BY REV. T. BLACKBURN. 505 



prothorax exceptionally pronounced, a dark marking on the 

 middle of the head (of which there are distinct traces in other 

 specimens before me), and the underside very dark; I can state 

 positively that none of these characters ai'e specific or even sexual, 

 — from observation of specimens taken under circumstances that 

 allowed no doubt of specific identity. I do not, however, regard 

 it as the genuine maculicoUis, Clk., which I have not seen, but 

 have little doubt is a good species. The size of P. decolorata is 

 long. 3-4 lines, and it is found all over Australia and Tasmania. 



P. CAPTIOSA, Clk. 



Of the Rev. H. Clark's descriptions of Paropsis only three 

 seem to be founded on species belonging to the portion not 

 having a distinct elytral pattern of this subgroup, — viz., anioe la, 

 cuptiosa, and 7naculicoUis,— all from Western Australia. P. macu- 

 licoUis is a small insect (long. 2^ lines) which I am satisfied 

 that I have not seen, and which (as noted above) Dr. Chapuis 

 identified (wrongly I doubt not) with a much larger species 

 that I cannot separate, otherwise than as a colour var., from 

 deeoforata, Chp. I cannot find any definite difference between 

 the descriptions of amosna and cuptiosa, but have before me 

 examples from W. Australia (one of them from Champion Bay, 

 the habitat cited by Clark) which seem to be certainly captiosa, 

 whether that species is or is not distinct from amoena. Other speci- 

 mens before me, which I cannot separate by any definite characters 

 from the W. Australian ones, are from S. Australia and N.S. 

 Wales. Fresh specimens have some feeble metallic colours 

 vaguely diff'used on the prothorax and the base of the elytra. 

 Dried specimens are testaceous with some rosy or brown variega- 

 tion, the prothorax usually brownish-yellow with some more or 

 less distinct paler vittse, the antennae becoming infuscate or even 

 piceous towards the apex. I distinguish the species among its 

 immediate allies (i.e., those of the subgroup not having a sharply 

 defined metallic pattern, nor systematic lateral inequalities on the 

 elytra, nor the elytral series of punctures either unsymmetrical or 

 very close and fine) by the following characters, viz., lateral 

 33 



