OXYCETONIA. 



165 



The elytra are strongly puuctate-striate, with the sides strongly 

 siniiated behind the shoulders and the apical angles sharp but not 

 produced. The i^ygidium is coarsely punctured and setose, the 

 metasternum rugose and hairy, and the abdomen sparingly, but 

 coarsely, punctured. The mesostemal process is slightly produced, 

 and broad but not dilated in front. The front tihice are strongly 

 tridentate, and all the femora are fringed with long yellow 

 hairs. 



The coloration is very variable, but the ground-colour is black 

 and there are usually the following white markings : — a pair of 

 minute spots upon the neck behind the eyes, a pair at the middle 

 of the pronotum, another at the base (one or both of the latter 

 pairs often absent) and a lateral border on each side, a spot at the 

 apex of the scutellum, from five to eight spots on each elytron, and 

 two (frequently coalescing) on each side of the pygidium. The 

 sides of the sternum are broadly white and there are two rows of 

 large spots on each side of the abdomen. 



The sexes are almost alike, but the spurs of the hind tibia are 

 rather shorter and sharper in the male. 



Length 13-15 mm. ; breadth Q'5-S mm. 



Assam: Silhet; Bhutan; Bengal: Calcutta; N.W. Frontier : 

 Baunu ; Central India : Mhow ; Madras : Kanara, Malabar, 

 Bangalore ; Ceylon ; Mauritius ; Madagascar ; Bourbon. 



Type not traced ; that of variegata in the Kiel Museum ; that 

 of cruenta in the Berlin Royal Museum. 



The following phases may be distinguished. 



Var. a. 



Black, entirely shining, with the prothorax, except a pair of 

 large black discoidal spots (coinciding with the minute white 



Fig. 35. 

 Oxycetonia versicolor, Tar. a- 



Fig. o6. 

 Oxycetonia versicolor, yar. d. 



spots described above), and a large vitta occupying the middle 

 of each elytron red, and decorated with white as described. 



Generally distributed except in Ceylon and the Madagascan 

 region. 



