BELATED CANE BEETLES AND THEIR ALLIES. 55 



Like L. frenchi in the forest land, it emerges in great hordes; and 

 as the ssrub areas have a greater rainfall, and the soil moister, eniergenee 

 is considerably earlier than with its congener. Growers at Baliinda have 

 reported their emergence in Angnst. bnt our earliest record is lOtli 

 September, and the latest 17th January. At this place in 191G, the 

 beetles emerged in numbers on 12th September; in 1918 emergence took 

 place about the end of September. At South Johnstone, in 1920. they 

 were commencing to emerge on 12th October, and were plentiful at 

 Babinda two days later. jMr. Roy Watson stated that the species 

 occurred freely at ^fossman, about the end of January. 1920, and an 

 adult of a lighter colour than the coastal form was collcM-ted at Ravenshoe 

 in February. 



Their habits, in so far as studied, resemble those of L. f rendu. On 

 emergence they fly to low bushes, fences, posts, &c.. in fact any ob.ject, 

 where they mate at once, following exactly the habits of their ally as 

 observed at Meringa. The male invariably hangs head downward, as soon 

 as connection is secured, and the pair remain perfectly motionless for 

 about twent.v minutes, when they break apart and fl.v to the feeding- 

 trees for the night ; at dawn they re-enter the soil to spend the day. 



At Babinda the food plants are Glochidion fcrdinandl and Brcijnia 

 cernua, two closely allied trees in the family Euphorl)iacea?; the first- 

 named has also been noted as a feeding-tree at IMossman. 



The Egg. — Beetles kept in confinement deposited eggs at the bottom 

 of the cage at a depth of about 4 inches ; these were found singly in tiny 

 cells, isolated, about \ inch from each other, and glued to the wall of 

 the cell. 



llie Gnih. — Girault and Dodd {6G) confused the grul) with that 

 of L. frenchi, but Dodd (91) subsequently pointed out the distinguishing- 

 characters. A,s with the named species the life-cycle extends over a 

 period of two years. Stage II grubs have been unearthed in January, 

 May, June, and September, and stage III grubs in January, April, 

 June, September, and October. The grubs are aliundant in the yellow 

 and other clayey loams of the scrub lands in cane areas, bnt as yet no 

 specific case of their damaging sugar-cane has come under our notice. 

 In view of their profusion, however, it would not be at all surprising- 

 if they should turn their attention to this crop. 



The Pupa. — Dodd recorded pups at a depth of less than 6 inches, 

 from 10th September to 16th November. On r2th June, 1918, Girault 

 found a newly formed pupa at a depth of 18 inches in a sandy canefield; 

 and on 20th June tAvo fully coloured pupre were ploughed out in a loose, 

 sand.v-loam. old canefield. 



LEPIDIOTA SP. 



"We have received adults of this species solely from Gin (Jin in the^ 

 Bundaberg district, and it is quite possible that it is one of the pests 

 of the southern canefields. The beetle is of about the same size as. 

 L. frenchi, but broader in proportion to its length; the colour is of a 

 rather light polished brown. This may be the adult of Lepieliota 

 No. 666, which grubs were obtained at Childers and Ikmdaberg in 

 canefields and bear a close resemblance to the group of grubs containing: 

 frcnchi, caudafo, and consohrina. 



