332 LIFE-HISTORIES OF AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA, 



yellow hairs, which are also sparsely scattered along the sides of 

 the body; tarsal claw black, small and sharply pointed; all the 

 segments along the dorsal surface except the last two covered 

 along the summit with short brownish spines. 



The larvae, together with the perfect beetles, were found in the 

 nests of the large mound-building Termite; they were very 

 numerous in several nests opened, most of the larvse being in the 

 outer walls, but others were in the interior of the nest, while the 

 beetles were crawling about all parts of the termitarium, the 

 swarming hosts of white ants seeming to take no notice of them. 



The beetle is 4|^ lines in length, dark brownish-black, with the 

 head produced into two shell-like flanges in front of the eyes; 

 thorax finely punctured; elytra traversed with deeply and closely 

 punctured parallel strife. 



if«6.— Shoalhaven, N.S.W. 



Melobasis iridescens, L. &■ G. 



Larva white, slender and flattened on the underside; jaws small; 

 head globular, much broader than the thoracic segments ; pale 

 yellow, with two ferruginous lines crossing the head and coming 

 to a point at the forehead; first and second thoracic segments 

 rounded and narrow; third thoracic and the first six abdominal 

 segments rounded on the margins, but square at the apex, which 

 projects over the following segment on either side; seventh and 

 eighth much smaller, while the anal segment is produced in a 

 curious forked tail, divided into a rounded lobe at the base, 

 terminating in a slender tail on either side. 



The larva feeding between the bark and sap wood forms a series 

 of parallel wavy tunnels in wood that is just beginning to wither; 

 when nearly full grown it bores in the sap wood to pupate. 



The beetle is about 4 lines in length, of a bright metallic green 

 colour, with the head and thorax very finely punctured; elytra 

 irregularly striated, with the strife bearing punctures; with the 

 ridges between them also punctured; apical edges of the wing 

 covers very finely toothed. Bred from infested branches of Acacia 

 lo7igifolia obtained at Rose Bay. 



