COLEOPTEROUS INSECTS. 251 



is greyish. The head is ornamented with two tri- 

 angular patches of red, and two lines of the same 

 hue are placed in the centre of the thorax, which 

 converge in front: from each side of the thorax 

 behind there projects a strong spine, which can be 

 moved in different directions at the will of the in- 

 sect ; and two others, of small size, and incapable of 

 motion, issue from the back, one towards each side. 

 The elytra are variegated with undulated lines and 

 angular figures of red and grey : towards the base 

 the surface is pretty thickly covered with impressed 

 points, interspersed with small black shining tuber- 

 cles ; and each elytron bears an acute spine on the 

 shoulder, and two others at the hinder extremity. 

 The under parts are likewise covered with silky 

 pubescence, but it is of a grey colour. The thighs 

 are smooth and black, each of them surrounded by 

 a red ring near the apex. The anterior thighs and 

 tibiae are of great length, the latter much incurved 

 at the tip, where they are armed with a spine, and 

 covered with small points and granulations on the 

 under side ; these parts in the other legs are smooth, 

 and more or less ash-coloured. This insect is of fre- 

 quent occurrence in Brazil, Guiana, and other tropi- 

 cal countries of America. It is known to the natives 

 by the name of Mouche bagasse, a term taken from 

 a tree which has lately been described under the 

 botanical appellation of JBagassa Guyanensis. The 

 wood of this tree is of a bright yellow, and when it 

 is felled, there issues from it a white viscid juice of 



