251 



protonotum being on the sides much more elevated in front 

 than in the middle and on the base very evidently more ele- 

 vated at the ends than in the middle. I have a female 

 example of Scitala taken in South Australia which may re- 

 present a distinct species, but does not seem to differ from 

 the female described above, except in the considerably 

 closer puncturation of its pygidium. 



South Australia ; Fowler's Bay. Also from Western 

 Australia. 



S. rorida, Burm. This is one of the most difficult of iden- 

 tification among the Scitahc. The description (colour and size 

 being disregarded) will fit almost any member of the genus 

 having 9-jointed antennfe. And, unfortunately, there is no 

 indication — beyond the mention of Australia — of the locality 

 in which this species occurs, unless a guess can be made from 

 the mention of Mr. Melly as the donor of the type. Glancing 

 through Burmeister's descriptions of Australian species, it is 

 noticeable that most of those to which Mr. Melly's name is 

 attached relate to insects that are found in New South Wales, 

 and therefore the probabilities are in favour of the type of 

 rorida having come from that State. T therefore select among 

 the Scitala known to me from New South Wales that which 

 best agrees in respect of size and colour with Burmeister's 

 description, and apportion the name to a species that I met 

 with in the Blue Mountains. It is a large dark-coloured in- 

 sect with bright iridescence, its entire dorsal surface being of 

 about the same colouring as the head and pronotum of Scri- 

 cesthis pruinosa, Dalm., and on referring to Burmeister's de- 

 scriptions of the two species T find that he uses exactly the 

 same expression to characterize the dorsal surface of rorida 

 and the head and pronotum of pruinosa — "dunkelhraiui leh- 

 haft irisirend." The probability, therefore, seems to be in 

 favour of the correctness of my identification. It should be 

 noted, however, that the species appears to be very variable in 

 colour (some specimens otherwise indistinguishable being of 

 a pale iridescent brown tint) and widely distributed, since I 

 have taken in the neighbourhood of Adelaide examples that 

 seem quite identical with those taken near Sydney. 



S. hospes, sp. nov. Sat late ovata ; modice convexa : minus 

 nitida ; subglabra, sternis femoribusque sat sparsim pilo- 

 sis ; testaceo-brunnea, nonnihil aureo-micans. leviter iri- 

 descens ; antennis 9-articulatis : clypeo confluenter rugu- 

 loso, antice late rotundato, modice reflexo : fronte sat con- 

 vexa, antice crebre ruguloso postice gradatim minus 

 crebre nee rugulose punctulata ; prothorace quam longiori 

 fere ut 7 ad 4 latiori, antice sat fortiter angustato, supra 



