2 NOTES ON THE ENTOMOLOGY OF A TEA-TREE SWAMP. 



Symphyletes farinosus, the life history of which we have lately 

 worked out. Another very pretty species is Zygocera pruinosa, 

 which was found commonly along with the first mentioned. It 

 is not, however, peculiar to the tea-tree, for we have obtained 

 the larvfe and reared the perfect insects from various eucalypts. 

 Predatory upon the larvre of the above is the grub of a large 

 elaterid beetle, Alaus sp. Another insect observed as emerging 

 from the decayed stems is a tenebrionid, belonging to the 

 beautiful genus Chalcopterus. Upon coming out from the pupa, 

 this insect was bright rosy, with an iridescent sheen, which soon, 

 however, changed to the usual metallic blue green. Its life 

 history we have not yet clearly worked out. 



Moths of many other families, the larva' of which feed upon 

 these swamp plants, are plentiful enough. Bombyces are 

 represented by Teara protrahens, the caterpillars of which are 

 gregarious, and eat the leaves of melaleuca. The most abun- 

 dantly represented family is, however, that of the pyrales, of 

 which very many species are found in the swamps. One very 

 singular species attached to the tea-tree is gregarious, each insect 

 forming a bottle-shaped nest, or cocoon, in fact, it serves both 

 purposes. They may be often found twenty or thirty together 

 on one little bush. The larva comes out at the lower end, which 

 is prolonged into a tube some inches in length, to feed upon the 

 leaves, and usually retreats backwards immediately it is 

 disturbed. 



Living in small communities, and arranged in regular order 

 around the twigs, are found strange, repulsive-looking grubs. 

 Posteriorly these larvae are attenuated into tail-like processes, 

 which wriggle about on the slightest disturbance, and probably 

 are of a protective nature, in that they cause birds and animals 

 to avoid them under the impression that they are stings. As a 

 further protection, they also exude upon being touched a most 

 disagreeable liquid. Neither birds nor animals appear to attack 

 them. During the day-time they remain quiescent in the 

 manner above mentioned, but at night they wander in search of 

 food, the leaves of the twigs in their immediate vicinity. "When 

 full fed they burrow through the scaly bark of the tea-tree to the 

 young wood, sometimes into it, and spin their cocoons. Such is 

 a slight account of the saw-fly of the tea-tree. 



