1906.] 53 



pennis, L. ct Gr., with pale yellow elytra narrowly tipped with violet- 

 black ; aS*. vicina, Saund., shining black with two broad transverse 

 yellow bands ; S. bdla, Saund., not unlike the preceding, but dull, 

 and having the apical band broadly clouded with scarlet ; and the 

 remai kable >S'. kerremansi, Blkb., dark green with broad red apex to 

 elytra. The e*ommonest of the small species, which may be taken in 

 almost any number, are S. assimilis, Hope, and octospilota, L. et Gr., 

 black, with six or eight yellow spots ; >S^. ci/anicoUis, Bdv., yellow or 

 red with greenish-blue suture and transverse bands ; and S. crenata, 

 Don., yellow, with margins of elytra reddish, broadly banded with 

 black. In the National Park may be found several species that are 

 absent or very rare nearer Sydney, as S. rotundata, Saund., and octO' 

 maculata^ Saund., both ochreous with variable black spots or bands ; 

 S. grata, Saund., a lovely orange-banded green form, common in the 

 Blue Mountains, and /6'. skusei, Blkb., with a bold blue-black cruci- 

 form pattern on a bright yellow ground. Even more beautiful than 

 any of these, if possible, are the resplendent metallic green and 

 purple Ouris aurifera, L. et Gr., and C. caloptera, Bdv., the latter 

 being an especially lovely insect, and found not rarely on Lepto- 

 spermum close to Sydney. The above descriptions will, I hope, give 

 some faint idea of the v.sriety and beauty of the Sydney Buprestidce, 

 which can, however, be seen to perfection only on their favourite 

 flowers under the brilliant summer sun of Australia; their colours, 

 with but few exceptions, being but inadequately represented in the 

 dead and dry specimens in the cabinet. 



Next to the BuprestidcB, the Getoniadcd attract perhaps the most 

 attention, though only seven species of this family have occurred to 

 me in the Sydney district. Of these the largest is Diaphonia dorsalis, 

 Don., a stout chestnut-brown insect with broad black suture, which is 

 often to be seen flying in the city itself. Micropcecila cincta, Don., 

 already alludeJ to in connection with the Xanthorrhcea, is fairly 

 common on the Angoplwra, and still more so are the plain dull black 

 Gacochroa gymnopleura, Eisch., and its light brown variety concolor^ 

 Gory et Perch. The little black-spotted ochreous Folystigma punc- 

 tata, Don., is usually abundant, especially at Manly ; and equally so 

 is Eupoecila australasia, Don., one of the most beautiful of the 

 commoner Australian beetles, with its complicated lyrate pattern of 

 golden-yellow on an olive-green ground. Glycypliana bruniiipes, 

 Kirby, a little dark green species spotted with white, is also common 

 enough, as is the tiny Micro valgus lapeyrousei, Gr. et P., perhaps the 

 smallest member of its family. 



