BV R. J. TlLLYARD. 417 



for, and the females occasionally ignored. It is possible that 

 most of the males ascend to the tops of the giant forest-trees, to 

 disport in the sunshine. Secondly, the brilliant colouring of this 

 insect harmonised wonderfully with the colours of the dense 

 scrub. In the almost semi-darkness of these deep recesses, the 

 Ijrilliant orange display of a male sitting on a tree-fern frond was 

 almost lost to view. Further than that, the few patches of 

 sunlight that filter down into the creeks or narrow glades are of 

 a distinct orange tint, and, in these patches, the insect disported 

 itself without appearing at all conspicuous. I could scarcely resist 

 the conclusion that the orange colouring of this remarkable insect 

 was the direct result of the filtered orange light acting chemically 

 OH some complicated pigment of the thorax, and was certainly not 

 caused by any purely evolutionary development for protective 

 purposes only. These insects usually sit about on twigs or on 

 the fronds of ferns, and fly very little even on the brightest and 

 warmest days. 



Types : 2(N.S.W.),Coll. Foerster; (J$(Dorrigo), Coll.Tillyard. 



Closely allied to A. aureus Tillyard, from Kuranda, from which 

 it differs in its much larger size, more robust build, darker colour. 

 ation, different thoracic colour-pattern, and especially l)y the 

 huge inferior pi'ojecting tooth or spine on the superior appendages 

 of the male. 



6. Argiolestes alpinus, n.sp. 



cf. Total length 46, ahdomtn 3t), fore wing 30, hindwing 

 30 mm. 



Wings hyaline, forewing and hindwing of same length, 

 so that the former appears shorter than the latter, both when 

 folded and outspread; postnodals 20, pterostiguia 1-5 mm., 

 thick, black. Head: vertex black, a large pale blue spot 

 behind each eye ; in front, a large straw-coloured mark be- 

 tween each eye and the face; front black, clyptus black with 

 a pale central spot; lahrum dark metallic green, labium dirty 

 brown edged with black. Thorax: profliorax pale prui- 

 nescent-blue with a dorsal black blotch. Meso- and metatho- 

 rax bright blue, downy, with a broad black dorsal mark in 



