal and five +or more apical cells. The coxae and femora are short; the posterior +tibiae are hardly longer than the others, rounded at the base, +spatulate at the apex, armed on the outer margins with two stout spurs, +the second twice the length of the first; the tibiae and basal joints +of the tarsi are terminated with rows of spines. + +Most of our known species were described by the French naturalists, +Amyot & Serville (Annals Soc. Entom. de France 1845); and Walker (Brit. +Museum Cat. Homoptera 1851); and but little attention has been paid +to them since. Our most characteristic species belong to the Genus +_Eurymela_. Seventeen species are listed by Walker from all parts +of Australia. They are large, thickset frog-hoppers, with the head +broad and truncate in front with the face much inflexed; their general +tint is blue-black with the head and elytra marked with red or white +bands or spots. They lay their eggs under the bark of young gum trees, +slitting it in regular rings with their stout ovipositors and leaving +a white papery substance along the punctures. The young cling to the +twigs in clusters after they emerge, and they may often be seen in +different stages of growth upon the same bush. They are very active +little creatures, creeping round the twig when disturbed, and jumping +as soon as they are touched. Many of them are much sought after by ants +which come to them for the honey dew they secrete. + +_Eurymela bicincta_ measures ½ an inch in length, and is broad in +proportion; it is of a uniform dark shining blue tint, with the head, +thorax, and base of the elytra bright red. It has a wide range and may +often be found in colonies of 30 or 40 clustering together on a gum +sapling. _E. rubrovittata_ is about the same size; it is black, with +the under surface, face, and three narrow transverse bands round the +thorax and elytra bright red. It has a range from Western Australia to +Queensland. _E. speculum_ is a common species, recorded from Tasmania +to Queensland; it is of a uniform dark blue-black tint with a white +patch on either side of the face, and two irregular oval white spots +on each wing cover. _E. pulchra_ is smaller, with the head and thorax +marked with red, and two irregular broken bands of white on the side of +each wing cover. + +Five species of the Genus _Aphrophora_ are described by Walker from +Tasmania and Australia. The members of this genus are known as +“Cuckoo-spittle Insects” from the remarkable habit the larvae have of +enveloping themselves in a mass of frothy liquid, which is supposed to +be formed to protect their soft bodies from insects that might prey +upon them; it, however, really makes them very conspicuous objects on +a twig, and several species of wasps are known in America to drag them +out of this covering and use them to provision their nests. + +Our common “Cuckoo-spittle Insect,” found upon the she-oak (Casuarina), +ti-tree (Leptospermum), and Melaleuca, is _Chalepus teliferus_; the +larvae are pale-brown soft oval creatures, which jump when removed +from the frothy liquid, and in this liquid they remain enveloped until +they are ready to emerge. The perfect insect measures under ½ an inch +in length, is of an elongate boat-shaped form; the head is produced +in front as a slender process, curved upwards; the tips of the elytra +come to a compressed point; the general colour is dull reddish brown, +with the horn on the head ferruginous, and the wing covers mottled on +the sides with black. A second species, _Chalepus pugionatus_, has been +described by Stal from Australia. + + + Family 3. Tree-Hoppers. + + MEMBRACIDAE. + +This is a group of homopterous insects chiefly confined to the tropical +parts of the world. They are well represented in Australia, though +we have nothing like the remarkable creatures covered with horns and +spines found in South America and popularly known in consequence as +“little devils.” They are remarkable for the wonderful development of +the prothorax which, projecting in front, often forms a hood above the +head, so that the latter is much hidden when viewed from above; the +eyes are globular and project on the sides of the head, and there is +a pair of ocelli in a line between them; while the short bristle-like +antennae are well below the eyes on either side of the base of the +stout rostrum (beak), which at rest is turned down between the legs. +The abdomen is covered with the wings and parchment-like tegmina, +the extremities of which come together to form a sharp point. The +legs are short and stout, without the numerous spines common on the +“frog-hoppers”; and the tarsi consist of three joints, the first +longest. They can both fly and jump very well, but trust to the latter +method to escape from their enemies. They and the members of allied +families can be easily collected by shaking or beating low scrub over +an open umbrella; or can be bred from larval forms on the food plant. + +Very little attention had been paid to our tree-hoppers until a few +years ago when Goding published his “Check List of the Membracidae +described from Tasmania and Australia” (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1898); +in this he gives many notes and lists 22 species, chiefly described by +Walker (Brit. Museum Cat. Homoptera 1851), Fairmaire, in his Review +of the family in 1846, and Stal in 1869. In 1903 Goding, in the same +Journal, published a “Monograph of the Australian Membracidae.” In +this he re-describes all the known, and adds a number of new species +to our fauna, bringing the list up to a total of 32 described species, +comprised in 14 genera, grouped in 6 sub-families, based chiefly upon +the shape and structure of the prothorax. + +The Genus _Sextius_ contains five species, in which the prothorax is +ridged in the centre and produced on either side into a rather short +acute horn standing out on either side, and with the apical portion +produced into a keeled spine extending to the tip of the abdomen. +_Sextius virescens_, our commonest species, is of a delicate green +colour, and feeds upon the sap of the black wattle and other species of +Acacia. In early summer it may be found among the foliage in all stages +of development; the trees they frequent are frequently infested with +ants which come to obtain the honey dew. The female slits the bark with +her ovipositor, and lays the eggs in rows. _S. depressus_, about the +same size, slightly over ¼ of an inch in length, ranges from Western +Australia to Queensland: at Kempsey, N.S.W., I obtained specimens on a +slender leafed Acacia. It is of similar green colour to _S. virescens_, +with the front of the thorax of a lighter tint, but the projecting +horns are shorter and depressed, and the venation of the elytra is much +finer. _S. australis_ is about the same size, and of a uniform black +tint with a patch of bright silvery pubescence on the sides of the +thorax, which is rounded in front and has very short blunt horns. It +lives upon the branchlets of a prickly Hakea growing about Sydney. + +_Lubra spinicornis_ is a slightly smaller insect, of a general dull +brown tint: it has the prothorax produced into two almost erect clubbed +horns. Specimens have been obtained from Brisbane, Queensland, and the +northern rivers of New South Wales. _Daunus tasmaniae_ is of the same +chocolate brown colour; is more robust in proportion. The prothorax +forms a regular hood swelling out on either side at the base of the +tegmina, and the projecting horns are curved and deeply ridged, and +are chisel-shaped at the tips. It is one of the commonest species in +Tasmania, and is recorded over a wide area of the eastern mainland as +far North as Brisbane. + +_Eufroggattia tuberculata_ is a rare insect usually found resting on a +twig of a eucalyptus sapling, and is shaped very much like some of the +small plant bugs belonging to the Genus _Testrica_; it is short and +broad in form, with the head exposed; the thorax has short blunt horns; +and the abdomen is broadly rounded at the apex. + + + Family 4. Lantern-flies. + + FULGORIDAE. + +This is a very difficult family to satisfactorily define, as their +members are very diverse in general shape and structure, with points of +resemblance that bring some of the genera very close to the Cercopidae +(from which however they differ in the shape of the head), while they +somewhat resemble the Jassidae in the structure of the legs. + +The typical forms have the front of the head either produced into a +lance-shaped structure, or the face and vertex either rounded in front +or forming an acute angle. The eyes are large and stand out on the +sides of the head; the ocelli, usually two in number, are situated +below or near the eyes and are placed in the cavities on the cheeks; in +a few species there are three ocelli, while in others they are wanting. +The antennae, situated beneath the eyes, and often very peculiar in +structure, consist of two short joints surmounted with a bristle. + +Many are large handsome insects with bright coloured tegmina and wings; +others are of delicate green and grey tints, quite moth-like in form, +but can be easily distinguished by the way they rest with their stiff +roof-like wings, and by their active jumping habits. The legs are often +long, and the hind pair are furnished with a few stout spines on the +tibae, but never thickly spined as in the Jassidae. Many of our larger +species are found both in the larval and perfect state, on tree trunks. +A few species are well-known pests and have an extended range beyond +Australia. + +Donovan described and figured several species (Insects of New Holland, +1815); Westwood figured and described two in his “Monograph of the +Genus Fulgora” (Trans. Linn. Soc. 1837): but the majority of our +species are described by Walker (Brit. Mus. Cat. Homoptera, 1851), and +he also named others in “Insecta Saundersiana, Homoptera,” 1858, which +describes the insects in W. W. Saunders’ great collection. + +_Siphanta acuta_, better known under the name of _Cromna acuta_, is one +of our commonest fulgorids, moth-like in appearance, of a pale green +colour, with broad square-cut fore wings and a short pointed head. It +measures about an inch across the outspread wings. It has a wide range +in Australia; and its pale green fluffy larvae feed upon the sap of +many plants, and readily jump when touched. It is also well known in +Hawaii, Sandwich Islands, where it is called the “torpedo-bug” from the +way it jumps; and it is said to be a pest on the coffee plants (Smith +Annual Report, Hawaii 1904). A number of species of these moth-like +forms are described by Walker from Australia and Tasmania, and placed +in the Genus _Bythoscopus_, which genus, when further studied, will +probably be much subdivided. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 159.=--_Scolypopa (Pochazia) + australis._ + + The Common Passion-vine Hopper.] + +_Pochazia australis_ measures about ¾ of an inch across the short broad +fore wings, which are margined and irregularly barred with chocolate +brown; the head is short and rounded in front. Melichar, in his +“Monographie der Ricaniiden, Wien,” 1898, places _P. australis_ in the +Genus _Scolypopa_. The larva is a green wedge-shaped little creature +clothed at the tip of the abdomen with a bunch of white filaments. +It is a very common insect with a wide range. Sometimes it is a pest +on passion vines; the eggs are laid in the slender tendrils, and +the larvae suck up the sap of the stalks. Another species is common +among the foliage of the silky oak (_Grevillia robusta_) in Southern +Queensland. + +_Achilus flammeus_ has the body and wings of a bright red colour, with +the small head showing prominently in front: the broadly rounded opaque +elytra and wings cover the short body. It measures about an inch across +the outspread wings. Nothing is known about its habits or life history, +but in the summer evenings it sometimes comes flying towards the light, +and can be found on the windows. + +The Genus _Poeciloptera_ contains a number of small, short broad-winged +forms. Donovan figures _Poeciloptera modesta_, which has pink fore +wings, each marked with two small red spots, and the hind wings have a +pale bluish tint. + +_Prolepta dilatata_ is a typical, dull reddish-brown fulgorid, +measuring nearly an inch from the tip of the long slender head to the +extremities of the folded tegmina which are broadest across the tips: +and the slender prolonged forehead is over two lines in length. This +insect was described from W. Australia, but it has a wide range and can +be collected about Sydney. _P. obscurata_ is about the same size, more +rugose in structure, and with markings of dark brown; the markings on +the somewhat opaque wings are more distinct, striated and irregular +than in _P. dilatata_: it can also be easily recognised by the shorter +and thicker process on the forehead. It has a wide range over Australia. + +The Genus _Eurybrachys_ contains a number of short, dark brown insects +with broad rounded heads; they run about on the trunks of trees, +jumping at the least alarm. _Eurybrachys leucostigma_ is a very stout, +broad, dull brown insect, about ¾ of an inch across the outspread +wings. Some 16 species are described from all parts of Australia. The +members of the Genera _Ledra_ and _Stenocotis_ are broad elongate +insects with the front of the head spade-shaped, and the convex body +tapers to a sharp point. Their larvae are almost as flat as a bit of +paper. _Stenocotis australis_ is about ¾ of an inch in length, and of a +dull brown tint. + + + Family 5. Leaf-Hoppers. + + JASSIDAE. + +These insects are minute froghopper-like forms with the head rounded in +front, and with the body tapering towards the tips of the tegmina. The +head is large, with the oval or rounded eyes projecting on the sides, +and with a pair of ocelli situated on the front margin. The antennae, +bristle-like, of considerable length, are each composed of two short +cylindrical basal joints with a thread-like terminal portion, and are +placed in front and below the eyes. The legs are long, well adapted for +jumping (their chief means of progression); and the tibiae of the hind +pair are thickly clothed with stout spines. + +Though these insects are very small, many species appear upon crops +and herbage in such immense numbers that they often do a great deal +of damage, and are very interesting from an economic standpoint. In +Japan, for instance, there are several species very serious pests in +the rice fields; while in North America _Erythroneura vitis_ is a +well-known pest upon the foliage of vines. + +They are abundant on the low scrub and grass lands in this country in +favourable localities, and may be easily collected with a sweeping +net, or by shaking the bushes over an open umbrella; yet, probably on +account of their small size and retiring habits, few specimens are to +be found even in our Museum collections. + +The sugar-cane hopper, _Perkinsiella saccharicida_, a native of +Queensland, is a dull brownish yellow hopper with a dark parallel +stripe down the centre of the basal portions of the tegmina; it +measures a ¼ of an inch in length. Kirkaldy described it from Hawaii, +where it has been introduced, and is a serious pest to the sugar-cane. + +A very pretty little unidentified species, bright red and yellow, with +the fore wings marked with dark brown, is common upon the broad soft +leaves of _Eucalyptus robusta_, where the curious little larvae rest +in families of three or four; each is enveloped in white filaments +which proceed from round the tip of the abdomen. The larvae of another +species have been observed to form large colonies on the surface of +the leaves of low eucalyptus bushes on the hills near Capertee N.S.W. +They suck up the sap, discolouring the centre of the leaves; each +exudes a globule of liquid from the tip of the abdomen, which they drag +out into thin threads with their hind legs, to form a spider-web-like +covering over their bodies, and this web dries soon after the leaves +are gathered. + + + Family 6. Lerp Insects. + + PSYLLIDAE. + +These are small homoptera, in appearance suggesting miniature cicadas. +The head is generally broader than long, sometimes deflected and with +large eyes; the ocelli are three in number, the lateral ones situated +on the summit of the head close to the hind margins of the eyes, and +the central one at the apex of the median suture. The antennae are +each composed of ten joints, the first two shorter and thicker than +the following ones, and the terminal joint surmounted with two short +bristles. The thorax is broad, with well developed tegmina and wings, +and like the aphids both pairs might properly be called wings. The +venation is simple, constant, and useful in the work of classification. +They are formed for jumping, with a spine-like process on the coxa of +each hind leg, and the apex of the tibiae of the hind legs furnished +with a row of short fine spines. The tarsi are two jointed, terminating +in a pair of large claws. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 160.=--Diagram of Psylla (_Thea + opaca_) ♀. + + Showing the structure and venation of the wings. + + 1_a_, Face lobes; 2_a_, prothorax; 3_a_, + mesanotum; 4_a_, dorsulum; 5_a_, scutellum, tegmina; + 1_b_, costal nervure; 2_b_, primary stalk; 3_b_, + clavus; 4_b_, clavical suture; 5_b_, stalk of + sub-costa; 6_a_, stalk of cubitus; 7_b_, sub-costa; + 8_b_, lower branch of cubitus; 9_b_, upper branch of + cubitus; 10_b_, lower fork of lower cubitus; 11_b_, + stigma; 12_b_, upper fork of the lower branch of cubitus; + 13_b_, radius; 14_b_, lower fork of upper cubitus; + 15_b_, upper fork of upper cubitus. + + 3, Genitalia ♂; 4, Genitalia ♀; 5, Head of _Spondyliaspis + eucalypti_, showing face lobes. + + (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.)] + +The female lays her eggs in clusters on the twigs or foliage, from +which the curious, little, large-headed larvae emerge, and, after +undergoing a series of moults during which they develop large +wing-pads on the shoulders and more joints in the antennae, they +finally come forth, perfect four-winged insects. They take their family +name from _Psylla_, a flea, given them by Linnaeus in reference +to their jumping powers, and their popular name of “Lerp Insects,” +from the habit of the larvae of many species of forming “lerp scales,” +shell-like protective coverings formed from exudations from the +insects. Other species cover themselves with flocculent matter after +the manner of mealy bugs; and yet another group form regular oval or +rounded galls on the foliage. They are found in most of the warmer +parts of the world, and are very numerous in Australia, where they seem +to take the place of the APHIDAE to a certain extent; they are +readily collected in all stages of growth upon their food plant, and +can be easily bred. + +The Sugar lerp, _Psylla eucalypti_, whose larvae cover the leaves +of several species of gum trees with their white woolly shells, was +described by Dobson from Tasmania (Pro. Royal Soc. Van Diemen’s Land, +1851). It is a slender little green creature with very long face lobes, +and, when crawling about, turns the tip of its body upwards, so that it +looks as if it were walking on its head. It is now placed in the Genus +_Spondyliaspis_. + +In the same year (1851) Walker published his Homoptera (Cat. Brit. +Museum) in which he recorded 5 species, all from Tasmania; and it was +not until 1898 that they were again noticed when Maskell described 3 +species from Australia (Trans. N. Zealand Inst.); and Schwarz defined +another (Pro. Ent. Soc. Washington) in 1897. Between the years 1900 and +1903 I contributed three papers (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.) monographing +our species, in which 64 new species are added to our fauna. I followed +Low in the classification of the sub-families, adding Scott’s fifth +division for those with small heads and no face lobes. + +In the LIVIINAE, the front of the head is not produced into face lobes; +the stalk of the cubitus is either shorter, as long as, or longer than +the lower branch of the cubitus. _Crewiis longipennis_ is of a general +bright red tint, and is ¼ of an inch in length; it ranges from Tasmania +to the North of New South Wales. The larva forms a rounded pale yellow +lerp covered with fine woolly filaments upon the leaves of gum trees. +_Lasiopsylla rotundipennis_ forms a large, flattened, irregularly +rounded white scale on the foliage of _Eucalyptus melliodora_, under +which the flattened, pale green larva hides. + +The Sub-family APHALARINAE contains a number of small species, and +the head is produced in front into face lobes, with the stalk of the +cubitus as long as or longer than the stalk of the sub-costa. They +usually form lerp scales; but some are naked, or clothed with soft +white woolly filaments. + +Several species of the Genus _Spondyliaspis_ belong to this group; all +of them form “sugar lerp scales,” often encrusting all the foliage +of the young gum trees, and are so abundant that in the Mallee scrub +country in Victoria and S. Australia the blacks used to collect and +eat it in quantities, and had a regular “manna harvest.” _Cardiaspis +artifex_ is a short, reddish yellow insect, the larvae of which form +beautiful barred shell-like lerps, marked with red and yellow to look +like delicate fretwork, upon the leaves of _Eucalyptus robusta_. +_C. tetrix_ is a pretty pink and grey species found in the Adelong +district, N.S.W. The larva constructs a most remarkable cage of fine +red bars, not unlike a lady’s hair net, beneath which the larva +crawls about freely like a bird in a cage. _Rhinocola corniculata_ +often covers the leaves of different eucalypts with its elongate, +opaque, horny, yellow lerps. The test is not unlike that of a large +_Mytilaspis_ scale, but is open at the broad end through which the +little larva can creep in and out. It ranges from New South Wales to +Western Australia. _R. eucalypti_ is a very tiny, little, dark brown +psylla, the larvae of which cluster at the tips of the foliage of young +blue gums (_Eucalyptus globulus_), and cover themselves with threads +of white flocculent matter. It was described by Maskell from New +Zealand, but is common both in Tasmania and Australia: it has also been +introduced into Africa on the same eucalypt. + +The larvae of the Genus _Thea_ are curious, broad, flattened creatures, +with hard integument. They hide under the dead bark on the trunks of +the white stemmed gums, spreading their white woolly secretion around +them; the ants look after them, and probably protect them from many +enemies in return for the “honey dew,” of which secretion the ants are +very fond. _Thea opaca_ is of a general reddish pink colour mottled +with brown and black; the wings are transparent, with a dark stigma on +the fore wing. + +The members of the Sub-family PSYLLINAE have the same well-defined +conical face lobes, but the stalk of the cubitus is shorter than the +stalk of the sub-costa. The larvae may be quite naked, but most of +them produce woolly filaments more or less covering them, and form +no true lerp scales or galls. The typical Genus _Psylla_ comprises a +number of usually small and somewhat stouter insects, many of which +cluster in swarms like aphids upon the foliage of wattles and other +trees. The eggs, larvae, pupae, and perfect insects may be found on +the same twigs. _Psylla acaciae-decurrentis_ is a slender, dark-winged +insect remarkable for the length of its slender antennae; it is +common upon the black wattle in early summer. _P. acaciae-baileyanae_ +is a much smaller yellow species with mottled wings that often swarms +over the cultivated “Cootamundra wattle,” and is reported to have +destroyed all the flower-buds of this wattle in the neighbourhood of +Melbourne in 1905. _P. capparis_ is a mottled winged species that +frequents the foliage of _Capparis mitchelli_ in the western scrubs: +_P. schizoneurodes_ infests the twigs of the allied “Warrior Bush”; +the larvae are covered with flocculent matter and have a globule of +liquid substance at the tip of the abdomen; when massed together they +look much like “woolly blight” on the apple trees. _P. sterculiae_ is a +small brownish species, found upon the twigs of the Kurrajong, and has +a wide range over New South Wales. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 161.=--_Psylla sterculiae_ + (Froggatt). + + The Kurrajong Twig Psylla. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +Two very curious species are found upon the thick fleshy leaves of +our native figs, and one, _Mycopsylla fici_, lays her eggs upon the +foliage, the squat grey larvae burying their beaks in the leaf cause a +flow of milky sap, under which they hide in small colonies, and when +ready to emerge crawl from beneath the viscid mass. Where numerous, +they cover the foliage with these sticky patches, and cause the leaves +to fall. The perfect psylla is a handsome, dark-coloured insect with +long antennae and ample transparent wings. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 162.=--_Tyora sterculiae_ + (Froggatt). + + The Star-psylla found on the surface of the leaves of the + Kurrajong. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +Sub-family TRIOZINAE. The cubitus of the wing has no stalk, the veins +forking directly from its junction with the sub-costa. All our species, +with one exception, come into the typical Genus _Trioza_: many of them +are gall makers in the larval state, others are naked and cling to +the under surface of twigs and leaves. The larvae of the gall-makers +are broad, oval, flattened creatures, covered with a mealy secretion, +the outer margin of the dorsal shield in each case being fringed with +fine regular ciliae. Most of the perfect insects are thickset; they +range from chestnut brown to reddish yellow; and have clear transparent +wings. _Trioza carnosa_ makes a large, oval, fleshy, brightly tinted +gall with an irregular opening at the summit, often covering and +aborting the foliage of eucalypts about Sydney. The larva of _T. +eucalypti_ forms a rounded, hard, woody gall upon the leaves, without +any opening on either side until the gall contracts and splits open, +when the full grown pupa emerges. _T. casuarinae_ is a very pretty +little psylla with dark-barred wings, and its curious naked fish-like +larva clings to the slender foliage of the she-oak (_Casuarina_). _T. +banksiae_ has a tiny, naked, yellow larva covered with silvery down; it +is a rare insect found on the under surface of the honeysuckle leaves. +Nearly all these species have been collected within a day’s journey +from Sydney, but have a wide range on the eastern coast. + +The Sub-family PRIONOCNEMINAE was formed by Scott for Walker’s Genus +_Tyora_, in which I have placed two species. _Tyora sterculiae_ is a +pale green, aphid-like psylla, with long antennae and large transparent +wings. The larvae cluster together on the leaves of the Kurrajong, +forming white patches over the foliage, and each larva throws out +slender white threads, fringing the tip of the abdomen and radiating +about the body. _T. hibisci_ is a delicate pale green insect which has +been taken on the foliage of _Hisbiscus tiliaceus_, about Brisbane, +Queensland, and also on a creeper on the Tweed River, New South Wales. + + + Family 7. Aphids or Plant Lice. + + APHIDAE. + +These destructive little creatures are well known to gardeners under +different names, such as “smother or green-fly,” “plant lice,” or +“blight.” This family contains one of the most destructive and +widespread pests that ever attacked cultivated plants, namely the vine +louse (_Phylloxera vastatrix_), which has destroyed millions of +pounds’ worth of vines, and has followed its host all over the world. +Aphids are all small soft-bodied creatures, green, black, or yellow in +colour; and at least ten introduced species are to be commonly found in +our gardens and fields; but as far as I know, no indigenous aphid is +recorded in Australia. + +The life history of these insects is very complex; the winter eggs or +larvae lie dormant during the cold season in crevices on the trunks, or +hidden underground on the roots of their host plants; but as the warm +weather approaches they crawl up the trunks, cluster round the opening +leaf buds, and sticking their sharp beaks into the tissue, suck up the +sap. These give birth to living larvae which grow very rapidly, and in +turn (though virgin females) bring forth fresh broods of live larvae +that in the course of several generations develop two pairs of large +transparent wings, and consist usually of both sexes, though in some +species the males are wanting. The last generation fly away in swarms +but before dying deposit eggs which carry on the cycle of their life +into the next summer. + +The wingless forms are short, stout, rounded creatures with small, +slightly lobed heads, and rather stout 3 to 7 jointed antennae; the +legs are well-developed with two-jointed feet. The abdomen often +swells out into a flask-like shape; it is furnished on the 5th segment +with a pair of cylindrical tubes called siphons, through which it +discharges a sweet secretion known as “honey dew”; this liquid is often +ejected in such quantities on aphis-infested plants that it covers the +foliage, and attracts the ants, which come and lick up the globules of +honey-dew on the tips of the siphons, and even caress the aphis with +their antennae; and therefore in popular works these insects are often +described as “ants’ cows.” + + [Illustration: =Fig. 163.=--_Siphonophora rosae_ + (Linn.). + + The Rose Aphis of the garden. + + 1, Rose buds infested with aphis; 2, larva; 3, winged female + aphis. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + [Illustration: =Fig. 164.=--_Aphis persicae-niger_ + (Smith). + + The American Peach Aphis (introduced). + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +Among the introduced species common in Australia is the Cabbage Aphis, +_Aphis brassicae_, a dull green insect covered with a floury exudation; +it is one of the greatest pests that the cabbage-growers have to deal +with, and is always most troublesome in dry weather. The Rose Aphis, +_Siphonophora rosae_, is a pale green species appearing in the spring +on the young buds of the roses, but seldom doing very serious damage. +The Woolly Aphis, _Schizoneura lanigera_, common both on the roots and +branches of apple trees, is found in most of our old orchards; the dull +blue aphids cluster together in colonies with their beaks buried deeply +in the bark, and the clusters become covered with a mass of soft white +flocculent exudation, hiding them from view. From the irritation to +the plant tissue caused by their presence large galls or excrescences +appear all over the branches. The Peach Aphis, _A. persicae-niger_, is +another common orchard pest which winters on the roots of the peach +trees: in early summer they commence to spread, and if neglected do a +great deal of damage to the leaf and flower buds. + +The chief work dealing with the systematic classification of plant lice +is Buckton’s “Monograph of the British Aphidae,” published by the Roy. +Society, London 1881. A number of new species have been described since +by American entomologists in bulletins on Economic Zoology. + + + Family 8. Snow-Flies. + + ALEURODIDAE. + +These are all very small delicate creatures; both sexes are furnished +with two pairs of broad rounded wings with simple parallel veins, and +are usually thickly covered with a mealy white dust from which they +take their popular name of “Snow-Flies.” The head is broad, furnished +with a three-jointed beak enclosing setae; seven-jointed antennae; and +large reniform eyes, with an ocellus on either side above the eyes. +The thorax is broad and the abdomen soft and rounded. The tarsi are +two-jointed terminating in two claws at the extremities. + +The female lays her eggs in clusters on the under surface of the +leaves, where the young larvae later on form regular oval, glassy tests +of various colours, enclosed in which they feed and finally pupate. +The adult insects have their short broad wings slightly expanded, +and cluster together in threes and fours: but the moment their food +plant is touched they fly out in a little cloud. They can, like the +scale insects, be very easily introduced into a new country with their +food plant, and several species, like _Aleurodes vaporariorum_ +described by Westwood from Europe, have a wide range over America and +this continent. + +The snow-flies are well represented in Australia, and several species +do a considerable amount of damage to native shrubs, but on account +of their delicate structure and small size they are difficult to +collect, and harder to preserve when collected; if mounted on card +they dry up, with nothing to determine them from but the wings, which +have very few distinctive characters. The most satisfactory method of +preserving them, is to drop the live insects into oil of cloves on +a micro slip, when they usually open their wings and legs, and then +make, with a little care, very fine objects when mounted in balsam; at +times, however, the floury covering floats off the wings and body and +sometimes clouds the mount. + +Maskell has described 8 species from Australia (Trans. N. Zealand Inst. +1896); most of these descriptions, however, were based upon the larval +tests or scales (and not the adult insects) which had been sent to him +under the idea that they were scale insects; so that whoever takes up +the study of snow-flies will have to breed them out, to be sure of +the identity of his species. _Aleurodes styphelia_ forms a flattened, +oval, black test fringed with white waxy tubes almost as long as the +encircled larva, scattered about over the leaves of _Styphelia richei_, +a common scrub bush about Sydney. _Aleurodes t-signata_ forms a spiny +black test; and with a second undetermined pale yellow species without +a marginal fringe, is found about Sydney on the foliage of _Acacia +longifolia_. Another species, _A. banksiae_, is found upon both the +honeysuckle (_Banksia_) and the bottle brush (_Callistemon_). + +In Maskell’s paper, which is an important contribution to the study of +these small but very interesting insects, he lists 65 known species +belonging to the typical Genus _Aleurodes_; some have since been +described from America, of which a few have been placed in the Genus +_Aleurodicus_, formed by Douglas for those with a distal and basal +branch on both wings. + + + Family 9. Scale Insects. + + COCCIDAE. + +These insects take their popular name of scale insects from the habit +that many of the typical species have of protecting themselves, after +they have settled down on their food plant, by forming a shield or +scale over their backs under which they feed and produce their eggs or +living larvae. To form the scale the moulted larval skin, called the +pellicle, becomes a nucleus in the first place, round which exudations +are added until the scale insect ceases growing. + +The larvae are pale yellow, pink, or dull-red coloured little +creatures, oval or shield-shape in form, usually fringed round the +margins of the body with fine filaments, which are often long upon +the somewhat thickened irregularly-jointed antennae and form longer +setae upon the tip of the abdomen. They have distinct black eyes, +well-developed legs; the mouth is pointed and beak-like. At this stage +of their existence the sexes do not differ in outward appearance, but +when they attach themselves to their food plant the males and females +of the same species often construct scales of very dissimilar form; +while in others the male scales are simply more elongate than those of +the female. + +The male coccid is a delicate fragile little creature, usually +microscopic in size, so that, unless bred out in confinement from +scale-infested foliage, they are seldom seen. He has a well defined +head rounded behind, furnished with moderately long antennae composed +of thickened irregularly-jointed segments fringed and surmounted with +fine filaments. The globular black eyes stand out on the sides of the +head, but the mouth is aborted so that it cannot feed. The thorax, +lobed on the dorsal surface, is furnished with a pair of rounded wings +each with a simple central nervure, but he can fly well in spite of +their delicate structure. The slender legs are simple, terminating in +rudimentary hooks; the elongated abdomen is distinctly segmented and +furnished at the extremity with a pair of long slender white filaments. +This period of his existence is short: thousands of them perish very +soon after they leave their scale, and the survivors as soon as they +have impregnated the female die. + +The female coccid as soon as she settles down to suck up the sap +develops under her protective shield (which, unlike the male, she never +leaves) into an oval or rounded yellow mass: her legs, antennae, and +even head become aborted though the segments of the abdomen are well +defined in most species, and finally she becomes simply a sack of eggs. +She deposits her eggs under the protection of the shield, in other +cases the larvae develop within her shrunken dead skin. + +The larvae swarm out and spread over plants when, owing to their +immense numbers sucking up the sap with their sharp beaks, they soon +injure the tissue and often kill the food plant. Thus from an economic +point of view the scale insects are one of the most important groups +of the insect-world that man has to deal with, and thousands of pounds +are spent in spraying and fumigating cultivated trees to destroy these +pests. Many species are cosmopolitan in their range and choice of food +plants, having been introduced all over the world, but Australia has a +great number of indigenous species, many remarkable for their curious +habits, particularly those forming solid woody galls on the eucalypts. + +The classification of the scale insects is based chiefly upon the +structure of the adult female coccid, viz.:--Of the spinnerets, +abdominal cleft, lobes, spines, and anal ring of the abdomen, and the +structure and number of joints of the antennae. The shape and structure +of the puparium or scale, or other secretions are used to separate them +into the larger sub-divisions. + +The greater number of our species were described by Maskell in +the “Transactions of the New Zealand Institute between the years +1878–1898,” in which period he added over 100 new species to our list: +Green (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1900) has described some others; and +in the same Journal (1882–1898) I dealt with the gall-making coccids +belonging to the sub-family BRACHYSCELINAE. In 1894 Maskell +issued a “Synoptical List of the Coccidae reported from Australia and +the Pacific Islands,” in which 180 species were credited to Australia. +To this Maskell added later a number of new forms; and Fuller others +from Western Australia (Trans. Ent. Soc. London 1899). In Mrs. +Fernald’s “Catalogue of the Coccidae of the World” (Hatch Experiment +Station Bulletin 88, 1903) over 328 species are listed, from this +country, but there are a considerable number of doubtful species among +them. + +The COCCIDAE have been divided into a number of sub-families: I follow +Green (Coccidae of Ceylon, 1896), though Mrs. Fernald in following +Cockerell reverses the families and starts with the mealy bugs; I also +retain most of the well-known generic names unless there is a very +valid reason for discarding them, which does not appear to be the case +in many of Cockerell’s amendments. + +The Sub-family DIASPINAE are known as armoured scales and embrace most +of the forms which cover themselves with stout horny shields (puparia). +When adult the female is almost legless, with rudimentary antennae, +and incapable of movement. The members of the Genus _Aspidiotus_ form +round scales, and among them are some of our worst orchard pests. +The introduced species _Aspidiotus auranti_, the Red scale of citrus +trees, is now found on many garden shrubs. The puparium of the adult +female is dull reddish yellow with the centre lighter coloured, and +the twigs, leaves and fruit of neglected trees are often covered with +these scales in all stages of growth. _A. perniciosus_, the notorious +San José Scale, that attacks deciduous fruit-trees in the same manner, +is a dull brown circular scale; its original home is somewhat doubtful, +and though it was first recorded as a pest in California, is said to +have come from China. The scales are much darker than those of the red +scale, and infest the branches and twigs so thickly that they destroy +the bark, and whenever they attach themselves to the fruit produce a +red spot. _A. hederi_ (better known under the name of _A. nerii_), is a +pure white scale with a yellow centre; it has a world-wide range, and +its range extends far out into our western scrubs, sometimes covering +the whole of a large tree. _A. rossi_ is a very distinct, round, black +scale, partial to _Euonymus_ in the garden, and to grass trees in the +bush. _A. ficus_ is often known as the “Round Scale” from its size and +regular shape; it is deep chocolate brown in colour, common upon palms, +and is sometimes found upon oranges coming from the Pacific Islands. + +_Fiorinia acaciae_ covers the stems and twigs of _Acacia longifolia_ +with its narrow white ribbed scale; it is much longer than broad, +and is truncate at the extremities; this gives it a very distinctive +character. + +The Genus _Diaspis_ contains a number of delicate, more elongated +scales, among which is the well known white rose scale _Diaspis rosae_, +common in the garden. _Poliaspis exocarpi_ is another white scale +infesting _Oxylobium_, _Dillwynia_, and other bush shrubs; the male +scales are long, slender, and loosely attached to the smaller twigs. + +The Genus _Chionaspis_, containing a number of cosmopolitan and +indigenous species, has the base of the scale narrow, elongate, but +broadly rounded at the extremity. _Chionaspis xerotides_ is white, +common upon the blades of the sedge growing along the sea shore at +Botany, N.S.W., and has a wide range. _C. eugeniae_ is a larger broader +scale, variable in size and shape; it infests several native shrubs, +and a very large form is found on the waratah. + +_Mytilaspis_ is another world-wide genus, in which the scales are +attenuated at the base and are oyster-like in shape; _Mytilaspis +pomorum_ is the common “Mussel” or “Oyster” scale of the apple tree +found all over the world. _M. spinifera_ is a handsome, broad, white +scale common on the weeping myall (_Acacia pendula_), growing in the +interior. _M. striata_ is a very slender form of scale that has had +to adapt its shape to the slender foliage of the Casuarina which it +infests. _M. acaciae_ is a grey species that clusters thickly together +in masses like the apple scale, covering the stems of several different +species of Acacias in the bush with its stout irregular scales. + + [Illustration: Plate XXXIV.--HOMOPTERA. + + Family =Coccidae=. + + 1. _Apiomorpha urnalis_ (Tepper). + 2. _Frenchia semiocculta_ (Mask.). + 4. _Frenchia casuarinae_ (Mask.). + 3. Galls of Buprestid beetles (_Ethon corpulentum_, + Bohem.).] + + [Illustration: _Plate XXXIV.--HOMOPTERA._] + +In the Sub-family LECANIINAE the female coccids are active or +stationary; naked or covered with some secretion; sometimes without +legs; the abdomen marked with a median cleft and furnished with two +dorsal lobes. Several species of the tropical Genus _Ceroplastes_ are +found about Sydney, where they were introduced into the gardens at a +very early date, and have since spread into the orchards and bush. The +Indian wax-scale, _Ceroplastes ceriferus_, covers orchard trees, and +bush and garden shrubs with its irregular rounded masses of greasy +white matter that protect the liver-coloured coccids beneath. _C. +rubens_ is a smaller and more regularly rounded dull red scale, the +enveloping material forming a hard waxy shell. + +The members of the Genus _Ctenochiton_ are chiefly confined to New +Zealand, but two fine species have been described from Australia. +_Ctenochiton eucalypti_ comes from the Newcastle district, N.S.W., +where it infests the leaves of gum saplings. The scales of the sexes +differ very much; those of the male are slender, white, and glassy, +while those of the female are broad and dark coloured. _C. rhizophorae_ +comes from Queensland, where it is found upon the mangrove. The +beautiful, brittle, glass-like scales of _Inglisia foraminifer_ and _I. +fossilis_, are often very plentiful in the interior on low scrub trees. + + [Illustration: =Figs. 165= and =166=.--Scale + Insects. + + 165. _Icerya purchasi_ (Maskell). + + The Cottony-cushion or Fluted Scale of the orange tree. + + 166. _Ceroplastus ceriferus_ (Anderson). + + The introduced Indian Wax Scale of citrus trees, etc.] + +In the Genus _Ceronema_, the males form delicate angulated scales, but +the females are clothed with a woolly secretion. _Ceronema banksiae_ is +a somewhat rare scale found on the foliage of the banksia; it has the +secretion upon the dorsal surface, formed into a distinct rib down the +centre. _C. caudata_ is a large species with a white woolly covering, a +large filament towards the apex forming a large loop rising above the +back like a handle. It has a wide range from the South Coast of N.S.W. +to North Queensland, and about Bulli, N.S.W., is found on gum trees. + +The Genus _Lecanium_ (which has been cut up into a number of new +genera) contains many distinct species peculiar to our fauna. _Lecanium +tesselatum_, a flattened species with crenulated margins, and common +on palms in the gardens, and _L. oleae_, known as “black bug” or +“olive scale” by the orchardists, are both introduced species: _L. +patersoni_ is a slender form found upon the foliage of _Patersonia +glabrata_ growing about Sydney. _L. scrobiculata_ is a bright, shining, +convex, dark brown scale infesting several species of acacias; and _L. +mirificum_, one of the largest, is found in the interior upon _Acacia +pendula_. The curious coccid, _Cryptes (Lecanium) baccatum_, covers the +twigs of several acacias, among them the common black wattle in the +vicinity of Sydney. At first dull white, they swell out into rounded +bead-shaped, blue sacks, so close together that they encrust the whole +of the infested twig; when adult they turn dull brown. + +The Sub-family DACTYLOPINAE contains most of the well-known “mealy +bugs”; they are soft bodied creatures in the earlier stages of their +existence, and many species are able to move about until their latter +days; instead of forming a separate scale like the first group, they +cover themselves with white, woolly, mealy, cottony, or waxy secretions. + +The members of the Genus _Asterolecanium_ are represented in Australia +by the introduced “oak scale” _Asterolecanium quercicola_, a typical +form which, half buried in the infested bark at the tips of the +branches, is covered with a waxy, greenish yellow, rounded scale; when +numerous it causes the tips of the branches to die back. _A. acaciae_, +when numerous, aborts the bark and twigs of _Acacia longifolia_ and is +covered with dull brown and white shields; and with _A. stypheliae_, +with its raised, shining, oval, bright yellow tests, found on a number +of different shrubs, are both native species with a very wide range +over Australia. + +The Genus _Rhizococcus_ is represented by 8 species, found chiefly +upon the twigs of wattles (_Acacia_) and she-oaks (_Casuarina_); and +the cosmopolitan Genus _Eriococcus_ by 17 species. Several species of +_Eriococcus_ enclosed in their egg-shaped, white-felted sacks are very +common in the forest, clustering over and often killing the young +trees. _Eriococcus coriaceous_ varies from white to yellow in colour; +the sacs are oval, with a distinct anal opening on the summit; they +infest the foliage and twigs of many young Eucalypts. _E. paradoxus_ +is a somewhat larger, sticky insect; they mass together in regular +lumps on the twigs of the same trees: while _E. eucalypti_, as far as +my experience goes, is never found on gum trees, as its name implies, +but upon the prickly twigs of _Bursaria spinosa_, and its sacs are more +depressed and have a browner tint. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 167.=--_Eriococcus coriaceous_ + (Maskell). + + The Eucalyptus scale. Natural size and enlarged. + + (Original photo. T. Kirk).] + +The typical _Dactylopius_ are free-moving insects, often crawling +about until their final stage, when they become covered or surrounded +with flocculent woolly matter. _Dactylopius albizziae_ is common on +the black wattle, and is sometimes a pest in wattle plantations; it +is a blackish-blue berry-shaped coccid surrounded with and lightly +clothed on portions of the dorsal surface with white mealy and woolly +filaments. _D. aurilanatus_ is chiefly confined to the branchlets of +_Araucaria bidwilli_, or “Bunya Bunya.” It is very abundant at times +on these trees in the Sydney gardens, and is easily recognised by the +broad lines of sulphur-yellow meal or down across the dorsal surface. +_D. lobulatus_ is an oval coccid, hiding under loose bark on the trunks +of the blue gum, _Eucalyptus globulus_; it is so thickly clothed with +white mealy secretion forming filaments round the edges that its form +and colour are quite hidden. + +In the Genus _Ripersia_ the species have a world-wide range; they +are curious wrinkled naked coccids, but are sometimes more or less +enveloped in a white covering; they lead an underground existence +on the roots of grass and plants: a single species is recorded by +Maskell from S. Australia on the roots of a _Leptospermum_. The curious +_Antonina australis_ is an underground coccid which infests the roots +of the Nut-grass, _Cyperus rotundus_, and was described by Green (Pro. +Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1904) from specimens obtained in the Hunter River +district, N.S.W., where it was so plentiful that in the dry seasons it +killed a great deal of this sedge. The adult female is a rounded black +smooth shining creature about ⅛ of an inch in diameter, enveloped in a +coat of white woolly secretion, from which it can be easily removed. +The legs and antennae are aborted, but the segmental divisions of the +abdomen remain, and the tip is produced into two irregular roughened +tubercles, joined at the base with a tuft of stout bristle-like hairs. + + [Illustration: Plate XXXVI.--HOMOPTERA. + + Family COCCIDAE. + + 1. _Tachardia australis_ (Froggatt). On Melaleuca. + 2. _Tachardia australis_ (Froggatt). Male and female + tests. + 3. _Tachardia australis_ (Froggatt). Female coccid. + 4. _Tachardia decorella_ (Maskell). On Eucalyptus. + 5. _Tachardia decorella_ (Maskell). Female in test. + 6. _Tachardia decorella_ (Maskell). Female exposed. + 7. _Tachardia decorella_ (Maskell). Larva.] + + [Illustration: _Plate XXXVI.--HOMOPTERA._] + +The Sub-family TACHARDIINAE contains a number of remarkable species, +some of considerable commercial value on account of the resinous +secretion they encrust themselves with; this secretion is known as lac, +and is used for making varnish. The typical female is an irregular +wrinkled fleshy mass with a pair of tubular appendages on the back. +These appendages were supposed at one time to be used for producing +the lac, but Green considers them to be breathing structures. Five +species are described from Australia, of which _Tachardia australis_ +is so thickly encrusted with reddish brown lac, that it might be +of some commercial value in the future; it is very plentiful upon +Melaleuca bushes near Maryborough, Queensland, but was described by +me from specimens obtained on a small shrub, _Beyeria viscosa_, +at Gunnedah, N.S.W. _T. decorella_ is enclosed in a very dainty, +flattened, ribbed, cushion-like mass of dull slate-coloured lac; it +is found on a number of different trees, among them the water gums +(_Eugenia smithii_); and I have also found it on the desert cypress +(_Callitris_) in the interior. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 168.=--_Antonina australis_ + (Green). + + The Nut-grass Coccid. + + 1. Nut-grass showing coccid upon the roots. + 2. Adult female coccid removed from enveloping cover + (enlarged).] + +The Sub-family IDIOCOCCIINAE comprises a number of very curious +coccids, some of which are naked; some form waxy tests; while others +are enveloped in woody galls. Maskell, who created this division, says +they are separated from the MONOPHLEBIINAE by the absence of anal +tubercles and the antennae, and from the BRACHYSCELIINAE by the absence +of anal appendages. The members of the Genus _Sphaerococcus_ number +21 described species, all but two of which are peculiar to Australia; +some form galls, others waxy tests. _Sphaerococcus pirogallus_ cover +the whole of the tips of the bushes of _Leptospermum flavescens_ with +its curious little pear-shaped galls. At first pink or red, these +galls are dull brown when full grown, and have an aperture on the +side of the stalk, and the coccid within is attached to a saucer-like +rim on the roof of the apex. This is one of the commonest galls about +Sydney; acres of these low bushes often have the whole of their foliage +covered with masses of these small galls. _S. melaleucae_ does not +form a gall, but surrounds itself with a dark waxy secretion like the +lac insect; both scales and twigs are often blackened with smut or +fumagine. _L. leptospermi_ forms a swelling in the twig which looks +as if the tissue had risen over it like a blister and then split +down the middle, exposing the dorsal surface. _S. froggatti_ is very +common on the tips of Melaleuca bushes growing about Sydney; the dull +red coccid is clothed with white secretion resting in an excrescence +fringed with slender, reddish brown finger-like processes curling over +in an irregular protective gall. _S. socialis_ produces a very curious +greyish globular gall with no opening on the outside, and measures up +to ½ an inch in diameter. Maskell says: “The outer surface is formed +of very closely imbracted scales, which are apparently aborted and +coalesced leaves of the tree”; the interior is of a loose structure +containing several female coccids, and a few males. It was collected by +Lea near Geraldton, W. Australia. + +The Genus _Cylindrococcus_ contains 3 species which form curious +cone-like galls upon the twigs of the She-oak, _Casuarina_. +_Cylindrococcus spiniferus_ varies much in size and shape. They are +often very numerous, covering the whole of the bush with their curious, +rough, bracteate galls, which are rounded at the base and taper to the +extremity. The female, a cylindrical, dull red creature, is enclosed +in an elongate, thin tube, which occupies the centre of the gall; this +tube is attached at the base of the gall and is surrounded with the +bracts. Some of the typical forms might be easily mistaken for seed +cones. _C. amplior_, which is a more solitary species, forms a solid +seed-shaped gall with the base set in a bract like the calyx of a +flower, and the whole might be likened to an unopened bud. It is found +in South Australia and the north-western parts of Victoria. + + [Illustration: Plate XXXV.--HOMOPTERA. + + Family COCCIDAE. + + 1. _Apiomorpha duplex_ (Schr.). ♀ Gall. + 2. _Sphaerococcus leptospermi_ (Mask.). ♀ Galls. + 3. _Cylindrococcus spiniferus_ (Mask.). ♀ Galls.] + + [Illustration: _Plate XXXV.--HOMOPTERA._] + +The Sub-family BRACHYSCELIINAE contains some of the most remarkable +insects in our fauna. They were first noticed by Schrader (Trans. Ent. +Soc. N.S.W. 1862), who described and figured a number of our commonest +species and their galls; to these I have added a number of new +species (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1892–1898). They are all gall makers; +the beautiful little larva born in the gall is usually yellow, oval, +flattened, and fringed round the margin with short glassy filaments. In +most species the full-grown female has antennae and legs aborted, and +becomes simply a sac of eggs and liquid matter enclosed in a leathery +skin, and is furnished with horny tail appendages. + +The Genus _Frenchia_ was formed by Maskell for a species, _Frenchia +casuarinae_, which forms a gall like a stout blunt thorn; it is about +the thickness of a slate pencil and has a small opening at the apex. +These twig-like galls spring directly from the branch of the infested +_Casuarina_, while the aborted tissue at the base swells out like a +blister. The slender, attenuated, red female coccid rests head downward +with the tail reaching up to the apical orifice of the gall. A second +species, _F. semiocculta_, forms a raised swelling on the twigs of +_Casuarina_, with a cleft in the centre, thus forming two lobes. The +first is common in Tasmania, Victoria, and N.S. Wales; the latter was +collected at Manly, near Sydney. + +Schrader called the next Genus _Brachyscelis_, but Rubasmann finding +the name preoccupied changed it to _Apiomorpha_; over 30 species are +given in Mrs. Fernald’s Catalogue, but there are several species +described both by Rubasmann and Tepper that were described from +variable or aborted galls that may prove to be synonyms. The female is +remarkable for forming a stout woody gall, sometimes sessile, sometimes +springing from a stalk; it encloses an oval cell with a circular or +transverse aperture at the apex of the gall, through which the male +impregnates her by means of his long slender abdomen. The young larvae +are hatched within its shelter, and crawl out to reach their food +plant. The female is a top-shaped (turbinate) creature encased in a +leathery skin, more or less clothed with fine hairs, enveloped in a +mealy secretion, with rows of fine spines on the dorsal surface of the +abdominal segments, and the body terminating in two horny tails (anal +appendages). The head is merged into the thoracic portion, and has the +ventral surface wrinkled and bearing a rudimentary mouth; the antennae +and legs are aborted. The only distinct specific characters are the +dorsal spines and the form of the anal appendages. The males are +delicate two-winged insects, with long antennae, slender legs, and the +body very long and attenuated, ornamented with two fine filaments. They +either form single short tubular galls on the leaves, or form masses of +the same tubular galls; or they are placed in rows enfolded in a hood +growing from the side of the female gall like a small cockscomb. All +the members of this genus are confined to the eucalypts. + +_Apiomorpha duplex_ is the largest insect-gall in the world. Springing +directly from the twig, it swells out into a stout four-sided gall, +1½ inches in diameter, 3 inches in length; beyond this the apex of +the gall is produced into two stout flattened appendages extending +another 9 inches. The enclosed female coccid measures up to 1½ inches. +_A. munita_ forms an angulated gall rounded at the base, with each +angle on the apex furnished with a slender curled horn, but it is very +variable both in form and size. _A. pileata_ is an egg-shaped gall, +with the apex truncate and forming two lips, the apical orifice forming +a keyhole-like slit between them. We have two varieties of this gall, +which in their immature state have a membranous tailed cap covering +the apex which dries and falls off as the gall matures, leaving the +apical orifice exposed. _A. pomiformis_ is shaped like and about the +size and shape of a small apple, with the apical orifice situated in +a depression in the centre. It is a North Australian form, and is +also found on stunted gums in the interior. Specimens of a large gall +received from Tennant’s Creek, Central Australia, with the enclosed +coccid, show that the structure of the coccid is very different from +the _Apiomorpha_ the anal extremity being thimble-shaped, fitting +against the apical orifice, so it will require to be placed in a new +genus. _A. dipsaciformis_ is an oval gall covered with curled filaments +like a “teasel.” In the group in which the male galls are formed on +the side of the oval female gall, _A. pharatrata_ is a typical form; +the female gall is oval, overshadowed with the mushroom-shaped mass of +coalesced tubular galls growing out near the apex. + +The female coccids of the Genus _Opisthoscelis_, as they change from +the larval stage, lose almost every vestige of the first two pairs of +legs, while the hind pair are produced into long attenuated appendages, +which in some species (when enclosed in the gall) curve round over +the back like hairs; the whole insect is rounded or top-shaped, with +a peg-shaped anal appendage. Thirteen species are described, all of +which produce galls upon different species of eucalypts. _Opisthoscelis +subrotunda_ is our commonest species; the solid fleshy galls, about +the size of a pea, often cover and abort much of the foliage of the +infested tree. The short rounded coccid fits tightly to the cavity, and +the opening, closed by the tip of the anal peg, is on the under side of +the leaf. Schrader has described the male galls of this species, which +are probably very rare, and I have never been able to discover them. + +The short, slender, reddish, tubular galls of _O. spinosa_ are as +plentiful as the curious thorn-shaped female galls, which latter +have the opening at the tip, and are common on the foliage of the +large-leaved ironbark, _Eucalyptus siderophloia_, growing around +Sydney. The female coccid, in this and several of the other gall-making +coccids with the spine or thorn-shaped structure, is firmly attached to +the sides and base of the cavity, and is difficult to remove without +damage. The galls of the Genus _Ascelis_ are often dissimilar in form; +that of _Ascelis praemollis_ is rounded, with the opening on the under +side of the leaf, and except for the shape of the scar and larger size +might without close examination be taken for that of _Opisthoscelis +subrotunda_; but the enclosed insect is a very different looking +creature; it is simply an irregular jelly-like mass, with a short +peg-like structure rising from what looks to be the back, but is the +tip of the abdomen; this structure is produced into three finger-like +projections, which, holding a lump of gummy substance, plug up the +basal opening in the gall. _A. schraderi_, which forms a circular, +flattened, blister-like gall in the tissue of the leaves of _Eucalyptus +corymbosa_, is more flattened, with the anal tail truncate at the apex, +without the curious finger-like appendages, and the anal aperture as +fine as a pin prick is on the upper surface of the leaf. + +I have gone somewhat extensively into the description of these +gall-making coccids, owing to the fact that they form such remarkable +structures, and differ from all other solid galls in the fact that +they are formed by the larvae and are not the result of eggs deposited +beneath the plant tissue. Specialists in the study of vegetable growths +may find some key to the mystery of gall development in this fact. + +The MONOPHLEBIINAE comprises a number of large “mealy bugs,” so called +because they form no protective scale, but are simply clothed with a +mealy secretion, fine filaments or masses of felted wool. The females +are often of considerable size, and during the greater part of their +existence are capable of crawling about, but when adult and about to +lay their eggs they often become fixed to the food plant. The males +are of the usual two-winged type with long antennae and the tip of the +abdomen fringed with fine filaments. This division has been cut up into +a number of sub-families by Cockerell, and these divisions are given +in Mrs. Fernald’s Catalogue, but here I propose to place them together +under the one sub-family. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 169.=--_Pulvinaria maskelli_ + (Olliff). + + The Saltbush Mealy Bug of the interior. + + _a_, Male; _b_, Showing the male enclosed in pupal + test; _c_, Larva; _d_, Ventral view of adult female. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + +_Monophlebus crawfordi_ is one of our largest species; the female +measures about 1 inch in length and is broad in proportion; she is dull +orange yellow marked with parallel bars of purple, and fringed round +the edges with fine hairs; and is of a general flattened, broad, oval +form, with the dorsal surface distinctly segmented. She is generally +found clinging to the stem of a smooth-barked eucalyptus tree, +sometimes half hidden under a bit of loose bark and surrounded with +white mealy secretion. When egg-laying she sometimes produces a great +quantity of fine curled cottony filaments forming a mass much larger +than the original size of her body, under which the eggs are deposited. + +The Genus _Callipappus_ contains 6 Australian species; the females +are flattened, oval, irregularly segmented coccids of a dull brown +to purplish red tint, which are usually found crawling about on tree +trunks. _Callipappus australe_ was described by Maskell (Pro. Linn. +Soc. N.S.W. 1890) under the generic name of _Coelostoma_, a group +confined to N. Zealand. The male is a beautiful two-winged insect of +a general deep red colour, the wings rose-pink, and the tip of the +abdomen clothed with a large bunch of silky white filaments like a +tuft of spun glass; from this latter character it has received the +fanciful but rather appropriate name of the “Bird of Paradise Fly.” The +female is of an oval, flattened form about an inch in length; the body +is irregularly segmented and lightly clothed with flakes of a mealy +secretion. When depositing her eggs, generally on the trunk of a tree, +she becomes attached to the bark with a patch of silk on the ventral +surface of the body; the body swells irregularly, the extremities of +the abdomen shrink and turn upwards, the whole body later becoming +simply a dry shell. Guérin described a species, _C. westwoodi_, from +West Australia; and Fuller a few years ago re-described this and named +two new species. + +_Icerya purchasi_, known as the “Fluted or Cottony Cushion Scale,” was +first described from New Zealand, but had been a well-known pest to +the citrus orchards in California many years before it was discovered +in New Zealand. The adult female is a very distinctive red coccid with +black legs and antennae, and a dull red body with the thoracic portion +flattened and fringed with hairs. She produces a quantity of felted +woolly filaments forming a mass completely covering the abdomen, which +is marked with well-defined parallel furrows and ridges; under this +secretion the eggs are deposited. This scale is found upon several +species of wattles (_Acacia_) in the neighbourhood of Sydney, and on +the roses in the gardens. It does little or no harm in Australia, as +it is very much affected by different species of parasites. Several +other species placed by Maskell in this Genus have been removed. +_Palaeococcus nudata_ is one that he described from Australia on +verbenas and cosmos. I found it to be very abundant on red clover +in the Lismore district, N.S. Wales; it is a smaller oval species +uniformly clothed with mealy secretion. _P. rosae_, described by Riley +as _Icerya rosae_, the “Floridian Scale,” is a convex dull brown +shining coccid with the outer margin fringed with short white tufts. +Though originally described as a rose pest in Florida it is found upon +_Hakea_ and _Grevillea_ bushes in the vicinity of Sydney. + + [Illustration: =Figs. 170–172.=--Mealy Bugs. + + 170. _Callipappus (Coelostoma) australe_ (Maskell). ♂. + + The “Bird of Paradise Fly.” + + 171. _Callipappus australe._ ♀. + + 172. _Callipappus australe._ ♀. After egg laying.] + + [Illustration: 173. _Monophlebus crawfordi_ (Maskell). ♀. + + 174. _Monophlebus crawfordi_, when she is laying her + eggs, which she covers with felted fluted wool. + + (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] + + + Sub-Order III. ANOPLURA. + + Sucking Lice. + +These insects are wingless, with a more or less thin integument. The +rather complicated sucking mouth is furnished with hooks; the thoracic +segments are indistinctly divided, and the foot terminates in a single +stout claw. They were usually placed at the end of the HEMIPTERA in the +Order PARASITA; but later investigators consider them so very closely +allied to the true bugs that they are here placed as a Sub-Order. +Burmeister called them PEDICULINA. + + + Family 1. Sucking Lice. + + PEDICULIDAE. + +These are purely parasitic upon animals, and derive their food from the +blood of their hosts, which they obtain by puncturing the skin with +their tubular sucking mouth. It is not an extensive family, containing +only about 40 described species included in 6 genera, and they are +widely distributed over the world. + +Three species are known to live upon the clothes and skin of unclean +men, the eggs of which, known as nits, are attached to the hairs of +the animal or man infested. From their repulsive habits lice are not +popular insects even for entomologists to take up. Nothing is known +about those infesting the natives of Australia, though it is believed +that the different races of man, particularly savage tribes, are +infested with distinct species of these parasites. + +The common head louse, _Pediculus capitis_, is confined to the fine +hairs of the head, seldom or never going on the coarser hair of the +body; the pale-coloured eggs are glued to the hairs, from which +emerge larvae closely resembling the adults. _Pediculus vestimenti_ +lives in the clothes of unclean persons, only coming on the skin +to suck up blood; it differs merely in being darker and broader in +general appearance. The Crab-louse, _Phthirius inguinalis_, is a very +short-bodied creature which clings with its large claws to the stouter +hairs of the body. In ancient times all these were very common, and a +loathsome disease called _Phthiriasis_ was said to be due to them. The +domestic animals, hogs, cattle, horses, &c., are infested with distinct +species. + + + Sub-Order IV. MALLOPHAGA. + + Biting Lice. + +The classification in which this group should be placed is not yet +definitely settled; Sharp places them in the Order NEUROPTERA between +the PSOCIDAE and the TERMITIDAE: Cholodkovsky combines them with the +sucking lice and creates a new Order, PSEUDORHYNCHOTA (Zool. Anz. +xxvii. 1903); while Kellogg has given them the rank of an Order under +the group name MALLOPHAGA. + +They are certainly not lace-wings in the strict sense of the word; and +their habits are so similar to those of the preceding division that I +propose to place them as the fourth group of the Order HEMIPTERA. + +They consist of biting lice infesting animals and birds, and feed +chiefly upon the hair, feathers, scales, or excretions of their hosts +by means of stout biting jaws, but are also said to be furnished with +an apparatus enabling them sometimes to suck up the blood. They all +have flattened bodies encased in horny integument, lightly clothed +with stout hairs; the antenna contains from 3 to 5 short joints, and +the eyes when visible are situated behind the antennae; the thorax is +narrow, apparently composed of two divisions; the short stout legs +are provided with 1 or 2 fine claws well adapted to their parasitic +habits. The wings are wanting, and the oval abdomen contains from 9 to +10 segments. They attach their eggs to the hairs or feathers of their +hosts, and the larvae develop upon the body. + +Though some members of the group might be confounded with the ANOPLURA, +they are easily distinguished from them by the structure of the mouth, +and the different shaped claws at the extremity of the tarsi. While +the sucking lice are always confined to a particular host, the biting +lice are not so exclusive, for the same species may be found upon +several dissimilar birds or animals, and it is not uncommon for several +distinct species to infest the same host. + +A number of European writers have studied and described these parasitic +creatures; Denny (Monographia Anoplurorum Britanniae 1842) described +all the British species, which he illustrated with coloured plates: +Piaget’s “Le Pediculines,” Leyden 1880, is a more important work, and +was followed by a supplement in 1885; the first contains a description +of all the species known up to that date, and the second adds 100 new +species which he had examined. Taschenberg in 1882 published a fine +Monograph, which however was never completed. + +In America the chief writers have been Osborn and Kellogg; the +first in Bulletin 7, Division of Entomology U.S. 1891, dealing with +“Insects affecting domestic animals, Chapter v., Mallophaga,” figures +and describes a large number, among them some new species. Kellogg +describes a great many new species (New Mallophaga i., ii., iii., +1886–89, Proceedings California Academy of Sciences, Vol. vi.), +and also gives a great deal of information about the structure and +classification of these insects. He says: “I propose therefore, in +the light of the present position of the Mallophaga as an independent +order of insects, to rank the Nitzschian families as sub-orders, the +Nitzschian genera as families, and the Nitzschian sub-genera, the +genera of the present day writers, as genera.” + +In this classification two sub-orders are created, ISCHNOCERA, +containing two families, viz.: TRICHODECTIDAE, in which the members +have 3 jointed antennae and tarsi with one claw, and found upon +animals; and PHILOPTERIDAE, lice with five jointed antennae and two +tarsal claws, which infest birds. The second sub-order, AMBLYCERA, also +comprises two families, viz.: GYROPIDAE, with four jointed antennae and +one tarsal claw, infesting animals; and second the LIOTHEIDAE, with +four jointed antennae and two tarsal claws, chiefly found upon birds, +but in Australia also found upon marsupials. + +There are about 1,000 species of these lice described from all parts +of the world, but the genera are few in number. Very little work has +been done in Australia on the Mallophaga: Piaget described a species +on the wombat for which he created the Genus _Boopia_, naming it _B. +tarsata_ (1880). In his Supplement (1885) he described a second on +the red kangaroo as _Boopia grandis_; and others on Australian birds, +among them _Menopon infumatum_ on the “Laughing Jackass,” and _Menopon +pallipes_ on the “Swamp Quail.” + +In 1902 (Victorian Naturalist) Messrs. Le Souëf and Buller published +two papers dealing with these parasites; the first entitled +“Descriptions of some Mallophaga on Australian Birds,” and a second +“Descriptions of some new Mallophaga from Marsupials,” illustrated with +drawings. They describe the kangaroo louse, _Heterodoxus macropus_, as +common upon wallabies and kangaroos in most parts of Australia. The +female is a pale chestnut-coloured insect about 1½ lines in length, +with the typical conical blunt head, 4-jointed antenna, and elongate +oval abdomen fringed with hairs, and barred with black between the +segments. The Genus _Boopia_ contains the wombat louse described by +Piaget, and three other species found on wallabies. A fifth species, +_Latumcephalum macropus_, is also parasitic upon wallabies. The Native +Companion or Australian Crane is infested by a species described +by these writers under the name of _Lipeurus giganteum_; it is of +a uniform dull white colour, with an angular head, and measures ¼ +of an inch in length. Three species are found upon the Lyre-bird, +namely: _Lipeurus menura_, _Nirmus menura_, and _Menopon menura_. +The white ibis has a distinct species, and another is found upon +the sulphur-crested cockatoo. The emu is the host of an elongate +dark-coloured species measuring up to 2 lines in length; the “Apostle +Bird” and the “Rosella” parrot have each a distinct parasite. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 175.=--The Kangaroo Louse. + + _Heterodoxus macropus_ (Le Souëf and Bullen). + + (Drawn from the type W.W.F.)] + +When these insects are carefully collected probably our fauna will be +found to be rich in curious and interesting forms, judging from the +number of undetermined species in my own collections. They can be very +easily collected in small spirit tubes as soon as the animal or bird +is shot, but like the “Louse-flies” they soon leave the dead body, and +all sportsmen know this to their cost when carrying their game any +distance. + + + + + Order IX.--THYSANOPTERA. + + +These insects are often called PHYSAPODA in allusion to their +bladder-shaped feet; but though some are wingless, the name +THYSANOPTERA seems much more suitable, for all the typical forms have +both pairs of wings beautifully fringed with hair-like filaments, hence +the name “fringe-wings.” + +Thrips have few affinities with any of the other orders, and their +exact position in any system of classification has puzzled most +entomologists. The remarkable structure of the mouth, which has +been studied by Messrs. Jordan and Garman, appears to consist of a +compound of biting jaws and a sucking style. Uzel has figured it +in his “Monographie der Ordnung Thysanoptera” 1905, but the exact +manner in which they take their food is not yet clearly understood. +The integument is very thick and opaque, and the head comes to a +cone-shaped point at the mouth adjacent, to the ventral surface of the +sternum, so that the complicated structure of the mouth is difficult to +study. The eggs are laid upon the food plant, and the young undergoing +a series of moults resemble the adult in general form, and the +distinction between the larval and pupal forms, though noticeable, is +very slight. + +The members of this Order sometimes appear in immense swarms and do a +great amount of damage to cultivated plants and field crops. They are +widely distributed over the world, and many species are cosmopolitan, +having been spread with the introduction of their food plants. The +group is well represented in Australia by many remarkable and striking +species, some of which form distinct galls. This Order contains the +single family THRIPIDAE. + + + Family 1. Thrips. + + THRIPIDAE. + +These are elongate, black, or brown, with 6 to 9 jointed antennae +standing out in front of the head; large eyes; with ocelli (usually +absent in the wingless forms). The elongate head comes to a cone-shaped +point at the extremity; the mouth consists of a pair of jaws with a +pointed style between them. The thorax, as broad or slightly +broader than the body, is elongate, and furnished in the typical forms +with two pairs of delicate oar-shaped wings with a simple medium +parallel vein in the centre of each fore wing, and both pairs fringed +with delicate feather-like filaments; both pairs are attached at +the base to the dorsal surface of the thorax, and when at rest are +folded down the centre of the back. The legs are short and simple, but +sometimes the thighs of the front pair are thickened; the tarsi consist +of two short simple joints, the last bladder-shaped. The abdomen is +slender and is rounded at the extremity, and in one division ends in a +slender tubular process. Most of them are minute creatures; the giant +among them comes from Australia, but this only measures ½ an inch in +length. Though most species are vegetarian in their habits, feeding +upon the surface of plants or the pollen of flowers, a few are said to +devour mites and other tiny creatures. + + [Illustration: Plate XXXVII.--THYSANOPTERA. + + Family THRIPIDAE. + + 1. _Idolothrips spectrum_ (Haliday). Giant thrips. + 2. _Thrips tabaci_ (Lindeman). Rose and Onion thrips. + 3. _Kladothrips rugosus_ (Froggatt). Gall thrips. + 4. _Kladothrips rugosus_ (Froggatt). Larva. + 5. 5_a_. 5_b_. Various stages of galls + (_K. rugosus_) on Acacia foliage.] + + [Illustration: _Plate XXXVII.--THYSANOPTERA._] + +In Uzel’s Monograph only 135 species are catalogued, half of which are +European. Haliday (Entomological Magazine 1836) divided all the known +species into two groups or sub-families, viz.: _Terebrantia_, in which +the females have an external toothed ovipositor (including all the +typical European forms); and the _Tubulifera_, in which the ovipositor +is hidden and the tip of the abdomen is produced into an elongated +tubular process (most of our indigenous species fall into this latter +group). + +_Heliothrips haemorrphoidalis_, an introduced species, is our commonest +thrips, and is world-wide in its range. It measures about ¹⁄₁₆ of +an inch in length, is stout in proportion; has the head and thorax +rugose, and is of a uniform black tint with very light-coloured wings. +It not only infests and damages a great number of garden plants, but +is spreading to our native bushes, for I have taken them on young +eucalypts far away from any gardens. The Giant Thrips, _Idolothrips +spectrum_, was described by Haliday from specimens collected by Charles +Darwin in 1836; he described the sexes as different species; and a +smaller dark variety was given a third specific name. It is a very +common insect in Eastern N.S.W., hiding among the foliage of dead +eucalypts; when disturbed it runs about with its wings and elongated +body turned upward in the manner of a small “rove beetle.” It has an +extended range from Tasmania to Southern Queensland. I recorded its +life-history (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1904), where the different stages +of development are figured. Its large size, long antennae, elongated +neck-like prothorax, and red spined abdominal segments and tubular +appendage are very distinctive characters. + +The most remarkable THRIPIDAE however are those that infest many +of our forest shrubs, such as _Acacia_, _Hakea_, _Callistemon_, and +other scrub trees in Central Australia. These live in galls which they +produce by puncturing the edges of the young leaves and causing them +to curl over; or by attacking the leaf buds and aborting the tips of +the twigs into irregular masses of thin woody galls; or again, the leaf +is pierced from the under side by the female thrips, causing the leaf +to blister on the upper surface, which gradually expands into an oval +or rounded gall as large as a small marble, and into which most of +the leaf is often absorbed, leaving only the leaf stalk and the tip, +which forms a short tail curving up from the basal scar. Many of these +galls are closely packed with small semitransparent larvae and pupae in +all stages of development, the offspring of the single female thrips +that first caused the gall. Noting this remarkable habit of Australian +thrips, so different from that of all other known species, I forwarded +specimens and galls to Dr. Sharp, who notes the fact in the Cambridge +Nat. Hist.: Insects. It seems apparently to be a case of the survival +of the fittest, for in the dry intense summer heat of the interior +these delicate insects could not live on the outer surface of the +foliage, while, enclosed in these galls, they can survive the hottest +and driest season. Species of gall-making thrips have been recorded +recently from Java. Uzel described one of these gall-making species, +_Phloeothrips tepperi_ (Acta Societatis Entomologicae Bohemiae 1905) +from specimens obtained in S. Australia by Tepper, and which form oval +galls upon the “Mulga,” _Acacia aneura_. This species is also common in +the western parts of N.S. Wales upon the same tree, which also bears +two other distinct thrips galls. + +I have figured a remarkable rugose gall, obtained near Tamworth, N.S. +Wales, upon a short-leaved acacia (Agricultural Gazette N.S.W. 1906); +the maker of this gall will not fit into any known genus, and therefore +I propose for it the name of _Kladothrips rugosus_. It has an elongate +rounded head, with the thighs of the fore-legs greatly thickened and +the apex of the tibia produced into two blunt claws. + + + + + THE COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF INSECTS. + + +A collector’s outfit will vary considerably in different kinds of +country, and depend to a certain extent upon the particular group of +insects he is interested in. But there are some things he will require +on every tramp through the bush. For general collecting the first +thing needed is a strong leather bag; a large-sized school bag that +can be slung over the shoulder is preferred by some entomologists, as +it leaves their hands free; others carry a hand-bag; but a combination +of both, with handle and also swivels to which a shoulder strap can +be attached, is sometimes used, so that it can be carried either way. +I prefer the hand-bag, though it has its disadvantages, and one is +that when shaking or sweeping the scrub it is apt to be left behind, +and time spent in returning for it; and if the scrub is thick, may +have to be searched for. The bag should not be too big, for in a long +day’s tramp it becomes a burden, and if string and paper be carried, +galls, infested twigs, and foliage can always be made up into a bundle +and attached to the bag when an extra good find has been made. Some +collectors have the bag divided into compartments or pockets, which are +very handy at times for bottles and tubes, but it must be borne in mind +that every piece of leather adds weight. + +With regard to nets, they must be adapted for the work they are to do; +and first in importance comes the butterfly net. If one is in camp +a simple net can be constructed with a ring of stout fencing wire, +fashioned into a circle with the two ends bent down for about six +inches, and tightly lashed to a straight sapling about eight feet in +length; round the ring is sewn a strip of stout calico, to which is +attached a mosquito net bag about 18 inches long, tapering to a rounded +tip, and about 15 inches in diameter; this net is however a fixture and +cannot be taken to pieces and folded up for travelling. Where nets can +be obtained from dealers’ shops, there are some very neat and handy +ones for packing up in small compass, such as the three fold net. The +handle, like an ordinary light walking stick, is fitted at the end with +a tubular Y; the base of the Y fits on to the handle, and the arm on +either side receives the ends of the cane ring; the cane is shod with +brass and jointed in three places, and there is a sheath to draw over +each joint to form the ring; the net is then slipped on. A short stick +is handy for many things; but when necessary a long sapling can be cut +for a net-stick. + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 176.=--Collecting Net for Butterflies showing the + ring fitted into ferrule; and folded up.] + +For catching wasps, flies, and other small insects a little hand-net +about nine inches in diameter, made of mosquito net and a bit of +fencing wire, is much more handy than the large butterfly net. When +dragging water-holes or creeks a bag of cheese-cloth placed on the +butterfly net ring will be found very serviceable, and will stand +much rough use. A stout umbrella will be found one of the most useful +collecting appliances when hunting in scrub or forest country. If +the bushes are beaten or shaken with one hand while holding the open +umbrella below them, the collector will be surprised at the number +of fine things, large and small, that come tumbling down into the +umbrella, including many that he would never see otherwise. In the +dry western scrubs I find the early hours of morning between daylight +and eight o’clock to be the best time for beating and shaking, as +everything that falls then is more or less torpid; later in the +day they begin to get very active and fly off when disturbed. Some +collectors go to the trouble of having a special umbrella made of white +material or lined with calico, so that the fallen insects can be more +easily noticed, but the advantage is slight. Mr. Masters suggests the +use of a sheet spread under the bushes, and the whole tree beaten and +shaken. This method in suitable country has its advantages. + +The killing bottles come next in importance, and the first and most +commonly used is the cyanide bottle. An empty 1 oz. quinine bottle +makes one of a very serviceable size, but any other light wide-mouthed +bottle will answer the purpose. Place a piece of cyanide of potassium +about 1½ inches square and ½ an inch in thickness at the bottom of the +bottle, and then pour in enough liquid plaster of Paris to embed and +cover it; drain off any surplus moisture with blotting paper; and when +the plaster is set hard, close the bottle with a tight-fitting cork. +It is an advantage to coat the top of the cork with red sealing-wax, +so that if it is dropped or left behind, the bright cork will make +it more conspicuous. Young collectors may get the insects covered +with particles of damp plaster and perhaps spoilt; to prevent this, +the plaster should be covered with scraps of paper, moss, dry grass, +or some such material, to absorb the moisture and keep the specimens +clean. The dead insects should always be turned out of the cyanide +killing bottle on returning from a day’s hunt, for if kept long in the +bottle they will often become more or less discoloured. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 177.=--Glass-bottomed Box, handy + for catching small moths.] + +A killing bottle favoured by museum and professional collectors is a +similar bottle, but, instead of using cyanide, a pad of cotton wool is +placed in the bottom, on to which some chloroform is poured to charge +the bottle. But when collecting is brisk and the cork constantly being +taken out for fresh captures, the chloroform evaporates, and the bottle +must be re-charged at intervals. When one is collecting different kinds +of small specimens it is advisable to carry several small tubes charged +with chloroform, and if a circular pad of blotting paper be carefully +cut and pressed down on the wadding, the little creatures will not +get their legs and antennae tangled in the fibre of the cotton. If +delicate winged insects remain long in the moist atmosphere of the +tube, their wings stick to the sides or curl up, so that it is wise +to turn them out every now and then into pill boxes carried for the +purpose, and any special treasures should be rolled up in soft paper. +At one time most English entomologists used chopped laurel leaves in +the bottle instead of cyanide; this foliage gives off a certain amount +of hydrocyanic acid vapour, sufficient to kill insects, at the same +time keeping them clean and relaxed so that they are easily mounted. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 178.=--Killing Bottle + + In which a piece of cyanide of potassium is placed, and then + covered with plaster of Paris.] + +The collector’s bag should contain several empty tins of all shapes +and sizes, to carry the hundred and one things found in a day’s +collecting, such as live larvae, cocoons, galls, eggs, &c. When hunting +for small moths the lepidopterist always carries a pocket full of +small glass-bottomed boxes; the glassed portion is used to slip over +the resting moth, which, when disturbed, at once flies upward to the +glass, and the lid of the box is slipped under. These delicate little +creatures are taken home alive, and can be killed in a jar and mounted +while quite fresh. A stock of small tubes containing methylated spirit +can be packed in one of the empty tins; these are very necessary to +keep separate from one another specimens of ants, termites, or other +insects taken direct from their nests. On a long trip one also wants +a larger bottle or jar of spirit in which scorpions, millepedes, +centipedes, and such-like creatures can be stored. + + [Illustration: =Fig. 179.=--Chloroform Tube, used for + killing small, delicate insects.] + + [Illustration: + + =Fig. 180.=--Butterfly set upon corked and grooved board + to show the process of mounting.] + +When timber is found infested with beetle or moth larvae, it should be +secured and brought home, where it can be placed in a tin trunk, glass +jar, or proper breeding cage and the perfect insects bred out. When +engaged at this very profitable work a small hatchet and hand saw are +needed to cut the branches. At all times a stout old butcher’s-knife +should be among the kit, as it is useful for digging round the roots of +trees and under logs, tearing bark off tree trunks, and if it be jagged +on one edge will make a rough saw. A newspaper or two is handy for many +things, among others to make envelopes in which to place butterflies. + +Specimens collected in camp must be kept in good condition until +they can be properly mounted at home; in a dry country this is not +difficult, but in the wet season in a semi-tropical climate both +botanical and entomological specimens are very liable to damage. + +Most collectors put all the hard-bodied insects such as beetles +into a wide-mouthed jar of methylated spirits, where they will keep +indefinitely, but any beetles that are clothed with fine hairs or +floury pubescence should be carefully pinned in a box, and, unless very +large, will dry quickly. Some entomologists place their captures of +this kind in clear carbolised sawdust in tins or jars: I have packed +small specimens in circular tins in the following manner:--First a +layer of camphor covered with a circular sheet of blotting paper +fitting close into the tin, then the insects fresh from the killing +tubes, and after sprinkling the insects with camphor a layer of +blotting paper, and so on. Thus many thousands of micro-coleoptera, +hemiptera, &c., could be securely packed and added to day by day until +the tin was full, when a wad of cotton wool was placed on the last +sheet of paper, and the tin put aside or posted to its destination. + +With regard to butterflies, the collector can generally see whether +they are good or damaged specimens as soon as they are taken out +of the net; if the latter, he should let them go (unless unique or +rare forms), for an imperfect or rubbed butterfly is comparatively +valueless. If it be a perfect specimen, the wings should be folded +together over the back, and a sharp nip on the thorax between the +fingers will kill it in a moment. Each specimen should be placed in a +folded paper envelope, made by crossfolding an oblong piece of soft +paper in the shape of a triangle and folding down the overlapping +edges. Packed side by side, a square tin will hold hundreds of these +paper envelopes, which can be stored in this manner indefinitely +or till the collector is ready to relax and set them. Thousands of +butterflies are sent in these papers from all parts of the world to +London for sale, and are usually disposed of at so much per hundred. + +Moths cannot well be treated in this manner on account of the thickness +of their bodies and the looseness of the scales upon their wings; +they have therefore to be pinned in a corklined box as they are +collected, but later on can be relaxed and their wings set as with the +butterflies. When we come to the tiny moths known as MICRO-LEPIDOPTERA, +we find they require special treatment, and most lepidopterists take a +box fitted with narrow setting boards, when out for a few days, and set +their captures every evening before they become stiff, for otherwise +many make very unsatisfactory specimens. + +In collecting HYMENOPTERA the different groups need special treatment; +and where there are several sexes dissimilar in size and structure they +should be carefully kept together. Ants are always best collected from +their nest, and a number of specimens of the different sexes secured +and placed in a tube of methylated spirits. The locality and date +should be written with a hard lead pencil upon a slip of paper and +placed in the tube with them. A series can afterwards be sorted out and +mounted, the large ones on pins and the smaller on gummed card. Wasps +should be pinned, and when the forms with wingless females (Thynnidae +and Mutillidae) are obtained _in copula_, a very common state in +midsummer, they should be captured and killed together and the paired +insects mounted with a check mark on each pin beside the locality and +date label, so that no mistake can be made as to their identity. + +The bulk of the HEMIPTERA will with their hard integument carry +well in spirit or carbolised sawdust. Some of the more delicate of +the HOMOPTERA, such as the Psyllidae, Aphidae, and Coccidae (Scale +insects), should be collected with their food plant. They can be +obtained in various stages of their development; the perfect insects +can be bred in confinement upon their food plants. They should be +mounted on card when fresh, but, if not, can be placed in the camphor +tin or even a dry tube plugged with cotton wool, but if the tube be +corked they will spoil, owing to the moisture generated within the +tube. In the case of scale insects, portions of the leaves, bark, or +twigs infested with the tests of the injects can be cut to a uniform +size and mounted with gum or small pin on card, and if mounted +carefully make very neat specimens. Many of the larger HOMOPTERA, such +as cicadas, fulgorids and frog-hoppers, can be mounted, with the wings +outspread, but should not go into spirits. + +ORTHOPTERA, particularly the large phasmids, are very unsatisfactory +creatures to deal with when captured; often too large to go into a +killing bottle, they have to be brought into camp alive. If a female, +it may be kept a while to lay its eggs, as they are very interesting +objects. The eggs can be mounted on card or placed in a small pill box +and pinned beside the insect in the box. These insects, as well as all +large grasshoppers, should be cut down the abdomen on the under side +and the contents removed with forceps; a little paris green should then +be sprinkled inside or some weak corrosive sublimate applied with a +brush; then a wad of cotton wool should be pushed into the cavity to +give shape to the empty body when it dries. In the case of the larger +cockroaches, which are often very brittle when cleaned and dried, a +bit of sheet cork instead of cotton wool can be shaped for a false +body, coated with gum and slipped in; when pinned through the cork it +makes a very firm specimen. Some collectors mount their grasshoppers +and other orthoptera with the wings outspread, and as show specimens +they look best, but take up a great deal of room; others mount the +wings on one side, and leave the others folded down in their natural +condition in repose, so that some idea is given of the natural form, +and the outspread wings can also be examined for specific differences. +In collecting phasmids and stick insects for transmission by post or +packing in small space, the best plan is to get a slender stick and lay +the insect along it with outstretched legs and folded wings, and then +wind soft worsted thread round it from end to end; it can be unwound +and mounted properly when received at its destination. Orthoptera +should not be put into spirit with other specimens, as they lose their +colour, become soft, and break up easily; they will however travel well +in a 5 per cent. solution of formalin; this has a hardening effect and +only alters the colour slightly unless the insects are kept in it for a +considerable time. If kept in formalin for say a week and then packed +in sawdust they will not rot or spoil as they often do when killed and +packed before they are dried. + +NEUROPTERA are delicate creatures, and many of them keep best if killed +and placed in papers as in the case of butterflies, unless there is +room to pin them in a store box. The bodies of the dragon-flies rot +very quickly and break off very easily; if carefully handled they +can be placed _alive_ in papers with their wings folded over their +backs, and will remain alive for several days, long enough to travel a +considerable distance by post when dispatched direct to a specialist, +who will then receive them with their natural colours. If kept in the +store box it is advisable to impale the slender body with a bristle +or grass stem, inserting it at the front of the thorax and pushing it +through to the tip of the abdomen, but not far enough to injure the +anal appendages. Many specimens can be pinned in the store boxes with +the wings closed, and relaxed and mounted with outspread wings months +afterwards. + +DIPTERA is another group that requires delicate manipulation, +particularly such species as “daddy-long-legs” (_Tipulidae_), +mosquitoes (_Culicidae_), &c. When Skuse was collecting he always +carried a pocket-box containing pinned card slips of various lengths, +and a tube of gum, and, after killing the insects in a chloroform +tube, he mounted them at once while they were flexible and the legs not +detached. Theobald mounts his mosquitoes on fine pins, which are pushed +from beneath through a circular piece of cardboard (these circular +cards are stamped out with a wad-cutter); the legs are spread out and +an ordinary pin pushed through the circle to pin them in a cabinet. The +larger flies are pinned dry in the ordinary manner, and the smaller +ones are carded. + + * * * * * + +ANIMAL PARASITES, which belong to quite a number of groups, are +obtained on the live birds or mammals as soon as they are shot. When +the animals are dead the parasites leave the bodies as soon as they +begin to get cold. They should be transferred at once to small spirit +tubes, in which should also be placed a slip of paper upon which is +written in lead pencil the name of the mammal or bird upon which it was +taken, the date of capture, and the locality. + + * * * * * + +LAMP AND NIGHT COLLECTING.--In suitable localities a great haul of +insects can often be obtained on a warm sultry summer night by laying +a sheet on the ground with a powerful lamp on it and hanging another +sheet behind the lamp; the insects are attracted to the light, and +falling on the sheet are then easily captured. In camp many fine +insects may be obtained round the lamp or camp fire; and during the wet +seasons in North Queensland and the north coast of Australia I have +taken many rare insects in this manner. + +SUGARING is greatly practised in Europe; a suitable spot in a forest +being chosen, a mixture of sugar and beer that have been boiled +together is smeared upon the tree trunks and fences; at night-fall the +ground is visited with a bull’s-eye lantern, and the insects (moths +chiefly) that come to feed are captured, sometimes in great numbers. +This has been tried by our collectors in Australia; but I have never +had any success myself nor heard of anyone here who has had better +fortune. + +TRAPPING.--When settled down in a fixed collecting camp many beetles +and other insects can be obtained by trapping. If in brush or forest +land a number of empty jam or milk tins with the tops cut neatly off +are buried, with the edges level with the surface of the ground, many +carnivorous ground beetles tumble in, and will be found there on +going round in the morning. If a bone or bit of meat be placed at the +bottom of the trap, it often attracts certain beetles that feed on +such food. In the same manner a dead bird or small animal half buried +in the ground, or placed under a sheet of bark or log, will prove an +attractive bait for the burying beetles and other curious and often +rare species; a dead animal should therefore be always investigated by +the beetle hunter, as it often hides entomological treasures. + +Fallen timber always has a great attraction for all bark-feeding +weevils, longicorns, and other small wood-borers that come to it as +soon as the bark begins to wither. Here also come Cleridae, Antribidae +and other carnivorous beetles to feed upon the smaller wood-borers, and +many an hour can be profitably spent over a large fallen tree or bit of +brush a few days after it has been chopped down, particularly in the +tropical scrubs. Slicing the bark of living trees that exude any sap, +and letting the bark hang down, attracts insects that feed on the sap +or take shelter under loose bark; a number of such blazed tree trunks +round a camp is a great source of revenue, particularly in the summer. + +There are many other devices that the collector will only gain by +experience in the field, which will enable him to obtain many curious +specimens that a novice would never find. + +MOUNTING, SETTING, AND STORING.--Having collected specimens, the +next question is the storage of the insects. All entomological +specimens (other than those kept in spirit tubes) must be preserved +in close-fitting boxes lined with cork, linoleum, or other suitable +substance, and the lining covered with clean white paper pasted over +it. Many different kinds of store boxes are used by entomologists who +cannot afford the luxury of cabinets; most of them are made of deal, +with hinges in the centre; the two sides of the box fold together, +fitting closely over a rim along the inner edge of one half; and they +are fastened with two hooks on the outside. These English boxes made of +light pine can be obtained in Sydney; they fit beautifully and are much +lighter than the local ones made of kauri, but are slightly dearer. To +make a useful store box, nail down the lid of a large-sized cigar box +(cleaning, sandpapering, and varnishing it); cut the box through the +centre with a fine saw, and then fit a projecting rim into one half +with wood from another cigar box, so that the two halves fit close +together over the rim without needing catches. This is handy only for a +temporary store box, as it is rather difficult to get the two halves to +fit accurately, and when made is rather small and deep. + +Specimens should be pinned or mounted on cards on a uniform plan; +nothing looks worse than insects mounted in different styles. Except +the smaller specimens, beetles and other insects should be pinned, and +the most serviceable pins are perhaps Kirby, Beard and Co.’s Nos. 1 +and 5, though there are several useful intermediate sizes. When an +insect is too delicate to pin with either of these, mount it on card, +for more insects are lost or damaged through mounting with slender +pins that refuse to stick into the cork, and curl up or buckle in the +middle, than in any other manner. There are however many professional +naturalists who always use the soft, slender, very fine, Continental +pins, but they require very delicate handling, and are not suitable +for the general collector. There is a great difference of opinion as +to how insects should be set and pinned; many, particularly English +naturalists, advocate low setting, while most of our collectors set all +insects high, as the insects when thus pinned are raised well above +the bottom of the box, and their legs and antennae are not so liable +to get broken; all mites, dust and dirt will be noticed at once; and +the name affixed beneath can be read without removing the insect. In +the case of low setting, the insects are resting on the floor of the +box; they are liable to damage with the least bump; anthrenus and mites +can feed away under cover without being seen until the remains of the +infested specimen fall apart; the insect has to be lifted up every time +to see its name; while the locality and date-label is always liable to +fall off. My standard height (first suggested to me by Mr. Masters to +use when working in the Macleay Museum, Sydney) is the lid of a wax +matchbox, which is about ¾ of an inch. A small hole is pierced through +the centre of the lid; the beetle is placed on the top of the lid, and +the pin pressed through it and the hole in the lid until the point +touches the table beneath. The pin, in the case of a beetle, should +be pushed through the upper half of the elytron (wing cover) on the +right-hand side when the head is facing the same way as the person +mounting, the pin coming out on the under surface between the middle +and hind legs. The antennae and legs may be arranged with pins, but, +during the season in Australia, insects are so plentiful that there is +not always time to more than roughly open them out. + +In the case of insects too small to pin, they are carded. Sheets of +the best white cardboard (little thicker than that of a visiting card) +are cut into neat strips of uniform width and length for different +specimens. No. 1 pins are run through the cards at one end to bring +the under side of the card the same height up the pin as the under +surface of the directly pinned insect. To give the little card mounts +a finished appearance the card used in my collections is ruled with a +double line of red ink, the first thick and the inner line fine; each +strip of card is cut along the thick red line, and the pin is pushed +through the red band. Where one has more than a single specimen, two +or more can be mounted side by side on the same card, with their legs +and antennae neatly set out, one with the dorsal surface uppermost, +and the second one gummed with the reverse side upward, so that the +specific characters of both sides of the insect can be examined without +having to remove the specimen from the card. + +Moths, butterflies, cicadas, lace-wings and other large winged insects +when fresh, or after they have been relaxed, are pinned down on setting +boards; the body should rest in the parallel groove down the centre +of the board, and the wings should be opened out and strapped down on +either side with braces of paper or cardboard. The wings should be +expanded in a natural manner, and so that the whole of the venation +and beauty of the wings are shown. A setting board is simply a strip +of soft pine wood with two sheets of cork gummed on the upper surface, +with a groove between them to receive the body; fine white paper is +pasted over the whole of the board. They are made of various sizes to +suit both large and small moths. Most of the old setting boards had the +cork rounded so that the wings drooped downwards; afterwards many used +them with the outer side turning upward so that the wings were raised +at the extremities; those in general use now are perfectly flat. + +All these insects are easily relaxed by placing them between damp +blotting paper on the top of some wet sand in a plate, and covering +them over with a bell glass or similar vessel; within twenty-four hours +they are limp enough to be pinned and their wings opened out without +any danger. + +NUMBERING AND LABELLING.--Every specimen, as soon as it is mounted, +should have a small label attached to the pin; this can be written with +a fine-pointed pen on small slips of paper as distinctly as possible, +with the exact locality in which the insect was collected, the date +of capture, the name or initials of the collector, and the food plant +when known. It is however sometimes better to pin a second slip below +for the food plant and a distinctive catalogue number. Every young +naturalist starting a collection should have consecutive numbers on +each series of specimens he collects, and keep a note-book or stock +register, in which to enter any information about the insect bearing +the number. These notes in the course of time will become more and +more valuable, and give an added value to the collection. Many young +naturalists may think of labels only as a record of the collector’s +name, but the locality and food plant are the important points, and to +the working entomologist a collection of Australian insects without +any such records have lost half their value. The label is placed on the +top of the matchbox lid, and the pin bearing the specimen is pushed +through to bring the label about halfway between the specimen and the +point of the pin, which allows of the label being easily read, and when +uniformly placed adds to the neat appearance of the collection. I have +mentioned a matchbox lid as a standard height for mounting specimens, +but when constantly at work something more solid is required. Take a +small block of soft deal wood about 4 inches in length by 2 in width, +and just under ¾ of an inch in height; bore two or three holes through +it at one end, tack a sheet of white cardboard over the top, and above +this at one end tack a slip of cork 1½ inches in width; then make holes +through the cardboard above the holes bored in the deal block, and you +have an excellent mounting table to work upon. + +An entomologist does not require much apparatus after his boxes and +setting boards, but one indispensable article is a pair of strong +entomological forceps with curved tips; the curved extremities allow of +the pin being gripped below the insect when fixing it in or lifting it +out of the box. These in the hands of an expert are as good as an extra +pair of fingers, both for moving about specimens and picking up pins. +A second fine-pointed pair of forceps is useful for handling specimens +when mounting, or for picking up small active insects under logs and +stones. Two needles mounted in pen handles are invaluable for arranging +the legs and antennae when being set. Fine-pointed paint brushes for +cleaning dust and dirt from the insects are used; and a pair of pointed +scissors are necessary for opening the large-bodied insects, cutting +mounting cards, labels and such-like. A pocket lens should be always +at hand, for without it one loses half the beauty and details of +structure, and it would often be difficult to classify the specimens. +Later on, the entomologist will find a dissecting microscope, which +leaves both hands free to work, an indispensable part of his outfit. +A bottle of gum is another requisite, and different recipes are given +in manuals on the subject; at one time a mixture of tragacanth gum was +generally used, but the great objection to its use is that, though very +fine and transparent, it is very difficult to remove from the specimen +when necessary to remount or to detach it for examination. The mixture +now generally used is made of clean lumps of gum arabic dissolved in +water to the consistency of thin honey, with a little ground lump sugar +added; a few drops of carbolic acid are added, which, though apt to +discolour it if much is used, will keep the mixture sweet, and prevents +mould getting on the specimens. The gum should always be kept corked +to prevent dust being introduced, which would show very readily on the +mount. + + * * * * * + +CARE OF COLLECTIONS.--After the collections are formed, the insects +pinned, labelled, and placed in their natural groups, one’s work is by +no means finished; thousands of valuable specimens, and even types, +have been irretrievably damaged or completely destroyed from want +of a little care in preserving them from mites and museum beetles +(_Anthrenus_). The specimens may be perfectly clean and stored in +close-fitting boxes, and yet later may become infested, by the addition +of specimens that have been in an infested collection. It is advisable +to keep a receiving box in which to place exchanged specimens for +some time before setting out in the collections; as a general rule a +collector eagerly adds any new specimen to his collections, and so at +the same time may introduce _Anthrenus_, often in the egg state, whose +little hairy larvae will rapidly destroy his insects. Some collectors +contend that they can preserve their specimens from the attacks of +museum pests by dipping them in a very weak solution of corrosive +sublimate in spirits of wine; but this can only be effectively done +in the case of beetles and other hard-bodied creatures, for it must +be remembered that this chemical is apt to affect the metallic and +bright-coloured tints of the specimens, and will even corrode the pins. +Camphor and napthaline kept in a muslin bag or cell in the corner of +the insect box will poison the air and certainly kill all mites, and +will keep some pests out; but _Anthrenus_ are able to live in this +poisoned atmosphere, and will still carry on the work of destruction. +Having once found _Anthrenus_ among the specimens, no time should be +lost before destroying them: a wad of cotton wool should be pinned in +the corner of the box, and chloroform or bisulphide of carbon poured +over it, and the box kept closed for about twenty-four hours, when it +should be again opened, all dead _Anthrenus_ shaken out, the remains +of damaged insects removed, and the most injured specimens (if common) +burnt. Another method when _Anthrenus_ are found is, to hold the +open box or drawer in front of the fire for a few moments, when the +pests, even if feeding within the insects, will wriggle out and can be +destroyed. When once a box has been infested it will require constant +attention for months after. + +MOULD is also difficult to get rid of when once it appears in a box. If +all insects are well dried before they are placed in the boxes, and the +boxes kept in a dry place, there should be no mould among the contents, +but if a few damp or mould-infested insects be placed in a clean box +the mould may spread and eventually affect the whole collection, +especially if the room is inclined to be damp. When mould appears, the +affected insects should be cleaned with a brush dipped in benzine, and +a few drops of carbolic acid should be poured on a piece of cotton wool +in the box. + +GREASE is often a great trouble to the collector. Many of the large +wood-moths, particularly the bodies, sometimes get into a very bad +state if not cleaned out thoroughly; and also on old specimens of +beetles the grease develops verdigris, corroding the pins. Soaking all +such specimens in benzine will soften the grease so that it can be +rubbed off with a soft brush. + + + + + MUSEUM COLLECTIONS AND TYPES. + + +The type of a species is the actual specimen from which the published +description has been drawn up by the entomologist; and the care and +safe custody of such types should be the aim of every naturalist and +museum curator. In the case of insects, they are often such delicate +creatures that the type is very easily destroyed or damaged, either by +careless handling, bad storage, or from the attacks of museum mites and +pests; and at the present time, since many insect types have been thus +lost or destroyed, often doubt exists as to which particular insect +in the group is the species defined by the author, especially where +the written description, as in many cases, is brief or incomplete. +Many large private collections have been made by entomologists in +which there are numbers of types either described by the owner, or of +specimens he has obtained and submitted to specialists. Some of these +collections have afterwards been broken up, sold, and distributed, so +that it is now very difficult to trace the whereabouts of many types +that do exist. Every year brings more independent entomologists into +the ranks of the describers, so that our insects are being described +in all parts of the world; and though the importance of types is much +better understood than it used to be, the ultimate resting place of +many of these types is very uncertain. + +The proper place for every type is in the cabinet of some accredited +museum, though unfortunately there are some museums where the +collections of insects are no safer than they are in private hands, +either from want of proper storage or the lack of a special curator. +Yet if it were an understood thing that the types of each specialist +would be placed in the museum of his country, there would be some hope +of them being available for the use of future students. + +The drawbacks to such a disposal of types are that most entomologists +when they monograph a group intend to follow up the work as new +material comes to hand, which occurs when through their publications +collectors begin to forward specimens for identification; so that the +types are often required by entomologists for supplementary papers. + +Again, each insect as soon as it becomes a type has a certain +commercial value, and as most naturalists are poor men, this enhanced +value is a consideration, and it would be hardly fair to expect them +to give away valuable assets. The best way to get over the difficulty +would be for each museum to have a sum of money put aside to purchase +all types at a certain fixed rate, and with an understanding that no +types go out of their native country before they have been submitted to +the museum authorities. + +It is very unfortunate that many of the early and most prolific writers +never definitely marked their type-specimen when it was described, +simply returning it to the cabinet with the new name either on the pin +or below it; and where there has been a series of the same species, and +some assistant affixed the names, the recognised type may be a co-type. +Co-types are very valuable when they are determined by the describer +from the same species, but some writers have the bad habit of treating +co-types as types, which leads to much distrust and confusion. + +Every type should if pinned have a second label besides the ordinary +label placed well up on the pin, and bearing the word “type,” with the +date, initials of the author, and name of the insect on the reverse +side, so that as long as the specimen is in existence there can be no +doubt as to it being a type. + +I therefore propose in the following pages to give some brief notes +upon our Museum Collections, with reference to the types they contain; +and also to refer to those types in private collections. To work out +the location of the Australian type-specimens and collections in +British and foreign museums would require a book to itself, but the +destination of a few types of the more important collections can be +indicated. + +Through the kindness of the Curators of the different Australian +Museums and many interested friends, I have been enabled to gather much +valuable information about the early collections made in Australia, and +their final destinations. + +THE MACLEAY MUSEUM, Sydney, contains the finest general collection of +Australian insects that exists, and is rich in types; it also contains +a large series of insects from all parts of the world, among which +are some historical specimens. Unfortunately here also the types of +many species cannot be distinguished from their co-types, as they +bear no distinctive type-labels. The entomological collections of the +Macleay Museum are the accumulated gatherings of three distinguished +naturalists. It was originally commenced by Alexander Macleay, who, +when he left England to come to Sydney in 1825, had one of the +finest and most extensive collections of insects at that time in the +possession of any private individual. He added to this many Australian +species, some of which still bear his labels. His son, William Sharp +Macleay, inherited this collection on the death of his father in 1848, +and added to it, bequeathing it to his cousin, Sir William Macleay, +on his death in 1865. Sir William Macleay, to whom the foundation of +the Macleay Museum as a general zoological museum is due, began to +accumulate insects in 1861, when Mr. Masters went to Port Denison, +Queensland, to collect for him; Masters afterwards went on several +extended collecting expeditions in Queensland, South and Western +Australia, and the specimens collected by him were chiefly described +by Macleay, though the actual types of many of the insects were in the +early days placed in the Australian Museum, Sydney. The types of those +collected by me at Cairns, N. Queensland, in 1886, and at King’s Sound, +N.W. Australia, 1887–8, are in the Macleay Museum, also the other +Macleay types described in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of +N.S.W., except a few that are said to be in the Brisbane Museum. Mr. +Lea informs me that some of Bates’ types of the _Tenebrionidae_ are in +the Macleay Collections. The types of all the _Staphylinidae_ loaned +for description to Olliff are in this Museum; the others described by +Olliff are in the Australian Museum. In the Macleay Museum are also +Skuse’s types of Australian _Diptera_, as described in the Proceedings +of the Linnean Society of N.S.W., and which are distinctly marked and +mounted, and in a fine state of preservation. Lea’s type-specimens of +_Coleoptera_, described from unique specimens in this museum on loan, +are in this museum; while all his other types, with the exception of a +few in the National Museum in Melbourne, are in his own collections. +Dr. Jefferis Turner informs me that a few of Meyrick’s type of +_Micro-lepidoptera_ are in the Macleay Museum; but Mr. Masters and I +examined a number that Meyrick named for Macleay, and there is nothing +to indicate that there are any types among the specimens. + +Two specimens of Sawflies (_Tenthredinidae_) described by me, and +most of the types of the _Cicadidae_ described by Dr. Goding and +myself (with the exception of those types derived from specimens +loaned from the Victorian and Adelaide Museums and returned thereto) +are in this museum collection; also Marsham’s types of _Notoclea_ +(_Paropsis_), containing many of our commonest species as described in +the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London in 1818, are in this +collection, and also, it is said, some of Boisduval’s types. + +THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM, Sydney, was founded in 1836 and incorporated by +Act of Council in 1853. The first collection of insects was made by Mr. +Roach of Petty’s Hotel about 1835, who presented it to the Government; +they were exhibited in the “Round House” near Circular Quay, where they +were placed in charge of W. S. Wall, afterwards the first Curator of +the Australian Museum. + +The types now in the collections contain Macleay’s Gayndah Collection +obtained by G. Masters, and described by Sir William Macleay in the +Transactions of the Entomological Society of N.S. Wales. Some of +Macleay’s _Coleoptera_ from Port Denison, and South and West Australian +specimens also collected by Masters are said to be in the Australian +Museum, but a number of the latter are said by Mr. Masters to be in the +Macleay Museum. + +Macleay never affixed a type-label to his specimen, and if there were a +series of the same species he never indicated the type, so that it is +only where there was a single specimen that we can be positive which +specimen is the type; and further confusion arises as he presented many +specimens to the Australian Museum from his own collections. Scott’s +Lepidoptera (still kept as a separate collection) comprise the types +described by him, and are the identical butterflies and moths figured +in his work, “Australian Lepidoptera,” 1864. + +Olliff’s types of _Coleoptera_ and _Lepidoptera_ described while he +was the museum entomologist are in the museum collections, with the +exception of the _Staphylinidae_ previously mentioned and a few others +described from Macleay Museum specimens, one or two types that went to +Jansen, London, in whose collection they are now said to be, and two +butterfly types said to be in South Africa. + +King’s types of _Coleoptera_, collected by himself, and which he +described in the Transactions of the Entomological Society of N.S.W., +were purchased by the Trustees of this museum after his death. Many +of the smaller ones are mounted in balsam on glass slips; others are +pinned and carded; and though some of the types have vanished owing to +insect pests, they are on the whole in fairly good condition. + +Types of all the specimens described by both Skuse and Rainbow in the +Records of the Australian Museum are in the collections; and also one +of G. A. Waterhouse’s types (_Lepidoptera_) and a number of Sloane’s +type _Carabidae_. + +THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, Melbourne, was formed early in 1854, and +temporarily housed in the Melbourne University buildings in August, +1856, under the charge of the late Director, Professor (afterwards) Sir +Frederick McCoy. The old museum situated in the University grounds was +completed early in 1864, and the collections placed in it in March of +that year. + +The Entomological Collection was commenced about 1861 by the late +William Kershaw, under whose charge it was placed with other of the +zoological collections until his retirement in August, 1891. He was +succeeded by his son, J. A. Kershaw, who is the present Curator of the +Zoological Collections. + +In the formation of the entomological collections no professional +collectors were engaged, but specimens were obtained by purchase, +exchange and donation from various sources. By the latter the Messrs. +Kershaw were probably the largest contributors. + +The collection of general entomological specimens from all parts of the +world is an extensive one occupying 31 cabinets. It contains several +well-known collections, of which the most important is the “Curtis +Collection of British Insects,” which was purchased by the National +Museum authorities in 1863. It occupies 5 large mahogany cabinets, four +of which contain British Insects of all orders, among them many of +Curtis’ types (described in his work on British Insects); and the fifth +cabinet of 50 drawers contains a general collection of exotic insects. +Nothing has been removed from this collection, which is in an excellent +state of preservation, and remains exactly as Curtis left it 45 years +ago. Curtis’ MS. Register or Catalogue of this collection, comprising +4 quarto volumes, is also the property of the National Museum. Some +interesting notes on the Curtis Collection were published by J. J. +Walker, R.N., in the Entomological Monthly Magazine, 1904. + +The “Howett Collection” made by Dr. Howett, consisting of Australian +Coleoptera, was bequeathed to the Melbourne University by its founder, +with a condition that it must be kept intact, and nothing added to, +or taken from it. It was handed over to the National Museum by the +University authorities in April, 1904, on loan, together with Dr. +Howett’s library of entomological works. This collection is contained +in 10 cabinets, and includes a large number of types of Australian +insects, principally those of Count Castelnau, in whose handwriting +many of the labels attached to the insects are written. + +Another large and valuable collection is that of the late Count +Castelnau, embracing his general collection of Coleoptera. It occupies +5 large cabinets containing about 200 drawers. The specimens are all +mounted on uniformly sized pieces of papered cork, and in a great many +instances a species not in the collection is represented by a carded +figure. + +THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM, Adelaide.--Mr. F. Waterhouse was the first +Curator. It contains the following: Messrs. Kreusler and Odewahn’s +joint collection of Coleoptera, named by Pascoe, and Mr. E. Guest’s +_Micro-lepidoptera_ named by Meyrick; these were both purchased for the +museum, but the types in these collections are not noted by any special +reference. + +A large portion of Tepper’s original collection before 1883, and some +of F. Waterhouse’s specimens, were also added to the collection. + +A comparatively large number, but a small proportion of the whole of +the Rev. Thos. Blackburn’s types of _Coleoptera_, are in this museum. +A number of Mr. O. Lower’s types of _Lepidoptera_ are also deposited +here; and also all or nearly all of Mr. Tepper’s types, described +chiefly in the Transactions of the Royal Society of S. Australia. + +The Kreusler and Odewahn Collection was formed between the years 1855 +and 1875, and consists chiefly of Coleoptera collected about Gawler and +Blanchtown, on the Murray River, S.A. Messrs. Schulz, Bathurst, Jung +and O. and P. Tepper collected about Lyndoch, South Para River, and +P. Tepper later on about the Lower Murray plains, Ardrossan, Yorke’s +Peninsula and the Mount Lofty Ranges. Messrs. C. A. and G. M. Wilson +also collected extensively in the early days. All these collectors +exchanged specimens and forwarded S. Australian insects to Europe and +England, while the Messrs. Tepper sold to Berlin a large collection +chiefly of _Coleoptera_ in 1868. + +THE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM, Brisbane, is not rich in types, but contains a +large collection of Queensland and New Guinea insects of considerable +value; but the specimens, from want of funds and a special custodian, +are stowed away, and not arranged in any particular order. + +The types contained in the large collection of Miskin’s Lepidoptera, +purchased some years ago by the museum authorities; a few types +created by Dr. Jefferis Turner; and others by Lower, are all in this +collection. I understand that there are also in this collection some +Australian and New Guinea types created by Mr. Tryon. + +The following notes on the Australian types that are to be found in +British and other collections, furnished by Mr. J. J. Walker, R.N., +of Oxford, and Dr. D. Sharp, of Cambridge, are very interesting. Mr. +Walker says: “The Hope Collection (made by the Rev. F. W. Hope and +bequeathed to the University of Oxford at his decease about 1861), in +combination with that of the late Prof. J. O. Westwood, forms the basis +of the now very extensive collections of insects in the University +Museum. You may safely assume that _all_ Hope’s Australian types, and +the majority of those described by Westwood, are at Oxford. We have no +fewer than 55 types of the Genus _Stigmodera_ alone described by Hope. +We also have a large number of insects from the collection of the late +W. W. Saunders, chiefly _Lepidoptera_, _Heterocera_, _Hymenoptera_, +_Orthoptera_, &c., and these include many types described by F. Smith, +Walker, and others. The majority of Walker’s types (such as they are) +are in the National Collection, which in 1896 was enriched by the +purchase of Pascoe’s collection of Coleoptera, including at least 2,000 +type-specimens, with a large number of Australian species among them.” + +Dr. Sharp says: “We have no Australian types in the Cambridge +Museum, and my own collection, containing the types of many species +of Australian Coleoptera, was transferred to the British Museum a +few weeks ago. The rest of my collections are also there except +the Lamellicorns; these were sold by me many years ago to Mr. Rene +Oberthier, of Rennes, and the types of the Australian Lamellicorns I +described are consequently with him. Though Westwood’s collections +are at Oxford, many things that he described from the British Museum +Collections are in the British Museum. Most of Newman’s types are I +believe in the British Museum. Castelnau’s Collection was sent from +Australia to Paris about 40 years ago and sold there; the Carabidae +were purchased by the Genoa Museum, and they have the types. The +Lamellicorns were purchased by Von Lansberg, and subsequently sold +by him to R. Oberthier. The Stapylinidae and Dytiscidae I bought +and are now with the rest at the British Museum. R. Oberthier also +possesses the Thomson types. The Cetoniidae of Janson are still in his +possession. Edward Saunders’ collection of Buprestidae was purchased +by the British Museum, and they have also acquired the Kerremans’ +Collection of Buprestidae.” + + * * * * * + +Among the many collections of Australian insects that contain types, +the following might be noticed:-- + + BLACKBURN.--Coleoptera; a very large collection containing + many types created and described by the Rev. T. Blackburn, + of Adelaide, S. Australia, who informs me that “A few of the + types are in Mr. C. French’s collection, a comparatively large + number (but small in proportion to the whole) are in the South + Australian Museum.” The rest are in his own collections. + + LEA.--Coleoptera: Another extensive collection from all parts + of Australia and Tasmania is that of Mr. A. M. Lea, Hobart, + containing a great number of the owner’s type specimens. A few + of Mr. Lea’s types are in the Macleay and National Museums; one + or two in Mr. A. Simson’s collection in Launceston; and others + are in Mr. French’s collection in Melbourne. + + SLOANE.--Coleoptera: This collection consists chiefly of + Cicindelidae and Carabidae, and contains nearly all the types + created and described by the owner, Mr. T. G. Sloane, Moorila, + N.S. Wales. Some of his types however are in the Lea Collection; + others in French’s; one in Mr. F. Taylor’s (Sydney), and a + few, as previously mentioned, are in the Australian Museum + collections. + + FRENCH.--Coleoptera: The owner, Mr. C. French, Melbourne, has + never described any species himself; but his present collection, + of which the Scaritidae is a very important part, contains + many types described by other entomologists. During the last + twenty years French made and bought several large collections + of beetles, which he informs me have been dispersed in the + following manner. “My first collection went to Leyden purchased + by Count Lansberg. My second collection also to Leyden purchased + by Van de Poll.” Among the collections he purchased were + Atwell’s W. Australian beetles, the Diggles Collection, and the + last of the Du Boulay’s Coleoptera. + + LYELL.--Lepidoptera: The owner, Mr. G. Lyell, Gisborne, + Victoria, has one of the finest general collections of + Lepidoptera in Australia; it contains a number of types of both + Messrs. Lower and Turner, and also one of his own types. + + LOWER.--Lepidoptera: This contains the majority of the types + created by the owner, Mr. O. Lower, Broken Hill, New South Wales. + + LUCAS.--Lepidoptera: This is a general collection containing + most of the types created by the owner, Dr. Lucas, Brisbane, + Queensland. + + MEYRICK.--Lepidoptera: This is an immense collection of + Micro-lepidoptera chiefly, containing many thousands of types + created by Mr. E. Meyrick, Wilts., England. + + TURNER.--Lepidoptera: This collection is located in Brisbane, + Queensland, and is the property of Dr. Jefferis Turner. It + contains most of the owner’s types, but some of his types + are in the Lyell, Illidge, and Retter collections, and the + Queensland Museum. + + WATERHOUSE.--Lepidoptera: This collection comprises a very + extensive series of Australian butterflies, in which are nearly + all the types of the owner, Mr. G. A. Waterhouse, Sydney. + + FROGGATT.--Miscellaneous: It contains all the owner’s types of + Psyllidae, Termitidae, Neuroptera, most of the Coccidae, and a + few of Hymenoptera and Diptera. It also contains many co-types + of Prof. Forel’s Formicidae, Dr. Andre’s Mutillidae, and Dr. + Horvath’s Hemiptera. + + ILLIDGE.--Miscellaneous: I do not think that Mr. Illidge, of + Brisbane, Queensland, has created any types, but his collection + contains types, chiefly of Lepidoptera, described by Dr. Lucas + and Dr. Turner. + + CARTER.--Coleoptera: This is one of the latest collections of + Australian beetles, and belongs to Mr. H. J. Carter, Sydney. He + has described a few Tenebrionidae, the types of which are in + this collection. + + MASKELL.--Coccidae: This collection (Coccidae, Psyllidae and + Aleurodidae), made by the late Mr. W. M. Maskell, New Zealand, + contains a very valuable series of his types of Coccidae, + Psyllidae and Aleurodidae from Australia. It was, on the owner’s + death, sold to the New Zealand Government. + + + + + PUBLICATIONS DEALING WITH AUSTRALIAN ENTOMOLOGY. + + +In making out a bibliography of books and the more important +papers on our insects, it is impossible to notice the hundreds of +scientific papers scattered through English and foreign proceedings +and transactions of learned Societies. There are, however, a number +of books describing Australian insects which do not come under this +category that an Australian entomologist may yet want to know something +about. Like all such lists, this must be more or less incomplete, but +it may give the student some idea of where and what to look for. + + “AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE OF NEW SOUTH WALES.” + +Commenced in 1890 on the creation of the Department of Agriculture, it +contains many papers on Australian Entomology, with descriptions of new +species by Messrs. Olliff, Fuller, and Froggatt. + + ANDERSON, E. AND SPRY, F. P. + +Victorian Butterflies, and how to collect them, Part I., complete with +index, Melbourne 1893. Victorian Butterflies, Part II., 1894. A useful +little work published in pamphlet form, 130 pages, illustrated with a +number of very good wood-cuts. + + AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM, RECORDS OF. + +Commenced in 1890–91, Vols. I.-VI. (1905), Sydney; issued in numbered +pamphlet form at irregular intervals. Among other scientific +descriptions are papers on entomology by both Messrs. Skuse and Rainbow. + + BENNETT, DR. G. + +“Gatherings of a Naturalist in Australia,” London 1860. Among general +natural history there is a considerable amount of information on our +insects. + + BRENCHLEY, J. L. + +“Jottings during the Cruise of H.M.S. Curaçoa among the South Sea +Islands in 1865,” London 1873. Natural History Notes, Insects, p. 456. +Among the insects described and figured in colours are Australian +Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera. + + DONOVAN, E. + + Insects of New Holland, London 1825. + +This rare work contains the original descriptions, accompanied by +very fine coloured plates, of a number of our common insects of all +orders. The specimens from which the drawings were made were chiefly +collected by Sir Joseph Banks. A copy of this book is in the library of +the Linnean Society of N.S. Wales, and another in the Public Library, +Sydney. + + ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF N.S. WALES (TRANSACTIONS). + + Vols. I.-II., 1866–1873, Sydney. + +These Transactions contain a number of papers by Macleay, Scott, King +and Schrader, with original descriptions of new species. + + FABRICIUS, J. C. + + Systema Entomologiae, 1775. + +He described a number of Australian insects from the Banksian Cabinet. +These had been collected by Sir Joseph Banks and Dr. Solander during +Cook’s voyages. The collections were afterwards presented to the +British Museum. + + FRENCH, C. + + Handbook of the Destructive Insects of Victoria. + +Part I., 1891; Part II., 1893; Part III., 1900; Melbourne. Each part +is complete in itself, containing many coloured plates and popular +descriptions of injurious insects. + + GRAY, G. R. + + The Entomology of Australia, Part I. Monograph of the Family + Phasmidae, 1833; British Museum. + +This contains coloured plates and descriptions of all our known species +up to that date. + + GRIFFITHS, EDWARD. + +The Animal Kingdom. Insecta, Vol. I., 1832; Vol. II., 1844. With +supplementary additions to each order by Griffiths and Pidgeon, and +notices of new genera and species by Gray, with 132 plates. A number of +Australian species are described, and some figured. + + HORN EXPEDITION (edited by Prof. Baldwin Spencer). + + Part II., Zoology, 1896. + +In this are a number of papers on the insects collected by the members +of the Horn Exploring Expedition in Central Australia. Blackburn and +Sloane described Coleoptera; Lower, Lepidoptera; Tepper, Orthoptera; +Kirby and Froggatt, Hymenoptera. + + KIRBY, W. + + “Descriptions of several new species of Insects collected in + New Holland by Robert Brown.” (Linnean Transactions, Vol. XII., + 1818.) + +These insects were collected during Flinders’ voyage. Thirty-three +species are described, and thirteen figured on plate 23. + + KIRBY, W. + + “A Century of Insects.” (Linnean Transactions, Vol. XII., 1818.) + +In this paper he described 17 new species, and made 4 new genera. + + LEACH, DR. W. E. + + “Zoological Miscellanies.” “Being descriptions of new and + interesting animals, illustrated with coloured figures drawn + from Nature by R. P. Noddes.” 3 Vols., London. Vol. I., 1814; + Vol. II., 1815; Vol. III., 1817. + +A number of Australian insects are figured and described for the first +time in these volumes. + + LEWIN, JOHN W. + + “Podromus, etc. Natural History of Lepidopterous Insects of N.S. + Wales. Collected, engraved, and faithfully painted by J. W. + Lewin.” London 1805. + +A manuscript copy of this work with the original coloured drawings by +Lewin entitled “Insects of Australia,” 1803, is in the library of the +Linnean Society of N.S. Wales. + + LINNEAN SOCIETY OF N.S. WALES, PROCEEDINGS. + +Commencing in 1871, an annual volume of four parts has been published +every year since. These proceedings contain a great number of +entomological papers by the leading entomologists of Australasia, among +which are Messrs. Macleay, Meyrick, Olliff, Blackburn, Sloane, Skuse, +Masters, Froggatt, Lea, Lower, Turner, and Waterhouse. + + MACLEAY, W. S. + +“Catalogue of Insects collected by Captain King, R.N.; 192 species of +Annulosa; (188 insects and 4 arachnida) pages 438–469.” Eighty-one of +the species are new. This is an appendix to Captain Phillip King’s +“Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of +Australia performed between the years 1818 and 1822.” 2 Vols., London, +1827. + + MARSHAM, THOS. + +“Description of Notoclea, a new genus of Coleopterous Insects from New +Holland.” (Transactions Linnean Society, Vol. IX., p. 283, pls. 24–25, +1818.) These insects are now placed in the Genus _Paropsis_. They +were probably collected in the vicinity of Sydney. + + MCCOY, F. + +“Podromus of Zoology of Victoria,” Decade I.-XX., 1878–1890. In these +memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria, McCoy figured and described +a number of Australian insects. + + MASTERS, G. + +“Catalogue of the Described Coleoptera of Australia,” Parts I.-VII. +(Proceedings of the Linnean Society N.S. Wales, Vol. X., 1885; Vol. +II., new series, 1887.) Though this originally appeared in the +proceedings of this Society, so many sets of reprints have been sold +that it may be classed as a separate work. Two supplements have since +been published (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.), but they only deal with the +first families. + + MISKIN, W. H. + +“Synonymical Catalogue of the Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera (Butterflies) of +Australia, with full Bibliographical references, including descriptions +of new species.” Annals of the Queensland Museum, No. 1, Brisbane 1891. + + NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE, TRANSACTIONS. + +The publication of the Transactions of this Society commenced in 1867, +and are published annually. + +The most important articles dealing with Australian entomology are +those of the late W. M. Maskell on Australian Coccidae, which commenced +in 1889 and continued till his death in 1898. + + OLLIFF, A. SIDNEY. + + “Australian Butterflies. A brief account of the native families, + with a chapter on collecting and preserving insects, with + numerous wood-cuts.” + +A pamphlet published by the Natural History Association of N.S. Wales; +Sydney 1889. This is now offered for sale by the N.S.W. Naturalists’ +Club, Sydney. + + ROYAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA, TRANSACTIONS. + +The Transactions commenced in 1878, and are published annually. + +They contain a number of entomological papers by Blackburn and by Lea +(Coleoptera), Tepper (Orthoptera), Lower (Lepidoptera), and other +writers. + + SCOTT, A. W. + +“Australian Lepidoptera and their transformations,” Vol. I., published +by the author; London, 1864; 9 plates; Vol. II., Parts 1–2. Edited +and revised by A. S. Olliff and Mrs. Forde. This was published by the +Trustees of the Australian Museum, who purchased the drawings and +MS. from the Scott family. There is still a considerable amount of +unpublished MS. and drawings in the possession of the Trustees. + + SCHREIBERS, C. + +“Descriptions of some singular Coleopterous Insects.” (Linnean +Transactions, Vol. VI., p. 185, pls. 19–21, 1802.) Among these are a +number of large showy Australian beetles. Their exact localities are +not known. + + TRYON, H. + +“Report on Insect and Fungus Pests.” (Queensland Department of +Agriculture, Report I., 1889.) In this important report on injurious +insects a few new species are described, and the habits and life +histories of many well-known species given. + + “VICTORIAN NATURALIST, THE.” + +The Journal and Magazine of the Field Naturalists’ Club of Victoria. +The first volume was issued in 1884–85. A number of original +descriptions of insects, catalogues, and notes in general are given +in the pages of this Journal by Messrs. Kershaw, Lower, Lyell, +Billinghurst, and others. + + WESTWOOD, PROF. J. O. + +“Thesaurus Entomologicus Oxoniensis,” Oxford, 1875. “Illustrations of +new, rare, or interesting insects for the most part contained in the +Collections presented to the University of Oxford by the Rev. T. W. +Hope. With 40 coloured plates and with drawings by the author.” Among +these are some original descriptions of Australian species. + +“Arcana Entomologica,” London 1841–5, 2 vols. Among other exotic forms +this describes a number of Australian species and some are illustrated +by means of coloured plates. + + WATERHOUSE, G. A. + +“Catalogue of the Rhopalocera of Australia.” “Memoirs of the New South +Wales Naturalists’ Club,” No. I., 1903. This pamphlet brings the list +of Australian butterflies up to date. + + WHITE, ADAM. + +“Notes on some Insects from King George’s Sound.” This is an appendix +to Captain Gray’s “Travels in N.W. and West Australia,” Vol. II., +1841. This contains the original descriptions of a number of insects +collected by Captain Gray and numerous wood-cuts. + + ZOOLOGICAL RECORD. + +Commencing in 1864, the Insecta was edited at first by Dallas, +afterwards by Rye, and is now edited by Sharp. Contains a list of all +genera and species of insects described during each year. All the +Australian species described since 1864 are listed. + + + + + ADDENDA. + + +The following books and papers dealing with Australian insects have +been overlooked, or have appeared since this book has been in course of +preparation. + + (1) A Synonymic Catalogue of Orthoptera, Vol. II. Orthoptera + Saltatoria, Part I. Achetidae and Phascognuridae 1906. W. F. + Kirby. + + This is the second volume of the Catalogue already noticed on + page 14, and deals with crickets and long-horned grasshoppers. + A few alterations are made, viz.: _Gryllus servillei_, Sauss., + is a synonym of _Gryllus commodus_, Walker; and the species + of Ephippitytha 32-guttata figured by me in the Agricultural + Gazette, N.S.W., 1904, is, Kirby says, a new species which he + calls _E. froggatti_. + + (2) “A Revision of the Cicindelidae (Coleoptera) of Australia,” + by T. G. Sloane (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1906). In this paper + all the species formerly placed in the Genus _Tetracha_ are now + placed in the Genus _Megacephala_. In a supplementary paper in + the same volume Sloane records _Tricondyla aptera_, Oliver, a + tree hunting tiger beetle described from New Guinea as also a + native of Cape York, North Queensland. + + (3) “Notes on the Genus Leptops, with descriptions of new + species,” by A. M. Lea (Annales Soc. Ent. Belg. 1906). This is a + typical group of Australian weevils. The author notices all the + described species, and describes 27 new ones. + + (4) “A list of the Libellulidae (Dragon Flies) of Australia,” by + J. G. O. Tepper (Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Aust. 1899). This paper, + based upon a collection of dragon flies sent to France to Rene + Martin, for identification, gives a quantity of information + about the names and distribution of Australian species. + + (5) “Les Odonates du Continent Australien,” by Rene Martin + (Memoires Soc. Zool. France, 1901). This is a very fine paper on + the dragon flies recorded from Australia. + + (6) Descriptions of new dragon flies. In the Proceedings of the + Linnean Society N.S.W. 1906, R. J. Tillyard has contributed four + papers, in which a number of described species are identified + and recorded for the first time from Australia; while a number + of new species have been figured and described. + + (7) “A Revision of the Thynnidae,” by Roland C. Turner (Pro. + Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1907). This is part I. of an important + Monograph of these remarkable flower wasps peculiar in + having wingless females. The author in this paper deals with + the Sub-family _Diamminae_ and part of the Sub-family + _Thynninae_, describing a number of new species. + + (8) On page 382 a very large gall is mentioned formed by a + coccid obtained from Tennant’s Creek, Central Australia. This + insect will probably come in the Genus Cystococcus formed by + Fuller (Trans. Ent. Soc. London 1899), for the reception of a + species he called _Cystococcus echiniformis_. + + + + + INDEX. + + + _Abispa ephippium_, 111 + + _Abispa splendida_, 111 + + Abricta, 351 + + _Abricta curvicosta_, 357 + + _Abricta aurata_, 357 + + _Abricta willsi_, 357 + + Acacia gall gnat, 286 + + Acanthaspinae, 339 + + _Acantholepis bosii_, 96 + + _Acantholophus echinatus_, 184 + + Achias, 306 + + _Achilus flammeus_, 359 + + _Achraea grisella_, 272 + + _Acraea andromacha_, 215 + + Acraeinae, 215 + + _Acreotrichus gibbicornis_, 297 + + _Acreotrichus fuscicornis_, 297 + + Acridiidae, 40 + + _Acridium maculicollis_, 42 + + _Acridopeza reticulata_, 46 + + Acroceridae, 297 + + _Acrodes fumatus_, 298 + + Acrodicrania, 287 + + _Acrophylla titan_, 35 + + _Actinus macleayi_, 137 + + Addenda, 423 + + Adelium, 174 + + Adelotopus, 129 + + Admirals, 214 + + _Adrissa atra_, 328 + + Aenictus, 93 + + _Aeschna brevistyla_, 53 + + _Aeschna flindersensis_, 9 + + Aeschnidae, 53 + + _Aesernoides nigrofasciatus_, 202 + + Agathes, 87 + + _Agarista agricola_, 234 + + _Agarista glycine_, 230 + + _Agarista lewinii_, 234 + + Agaristidae, 233 + + _Agrianome spinicollis_, 191 + + Agrionidae, 51, 53 + + _Agromyza phaseoli_, 309 + + _Agromyza sp._, 309 + + Agromyzidae, 308 + + _Agrotis infusa_, 263 + + _Agrotis breviuscula_, 264 + + _Agrotis ypsilon_, 264 + + Agrotis (destroyed by bee fly), 296 + + _Agrypnus mastersi_, 166 + + Alastor, 112 + + Alastor (parasite on), 88 + + Alastor (mimicry of), 304 + + _Alaus gibboni_, 166 + + _Alaus sericeus_, 166 + + Alder Flies, 55 + + _Alectoria superba_, 46 + + Aleochara, 136 + + _Aleurodes styphelia_, 371 + + _Aleurodes t-signata_, 371 + + _Aleurodes banksiae_, 371 + + _Aleurodes vaporariorum_, 371 + + Aleurodicus, 371 + + Aleurodidae, 370 + + _Allecula subsulcata_, 175 + + _Allomachilus froggatti_, 12 + + Amarygmus, 174 + + Ambrosia beetle, 178 + + Amblycera, 390 + + _Amenia leonina_, 313 + + _Ammophila instabilis_, 107 + + _Ammophila suspiciosa_, 107 + + _Amorbus angustior_, 332 + + _Amorbus robustus_, 332 + + _Amphibolia fulvipes_, 313 + + Amycterinae, 184 + + _Amycterus draco_, 184 + + Anacampsis, 279 + + _Ananca puncta_, 177 + + _Anastatus pipunculi_, 79 + + _Ancylotropis waterhousei_, 180 + + Andrenidae, 114 + + Angoumois grain-moth, 279 + + _Anilicus semiflavus_, 167 + + Animated stick, 36 + + _Anisolabis colossea_, 16 + + _Anisolabis tasmanica_, 16 + + Anisopteridae, 51 + + Anobiums, 169 + + _Anobium paniceum_, 170 + + _anomalon_, 85 + + _Anopheles annulipes_, 290 + + _Anoplognathus analis_, 159 + + _Anoplognathus porosus_, 158 + + _Anoplognathus velutinus_, 158 + + _Anoplognathus viridaeneus_, 158 + + _Anoplostethus opalinus_, 159 + + Anoplura, 325, 388 + + _Anostosoma australasiae_, 47 + + _Anostosoma crinaceus_, 47 + + Ants, 68, 91 + + Ant-beetles, 138 + + Ant nest beetles, 139 + + Ant-lions, 57 + + Ant weevils, 188 + + _Antheraea eucalypti_, 257, 258 + + _Antheraea helena_, 259 + + _Antheraea janetta_, 259 + + _Antheraea loranthiae_, 259 + + _Antheraea simplex_, 259 + + Anthicidae, 176 + + Anthomyia flies, 311 + + Anthomyidae, 311 + + Anthophila, 114 + + Anthophora, 117 + + _Anthrax nigricosta_, 296 + + _Anthrenus museorum_, 149 + + _Anthrenus nigricans_, 149 + + _Anthrenus varius_, 149 + + Anthribidae, 180 + + _Antiphorus gilberti_, 133 + + _Antonina australis_, 378, 379 + + _Apate collaris_, 172 + + _Apanteles antipoda_, 87 + + _Apanteles australasiae_, 87 + + Aphalarinae, 363 + + _Aphanasium australe_, 193 + + Aphanomerus, 80 + + Aphidae, 367 + + Aphids, 367 + + _Aphis brassicae_, 368 + + _Aphis persicae-niger_, 369 + + Aphis lions, 64 + + _Aphomia latro_, 273 + + _Aphrophora chalipus_, 355 + + Apidae, 114 + + _Apina callisto_, 253 + + Apioceridae, 301 + + _Apiocera bigotti_, 301 + + _Apiocera asilica_, 301 + + _Apiomorpha duplex_, 382 + + _Apiomorpha munita_, 382 + + _Apiomorpha pileata_, 382 + + _Apiomorpha pharatrata_, 382 + + _Apiomorpha dipsaciformis_, 382 + + _Apiomorpha pomiformis_, 382 + + Apis, 114 + + _Apoda xylomeli_, 248 + + _Appias (Tachyris) ega_, 224 + + Aptera, 1, 10 + + _Apterygida arachidis_, 16 + + Arachnidae, 1 + + Arachnidae, 337 + + _Aradellus cygnalis_, 339 + + _Archimantis armatus_, 34 + + _Archimantis latistylus_, 32 + + _Archimantis montrosa_, 34 + + Arctiidae, 248 + + _Argadesa materna_, 268 + + _Argynnis inconstans_, 216 + + _Aridaeus thoracicus_, 196 + + Army worm, 262, 264 + + _Arotrophora ombrodelta_, 276 + + _Arsipoda macleayi_, 204 + + Arthopoda, 1 + + _Arthropterus brevis_, 139 + + _Arthropterus humeralis_, 139 + + _Articerus curvicornis_, 138 + + _Arunta perulata_, 349 + + Ascalaphides, 58 + + _Ascelis praemollis_, 383 + + _Ascelis schraderi_, 383 + + Asilidae, 298 + + _Asilis fulvitarsus_, 299 + + _Asilis inglorius_, 299 + + _Asilis plicatus_, 299 + + _Asopia farinalis_, 270 + + Asopinae, 330 + + _Aspidiotus auranti_, 373 + + _Aspidiotus ficus_, 374 + + _Aspidiotus hederi_, 373 + + _Aspidiotus nerii_, 373 + + _Aspidiotus perniciosus_, 373 + + _Aspidiotus rossi_, 374 + + _Aspidomorpha deusta_, 206 + + Assassin bug, 338 + + _Astacops laticeps_, 333 + + _Asterolecanium acaciae_, 376 + + _Asterolecanium quercicola_, 376 + + _Asterolecanium styphelia_, 376 + + _Asura lydia_, 250 + + _Atalophlebia australasica_, 54 + + _Ateleopterus longiceps_, 82 + + _Aterpus cultratus_, 185 + + _Ateuchus sacer_, 153 + + Atlas moths, 231 + + _Atractus viridis_, 175 + + _Atractus viriscens_, 175 + + _Atrastemorpha crenaticeps_, 43 + + _Attacus cynthia_, 257 + + Atyphella, 168 + + _Axionicus insignis_, 188 + + Auger beetles, 171 + + _Aulacocyclus kaupi_, 153 + + _Aulacus apicalis_, 84, 89 + + _Aulacophora olivieri_, 205 + + _Aulicus instabilis_, 168 + + _Austomiris viridissimus_, 342 + + Australian Fritillary, 216 + + Australian Mantidae, 33 + + Australian Museum, 412 + + Austrogomphus, 54 + + + Bacillus, 35 + + Back-swimmers, 344 + + Bacon beetles, 148 + + _Badamia exclamationis_, 228 + + Bag moths, 243 + + _Balaninus amoenus_, 188 + + Banana-stalk fly, 311 + + Banksia beetle, 162 + + Banksia moth, 257 + + Bark beetles, 146 + + Basket worms, 243 + + _Bassus laetatorius_, 85 + + _Batocera frenchi_, 198 + + _Batocera sapho_, 198 + + _Batrachedra arenosella_, 280 + + _Batrachedra sparsella_, 280 + + _Batrachomyia nigritarsis_, 310 + + Bay shelter moths, 252 + + Bed bugs, 341 + + Bee flies, 296 + + Bees, 68, 114 + + Beetles, 121 + + Bell moths, 274 + + _Belenois java_, 223 + + Belostomidae, 343 + + _Belostoma indicum_, 344 + + _Belus bidentatus_, 187 + + _Belus plagiatus_, 187 + + _Belus semipunctata_, 187 + + Bembecides, 109 + + _Bembex tridentifera_, 109 + + _Bembex vespiformis_, 109 + + _Bembidium ocellatum_, 132 + + Bent-wing moth, 241 + + Bethyllides, 81 + + Bibionidae, 288 + + _Bibio imitator_, 288 + + _Bidessus bistrigatus_, 133 + + Big-eyed flies, 301 + + _Biprorulus bibax_, 330 + + Bird of Paradise fly, 385 + + Bird-winged butterfly, 225 + + Biscuit weevil, 169 + + Biting lice, 389 + + _Bittacus australis_, 56 + + _Blabophanes ethelella_, 281 + + Black-arches, 252 + + Black cicada, 353 + + Black flies, 287 + + Black orchard-butterfly, 226 + + Black-wattle Blue, 221 + + Bladder cicadas, 354 + + Bladder flies, 297 + + Blastophaginae, 68, 77 + + _Blatta orientalis_, 17 + + Blattidae, 14, 17 + + _Blepegens aruspex_, 174 + + _Blepharotes splendidissima_, 300 + + Blight, 367 + + Blister beetle, 177 + + Blister leaf sawfly, 73 + + Bloodworms, 291 + + Blues, 219 + + Blue ant, 102 + + Bluebottle fly, 317 + + Blue-eyed butterfly, 217 + + Blue-mountain locust, 41 + + _Bolboceras probiscidium_, 154 + + _Bolboceras sloanei_, 154 + + Bollworm, 265 + + Bombardier beetle, 128 + + Bombus, 114 + + Bombycidae, 256 + + Bombylidae, 296 + + _Bombyx mori_, 256 + + _Bombyx nasuta_, 256 + + _Bombyx trimaculata_, 256 + + Book lice, 30 + + _Boopia tarsata_, 390 + + _Boopia grandis_, 390 + + Boreus, 56 + + Bostrychidae, 171 + + _Bostrychus gibbicollis_, 171 + + _Bostrychus cylindricus_, 171 + + _Bostrychopsis jesuita_, 171 + + Botany Bay diamond beetle, 185 + + Bot flies, 317 + + Bothrideres, 146 + + _Brachypeplus binotatus_, 143 + + _Brachyrhopala ruficornis_, 300 + + Brachyscelid galls (home of weevils), 182, 188 + + Brachysceliinae, 77, 380 + + _Brachyscelis crispa_, 76 + + _Brachyscelis pileata_, 76 + + Braconidae, 85, 236 + + _Bracon limbatus_, 86 + + Brenthidae, 179 + + _Brontes lucius_, 147 + + _Brontes militaris_, 147 + + _Brontispa froggatti_, 206 + + Brown leaf-winged butterfly, 216 + + Brown tails, 252 + + Brush-footed butterfly, 214 + + _Bryachus squamicollis_, 185 + + Buffalo gnats, 287 + + Bugong moth, 263 + + Bugs, 325, 326 + + Bulldog ants, 92 + + Buprestidae, 162 + + Burnet moths, 236 + + Burying beetles, 140 + + Butterfly moths, 232 + + Butterflies, 212 + + Butterfly envelope, 400 + + Byrrhidae, 149 + + Bythoscopus, 359 + + + _Cacaecia australasiae_, 275 + + _Cacaecia lythrodana_, 275 + + _Cacaecia postvittana_, 274 + + _Cacaecia responsana_, 275 + + _Cacochroa gymnopleura_, 161 + + Caddis flies, 66 + + Cadelle, 144, 145 + + _Cadmus litigiosus_, 202 + + _Cadmus rubiginosus_, 202 + + _Caedicia valida_, 47 + + _Calandra granaria_, 189 + + _Calandra orizae_, 189 + + _Callipappus australe_, 385 + + _Callipappus westwoodi_, 385 + + _Calliphara billiardierei_, 328 + + _Calliphara cruenta_, 328 + + _Calliphara imperialis_, 328 + + _Calliphara nobilis_, 328 + + _Calliphora oceaniae_, 316 + + _Calliphora rufifaces_, 316 + + _Calliphora varipes_, 316 + + _Calliphora villosa_, 316 + + _Calliphora vomitaria_, 316 + + _Calloodes grayanus_, 158 + + Calobatinae, 310 + + _Coloderma regalis_, 165 + + _Calogramma festiva_, 266 + + _Calomela paralis_, 203, 204 + + _Calosoma schayeri_, 126 + + _Calotermes longiceps_, 24 + + _Camponotinae_, 96 + + _Camponotus claripes_, 98 + + _Camponotus inflatus_, 97 + + _Camponotus intrepidus_, 97 + + _Camponotus nigriceps_, 97 + + _Candalides absimilis_, 220 + + _Cantao parentum_, 328 + + Cantharidae, 177 + + Capsidae, 341 + + Carabidae, 126 + + _Cardiaspis artifex_, 364 + + _Cardiaspis tetrix_, 364 + + _Cardiothorax howitti_, 174 + + Care of Collections, 408 + + _Carenum bonelli_, 130 + + Carnivorous ground beetles, 126 + + Carnivorous weevils, 180 + + Carpenter bees, 116 + + _Carpocapsa pomonella_, 276 + + _Carpophagus banksiae_, 201 + + _Carpophilus aterrimus_, 144 + + _Carpophilus pilipennis_, 144 + + Case moths, 243 + + Cassidides, 206 + + Castelnaudia, 131 + + _Castelnaudia imperiale_, 132 + + _Castelnaudia renardi_, 132 + + Castniidae, 232 + + _Catadromus australis_, 131, 127 + + _Catadromus lacordairei_, 131 + + _Catasarcus spinipennis_, 182 + + _Catopsilia (Callidryas) pomona_, 225 + + Cave locust, 48 + + Cecidomyia, 81 + + _Cecidomyia destructor_, 286 + + _Cecidomyia acaciae-longifoliae_, 286 + + _Cecidomyia frauenfeldi_, 285 + + Cecidomyidae, 285 + + Celyphus, 310 + + Centipedes, 1 + + Cephidae, 70 + + _Cephalodesmius armiger_, 153 + + _Ceraegidion horrens_, 197 + + Cerambycidae, 190 + + Cerambycinae, 192 + + _Ceraphron niger_, 80 + + Cerapterus, 139 + + _Ceratitis (Halterophora) capitata_, 308 + + _Ceratognathus froggatti_, 152 + + _Ceratophyllus hilli_, 324 + + _Ceratophyllus rothschildi_, 323 + + _Ceratophyllus woodwardi_, 324 + + _Ceratopogon molestes_, 291 + + Cerceris, 109 + + Cercopidae, 354 + + _Cermatulus nasalis_, 330 + + _Ceroplastes ceriferus_, 374, 375 + + _Ceroplastes rubens_, 375 + + _Ceronema banksiae_, 376 + + _Ceronema caudata_, 376 + + _Cethosia cydippe_, 215 + + Cetonides, 160 + + _Chaerocampa celerio_, 237 + + _Chaerocampa erotus_, 238 + + _Chaerocampa oldenlandi_, 237 + + _Chaerocampa scrofa_, 238 + + _Chaerocoris paganus_, 327 + + _Chaerocoris similis_, 327 + + _Chaetogaster violacea_, 313 + + Chafer beetles, 153 + + _Chalcerinys eximia_, 78 + + Chalcididae, 74, 78 + + _Chalcis phya_, 75 + + _Chalcis vicaria_, 75 + + _Chalcophora farinosa_, 163 + + _Chalcophora vittata_, 163 + + _Chalcopterus variabilis_, 174 + + _Chalepus pugionatus_, 356 + + _Chalepus teliferus_, 356 + + _Charaxes sempronius_, 217 + + _Chartopteryx childreni_, 174 + + _Chasmoptera hutti_, 59 + + _Chauliodes guttatus_, 55 + + _Chelepteryx collesi_, 253 + + Cherry bug, 327 + + _Cherrus ebeninus_, 182 + + Chicken flea, 323 + + Chinch bug, 333 + + _Chionaspis xerotides_, 374 + + _Chionaspis eugeniae_, 374 + + Chironomidae, 291 + + _Chironomus venerabilis_, 9 + + _Chlaenius laeteviridis_, 131 + + _Chlaenius maculifera_, 131 + + _Chlaenius marginatus_, 131 + + _Chlaenius puncticeps_, 131 + + _Chlorocysta vitripennis_, 352 + + Chloroform tube, 399 + + _Chortoicetes pusilla_, 42 + + _Chortoicetes terminifera_, 42 + + Chrysididae, 87 + + Chrysis, 88 + + _Chrysolophus spectabilis_, 185 + + Chrysomelidae, 200 + + Chrysomelides, 202 + + Chrysophides, 64 + + _Chrysopa ramburii_, 65 + + _Cicada lowei_, 9 + + Cicadas, 346 + + Cicadidae, 346 + + Cicadinae, 348 + + Cicindelidae, 124 + + _Cicindela circumcincta_, 125 + + _Cicindela ypsilon_, 125 + + _Cicindela tenuicollis_, 125 + + Cigarette beetle, 169 + + _Cimex lectularius_, 341 + + Cimicidae, 341 + + Cioidae, 170 + + _Cirphula pyrocnemis_, 43 + + _Cisseis leucosticta_, 165 + + _Cisseis maculata_, 165 + + _Cisseis 12-maculata_, 165 + + _Cisseis similis_, 165 + + Cistelidae, 175 + + _Cizara ardenia_, 237 + + Classification, 1 + + _Clauca rubricosta_, 250 + + Clear-winged Hawk-moth, 237 + + _Clemacantha regale_, 39 + + Cleptes, 88 + + Cleridae, 168 + + _Cleromorpha novemguttatus_, 168 + + Click beetles, 166 + + _Clivina australasiae_, 131 + + _Clivina basalis_, 131 + + Clivinides, 130 + + Clothes moths, 278 + + Club-horned Water-beetles, 135 + + _Clytocosmus helmsi_, 292 + + _Clytus curtisi_, 196 + + _Cnecosa fulvida_, 147 + + Coccidae, 371, 373 + + Coccinellidae, 207 + + _Coccinella repanda_, 209 + + Cockchafer beetles, 157 + + Cockroaches, 17 + + Codlin moth, 276 + + _Coelioxys albolineata_, 119 + + _Coelocyba viridilincata_, 79 + + Coelostoma, 385 + + _Coequosa australasiae_, 238 + + _Coequosa triangularis_, 238 + + Coleoptera, 1, 121 + + Collection of Insects, 395 + + Collector’s bag, 398 + + Collecting net, 396 + + Collembola, 10 + + Colletes, 114 + + Coloburiscus, 55 + + Colydidae, 146 + + _Colymbetes lanceolatus_, 134 + + _Comarchis aspectatella_, 250 + + Comb-horned beetles, 138 + + _Commius elegans_, 329 + + _Comptosia albo-fasciata_, 296 + + Connecting-link moths, 232 + + _Conogethes punctiferalis_, 273 + + _Conops pica_, 305 + + Conopidae, 305 + + Convolvulus Hawk-moth, 238 + + Coon bug, 334 + + _Copelatus acuductus_, 134 + + Coppers, 219 + + Coprides, 153 + + Coptotermes, 26 + + _Coptotermes (Termes) lacteus_, 22 + + Cordiceps, 242 + + Cordus hospes, 174 + + Coreidae, 331 + + _Corixa eurynome_, 345 + + Corixidae, 345 + + _Coryphistes cyanopterus_, 43 + + _Cosmotriche exposita_, 257 + + _Cosmozosteria coolgardiensis_, 18 + + Cossidae, 242 + + Cotton bug, 333 + + Cottony Cushion Scale, 77, 385 + + Cow ants, 98 + + _Coxinocera hercules_, 257 + + Crabs, 1 + + Crabro, 109 + + Crabronides, 109 + + Crane-flies, 292 + + _Craspedia coriaria_, 300 + + _Cremastogaster fusca_, 94 + + _Cremastogaster pallipes_, 94 + + _Cremastogaster ruficeps_, 95 + + _Creophilus erythrocephalus_, 137 + + Crested locust, 44 + + _Crewiis longipennis_, 363 + + Crickets, 48 + + Crimson-winged butterfly, 215 + + _Croce attenuata_, 59 + + _Crocisa albo-maculata_, 118 + + _Crocisa lamprosoma_, 118 + + _Crocisa nitidula_, 118 + + _Cruria donovani_, 234 + + Crusader bug, 332 + + Crustacea, 1 + + _Crypsiphona occultaria_, 260 + + _Cryptes (Lecanium) baccatum_, 376 + + Cryptocephalides, 201 + + Cryptocerata, 342 + + _Cryptocephalus scabrosus_, 202 + + _Cryptocephalus viridinitens_, 202 + + _Cryptolaemus montrouzieri_, 211 + + Cryptophagidae, 147 + + Cryptophaginae, 277 + + _Cryptophaga irrorata_, 278 + + _Cryptophaga rubriginosa_, 278 + + _Cryptophaga unipunctata_, 277 + + _Ctenochiton eucalypti_, 375 + + _Ctenochiton rhizophorae_, 375 + + _Cubicorrhynchus morosus_, 184 + + Cucujidae, 146 + + Cuckoo-spittle insects, 355 + + Cuckoo wasps, 87 + + _Culama caliginosa_, 242 + + _Culex albo-annulatus_, 289 + + _Culex alternans_, 290 + + _Culex fatigans_, 289 + + _Culex hispidosus_, 290 + + _Culex macleayi_, 289 + + _Culex marinus_, 290 + + _Culex skusei_, 289 + + Culicidae, 288 + + Cup moth, 246 + + _Cupha prosope_, 215 + + Cupnia, 50 + + Curculionidae, 181 + + _Cuspicona forticornis_, 330 + + _Cuspicona thoracica_, 330 + + _Cuspicona simplex_, 329 + + Cutworm moth, 262 + + _Cybister gayndahensis_, 134 + + _Cybister granulatus_, 134 + + _Cybister tripunctatus_, 134 + + Cydinae, 328 + + _Cylindrococcus amplior_, 380 + + _Cylindrococcus spiniferus_, 380 + + _Cyclochila australasiae_, 349 + + Cynipidae, 73 + + _Cynthia ada_, 215 + + _Cyria imperialis_, 162 + + _Cyrtacanthacris exacta_, 40, 43 + + _Cystosoma saundersi_, 354 + + _Cystosoma schmeltzi_, 354 + + + Dactylopinae, 376 + + _Dactylopius albizziae_, 378 + + _Dactylopius aurilanatus_, 378 + + _Dactylopius lobulatus_, 378 + + _Dacus (Tephrites) psidii_, 307 + + _Dacus (Tephrites) tryoni_, 307 + + Danainae, 214 + + _Danais archippus_, 214 + + _Danais hamata_, 215 + + _Danais menippe_, 214 + + _Danais petilia_, 214 + + _Danima banksiae_, 257 + + _Danis taygetus_, 220 + + _Darala acuta_, 254 + + _Darala ocellata_, 254 + + Dark-winged Ichneumons, 84 + + _Dasypodia cymatoides_, 268 + + _Dasypodia selenophora_, 268 + + Dasypogon, 299 + + _Daunus tasmaniae_, 357 + + Day moths, 233 + + _Deiopeia pulchella_, 250 + + _Delias aganippe_, 224 + + _Delias argenthona_, 224 + + _Delias harpalyce_, 224 + + _Delias mysis_, 224 + + _Delias nigrina_, 224 + + Demoiselles, 51 + + _Depsages granulosa_, 200 + + _Dermestes cadaverinus_, 148 + + _Dermestes lardarius_, 149 + + _Dermestes vulpinus_, 148 + + Dermestidae, 148 + + Desert cockroaches, 19 + + Devil’s Coach-horse, 137 + + Devil’s Darning Needles, 51 + + Dexiidae, 313 + + _Diadoxus erythrurus_, 163 + + _Diadoxus scalaris_, 163 + + Diagram of dragon-fly, 52 + + Diagram of bee, fore wing of, 69 + + Diagram of grasshopper, 40 + + Diagram of grasshopper, mouth parts, 13 + + Diagram of hawkmoth, head of, 230 + + Diagram of moth, wings of, 231 + + Diagram of psylla, 362 + + Diagram of termite, head of worker, 22 + + Diagram of wasp, head of, 68 + + Diagram of wasp, thorax of, 68 + + Diagram of water beetle, 122 + + _Diamma bicolor_, 102 + + Diamond-backed Cabbage Moth, 281 + + _Diaphonia dorsalis_, 162 + + _Diaphonia olliffiana_, 162 + + Diaspinae, 373 + + _Diaspis rosae_, 374 + + _Dictyotus plebejus_, 329 + + _Didymuria violescens_, 37 + + _Dielis formosa_, 104 + + _Dielis 7-cincta_, 104 + + Digger beetles, 153 + + _Dilochrosis atripennis_, 160 + + Dinadorinae, 331 + + _Dindymus circumcinctus_, 335 + + _Dindymus versicolor_, 335 + + _Dinoura auriventris_, 77, 78 + + Diopsidae, 306 + + Diopsis, 306 + + _Diphucephala aurulenta_, 156 + + _Diphucephala rufipes_, 156 + + _Diphucephala colaspidoides_, 156 + + _Diplacodes (Diplax) bipunctata_, 53 + + Diplax, 52 + + _Diplax rubra_, 52 + + Diploptera, 110 + + _Diplosis eucalypti_, 286 + + _Diplosis frenelae_, 286 + + _Diplosis paralis_, 286 + + Diptera, 1, 4, 283 + + _Discolia soror_, 103 + + _Distichocera macleayi_, 195 + + _Distichocera maculicollis_, 195 + + Distribution, 4 + + _Distypsidera flavicans_, 125 + + Ditropidus, 201 + + _Doleschallia australis_, 216 + + Dolichoderinae, 95 + + _Dolichoderus doriae_, 95 + + _Doratifera acasta_, 247 + + _Doratifera quadriguttata_, 247 + + _Doratifera vulnerans_, 84, 246, 247 + + Dorylinae, 93 + + _Doticus pestilans_, 181 + + Double Drummer, 348 + + Dragon flies, 51 + + _Drepanopteryx binocula_, 64 + + _Drepanopteryx instabilis_, 64 + + Dried-apple beetle, 181 + + Drone fly, 303 + + _Drosophila obscura_, 306 + + Drosophilidae, 306 + + Dryinidae, 82 + + Dryinids, 78 + + _Drypta australis_, 127 + + Dung beetles, 153 + + Dusky Delias, 224 + + Dynastides, 159 + + _Dysdercus sidae_, 335 + + _Dysdercus suturellus_, 335 + + Dytiscidae, 133 + + + _Earias fabia_, 265 + + Ears of locusts, 40 + + Earwigs, 15 + + _Ecelonerus albopictus_, 180 + + _Echidnophaga ambulans_, 323 + + _Echidnophaga gallinaceus_, 323 + + _Echidnophaga liopus_, 323 + + _Echidnophaga macronychia_, 323 + + _Ecphantus quadrilobis_, 44 + + _Ectatomma metallicum_, 93 + + _Ectocemus pterygorrhinus_, 180 + + Ectrepes, 170 + + _Edusa distincta_, 202 + + Elachistidae, 280 + + _Elaphodes tigrinus_, 201 + + Elateridae, 166 + + Elephant beetle, 186 + + Elmis, 150 + + _Elodina angulipennis_, 223 + + Embiidae, 28 + + Emesinae, 338 + + Emperors, 214 + + Encyrtinae, 78 + + _Enithares bergrothi_, 345 + + _Enteles ocellatus_, 189 + + _Enteles vigorsi_, 189 + + _Entometa ignoblis_, 245 + + _Ephedrus persicae_, 86 + + _Ephemera culleni_, 9 + + Ephemeridae, 54 + + _Ephestia kuhniella_, 273 + + _Ephippitytha quadrigessimaguttatus_, 47 + + _Ephippitytha 32-guttata_, 47 + + _Ephippium albitarsis_, 293 + + Ephutermorpha, 99 + + _Epilachna guttatopustulata_, 208 + + _Epilachna 28-punctata_, 208 + + Epipyropidae, 282 + + _Epipyrops doddi_, 282 + + _Episcaphula pictipennis_, 206 + + _Epithora dorsalis_, 193 + + Erebidae, 268 + + _Eretes australis_, 134 + + _Eriococcus coriaceous_, 211, 377 + + _Eriococcus eucalypti_, 377 + + _Eriococcus paradoxus_, 377 + + _Eristalis tenax_, 303, 304 + + Ermine moths, 248 + + Erotylidae, 206 + + _Erynnus sperthias_, 228 + + _Erythroneura vitis_, 361 + + _Ethemaia sellata_, 184 + + _Ethon affinis_, 165 + + _Ethon corpulentus_, 165 + + _Ethon marmoreum_, 165 + + Eucalyptus scale, 377 + + _Euchloris submissaria_, 260 + + _Euchromia creusa_, 235 + + Eucnemidae, 165 + + _Eudoxula boisduvalli_, 243 + + _Eufroggattia tuberculata_, 358 + + _Eumecopus australasiae_, 329 + + _Eumenes arcuatus_, 111 + + _Eumenes bicincta_, 110 + + _Eumenes latreillei_, 111 + + _Eumenes servillei_, 111 + + Eumenidae, 110 + + Eumolpides, 202 + + Eupelminae, 79 + + _Eupelmus antipoda_, 77 + + _Euploea corinna_, 215 + + _Euploea hamata_, 263 + + _Eupoecila australasiae_, 161 + + _Euponera lutea_, 93 + + _Eurhamphus fasciculatus_, 186 + + _Eurhynchus acanthopterus_, 187 + + _Eurybrachys leucostigma_, 360 + + _Eurybrochis zanna_, 342 + + _Eurycus cressida_, 227 + + _Euryischia lestophoni_, 77 + + _Eurymela bicincta_, 355 + + _Eurymela pulchra_, 355 + + _Eurymela rubrovittata_, 355 + + _Eurymela speculum_, 355 + + _Eurynassa australis_, 191 + + _Eurynassa odewahni_, 191 + + Euryopsis, 73 + + Eurys, 73 + + _Euryscaphus lobicollis_, 130 + + _Euryscaphus titanus_, 130 + + Euryspa, 206 + + _Eurytoma binotata_, 75 + + _Eurytoma eucalypti_, 75 + + _Euschemon rafflesiae_, 232 + + _Eusthenia spectabilis_, 50 + + _Eusthenia thalea_, 50 + + _Eutane terminalis_, 250 + + Eutermes, 24 + + _Eutermes fumigatus_, 28 + + _Eutermes fumipennis_, 27, 28 + + _Eutermes pyriformis_, 27 + + _Eutermes triodiae_, 28 + + _Eutoma tinctilatum_, 129 + + _Eutrichopidia latina_, 234 + + _Evania princeps_, 89 + + Evaniidae, 88 + + _Exoneura bicolor_, 116 + + _Exoneura froggatti_, 116 + + _Extatosoma tiaratum_, 38 + + + Faggot case-moth, 245 + + False Click beetles, 165 + + False Robber flies, 301 + + Feather horns, 167 + + Feronides, 131 + + Fiddler, 161 + + Fig-leaf beetle, 205, 330 + + _Figulus regularis_, 152 + + _Fiorinia acaciae_, 374 + + Fire-fly beetles, 167 + + Fish-killers, 343 + + Flat Bark-beetles, 337 + + Fleas, 321 + + Flea beetles, 204 + + Flesh flies, 314 + + Flies, 283 + + Floridian Scale, 387 + + Floury Miller, 351 + + Flower wasps, 100, 105 + + Fluted Cushion-scale, 385 + + Foenus, 89 + + Footmen, 248 + + Forest Ladies, 31 + + _Forficula auricularia_, 17 + + Forficulidae, 14, 15 + + Formica, 96 + + _Formia purpurea_, 96 + + Formicidae, 4, 91 + + Fossil Insects, 9 + + Fossil Phasmidae, 35 + + _Frenchia casuarinae_, 381 + + _Frenchia semiocculta_, 381 + + Fritillaries, 216 + + _Froggattia olivina_, 336 + + Frog-hoppers, 325, 354 + + Fruit beetles, 143 + + Fruit bugs, 335 + + Fruit flies, 306 + + Fulgoridae, 82, 358 + + Fungus beetles, 206 + + Fungus bugs, 337 + + Fungus midges, 287 + + + Gadfly, 294 + + Gaeninae, 350 + + Galgulidae, 342 + + Gall flies, 81, 285, 73 + + Gall gnats, 285 + + Gall wasps, 74 + + _Galleria melonella_, 272 + + _Galleruca semipullata_, 205 + + _Galleruca_ (destroyed by bug), 330 + + Gallerucides, 204 + + _Gardena australis_, 338 + + _Gastrophilus equi_, 317 + + _Gastrophora henricaria_, 262 + + _Gastropsis (Oestropsis) pubescens_, 116 + + _Gelechia simplicella_, 279, 280 + + Gelechiadae, 279 + + _Geobia australis_, 328 + + Geometridae, 259 + + Georyssidae, 150 + + _Georyssus australis_, 150 + + _Geoscapheus giganteus_, 19 + + _Gerris australis_, 337 + + Giant thrips, 393 + + _Gibbium scotias_, 169 + + Glass collecting box, 397 + + _Glaucopsaltria (Chlorocysta) viridis_, 352 + + _Glenurus circuitor_, 58 + + _Glenurus erythrocephalus_, 58 + + _Glenurus fundatus_, 58 + + _Glenurus falsus_, 58 + + _Glenurus pulchellus_, 58 + + _Glenurus striola_, 58 + + Glow-worms, 167 + + _Glycyphana brunnipes_, 162 + + _Gminatus australis_, 340 + + _Gminatus nigroscutellatus_, 340 + + _Godara comalis_, 271 + + Gold beetles, 151 + + _Goniaea australasiae_, 43 + + _Goniozus antipodum_, 82 + + Gonipterinae, 184 + + _Gonipterus gibberus_, 185 + + _Gonotopus australis_, 82 + + Gorytes, 108 + + Grain moth, 278 + + Grass-tree weevil, 189 + + Grease on insects, 409 + + Great Brown Phasma, 35 + + Great Striped Locust, 43 + + Green Tree-ant (host of butterflies), 96 + + Green-head Ant, 93 + + Green fly, 367 + + Green lace-wing, 65 + + Green Monday, 349 + + Green Foresters, 236 + + Gregarious Phasmids, 36 + + Grey Cutworm moth, 266 + + Gryllidae, 48 + + _Gryllotalpa coarctata_, 48 + + _Gryllus servillei_, 48 + + Gum-tree bugs, 331 + + _Gymnoplistia bella_, 292 + + Gypsy moth, 252 + + Gyrinidae, 134 + + Gyropidae, 390 + + + _Hadena expulsa_, 265 + + Hairy Flower-wasps, 102 + + Hair-streaks, 219 + + _Halictus floralis_, 116 + + _Halictus bicingulatus_, 116 + + _Halobates whiteleggi_, 338 + + Halticides, 204 + + _Haplonyx centralis_, 188 + + Harpactorinae, 340 + + Harpalus, 131 + + _Hasora hurama_, 229 + + _Hasora discolor_, 229 + + Hatchet-bodied wasp, 88 + + _Havinthus depressus_, 340 + + _Havinthus rufovarius_, 340 + + Hawk moths, 236 + + _Hebecerus australis_, 198 + + _Hebecerus crocogaster_, 198 + + _Hebecerus marginicollis_, 198 + + _Hectarthrum brevifossum_, 146 + + _Hecatesia fenestrata_, 235 + + _Helaeus subserratus_, 173 + + _Heliocausta hemitelis_, 279 + + _Heliothis armigera_, 265 + + _Heliothrips haemorrphoidalis_, 393 + + Helonotus, 341 + + _Helophilus bengalensis_, 303 + + _Helophilus griseus_, 303 + + _Helluo costatus_, 127, 128 + + _Hemaris kingi_, 237 + + _Hemaris hylas_, 237 + + _Hemaris janus_, 237 + + Hemerobiidae, 47, 57 + + Hemerobiides, 59 + + _Hemianax papuensis_, 53 + + Hemimeridae, 14 + + Hemiptera, 32 + + Henicocephalidae, 338 + + _Henicocephalus tasmanicus_, 338 + + _Henicopsaltria eydouxi_, 350, 351 + + _Henicopsaltria fullo_, 350 + + Hepialidae, 239 + + _Hepialus australasiae_, 240 + + _Hepialus lewini_, 240 + + _Hepialus exima_, 241 + + _Hepialus ramseyi_, 241 + + _Hermatobates haddeni_, 338 + + Hesperidae, 227 + + _Hesperilla picta_, 227 + + _Hesperilla ornata_, 228 + + Hessian fly, 286 + + _Hesthesis cingulata_, 194 + + _Hesthesis ferruginea_, 194 + + _Hesthesis vigilans_, 194 + + _Hestiochora bicolor_, 236 + + Heterocera, 212, 230 + + Heterocerus, 151 + + Heteroceridae, 151 + + Heteromera, 144 + + _Heterodoxus macropus_, 390, 391 + + _Heterognathus carinatus_, 140 + + _Heteronympha merope_, 218 + + _Heteronympha mirifica_, 218 + + Heteroptera, 325, 326 + + _Heteropsyche melanochroma_, 282 + + Hexham Grey, 290 + + _Hippobosca equi_, 319 + + Hippoboscidae, 319 + + Hispides, 206 + + Histeridae, 141 + + _Hololepta sidnensis_, 141 + + Holopetilinae, 339 + + Homalosoma, 131 + + Homalota, 136 + + _Homocerus fossulatus_, 180 + + Homoptera, 346, 325 + + Honeypot ants, 97 + + Hooktip moth, 255 + + _Hoplastinus viridipennis_, 205 + + _Hormomyia omalanthi_, 286 + + Horned butterfly, 219 + + Horse fly, 294 + + Horse-stinger, 51 + + Host of weevil, 188 + + Host of clerids, 188 + + Host of Megalyra, 90 + + House fly, 315 + + Hover fly, 302 + + Hummingbird beetle, 237 + + Hunting beetle, 168 + + _Hyalopteryx australis_, 42 + + _Hydrometra strigosa_, 338 + + Hydrometridae, 337 + + Hydrophilidae, 135 + + _Hydrophilus albipes_, 136 + + _Hydrophilus latipalpus_, 136 + + _Hydroporus collaris_, 133 + + Hydrusa, 235 + + _Hylaeoides concinnus_, 115 + + _Hylesinus fici_, 178 + + _Hylesinus porcatus_, 178 + + Hymenoptera, 68 + + _Hypaulax tenuistriata_, 174 + + _Hyperion schroetteri_, 127, 129 + + Hypoderma, 317 + + _Hypodiranchris aphidis_, 74 + + _Hypolimnas bolina_, 217 + + Hypsidae, 250 + + + _Ialmenus evagoras_, 221 + + _Ialmenus ictinus_, 222 + + _Ialmenus myrsilius_, 222 + + Icaria, 112 + + _Icaria gregaria_, 113 + + _Icerya purchasi_, 77, 210, 375, 379 + + _Icerya rosae_, 385 + + Ichneumonidae, 83 + + _Idarnis australis_, 78 + + Idiococciinae, 379 + + _Idolothrips spectrum_, 393 + + Imperial Blue, 221 + + Imperial Swallowtail, 226 + + Inchmen Ants, 92 + + Indian-meal moth, 274 + + _Inglisia foraminifer_, 375 + + _Inglisia fossilis_, 375 + + Insecta, 1 + + Inqualines, 73 + + _Iotherium metallicum_, 191 + + _Iridomyrmex detectus_, 93, 95 + + _Iridomyrmex nitidus_ (beetles in nest of), 140 + + _Iridomyrmex rufoniger_, 96 + + _Iridomyrmex domesticus_, 96 + + _Iridomyrmex sanguineus_, 96 + + Ironbark beetle, 173 + + Ischnocera, 390 + + _Ischnura delicata_, 54 + + _Ischnura heterosticta_, 53 + + _Ithystenus hollandiae_, 180 + + + Jassidae, 82, 360 + + Jassid, forming web, 361 + + Jewel beetle, 162 + + _Julodimorpha bakewelli_, 163 + + Jumper ant, 92 + + _Junonia villida_, 216 + + _Junonia albi-cincta_, 216 + + + Kangaroo beetle, 201 + + Killing bottle, 397 + + King beetle, 158 + + _Kladothrips rugosus_, 394 + + Klinophilos, 341 + + Kurrajong weevils, 189 + + + Labelling, 406 + + _Labia grandis_, 16 + + _Labidura riparia_, 15 + + _Labidura truncata_, 16 + + Lace bugs, 336 + + Lace-wings, 57 + + Lace-winged insects, 49 + + Lac insects, 378 + + _Lacon caliginosus_, 166 + + Lady-bird beetles, 207 + + _Laemossacus electilis_, 188 + + _Lagria grandis_, 175 + + Lagriidae, 175 + + Lamiinae, 196 + + Lamp collecting, 403 + + _Lamprima insularis_, 152 + + _Lamprima latreillei_, 152 + + _Lamprima rutilans_, 152 + + _Lamprocolletes plumosus_, 115 + + _Lamprogaster laeta_, 308 + + _Lamprolina perplexa_, 203 + + Lampyridae, 9 + + Lampyrides, 167 + + Lance-headed grasshopper, 47 + + Lantern fly, 358 + + _Laphria diversipes_, 299 + + _Laphria rufifemorata_, 299 + + Large green leaf grasshopper, 47 + + Large plague locust, 42 + + Large parasitic wasp, 83 + + Larginae, 335 + + Larrides, 108 + + _Lasioderma serricorne_, 169 + + _Lasiopsylla rotundipennis_, 363 + + _Lasioptera miscella_, 286 + + Lathradidae, 148 + + _Latumcephalum macropus_, 391 + + Leaf Hoppers, 360, 366 + + Leaf case-moth, 245 + + Leaf bugs, 341 + + Leaf Rollers, 268 + + Leaf-mining fly, 305 + + Lecaniinae, 374 + + _Lecanium mirificum_, 376 + + _Lecanium patersonia_, 376 + + _Lecanium tesselatum_, 376 + + _Lecanium scrobiculata_, 376 + + Ledra, 360 + + _Leis conformis_, 208 + + _Lemidia hilaris_, 169 + + _Lemodes coccinea_, 176 + + _Lemodes splendens_, 176 + + _Leperina decorata_, 145 + + _Lepidoderma albo-hirtum_, 157 + + _Lepidoderma albo-hirtum_ (parasite of), 105 + + Lepidoptera, 5, 212 + + _Lepisma cursitans_, 12 + + _Lepisma longicaudata_, 12 + + _Lepisma producta_, 12 + + _Lepisma saccharina_, 11 + + _Lepolexis rapae_, 87 + + Leptidae, 295 + + _Leptis aequalis_, 296 + + _Leptocerus magnus_, 67 + + _Liptocerus oppositus_, 67 + + _Leptogaster geniculatus_, 299 + + _Leptoglossus membranaceus_, 332 + + _Leptomyrmex erythrocephalus_, 95 + + _Leptops hopei_, 183 + + _Leptops tribulus_, 183 + + Lerp Insects, 361 + + _Lestes analis_, 53 + + _Lestis aerata_, 117 + + _Lestis bombylans_, 117 + + _Leto staceyi_, 241, 243 + + _Leucaspis australis_, 75 + + _Leucaspis darlingi_, 75 + + _Leucaspis gigas_, 75 + + Lewin’s wood-moth, 240 + + Libellulidae, 51 + + _Libythea nicevillei_, 219 + + Libytheidae, 219 + + Light brown Apple Moth, 275 + + Light Ermine Moth, 249 + + Limacodes, 84 + + _Limacodes longerans_, 247 + + Limacodidae, 246, 282 + + _Limnophora ruficornis_, 312 + + Liotheidae, 390 + + _Liparetrus marginipennis_, 157 + + _Liparidae_, 252 + + _Lipeurus giganteum_, 391 + + _Lipeurus menura_, 391 + + _Liphyra brassolis_, 222 + + Lipura, 10 + + Lispe, 311 + + _Lissapterus howittanus_, 152 + + Lithosiidae, 248 + + _Litochrus palmerstoni_, 142 + + Little Devils, 356 + + Liviinae, 363 + + _Lixus mastersi_, 185 + + _Locusta danica_, 41 + + _Locusta vigentissima_, 47 + + Locustidae, 46 + + _Lomaptera cinnamea_, 160 + + _Lomaptera duboulayi_, 160 + + _Lomaptera wallacei_, 160 + + _Lonchaea splendida_, 308 + + Longicorns, 190 + + Long-horned Crane-fly, 292 + + Long-horned Locust, 43, 46 + + Long-nosed Wattle-moth, 256 + + Long-tailed Wasps, 90 + + Loopers, 259 + + _Lophocaters pusillus_, 144 + + _Lophodes sinistraria_, 261 + + Louse flies, 319 + + Lourie’s Ringbarkers, 37 + + _Lubra spinicornis_, 357 + + Lucanidae, 151 + + Lucerne moth, 275 + + _Lucia lucanus_, 221 + + _Lucia pyrodiscus_, 221 + + _Lucilia caesar_, 317 + + _Lucilia serricata_, 317 + + _Lucilia tasmaniensis_, 317 + + _Luciola flavicollis_, 168 + + Lycaenidae, 219 + + _Lyctus brunneus_, 170 + + Lygaeidae, 330 + + Lygaeninae, 333 + + _Lygaeus decoratus_, 333 + + _Lygaeus hospes_, 333 + + _Lygaeus mactans_, 333 + + _Lygesis mendica_, 193, 195 + + _Lyomya setioscaudata_, 287 + + + Macleay’s butterfly, 226 + + Macleay Museum, 410 + + _Macrobatha platychroa_, 279 + + Macroglossa, 237 + + _Macromastix costalis_, 292 + + _Macrones rufus_, 194 + + _Macrogyrus canaliculatus_, 135 + + _Macrogyrus oblongus_, 135 + + _Macrogyrus paradoxus_, 135 + + _Macropanesthia muelleri_, 19 + + _Macropanesthia rhinoceros_, 19 + + _Macroporus howitti_, 133 + + _Macrosila casuarina_, 238 + + _Macrotoma servilis_, 191 + + _Macrotristia angularis_, 350 + + _Maechidius tibialis_, 156 + + _Maenas salamina_, 267 + + Magnetic Ant-nest, 24 + + Maize moth, 265 + + Malacodermidae, 167 + + Mallophaga, 325, 389 + + _Mamestra ewingii_, 266 + + Manna, 364 + + Mantidae, 14, 31 + + Mantids, 31 + + _Mantis carolina_, 31 + + _Mantis religiosa_, 31 + + Mantispa, 31, 59 + + Mantispides, 59 + + _Mantispa biseriata_, 59 + + _Mantispa strigipes_, 59 + + March fly, 294 + + _Margarodes vertonalis_, 269 + + Masaridae, 113 + + _Masicera pachytyli_, 315 + + Mason wasp (parasite on), 88 + + Mason wasps, 110 + + Mastotermes, 24 + + _Mastotermes darwiniensis_, 20, 24 + + May-flies, 54 + + Mealworm beetles, 172 + + Meat ant, 95 + + _Mecyna polygonalis_, 271 + + _Mecynodera coxalgica_, 201 + + Mediterranean Flour Moth, 273 + + Mediterranean Fruit Fly, 308 + + _Megacephala cylindrica_, 124 + + _Megacephala frenchi_, 124 + + _Megachile blackburni_, 118 + + _Megachile chrysopyga_, 119 + + _Megachile monstrosa_, 118 + + _Megachile mystacea_, 118 + + _Megachile pictiventris_, 118 + + Megalyridae, 90 + + _Megalyra shuckardi_, 90 + + _Megalyra fasciipennis_, 90 + + _Megalyra melanoptera_, 90 + + Megastigmus, 75 + + _Megastigmus brachyscelides_, 76 + + _Megastigmus iamenus_, 76 + + _Megastigmus asteri_, 76 + + _Megastigmus brachychitoni_, 76, 79 + + _Megymenum insulare_, 331 + + _Melampsalta eyrei_, 354 + + _Melampsalta abdominalis_, 353 + + _Melampsalta torrida_, 353 + + Melipona, 120 + + Mellifera, 114 + + _Melobasis splendida_, 163 + + Melonthides, 156 + + _Melophagus ovinus_, 320 + + Membracidae, 356 + + _Menopon infumatum_, 390 + + _Menopon menura_, 391 + + _Menopon pallipes_, 390 + + Meranoplus, 93 + + _Meranoplus oceanicus_, 94 + + _Meranoplus pubescens_, 94 + + _Merimna atrata_, 160 + + _Mesetia amoena_, 180 + + _Mesostenus albopictus_, 84 + + _Mesostigmodera typica_, 9 + + Metallic-green fly, 313 + + _Metriorrhynchus rufipennis_, 167 + + _Metura elongata_, 244 + + _Microbracon thalpocharis_, 87 + + _Microchaetes sphaericus_, 150 + + Micro-hymenoptera, 73, 81 + + Micro-lepidoptera, 278 + + _Micromus australis_, 66 + + _Micropoecila cincta_, 161 + + _Microtragus mormon_, 196 + + Mictinae, 332 + + _Mictis profana_, 332 + + _Miletus delicia_, 220 + + _Miletus ignita_, 220 + + Millipedes, 1 + + Miltogramma, 312 + + Mimic Beetles, 141 + + Mites, 1 + + Monarch, 214 + + Mole Cricket, 48 + + _Monochirus multispinosus_, 206 + + Monocrepidus, 167 + + _Monohammus holotephrus_, 197 + + _Monohammus ovinus_, 197 + + _Monolepta rosae_, 205 + + _Monomorium pharaonis_, 94 + + _Monomorium rubriceps_, 94 + + _Mononyx annulipes_, 342 + + Monophlebiinae, 379, 383 + + _Monophlebus crawfordi_, 383, 387 + + _Monopseudopsis inscriptus_, 67 + + Mordellidae, 176 + + _Mordella leucosticta_, 177 + + _Mordella limbata_, 177 + + _Mosoda anartoides_, 250 + + _Mosoda consolatrix_, 250 + + _Mosoda jocularis_, 250 + + Mosquitoes, 288 + + Moths, 212, 230 + + Mottled Yellows, 223 + + Mottled Cup-moth, 247 + + Mould on insects, 408 + + Mound Ant, 95 + + Mountain Grasshopper, 46 + + Mounting insects, 404 + + Mouse flea, 323 + + _Mucidus alternans_, 290 + + Mud Daubers, 107, 110 + + Mud nest wasps, 107, 108, 111 + + _Musca corvina_, 316 + + _Musca domestica_, 315 + + Muscidae, 315 + + _Muscidae acalyptrata_, 305 + + Museum collections, 409 + + Museum beetles, 149 + + Musical apparatus of cicada, 347 + + _Mutilla cordata_, 99 + + _Mutilla ferruginata_, 100 + + _Mutilla quadrisignata_, 100 + + _Mutilla rugicollis_, 99 + + Mutillidae, 5, 68, 98 + + _Mutusca brevicornis_, 332 + + _Mycalesis terminus_, 218 + + Mycetophagidae, 148, 287 + + Mycetophilidae, 287 + + _Mycopsylla fici_, 365 + + Mydas flies, 298 + + _Mydas fulvipennis_, 298 + + Mydaidae, 298 + + _Myllocerus carinatus_, 182 + + _Myocera longipes_, 314 + + Myriapoda, 1 + + _Myrmacicelus formicarius_, 187, 188 + + Mymaridae, 79 + + Mymarinae, 81 + + _Myrmecia albo-cincta_, 92 + + _Myrmecia forficata_, 92 + + _Myrmecia gulosa_, 92 + + _Myrmecia tarsata_, 92 + + Myrmeleonides, 57 + + Myrmicinae, 93 + + _Mytilaspis acaciae_, 374 + + _Mytilaspis pomorum_, 374 + + _Mytilaspis striata_, 374 + + _Mytilaspis spinifera_, 374 + + + _Nascio parryi_, 163 + + _Natalis porcata_, 168 + + National Museum, 413 + + _Necrobia rufipes_, 169 + + _Necrodes osculans_, 140 + + Nematocera, 284 + + Nemobius, 48 + + Nemopterides, 59 + + _Neocalliphora ochracea_, 316 + + _Neoexaireta spinigera_, 293 + + _Nepa tristis_, 343 + + _Nepidae_, 343 + + _Neptis shepherdi_, 217 + + _Nerius inermis_, 310 + + _Nerius lineolatus_, 310 + + _Netrocoryne repanda_, 227 + + _Neuria quadripennis_, 297 + + Neuroptera, 49 + + Night collecting, 403 + + _Nirmus menura_, 391 + + _Nisotra submetallica_, 204 + + Nitidulidae, 143 + + Noctuidae, 262 + + _Nola metallopa_, 250, 251 + + _Nomia australica_, 116 + + _Notarcha clytalis_, 270 + + _Notius depressus_, 329 + + Notodontidae, 257 + + _Notonomus australasiae_, 132 + + Notonectidae, 344 + + _Novius cardinalis_, 210 + + Numbering specimens, 406 + + _Nyctalemon orontes_, 232, 254 + + _Nycteribia pteropus_, 321 + + Nycteribiidae, 321 + + _Nyctemera amica_, 250 + + Nymphalidae, 214 + + Nymphalinae, 215 + + _Nymphes myrmeleonides_, 61 + + _Nysius vinitor_, 334 + + Nyssonides, 108 + + + _Ocinara lewinae_, 255 + + _Ocystola hamicalypta_, 279 + + Odonata, 51 + + _Odonestes australasiae_, 256 + + _Odontomachus ruficeps_, 93 + + _Odontomyia stylata_, 294 + + Odynerus, Mimic of, 116, 304 + + Odynerus, Parasite on, 88 + + _Odynerus bicolor_, 111 + + _Odynerus nigro-cinctus_, 112 + + _Oechalia schellembergi_, 330 + + Oecophoridae, 278 + + _Oecophylla smaragdina_, 96 + + _Oedaleus senegalensis_, 41 + + Oedemeridae, 177 + + Oestridae, 317 + + _Oestrus ovis_, 319 + + _Ogyris abrota_, 221 + + Oiketicus, 244 + + Oil beetle, 177 + + _Olfersia macleayi_, 320 + + _Oligotoma agilis_, 29 + + _Oligotoma gurneyi_, 29 + + Olive-tree bug, 336 + + _Oncomeris flavicornis_, 331 + + _Oncopeltus quadriguttatus_, 333 + + _Oncopeltus sordidus_, 334 + + _Oncophysa versiculata_, 336 + + _Onthophagus cuniculus_, 154 + + _Onthophagus granulatus_, 154 + + _Onthophagus kershawi_, 154 + + _Onthophagus pentacanthus_, 154 + + _Onthophagus rufosignatus_, 154 + + Onychophora, 1 + + _Ootetrastichus beatus_, 79 + + _Ophelosia crawfordi_, 82 + + Ophiderinae, 267 + + _Ophidius histrio_, 167 + + Ophion, 84 + + Ophioninae, 84 + + _Ophyra analis_, 311 + + _Ophyra nigra_, 311 + + _Opisthoscelis spinosa_, 383 + + _Opisthoscelis subrotunda_, 382 + + _Opistoplatys australasiae_, 339 + + Orange-piercing moth, 267 + + _Orcus chalybeus_, 210 + + _Orcus bilunulatus_, 210 + + _Orcus australasiae_, 210 + + _Ornithoctona nigricans_, 321 + + _Ornithomyia perfuga_, 321 + + _Ornithomyia stipituri_, 321 + + Ornithoptera, 225 + + _Ornithoptera richmondia_, 225 + + _Ornithoptera (Cassandra) euphorion_, 225 + + Ortalidae, 308 + + _Ortalis coerulea_, 308 + + _Orthetrum nigrifrons_, 53 + + _Orthetrum villosovittatum_, 53 + + _Orthodera ministralis_, 32 + + _Orthodera prasina_, 32 + + Ortholfersia, 320, 321 + + Orthoptera, 2, 13 + + _Orthoprosopa nigra_, 303 + + _Orthorrhinus klugi_, 186 + + _Orthorrhinus cylindrirostris_, 186 + + _Oryctes barbarossa_, 159 + + Oryssida, 70 + + Oryssus, 70 + + _Oryssus queenslandicus_, 71 + + Osmia, 114 + + _Osmylus tenui_, 64 + + _Othreis fullonica_, 267 + + _Oxycarenus luctuosus_, 334 + + _Oxyops concreta_, 185 + + + _Pachycondyla piliventris_, 93 + + _Pachydissils sericus_, 192 + + Pachyrhamma, 48 + + _Paederus cruenticollis_, 137 + + Painted Crane-fly, 292 + + Painted Cup-moth, 247 + + Painted Daymoth, 234 + + Painted Delias, 224 + + Painted Gauzewing, 227 + + Painted Lady, 216 + + _Palacolycus problematicus_, 9 + + _Palaecoccus nudata_, 385 + + _Palaecoccus rosae_, 385 + + _Palengenia papuana_, 54 + + Palpicorna, 135 + + _Pamborus alternans_, 126 + + _Pamborus viridis_, 126 + + _Pamphila augiades_, 228 + + _Panesthia laevicollis_, 18 + + _Pangonia auriflus_, 295 + + _Pangonia concolor_, 295 + + _Pangonia guttata_, 295 + + _Pangonia rufovittata_, 295 + + _Pangonia violacea_, 295 + + Panorpa, 56 + + Panorpidae, 56 + + _Panops flavipes_, 297 + + Paper-nest wasps, 112 + + _Papilio aegeus_, 226 + + _Papilio erectheus_, 77, 226 + + _Papilio macleayanus_, 226 + + _Papilio sarpedon_, 226 + + _Papilio sthenelus_, 226 + + Papilionidae, 225 + + _Paracephala cyaneipennis_, 165 + + _Paracolletes crassipes_, 116 + + _Paragia bicolor_, 114 + + _Paragia decipiens_, 114 + + _Paragryllacris combusta_, 47 + + _Paramorpha aquilina_, 275 + + Parapison, 108 + + Parasita, 388 + + Parasite flies, 312 + + Parasite wasps, 74 + + Parnidae, 150 + + _Parnkella muelleri_, 352 + + _Paroplites australis_, 191 + + _Paropsis alternata_, 203 + + _Paropsis immaculata_, 204, 205 + + _Paropsis liturata_, 204 + + _Paropsis pictipennis_, 204 + + _Paropsis variolosa_, 203 + + Paroxypilus, 34 + + _Parroa noctis_, 131 + + Passalides, 152 + + _Pauropsalta annulata_, 354 + + _Pauropsalta encaustica_, 354 + + _Pauropsalta mneme_, 354 + + _Pauropsalta nodicosta_, 354 + + Paussilidae, 138 + + Paussus, 138 + + Paussili, 139 + + Peach Aphis, 369 + + Peach Moth, 273 + + Pediculidae, 388 + + Pediculina, 388 + + _Pediculus capitis_, 388 + + _Pediculus vestimenti_, 388 + + _Pelectomoides conicollis_, 177 + + _Pelopaeus laetus_, 107 + + _Peltophora pedicellata_, 327 + + Pentatomidae, 327 + + _Penthea sannio_, 199 + + _Penthea saundersi_, 199 + + _Penthea vermicularia_, 199 + + _Pentodon australis_, 158, 159 + + _Pepsis australis_, 106 + + _Perga cameronii_, 72 + + _Perga dorsalis_, 72 + + _Perga kirbyi_, 72 + + _Perga lewisi_, 72 + + Perilampinae, 76 + + Peripatus, 1 + + _Periplaneta americana_, 17 + + _Periplaneta australasiae_, 17 + + _Perissops ocellatus_, 188 + + _Perkinsiella saccharicida_, 361 + + Perla, 50 + + Perlidae, 50 + + _Petalura gigantea_, 53 + + Petiolata, 73 + + Petioliventris, 70 + + Phalacridae, 142 + + _Phalacrognathus muelleri_, 152 + + _Phalaenoides tristifica_, 234 + + _Phalaenoides (Agarista) glycinae_, 233 + + _Phalaenoides_ (destroyed by bug), 330 + + _Phaolus macleayi_, 191 + + _Phaonia personata_, 311 + + Phasmidae, 14, 34 + + _Pheidole anthracina_, 94 + + _Pheidole bos_, 94 + + _Phellus glaucus_, 300 + + _Pheropsophus verticalis_, 128 + + Philanthides, 108 + + Philanthus, 109 + + _Philia basalis_, 327 + + _Philia regia_, 328 + + _Philia senator_, 328 + + _Philobota agnesella_, 279 + + _Philobota arabella_, 279 + + _Philobota catascia_, 279 + + _Philobota gascialis_, 279 + + _Philobota productella_, 279 + + _Philomastix glaber_, 73 + + Philophloeus, 129 + + Philopteridae, 390 + + _Philoscaphus tuberculatus_, 130 + + _Philotarsus froggatti_, 30 + + _Phloeothrips tepperi_, 394 + + Phoracantha attacked by parasite, 168 + + Phoracantha, Parasite of, 90 + + _Phoracantha recurva_, 90, 168 + + _Phoracantha semipunctata_, 193 + + _Phoracantha tricuspis_, 193 + + Phthiriasis, 388 + + _Phthirius inquinalis_, 388 + + _Phylacteophaga eucalypti_, 73 + + _Phyllocharis cyanicornis_, 202 + + _Phyllocharis cyanipes_, 203 + + _Phyllodromia germanica_, 18 + + _Phyllotocus macleayi_, 155, 156 + + _Phyllotocus marginatus_, 156 + + _Phylloxera vastatrix_, 367 + + Physapoda, 392 + + _Physopelta famelica_, 335 + + Phytiphaga, 70 + + _Phytomyza affinis_, 80, 309 + + Phytomyzidae, 309 + + _Pielus hyalinatus_, 242 + + _Pielus imperialis_, 242 + + Pieridae, 223 + + _Pieris teutonia_, 223 + + _Piesarthrius marginellus_, 193 + + _Piesarthrius_, Parasites of, 89 + + Pill beetle, 150 + + _Pimpla intricatoria_, 84 + + _Pinara despecta_, 256 + + Pine-scrub beetle, 163 + + Pink-winged Tryxalid, 43 + + Pintails, 176 + + _Piophila casei_, 306 + + Pipunculidae, 301 + + _Pipunculus cinerascens_, 79 + + _Pipunculus cruciator_, 302 + + _Pipunculus helluo_, 302 + + _Pirates ephippiger_, 340 + + _Pirates flavopictus_, 340 + + Piratinae, 340 + + _Pison decipiens_, 108 + + _Pison spinolae_, 108 + + Plague caterpillars, 262 + + Plant-eating beetle, 200 + + Plant lice, 367 + + _Platisus integricollis_, 147 + + _Platynectis 10-punctata_, 133 + + _Platysoma strongulatum_, 142 + + _Plautia affinis_, 329 + + _Plautia nigripennis_, 329 + + Plecia, 288 + + _Plectrotarsus gravenorsti_, 67 + + _Pleistodontes froggatti_, 78 + + _Pleistodontes imperialis_, 78 + + _Plodia interpunctella_, 274 + + _Plusia argentifera_, 266 + + _Plusia venicillata_, 266, 267 + + _Plutella cruciferarum_, 281 + + Plutellidae, 281 + + _Pocadius pilistriatus_, 143, 144 + + _Pochazia australis_, 359 + + _Podacanthus typhon_, 36 + + _Podacanthus wilkinsoni_, 37 + + _Podalirius cingulatus_, 118 + + _Podalirius aeruginosus_, 118 + + _Podalirius emendatus_, 118 + + _Podalirius pulcher_, 118 + + _Podomyrma adelaidae_, 94 + + _Podomyrma bimaculata_, 94 + + _Podomyrma gratiosa_, 94 + + _Poecilometis gravis_, 329 + + _Poecilometis histricus_, 329 + + _Poecilometis strigatus_, 329 + + _Poeciloptera modesta_, 360 + + _Poliaspis exocarpi_, 374 + + Policemen flies, 108 + + _Polistes humilis_, 113 + + _Polistes tasmaniensis_, 112 + + _Polistes tepidus_, 113 + + _Polistes variabilis_, 112 + + _Polyclonus atratus_, 73 + + _Polygommatus boeticus_, 221 + + _Polyrhachis ammon_, 98 + + _Polyrhachis ornata_, 98 + + _Polyrhachis semi-aurata_, 98 + + _Polyrhachis turneri_, 98 + + _Polystigma punctata_, 161 + + _Polystigma octopunctata_, 161 + + _Polyzosteria mitchellii_, 19 + + _Polyzosteria limbata_, 18 + + _Polyzosteria pubescens_, 18 + + Pompilidae, 105 + + Pompilus, 106 + + Ponera, 93 + + Ponerinae, 92 + + Porina, 240 + + _Porismus strigatus_, 63 + + _Porthesia obsoleta_, 252 + + Powderpost beetles, 170 + + Praying Mantis, 31 + + Preservation of Insects, 395 + + Prioninae, 190 + + Prionocneminae, 367 + + _Pristhesancus papuensis_, 341 + + Privet Hawk-moth, 238 + + Procris, 236 + + Proctotrypidae, 81 + + _Prodenia littoralis_, 266 + + _Prolepta dilatata_, 360 + + _Prolepta obscurata_, 360 + + _Promecoderus concolor_, 131 + + Prominents, 257 + + _Prosayleus phytolymus_, 3 + + _Prosopis metallica_, 115 + + _Prosopis vidua_, 115 + + Protolechia, 279 + + _Protoparce convolvuli_, 238, 239 + + _Psalidura elongata_, 184 + + _Psaltoda harrisi_, 350 + + _Psaltoda moerens_, 349 + + Pselaphidae, 138 + + _Pselaphus lineatus_, 138 + + _Pseudalmenus myrsilus_, 222 + + Pseudomorphides, 129 + + Pseudo-Neuroptera, 49 + + Pseudorhynchota, 389 + + _Pseudorhynchus lessonii_, 47 + + Psocidae, 30 + + Psychidae, 243 + + _Psychopsis insolens_, 62 + + _Psychopsis illidgi_, 62 + + _Psychopsis coelivagus_, 62 + + _Psychopsis meyricki_, 62 + + _Psychopsis mimica_, 61 + + _Psylla acaciae-baileyanae_, 365 + + _Psylla capparis_, 365 + + _Psylla schizoneuroides_, 365 + + _Psylla sterculiae_, 365 + + _Psylla acaciae-decurrentis_, 364 + + _Psylla eucalypti_, 362 + + Psyllidae, 4, 361 + + Psyllinae, 364 + + _Pterodontia mellii_, 297 + + _Pterohelaeus piceus_, 173 + + _Pteromalus puparum_, 77 + + _Pterygogramma acuminata_, 79 + + _Pterygophorus cinctus_, 72 + + _Pterygophorus interruptus_, 73 + + _Ptilocnemus femoralis_, 339 + + _Ptilomacra senex_, 253 + + Ptinidae, 169 + + _Ptomaphila lachrymosa_, 140 + + Publications dealing with Entomology, 418 + + _Pulex echnidae_, 323 + + _Pulex fasciatus_, 323 + + _Pulex irritans_, 323 + + _Pulex serraticeps_, 322 + + Pulicidae, 321 + + _Pulvinaria maskelli_, 384 + + Pumpkin beetle, 204 + + _Purpuricenus quadrinotatus_, 196 + + _Pygiopsylla colossus_, 324 + + Pyralidae, 268 + + _Pyrameis cardui_, 216 + + _Pyrameis kershawi_, 216 + + _Pyrameis itea_, 216 + + Pyrochroidae, 176 + + Pyrrhocoridae, 335 + + Pyrrhocorinae, 335 + + + _Quedius luridipennis_, 137 + + Queensland Elephant-beetle, 159 + + Queensland Fruit-fly, 207 + + Queensland Museum, 414 + + Queen Termite, 23 + + _Quintilia (Tibicen) infans_, 352 + + + _Rantara varipes_, 343 + + Rat fleas, 323 + + Rear-horses, 31 + + Red-eyed Cicadas, 349 + + Red-legged Ham-beetle, 169 + + Red-legged locust, 43 + + Reduviidae, 338 + + _Reduvius personatus_, 339 + + _Reduvius rivulosus_, 339 + + Reproductive organs of locust, 41 + + _Repsimus aeneus_, 157 + + _Rhadinosomtis lacordairei_ (parasite in brachyscelid gall), 182 + + Rhagigaster, 102 + + _Rhantus pubescens_, 134 + + Rhapidians, 56 + + _Rhinocola corniculata_, 364 + + _Rhinocola eucalypti_, 364 + + _Rhinotermes intermedius_, 25 + + Rhinoterminae, 24 + + _Rhinotia hoemoptera_, 183, 187 + + _Rhipidocera mystacina_, 167 + + Rhipidoceridae, 167 + + Rhipidiphoridae, 176 + + _Rhisobius ventralis_, 211 + + Rhizococcus, 376 + + Rhizopertha, 171 + + _Rhoetocoris (Oncoscelis) sulciventris_, 330 + + Rhopalocera, 213 + + _Rhynchium superbum_, 111 + + _Rhynchium mirabile_, 111 + + _Rhyothemus graphiptera_, 52 + + _Rhyparida didyma_, 202 + + Rhysodidae, 146 + + _Rhysodes lignarius_, 146 + + _Rhyssa semipunctata_, 84 + + _Rhyssonotus nebulosus_, 151 + + _Rhytiphora argus_, 200 + + Ribbed case-moth, 245 + + Ridge-backed grasshopper, 43 + + Ringed moths, 235 + + Ringed sawfly, 72 + + Ripersia, 378 + + _Riptortus robustus_, 332 + + Robber-flies, 298 + + _Rosenbergia megacephala_, 198 + + Rose-chafer beetles, 160 + + Rose-winged locust, 42 + + Round Scale, 374 + + Round fungus beetle, 141 + + Rove beetle, 136 + + Ruby Eye, 64 + + Ruby Wasp, 87 + + Rutelides, 157 + + Rutherglen bug, 334 + + _Rutila decora_, 314 + + _Rutilia formosa_, 314 + + _Rutilia inornata_, 314 + + _Rutilia vivipara_, 314 + + + Sacktragers, 243 + + Sacred beetle, 153 + + _Sagra papuana_, 201 + + Sagrides, 201 + + _Salius (Priocnemus) bicolor_, 105, 106 + + Sand bugs, 342 + + Sand flies, 287, 291 + + Sand wasps, 105 + + _Saprinus laetus_, 142 + + _Sapromyza decora_, 310 + + _Sapromyza fuscicornis_, 310 + + Sapromyzidae, 310 + + _Saragus floccosus_, 173 + + _Sarcophaga aurifrons_, 315 + + _Sarcophaga frontalis_, 315 + + _Sarcophaga oedipoda_, 315 + + Sarcophagidae, 314 + + Sarcopsyllidae, 322 + + _Saropogon princeps_, 300 + + _Sartellus signatus_, 137 + + Saturnidae, 257 + + Satyrinae, 217 + + Saunders’ Case-moth, 244 + + Sawflies, 71 + + Scale Insects, 325, 371 + + Scaphididae, 141 + + _Scaphidium punctipenne_, 141 + + Scarabaeidae, 153 + + _Scardia australasialla_, 281 + + Scaritides, 129 + + _Scatophaga guerinii_, 310 + + Scatophagidae, 310 + + _Scatopse fenestralis_, 288 + + _Sceleocantha glabricollis_, 190 + + _Sceliodes cordalis_, 270 + + _Schizoneura lanigera_, 369 + + Schizorrhina, 160 + + Sciaridae, 287 + + Sciomyzinae, 310 + + _Scolia fulva_, 103 + + _Scolia radula_, 103 + + Scoliidae, 102 + + Scolypopa, 359 + + Scolytidae, 178 + + _Scopiastes vitticeps_, 333 + + _Scopodes sigillatus_, 128 + + Scorpions, 1 + + Scorpion flies, 56 + + Scotch Greys, 290 + + Scydmaenidae, 139 + + _Scymnus vagans_, 211 + + _Scymnus notiscens_, 211 + + _Selidosema acaciaria_, 261 + + _Selidosema canescaria_, 261 + + _Selidosema excursaria_, 261 + + _Selidosema lyciaria_, 261 + + _Semnotus ducalis_, 293 + + _Semnotus imperatoria_, 293 + + _Sericea spectans_, 268 + + _Serenthea pectipennis_, 336 + + Sessiliventris, 70 + + Setting insects, 399 + + Setting board, 399 + + _Sextius australis_, 357 + + _Sextius depressus_, 357 + + _Sextius virescens_, 357 + + Shade Midges, 287 + + Sheep-nostril Fly, 319 + + Sheep tick, 319 + + She-oak Hawk-moth, 238 + + Shield bugs, 327 + + Shining wasps, 113 + + Short-horned Grasshopper, 40 + + Sialidae, 55 + + _Sierola antipoda_, 82 + + Silkworm Moths, 256 + + Silly Ants, 95 + + _Silphomorpha colymbetoides_, 129 + + _Silphomorpha nitiduloides_, 129 + + Silphidae, 140 + + Silver-fish, 11 + + _Silvius angusta_, 295 + + _Sima laeviceps_, 95 + + Simulidae, 287 + + _Simulum furiosum_, 287 + + _Siphanta acuta_, 359 + + Siphonaptera, 284, 322 + + _Siphonophora rosae_, 369 + + _Sirex australis_, 71 + + Siricidae, 71 + + _Sitodrepa (Anobium) panicea_, 170 + + _Sitotroga cerealella_, 279 + + Skippers, 227 + + Skippers (in cheese), 306 + + Skusea, 290 + + Slender weevils, 179 + + Slug moth, 246 + + Small green grasshopper, 47 + + Small Ichneumon, 85 + + Small plague locust, 42 + + Smaller sand wasps, 106 + + Smotherfly, 367 + + _Smynthurus lutus_, 11 + + _Smynthurus viridis_, 10 + + Snake flies, 55 + + Snout beetles, 181 + + Snow flies, 287, 370 + + Social wasps, 112 + + Soldier beetles, 168 + + Soldier flies, 293 + + Solitary ants, 98 + + Solitary wasps, 110 + + Soothsayers, 31 + + Sound organs of locust, 40 + + South Australian Museum, 414 + + Speckled Footmen, 250 + + Speckled green grasshopper, 47 + + _Sphaerococcus froggatti_, 380 + + _Sphaerococcus leptospermi_, 380 + + _Sphaerococcus melaleuca_, 380 + + _Sphaerococcus pirogallis_, 380 + + _Sphaerococcus socialis_, 380 + + _Sphaeroderma equis_, 344 + + Sphecius, 108 + + _Sphedanocoris distinctus_, 339 + + Sphegidae, 106 + + Sphegides, 107 + + _Sphex opulenta_, 107 + + _Sphex vestita_, 107 + + _Sphinctomyrmex froggatti_, 93 + + _Sphinctomyrmex hednigae_, 93 + + Sphingidae, 236 + + _Sphinx ligustri_, 238 + + _Sphiximorpha australis_, 304 + + Spiders, 1 + + Spider flies, 319 + + Spiloglaux boobook (host of lousefly), 321 + + _Spilopyra sumptuosa_, 202 + + _Spilosoma fulvohirta_, 249 + + _Spilosoma fuscinula_, 249 + + _Spilosoma obliqua_, 249 + + Spined orange-bug, 330 + + Spined green leaf insect, 38 + + Spondyliaspis, 362 + + _Spondyliaspis eucalypti_, 362 + + Spondyliaspis (food of ants), 95 + + Spotted Ichneumon, 94 + + Spotted black Ichneumon, 94 + + Spring-tails, 10 + + Squash bugs, 332 + + Stag beetles, 151 + + Staphylinidae, 136 + + _Stegomyia notoscriptus_, 290 + + _Stegomyia fasciata_, 290 + + Steel-blue sawfly, 72 + + Stem saw-flies, 70 + + _Stenocotis australis_, 360 + + _Stephanocircus dasyuri_, 323 + + _Stephanocircus simsoni_, 323 + + _Stephanocircus thomasi_, 323 + + _Stibopteryx costalis_, 59 + + Stick insects, 34 + + Stigmodera, 5 + + _Stigmodera fortnumi_, 164 + + _Stigmodera gratiosa_, 164 + + _Stigmodera heros_, 164 + + _Stigmodera grandis_, 164 + + _Stigmodera jacquinoti_, 164 + + _Stigmodera pascoei_, 164 + + _Stigmodera thoracica_, 164 + + _Stigmodera tibialis_, 164 + + _Stigmodera variabilis_, 164 + + _Stigmodera macularia_, 164 + + _Stibula pedunculatus_, 76 + + _Stilbum splendidum_, 88 + + _Stilbum amethystinum_, 88 + + _Stilida indecora_, 331 + + Stinging caterpillars, 84 + + _Stizus pectoralis_, 108 + + _Stomoxys calcitrans_, 316 + + Stone flies, 50 + + Storing collections, 404 + + _Strathmopoda melanochra_, 281 + + Stratiomyidae, 293 + + Striped Delias, 224 + + _Stropis maculosa_, 44 + + _Strongylurus thoracicus_, 193 + + Structure, 6 + + Structure of wings (Hymenoptera), 69 + + Structure of head and thorax, 68 + + Sucking lice, 388 + + Sugar ants, 97 + + Sugar lerp, 363 + + Sugaring, 403 + + _Suphalasca sabulosa_, 58 + + Swallow Tails, 225 + + Sycoryctes, 78 + + _Syllitus grammicus_, 193 + + _Symphyletes neglectus_, 198 + + _Symphyletes nigrovirens_, 198 + + _Symphyletes solandri_, 199 + + _Symphyletes vestigialis_, 199, 200 + + _Synemon sophia_, 232 + + _Synemon hesperoides_, 232 + + _Synlestes weyersii_, 53 + + Syntomidae, 235 + + _Syntomis annulata_, 235 + + _Syntomis aperta_, 235 + + Syrphid flies, 85 + + Syrphidae, 302 + + _Syrphus pusillus_, 302 + + _Syrphus viridiceps_, 302, 303 + + + Tabanidae, 294 + + _Tabanus abstersus_, 295 + + _Tabanus brevidentatus_, 295 + + _Tabanus edentulus_, 295 + + _Tabanus sanguinarius_, 295 + + _Tachardia australis_, 378 + + _Tachardia decorella_, 379 + + Tachardiinae, 378 + + _Tachina oedipoda_, 315 + + Tachinidae, 312 + + Tachytes, 108 + + Tailed Emperor, 217 + + _Talaurinus tuberculatus_, 184 + + Tamasa, 351 + + _Tapinoma minutum_, 96 + + _Tapinoma melanocephalum_, 96 + + _Tarsostenus zonatus_, 169 + + _Teara contraria_, 252 + + _Teara melanosticta_, 253 + + _Teara tristis_, 253 + + _Tectocoris lineola_, 327 + + _Tectocoris banksi_, 327 + + _Teia anartaides_, 255 + + _Telephorus pulchellus_, 168 + + _Temnoplectron rotundum_, 154 + + _Tenebrio molitor_, 175 + + Tenebrionidae, 172, 175 + + _Tenodera australasiae_, 34 + + Tenthredinidae, 71 + + _Tepperia sterculiae_, 188 + + Terebranti, 70 + + Terebrantia, 393 + + _Terias hecabe_, 223 + + _Terias smilax_, 223 + + Termes lacteus (host of lamellicorn beetle), 157 + + _Termes perniger_, 25 + + _Termes meridionalis_, 26 + + _Termes krisiformis_, 27 + + _Termes rubriceps_, 26 + + _Termissa nivosa_, 249 + + _Termissa shepherdi_, 249 + + Termitarium, 23 + + Termites, 21 + + Termitidae, 20 + + Termitinae, 25 + + Tessaratominae, 330 + + _Testrica bubula_, 328 + + _Tetracha australis_, 124 + + _Tetracha australasiae_, 125 + + _Tetracha hopei_, 125 + + _Tetralobus cunninghami_, 166 + + Tetrastichinae, 79 + + _Tetrastichodes froggatti_, 77 + + Tetrasticus, 77 + + _Tettigarcta crinita_, 354 + + _Tettigarcta tomentosa_, 354 + + _Tettigia tristigma_, 351 + + _Thalaina clara_, 262 + + _Thalaina inscriptum_, 262 + + _Thallis janthina_, 206 + + _Thalpochares coccophaga_, 87, 265 + + _Thaumasura femor-rubra_, 77 + + _Thaumasura terebrator_, 76 + + _Thea opaca_, 362, 364 + + _Thea galbula_, 209 + + _Thopha saccata_, 348 + + _Thopha sessiliba_, 349 + + Thread-winged Nemopteron, 60 + + Thrips, 392 + + Thripidae, 4, 392 + + _Thudaca obliquella_, 282 + + _Thyada barbicornis_, 198 + + Thynnidae, 4, 68, 100 + + _Thynnus brenchleyi_, 101 + + _Thynnus flavilabris_, 101 + + _Thynnus leachellus_, 101 + + _Thynnus variabilis_, 101 + + _Thyridopteryx herrichii_, 245 + + _Thyridopteryx hubneri_, 245 + + Thysanoptera, 392 + + Thysanura, 11 + + Tibicen, 351 + + Tibicinae, 351 + + Ticks, 1 + + Tiger beetles, 124 + + Tiger moths, 248 + + _Tigriodes alterna_, 248 + + _Tigriodes furcifera_, 248 + + _Tigriodes heminephes_, 248 + + _Tinea nectaria_, 281 + + _Tinea fuscipunctella_, 281 + + _Tinea pellionella_, 281 + + _Tinea tapetzella_, 281 + + Tineidae, 281 + + Tineina, 281 + + Tingidae, 336 + + Tinted Delias, 224 + + _Tipula costalis_, 292 + + _Tipulidae brevipalpi_, 292 + + _Tipulidae longipalpi_, 292 + + _Tisiphone abeona_, 218 + + _Tomoxia flavicans_, 177 + + Torpedo bug, 359 + + Tortricidae, 274 + + _Tortrix glaphyriana_, 75, 275 + + _Trachelizus howitti_, 179 + + _Tragocerus lepidopterus_, 196 + + _Tragocerus spencei_, 196 + + _Tranes sparsus_, 187 + + _Tranes xanthorrhoeae_, 187 + + _Trapesites iacchus_, 228 + + _Trapezites symmomus_, 228 + + Trapping, 403 + + Tree-hoppers, 356 + + Tribelocephalidae, 339 + + _Trichaulax philipsii_, 161 + + _Trichaulax marginipennis_, 162 + + _Trichetra marginalis_, 252 + + _Trichilogaster maideni_, 80 + + _Trichilogaster a-longifoliae_, 80 + + _Trichilogaster pendulae_, 80 + + Trichodectidae, 390 + + Trichoptera, 66 + + Trichopterygidae, 141 + + _Trichosternus renardi_, 127 + + _Trichoxenia cineraria_, 75 + + _Trichoxenia labyrinthica_, 75 + + Trictena, 242 + + _Trigona canifrons_, 120 + + _Trigona carbonaria_, 119 + + _Trigonotarsus rugosus_, 189 + + _Trioza carnosa_, 366 + + _Trioza casuarinae_, 366 + + _Trioza banksiae_, 366 + + _Trioza eucalypti_, 366 + + Triozinae, 365 + + _Trogodendron fasciculatum_, 169 + + _Trogoderma froggatti_, 149 + + _Trogoderma apicipenne_, 149 + + _Trogosita mauritanica_, 144 + + Trogositidae, 144 + + Troides, 225 + + Trombiididae, 98 + + _Tropidoderus childreni_, 37 + + _Tropidoderus decipiens_, 38 + + _Tropidoderus iodomus_, 38 + + _Tropidoderus rhodomus_, 37 + + _Trox australasiae_, 155 + + _Trox dohrni_, 155 + + _Trypeta bicolor_, 308 + + _Trypeta musae_, 308 + + _Trypeta poenia_, 308 + + Trypetidae, 306 + + _Tryxalis rafflesii_, 43 + + Tubulifera, 393 + + Tussock Moths, 252 + + _Tyora hibisci_, 367 + + _Tyora sterculiae_, 367 + + Types, 409 + + + _Uracanthus cryptophagus_, 193, 195 + + _Uracanthus triangularis_, 193 + + Urania, 232 + + Uraniidae, 232 + + + Vapourers, 252 + + _Vedalia cardinalis_, 210 + + Velvet mites, 98 + + _Venustria superba_, 351 + + _Verania frenata_, 209 + + Vespa, 112 + + Vespidae, 112 + + Vine-moth bug, 330 + + + Walking Straw, 36 + + Warble-flies, 317 + + Wasps, 68 + + Wasp flies, 305 + + Water beetles, 133 + + Water boatmen, 345 + + Water bugs, 342 + + Water fleas, 289 + + Water moths, 66 + + Water scorpions, 343 + + Water striders, 337 + + Wattle-pig, 183 + + Web-spinners, 28 + + Weevils, 181 + + Whirligig beetles, 134 + + Whistling moths, 234 + + White ants, 20 + + Whites, 223 + + Wine flies, 306 + + _Winthemia lata_, 312 + + Wireworms, 166 + + Wood ants, 98 + + Woodborers, 178 + + Wood moths, 231, 239 + + Woolly Aphids, 369 + + Woolly Bears, 248 + + Wrigglers, 289 + + + _Xantholinus erythrocephalus_, 137 + + _Xenica achanta_, 219 + + _Xenica correae_, 219 + + _Xenica fulva_, 219 + + _Xyleborus solidus_, 178 + + Xylocopa, 116 + + _Xylocopa aestuans_, 117 + + _Xylocopa bryorum_, 117 + + _Xylonychus eucalypti_, 157 + + _Xylotrupes australicus_, 159 + + _Xystmatodoma guildingi_, 281 + + + Yellows, 223 + + Yellow-fever mosquito, 290 + + Yellow Monday, 349 + + Yellow-tinted Delias, 224 + + Yellow-winged locust, 41 + + _Ypthima arctous_, 218 + + + _Zanessa rubrovariegata_, 342 + + Zelotypia, 241 + + _Zenithicola australis_, 169 + + _Zenithicola obesus_, 169 + + _Zeuzera cinerens_, 243 + + _Zeuzera eucalypti_, 242 + + _Zeuzera liturata_, 243 + + _Zeuzera macleayi_, 243 + + Zeuzeridae, 242 + + _Zinckenia recurvalis_, 270 + + _Zonitis bipartita_, 177 + + _Zonitis brevicornis_, 177 + + _Zonopetala decisiana_, 279 + + _Zopherosis georgii_, 173 + + Zygaenidae, 236 + + Zygopteridae, 51 + + Zygotricha, 306 + + _Zygrita diva_, 200 + + [Illustration] + + +Transcriber’s Notes: + +1. Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been +corrected silently. + +2. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have +been retained as in the original. + +3. Italics are shown as _xxx_. + +4. Bold print is shown as =xxx=. + + + + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76505 *** |
