1904.] 123 



number of interesting BcmbicUa, Staplii/Ii?iidce, &c., on the moist sand, 

 and a single example of the rare and curious little Lamcllicorn, 

 Psilodontria viridescens, Br., basking on a hot stone. I was rather sur- 

 prised, too, to meet with a few specimens of the pretty Satyrid butter- 

 fly, Arqjjrophenga ontipodnm, l)bld., among the tussock grass, surely at a 

 very early date (November 1st) for this species. On my second visit 

 collecting was rendered almost impossible by the clouds of dust and 

 sand raised by a hot north-west wind, but 1 managed to take a small 

 series of C. wakeJieJdi (which was almost over) and found a few of 

 what is probably our British Gnathoncus nannetensis, Mars., in the 

 remains of a long defunct horse partly buried in the sand. 



IV.-PORT CHALMBES, TIMAllU, AKAROA. 



We saw but little of Dunedin and of Port Chalmers, its seaport, 

 as we w^ere at the latter ])lace for a very few days on two occasions 

 only, in October, 1901, and September, 1902 ; but my success in 

 collecting here, under conditions of weather by no means favourable, 

 has often made me wish that our visits to this picturesque and 

 interesting locality had been more frequent and of longer duration. 



For several miles round Port Chalmers the country is even more 

 hilly and broken than at Wellington, and has evidently been covered 

 up to a quite recent date with fine " bush," large patches of which 

 still remain on some of the higher slopes. In October, the steep 

 pasture-lauds looked as if they were covered with a light fall of snow, 

 from the abundance of our English daisy, Bellis perennis, and these 

 were varied by acres of golden broom and gorse, in the most profuse 

 and beautiful bloom that I have ever seen. These flowers are how- 

 ever quite unattractive to the indigenous insects, and very few were 

 obtained by general beating. Under the big logs in all stages of 

 decay, which are plentifully strewn about on the slopes, some interest- 

 ing Carahidoe were found, the largest of these being Mecodema sculp- 

 turatum, Chaud. This fine species has quite the habit of its relative, 

 our familiar Broscus cephalotes, L., of feigning death by opening its 

 mandibles to their widest extent, and sticking out its legs rigidly in 

 every direction. Its ally, the shining bronzy Oregus incequalis, Cast., 

 was found sparingly, and a large and fine form of Enarsus was not 

 rare, clinging to the under-side of pieces of wood, apparently pre- 

 ferring those that had been charred ; and on one of the highest bills 

 1 found a rare and pretty Elater, Exceolus obsoletus, Br. Under the 

 bark of "Eimu," several nice Longicorus were taken, iucludiug the 



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