244 



extreme ed.ge of the elytra is concolorous witli tliese vittse, so tliat 

 the basal part o£ the two elytra is traversed longitudinally by 

 six purple or golden stripes alternated with five stripes of the 

 ground colour, all the purple stripes merging into a wide con- 

 colorous fascia the hinder edge of which is at about the middle 

 of the elytra, but which does not nearly touch the lateral 

 margnis ; from this fascia its colour is broadly continued along 

 the suture to the apex, where it meets an equally broad vitta 

 which commences about the middle of the elytron on the lateral 

 margin and follows the margin to the apex; just behind its 

 commencement the lateral vitta is connected with the sutural 

 one by a wide transverse fascia, so that in the hinder half of 

 each elytron the ground colour exists only as a rather small 

 spot surrounded by the posterior fascia (in front) and the 

 sutural and lateral vittce (on the sides and behind). The ex- 

 treme anterior margin also is purple or golden. In some speci- 

 mens the ground colour is so nearly the same as that of the 

 markings that the latter are difficult to trace except side by 

 side with a well marked specimen. This insect is rather close- 

 to M. sicperha, L. and C, but is much smaller (the largest 

 specimen I have seen being less than 5 1. against 7 1., the length 

 of 31. superha^. There are colour differences also (e. g. the 

 scutellum being always of the groundcolour), and the markings 

 are different, especially in respect of the anterior fascia of the 

 elytra not nearly reaching the lateral margins. The thorax is- 

 less narrowed in front, and has no raised dorsal line, but in 

 some examples faint traces of an impressed one, and the elytra 

 are swollen out, and at their widest just behind the middle. 

 The pattern of the front half of the elytra scarcely differs 

 from the same in M. pyritosa, Hope, but the hinder half is 

 very differently marked, the outline of the elytra is rounded, 

 and blunt behind, &c., &c. 



There are a number of specimens of this insect in the South 

 Australian Museum, but there is no record of their locality. 

 It has been taken near Port Lincoln by my friend, Mr. J. 

 Anderson. 



31. pretiosa, sp. nov. Lata ; viridis, prothorace elytrisque pur- 

 pureo-notatis, notis aureo vel cupreo marginatis ; capite 

 crebre sat fortiter punctulato ; prothorace quam longiori 

 fere duplo (ut 4| ad2i) latiori, antice quampostice paullo 

 (ut 3f ad 4i\) augustiori, sat fortiter punctulato (disco 

 sparsim, ad latera crebre, his transversim rugatis), disco 

 obscure cupreo-umbrato, lateribus leviter arcuatis, margiue 

 anteriori leviter basi vix evidenter bisinuatis, angulis 

 posticis acutis ; elytris leviter striatis sat crebre punctu- 

 latis, punctis in parte transversim confluentibus ; sutura 

 (basi excepta), margine laterali (antice peranguste postice 



