AUSTRALASIAN WOODBORING HEPIALIDAE. 



Charagia daphiwndro: " Lucas," C. eximln " Scott," C. ramsayi 

 " Scott," C. Virescens "Dbld." 



(Plate IX.) 



By R. ILLIDGE 



AND 



AMBROSE QUAIL, F.E.S. (London ) 



[Raid i>eforetJ)c lldi/nl Socict;/ of Qiwruslund, December Sih, 1900.] 



It has been a very great pleasure to the writer to examine the 

 living iarv;e, pupa?, &c.., of three species of this interesting group 

 of lepidoptera, viz., C. daphnandrae, C. exiiiiia, C. ramsayi, from 

 Queensland, as we have also been making enquiry into the 

 life history of C. virescens, a New Zealand species of similar 

 habits and closely allied to the above. Mr. Illidge attached 

 descriptive labels to the sticks of wood v/hich contained the 

 larvie, and furnished notes from time to time on the habits of 

 the several species under observation. 



"While unpacking one of these parcels, a Maori saw the 

 larvte and exclaimed " they are very sweet food," and when 

 informed that they were from Australia, he said they were very 

 like the New Zealand grubs which are in " white pine" and the 

 " houhere " — (thousand jacket), the former — a Longicorne 

 Coleopteron, he said they eat raw, but the latter — Charagia 

 virescens, cannot be eaten raw, but is very nice food when 

 roasted. "Houhere" is the Hoheria populnea — " Cunn," in 

 which we have found C. virescens larviB. 



E 



