410 Mr. A. White on Petasida ephippigera. 



accurate figures. In the lately published Narrative of Dr. Leich- 

 hardt' s Journey, — so interesting in a geographical point of view, 

 as to have earned for its enterprising author the medals of the 

 Geographical Societies of London and Paris, — there are various 

 curious natural-history notices ; amongst these we may mention 

 the occurrence of " a Grasshopper" found by Dr. Leichhardt and 

 his party on the 17th November near the South Alligator: he says, 

 " Whilst on this expedition we observed a great number of grass- 

 hoppers, of a bright brick colour dotted with blue : the posterior 

 part of the corselet and the wings were blue ; it was two inches 

 long, and its antennae three-quarters of an inch." (P. 481 of a 

 Journal of an Overland Expedition from Moreton Bay to Port 

 Essington, a distance of upwards of 3000 miles : 1844-45 : by 

 Dr. Ludwig Leichhardt.) 



By the great kindness of Mr. Boone of Bond Street, 1 am 

 enabled to add a wood engraving of this interesting grasshopper, 

 that gentleman having given me the loan of the wood block 

 which accompanies Dr. Leichhardt' s notice. 



The grasshopper was described in 1 845 in Eyre's f Journals of 

 Expeditions of Discovery into Central Australia/ and a very ex- 

 cellent lithographic figure by Mr. William Wing accompanied it. 

 I subjoin the description : — 



Petasida, White, /. c. i. 432. 



Petasida ephippigera, White, I. c. t. 4. f. 1. 



" Grasshopper," Leichhardt' s Narrative, p. 481 : with woodcut. 



Petasida ephippigera. 



Thorax much dilated behind, depressed and rounded at the end ; 

 the side deeply sinuated behind', head pointed; antennae long, of a 

 yellowish orange colour with a few greenish rings ; cheek below 

 the eye with a greenish line; head above with a longitudinal 

 greenish line. Thorax with a slight keel down the middle, 

 wrinkled behind, of a dusky bluish green, a large patch of an 

 orange colour on each side in front, and a small spot of the same 

 colour on each edge of the produced part at the base. Elytra 

 orange with numerous black spots, and black at the tip ; lower 



