74 ON THE BYRRHIDES OF AUSTRALIA, 



Sp. 4. M. Tieteromerus. 



Nigro-piceus, striatus, minute tubercalosus ; antennis et pedi- 

 bus piceis ; tarsis heteromeris. 



Long. .21 ; lat. .16 poll. 



Gawler, South Australia. Mrs. Kreusler. 

 The nature of the tarsi is very remarkable, and thus, in 

 Australia, we have in this one small family representatives of 

 three of Latreille's primary divisions of the coleoptera. Microchcstes 

 sjplicericus is pentamerous, M. minor is tetramerous, and our 

 present species is heteromerous. Well might our late member, 

 the learned author of the " Horge Entomologicse," say, that 

 " absolute rules of generic distinction, founded upon minute 

 differences of structure, are not only faults in themselves, but 

 calculated to blind us altogether to those beautiful groups 

 vphich the Entomologist has so often occasion to remark in 

 nature."* 



Genus III. Byzenia. 



Labrum et mandibula semper conspicua, et antennarum articulus 



primus. 

 Mandibuhim acutum, ad medium obsolete unidentatum. 

 MaxillcB bilobatee. 

 Palpi labiales triarticulati iJiaxtZZaj-es 4-articulati, articulo ultimo 



precedente longiori. 

 Labrum transversum. 



Antennm 9-articulatse, articulis 1 et 9 magnis, reliquis parvis. 

 Elytra brevia, totum abdomen non tegentia. 

 Pedes robusti. 



Tarsorum ai^ticuli 1 et 5 longiores. 

 Corpus alatum. 



Sp. 5. B. formicicola. 



Piceus elytris gibbosis rivosis. 

 Long. .11.; lat. .07 poll. 

 Livei'pool, in nests of ants. 

 This very remarkable and distinct form occurs in the nests 



* HoriB EntomologicsB of W. B, MacLeay, p. 491. 



