36 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



evident interest in my proceedings, and who I hope some day to 

 enUst as a member of our club, we secured quite a number of 

 larvae, which I am in hopes will duly arrive at maturity in the 

 forthcoming spring and summer. Besides larvte, I found in tliese 

 trees the remains of a few of the past season's beetles, amongst 

 them being various species of Buprestidse of the genera Melobasis 

 and Agrilus. There were also extensive excavations, the work of 

 the larv?e of a large moth, but there were no remains to give me 

 information as to the genus or species. In some of the neigh- 

 bouring paddocks there were a few specimens of Melaleuca 

 parvijiura, and on these, when in flower, I feel sure a great many 

 insects would be found. At a distance of some two or three 

 miles from where I was staying, and on sandy rises, were two 

 rather large patches of Leptospermum scoparium, and these, also, 

 at the proper season would no doubt yield good returns, there 

 being plenty of timber in the vicinity for the larvae to breed in 

 and feed on. Although, as already stated, I did not expect to 

 secure many insects I was certainly disappointed at seeing so (tvj 

 remains of them, for, with the exception of those above mentioned, 

 almost the only ones I saw were those of two specimens of the large 

 longicorn, CnemojAites edulis. 



My success so far not having been very great, 1 and my 

 companion decided to try for larvge in the big timber, of which a 

 good portion hereabout is what I took to be the common Yellow 

 Box, £. melliodora, but which, from the leaves and flowers I 

 brought down, has been named E. largiflorens. Accordingly we 

 looked for signs, but none could we see in the smaller branches. 

 In the larger ones, however, we were more fortunate, and after 

 very careful search we discovered indications which led us to 

 believe we were on the track of a longicorn beetle, either Bimia 

 bicolor or B. femoralis. These indications were rings, in size 

 rather larger than a penny piece, and having the appearance at a 

 distance of being made by pressure, but in reality they are 

 occasioned by the caterpillar or grub eating away the bark as it 

 works round the circle. Having completed the circle, the grub 

 commences to enter the wood through the middle of the central 

 piece of bark, which it has left intact, and as it is a powerful 

 worker it soon eats its way in to some considerable distance, 

 when it starts to work downwards, and rather rapidly increases in 

 size, until it attains a length of from two to two and a half inches, 

 with a thickness of about a quarter of an inch. Why the grub 

 should make this circle instead of simply at once commencing to 

 eat its way into the wood I cannot say, but possibly there may 

 be some self-protective secret connected with it. Having cut 

 down several large branches with the described indications, the 

 next thing was to endeavour to follow the grub's tracks ; but this, 

 if one wishes to secure the grub or beetle unhurt, is a rather 



