THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 103 



EXCURSION TO WANDONG. 



For this excursion on Cup Day, Tuesday, 3rd November, six 

 members put in an appearance. Probably it was the very early 

 hour at which one had to arise to catch the 6.15 a.m. train at 

 Spencer-street that accounted for so limited an attendance. 

 Arriving at Wandong, on the northern slopes of the Dividing 

 Range, about 34 miles from town, we at once started eastward 

 along the old timber tram track, and at first little collecting was to 

 be done, there being no plants or shrubs in flower, scarcely any 

 Lepidoptera to be seen, and under logs, stones, &c., no beetles 

 whatever were found. About a mile from the station the Coleop- 

 terists were fortunate in securing a good variety of specimens 

 from under the bark of the eucalypts, the best capture being 

 three fine Longicorns, Phlyctcenodes pustulosits. The most 

 numerous beetle, however, was an Elater, Hapatesus hirtus, very 

 plentiful almost anywhere within 40 or 50 miles of Melbourne. 

 Other Elaters, of the genera Crepedomenus and Lacon, were also 

 plentiful, as were also small Carabs, mostly of the genera Sara- 

 throcrepis and Xanthophcea. A Longicorn which was fairly 

 numerous, but mostly dead, was Coptocercus aherrans, their death 

 appearing to be probably due to a fungus — at all events they 

 had a very fungoid look about them. Coptocercus rubrijjes was 

 also taken, but was not nearly so plentiful as C. aberrans. As 

 we ascended the ranges appearances improved considerably, but 

 still very few flowers of any description were to be seen, hence 

 the scarcity of butterflies. Of these the only ones we noticed, 

 and none of them numerous, were Pyrameis kershawi, P. ilea, 

 Junonia vellida, and Pieris teuionia. Near to and on the summit 

 were plenty of Acacia stricta (none in flower), and from these we 

 secured a few beetles, among them being one rather rare Longicorn, 

 Aphneope sericata, and an equally rare Elater, Chrusis tristtlcata. 

 We also took from these acacias, feeding in the wood, a few 

 larvce, which we think will prove to be Peisarthreus tnarginella, 

 so common in the Acacia longifulia about Cheltenham and 

 Mordialloc. Here on the summit we also saw one solitary 

 specimen of the yellow butterfly, Terias smilax, but, our Lepi- 

 dopterists not being present with their nets, it was not captured. 

 We extended our walk about two miles beyond the summit, 

 descending on the eastern slopes, but from a collecting point of 

 view they were more barren of results than the western, as the 

 only specimens we secured were two orchids, Calochilus 

 robertsoni and Chiloglottis gunnii. These were the only two 

 orchids seen on the ranges, and only two or three of each 

 species. A good many micro-fungi were taken, principally on 

 the leaves of Veronica, Viola, Hypericum, &c. These fungi 

 have been handed to Mr. D. M'Alpine, who reports several of 



