Suarp—On New Zealand Coleoptera. 399 
This is easily recognized by the black colour of the upper surface, the outer 
margin of the thorax and elytra being yellow, this colour on the wing-cases 
becoming broader behind, and sometimes extending a little forwards from the apex 
along the suture. The front tibize of the male are slender, but shaped much as in 
P. festiva, and the basal joint of the front tarsus in this sex is longer and more 
slender than in the other species ; the club of the antennee is elongate. 
Greymouth, Helms. 
Norre.—Mr. Helms has been so kind as to capture and forward to me a considerable number of 
specimens of this genus, so as to enable me to form an opinion about the species. I also received a 
good many examples from Professor Hutton, and am thus able to form an opinion as to the 
variation, at any rate, in the centre of the south island. Three species seem to occur there in plenty. 
1. P. festiva may be recognized by the fuscous stripe extending from the front of the thorax to the 
extremity of the elytra; there is also usually a fuscous stripe near the side of the wing-case, but this 
is occasionally absent ; the ground colour is usually pallid metallic green, but this varies a good deal, 
though the surface is never of a fulgid, coppery, or sanguineous hue. 2. A species recognizable by its 
green colour, without stripes ; the green colour is frequently more or less shot with copper or sanguineous 
red, and this colour occasionally gains predominance, so that the upper surface may be entirely fulgid 
red, or the thorax and scutellum may be of this colour, the elytra remaining green. Melolontha leta, 
Fab. appears to be arare variety of this species, in which the fulgid, coppery colour is confined to the 
middle of the thorax and tothe scutellum. I have seen no other examples of P. munda than the three 
I originally described from the north island, but think it will prove to be a variety of this species, 
which will take the name of P. leta, as Fabricius expressly mentioned its most constant character, 
viz. the concolorous suture. 38. P. edwardsi, Sharp: this is apparently rarer thant he two preceding ; 
the colour is usually darker, and the suture is golden or metallic, there being sometimes outside this 
metallic stripe a contiguous line of dull purple or fuscous colour. All these three occur at Greymouth 
and Otago. I have seen no fresh examples of P. sobrina. 
Fam. ELATERIDA., 
'THORAMUS. 
Thoramus wakefieldi, Shp.—Mr. Helms has met with this imsect and T. 
obscurus in some numbers near Picton; both run through similar variations in 
size and some of the smaller details, and I now feel pretty certain that the suspicion 
I expressed as to the two being sexes of one species was correct, and propose that 
they should be united, the trivial name of wakefieldi being retained for the species. 
The variation in size of the individuals is remarkable, some of the females being 
about 30 m.m. long, while other examples of the same sex scarcely attain 15 m.m. 
The largest male I have seen is about 21 m.m. long, 
Thoramus parryi, Cand.—I have made acquaintance with the male of this 
species by means of an example from the late Andrew Murray’s collection, It is 
TRANS. ROY. DUB. SOC., N.S. VOL. III. 3 H 
