BY THE REV. T. BLACKBURN. 315 



I have had the opportunity of examining a long series of this 

 insect which were said to have been taken all together feeding on 

 growing cereals and to have been doing much damage. I have 

 scarcely ever met with a more variable species. What I take to 

 be the male is comparatively narrow (more than twice as long as 

 wide), with the elytra (at their widest scarcely wider than the pro- 

 thorax) considerably narrowed in front and having evidently pro- 

 minent humeral angles, while the whole surface of the basal 

 ventral segment is gently concave longitudinally. The other sex 

 is much wider (quite half as wide as long), with the elytra not 

 or scarcely narrowed anteriorly, evidently wider than the pro- 

 thorax, and with less prominent shoulders, while the basal ventral 

 segment bears a large more or less strongly defined triangular 

 depression, the apex of which is a little in front of the middle of 

 the segment. It would be useless to attempt a detailed descrip- 

 tion of the pattern formed by the scales on the prothorax or 

 elytra as T have seen at least 20 varieties ; some are unicolorous 

 of a pale brown, some have blackish vittae on a pale brown ground, 

 some are almost entirely black, while some are variously mottled 

 with black, bi^own and white. 



Of the species of Dysostines previously described all except 

 pilipes, Pasc, and pustulostis, Pasc, have either a carinate rostrum 

 or the prothorax longitudinally channelled. The rostrum and 

 prothorax of pilipes are insufficiently characterised, but its hind 

 tibiae are figured and described as veiy peculiar and quite different 

 from those of the present species. It is not stated whether the 

 prothorax of pushdosits has a dorsal channel, but in any case it 

 differs widely from the present species in having the elytra studded 

 with small raised spots. 



S. Australia ; Mannum, on the river Murray ; sent to me by 

 F. S. Crawford, Esq., the author of valuable memoirs on Bip- 

 tera, &c. 



Dysostines ventralis, sp.nov. 



Oblongus ; niger ; antennis (scapo excepto) tarsisque ferru- 

 gineis ; supra squamis nigro-piceis vestitus, — nonnullis brun- 

 neis (dispersis) et niveis (in maculas parvas congestis) inter- 



