194 Transactions. — Zoology. 



Art. XXIV. — Bemarks on the Carabidae of Neio Zealand. 



By Captain T. Broun. 



Communicated by Professor Hutton. 



[Read before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 7th September, 



1892.] 



I have not till now had the honour of addressing the members 

 of the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, but, as about one- 

 half of the predaceous ground-beetles collected during the 

 past year, and submitted to me for examination, belong to your 

 district, 1 thought that a brief paper on the subject might be 

 acceptable. 



I may here state, for the information of those who have 

 not the inclination or leisure to study entomology, that the 

 group Carabidce is one of the most highly developed of the 

 order Coleoptera, and consists almost entirely of useful insects. 

 I apply the term "useful" because the species subsist almost 

 wholly on other insects, which they attack either on or in the 

 ground, and on trees, and thus check the too rapid increase of 

 many kinds of beetles, locusts, &c, which, if it were not for 

 the presence of Carabidce, would soon become better known 

 even to those who care nothing for entomology as a study, but 

 who do concern themselves with their fields of grass, crops, 

 and trees. 



It is becoming evident that all engaged in agricultural pur- 

 suits ought to make themselves acquainted with certain forms 

 of insects, so that they could discriminate between useful and 

 noxious kinds. I think that all such people should possess in 

 their own houses, or in easily-accessible public buildings, at 

 the least, a simple collection of typical species of both sorts. 

 A small box about a foot square, filled with selected speci- 

 mens, would in many cases afford more practical information 

 than whole yards of printed matter. 



Perhaps I may be permitted to record an incident that hap- 

 pened in my presence. I was staying at a farmer's house one 

 night during a collecting- tour, and whilst talking to the hos- 

 pitable farmer his wife came into the room in great glee, and 

 informed her husband that she had at last killed " that horrid 

 fly." I asked her to let me see the insect, which on examina- 

 tion proved to be one of the most valuable we possess — one of 

 the Ichneumonidce, which by means of its ovipositor inserts 

 an egg into the body of a caterpillar or other soft-bodied crea- 

 ture. The egg soon hatches, and the larva feeds on the intes- 

 tines of its host until nothing remains but the skin. This 

 provides a comfortable dwelling-place for the ichneumon 



