BY ARTHUR M. LEA. 289 



MORDELLA FESTIVA, n.sp. 



Black; palpi, base of antenna?, anterior legs and posterior spurs 

 obscure testaceous. Head with obscure pubescence which is 

 parted in the middle. Prothorax with dull silvery pubescence, 

 leaving an elongated vitta and two lateral sj^ots. Elj^tra with 

 pubescence as prothorax; it narrowly borders the base on each 

 side, emitting three stripes, the first about the middle, one at the 

 extreme side, and one between them; a zigzag fascia about the 

 middle — not quite reaching the sides — forming two irregular Ws; 

 a crescent-shaped spot on each side about a fourth from — and with 

 its con^^ex sides towards — the apex; the pubescence extends along 

 the suture from the scutellum to the fascia (one specimen has the 

 elytral pubescence extending from base to apical sjDots, these latter 

 conjoined and irregular in shape). Undersurface with silvery- 

 grey pubescence, leaving a spot on each side of the abdominal 

 segments, and the greater part of aculeus. 



Aculeus short, broad; apex broad, truncate. Legs rather 

 slender; posterior spurs equal, and little more than a third the 

 length of the first tarsal joint. Length 3|, width 1 J mm. 



Hab. — South Australia (Rev. T. Blackburn). 



Resembles the species I suppose to l^e M. mist r alls: differs in 

 being larger, narrower, the markings l)roader and not so clearly 

 cut, without the divergent scutellar stripes, thinner femora, some- 

 what different aculeus, etc. IMr. Blackburn tells me that he thinks 

 this species an extreme variety of M. comiminis; with this opinion, 

 however, I cannot agree; none of my specimens of that species 

 approach it in pattern. 



MoRDELLA BELLA, Waterh. ; Mast. Cat. Sp. No. 4315. 



This is an extremely variable and widel}^ distributed species. 

 I have specimens from many parts of New South Wales, and 

 there are specimens in the Macleay Museum from Queensland 

 and South Australia. Mr. George Masters at Blackheath recently 

 obtained several hundreds of specimens, all of which, together 



