58 AUSTRALIAN SUGAR-CAXE BEETLES AND THEIR ALLIES. 



they were all in stage II on 28th April ; and on 12th Jnne one was in 

 stage II, one in stage III (these were the sole survivors). Of grubs 

 that hatched on 2nd January, by 28th April one each was in .stage I, 

 II, and III ; and a stage II larva was found as late as 28th June. Some 

 of these grubs (stage III) were still feeding on 21st November. Girault 

 and Dodd (66) give tield records of 31st March for the earliest and 

 7th July for the latest stage II, and 19th March for the earliest 

 stage III. In comparison with L. alholiirtum,. therefore, the first two 

 stages are much lengthened; but then rotliei does not cease feeding 

 until late in the year, and there is apparently not the long wait in the 

 pupal and adult stages in the ground. 



TJie Pupa. — Three pupa? were obtained from a ploughed dark-loam 

 forest field, depth of ploughing 8 inches, on 18th December, 1918. Dodd 

 (91) has recorded the discovery of pupfc in the field on 26th November. 



LEPIDIOTA SP. No. 215. 



Girault and Dodd {%%) first recorded this species, but they only 

 knew the grub stage; however, Dodd (91) subsec|uently bred the adults, 

 and gave various notes on the life-history. So' very closely allied is this 

 insect to L. rothei, that Mr. A. M. Lea could not consider it distinct, 

 and it still remains unnamed. 



Like rothei. No. 215 inhabits the forest land in the vicinity of 

 Gordonvale. In the 1914-15 season a large emergence Avas recorded from 

 the recreation reserve, a grass field in the township, 21st January ; a 

 few beetles were seen here the following year. No further notes occur 

 in our files, and the species was apparently not again recognised until 

 this past season (1920-21), when a first emergence took place from the 

 reserve mentioned above, on 5th January. This was indeed very late 

 in the season, for L. alholiirtum had been on the wing for fully six 

 weeks, L. frenchi for five weeks, and L, rotliei for three weeks; the 

 extreme lateness of emergence in comparison wdth related forms has 

 already been established. The following observations were made at the 

 time ; the note is taken from our files : — 



"Just on 7 p.m. this evening (21st January), a large emergence of 

 these lieetles was witnessed in the recreation reserve. They were rising 

 from the ground in numbers, circling round once or twice, and then 

 flying high to the tops of a clump of bamboos; round these they circled 

 in rapid flight, but soon settled and were cpiiet. The flight lasted only 

 a few minutes; it commenced very early, and was over before that of 

 frenchi began. Farther along the road, a few were seen swarming in 

 several places around low weeds a foot or so from the ground, and 

 several mated pairs were secured. After the flight among the bamboos, 

 mating pairs could be seen high (20-30 feet), and a very few were 

 observed at 10-15 feet elevation. The captured pairs, shut up over night, 

 slightly ate the foliage of the Malvaceous weed Sida cordifolia." 



These observations were verified on subsequent nights of the 

 swarming, but by 13th January the beetles had mostly disappeared, 

 probably through the action of a flock of myna birds {Acridothcrcs 

 tristis) that roosted nightly in the bamboos, and at dusk each evening 

 spread over the reserve just at the time when the beetles w'ere issuing 

 from the ground. Strange to say, none of the adults were seen except 

 in this restricted locality. The following record of the mating habits is 

 Gi. interest : — 



