EELATED CANE BEETLES AND THEIR ALLIES. 65 



in one of these months, prohably ]\Iareh or April, the percentage of 

 stage II would suffer a considerable drop through the development of 

 the grubs, and that in the course of another month this percentage 

 would be negligible. 



Now we will take the conflicting records. In December, 1918, Mr 

 Jarvis obtained eggs in confinement, and by 7th April most of the 

 resultant surviving grubs were in stage III. On 3rd February, we 

 collected 4 stage II, not long moulted from stage I, from a field at 

 Greenhills, and kept them in confinement; on 29tli March a recently 

 moulted stage III resulted. Again, on 9th February we took 14 stage II 

 from the same locality, and on 24th ]\Iarch 1 was found to be in stage 

 III, but 3 others (the only survivors) were still in stage II on 23rd 

 April. We can offer no suggestion for the contradictory nature of the 

 records, other than that the abnormal conditions of confinement might 

 l)e responsible. 



Newly hatched stage I larvte were found in the field on 5th January, 

 1921, and we continued to pick them up until 23rd March. The earliest 

 stage II was procured on 18th January. Of 31 grubs collected on 8th 

 February, 15 were in stage I (48-4 per cent.), 14 in stage II (45-2 per 

 cent.), and 2 in stage III (6-4 per cent.). 



The life-cycle of the species cannot be satisfactorily determined until 

 it is bred right through from the egg stage to maturity. 



ANOPLOGNATHUS POROSUS DALMAN. 



In ten years' collecting of scaraljteids at Gordonvale, three adults 

 of this species have been discovered, and we have no further captures 

 l)esides those mentioned by Dodd (91) ; thus it must be a very rare 

 form. These Northern specimens differ somewhat from the Southern 

 ones, and IMr. A. ]\I. Lea has identified one as a doubtful variety of the 

 insect in question. 



The true porosus is exceedingly al)undant in New South Wales; 

 Froggatt, in "Australian Insects," 1907, states that the larva? have 

 been ascertained to be injurious to strawl)erry plants, eating off the roots. 



In appearance the adult closely resembles A. hoisduvali, but is 

 rather smaller. 



ANOPLOGNATHUS SMARAGDINUS OHAUS. 



Keferred to ])y Dodd as No. 68(), it is known to us only from the 

 scrub areas of Babinda and Innisfail, where it occurs in vast numl)ers. 

 At the former place, on 30th October, 1920, they were emerging at dusk 

 and flying to the feeding-trees, where copulation took place in the usual 

 manner, the male resting on the back of the female. They remain on the 

 trees during the day, and copulating pairs were observed at 11 a.m., in 

 bright sunlight. On 10th November, they were not nearly so plentiful, 

 and on 22nd November none could be collected. Several food plants are 

 favoured, including the scrub wattle. Acacia mangium (Leguminosaj), 

 river hilnscus. Hibiscus tiliaccus (INIalvacea?), the low shrub Tristcmma 

 virusanum (^Melastomaceie), and the tall erect shrub Brcj/uia ccDiiia 

 (Euphorbiaceff'), all of Avhich plants are seriously attacked. 



The larva' are not uncommon in tlie clayey canefields round Babinda, 

 but we have little exact data on their presence. 



E 



