74 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA, 



black space) are testaceous ; or the elytra of this variety may be 

 regarded as testaceous, having a short blackish vitta (not quite 

 touching the base) on either side of the scntellum, and also a 

 large common black blotch (not quite touching the lateral margins 

 nor extending into the hinder fifth part of the elytra, convex and 

 also dentate hindward and being in the front half of its length 

 divided into three branches, which narrow forward to the front 

 margin of the elytra, — one on the suture and one close to the 

 lateral margin on either side) which occupies the greater part of 

 the surface. 



An example coloured as above, but in which the juxta-scutellar 

 vitta should connect at its hind apex with the sutural extension 

 of the large black blotch (I have not seen an example in which it 

 quite connects) would agree with the description of Lehia benefica, 

 Newm. 



Through a long series of specimens before me the dark colouring 

 of the elytra gradually fails, the difficulty being to find two 

 examples quite identical. First the sutural extension of the 

 large blotch is much narrower and then disappears, then the 

 juxta-scute]lar vitta dwindles to a small spot, then the lateral 

 extensions of the large blotch become more slender and then are 

 abbreviated in front, then the solid part of the dark blotch begins 

 to fade out both in front and behind till it becomes quite a narrow 

 fascia sending out three short extensions in front and with its 

 hind margin convex and dentate hindward, then this fascia be- 

 comes broken into a number of short disconnected longtitudinal 

 lines (placed however so as to be evidently fragments of the same 

 fascia), and finally these lines dwindle down to a single small 

 spot placed at the point which in a full-coloured example is the 

 centre of the solid part of the dark blotch. In this last named 

 variety the elytra are entirely testaceous except a small dark spot 

 on either side of the scutellum and another on tiie suture a little 

 in front of the apex. Cymindis inquinata, Er., is probably one 

 of these latter varieties in which the solid part of the dark blotch 

 has become much reduced, and traces of its lateral extensions 

 remain as short isolated lines. 



