394 A YEAR OF COSTA RICAN NATURAL HISTORY 



dragonfly larvae. The beetles were of two species and a 

 variety of Cephaloleia, family Hispidse. The smallest spe- 

 cies, C. 4-lineata, was seven millimeters long, with the 

 head dark brown, the prothorax orange with a dark brown 

 middle spot narrowed where it reached the hind end of the 

 segment; the elytra brown, with a longitudinal yellow stripe 

 on the middle of each but not reaching the hind end, and 

 a narrower yellow stripe on the outer edge. C. stenosoma 

 was nine millimeters long, its head and thorax similarly 

 colored, but the elytra orange-brown in the anterior half 

 and black in the posterior half, the black reaching farthest 

 forward along the suture. A variety of C. stenosoma was 

 also present, similar in size, in color of head and of thorax, 

 but having the elytra uniformly reddish-brown. In May, 

 we found a third species of Cephaloleia, C. placida, in an un- 

 folded Heliconia leaf near the Reventazon at Juan Viiias. 

 This was six miUimeters long, reddish-orange above, yellow 

 beneath, including the legs. Each elytron had ten rows of 

 dark punctures. The antennae were for the most part 

 blackish, but the first two joints and the tip of the last joint 

 were yellow or orange. The species of Cephaloleia feed on 

 the tender leaves of their host plants, according to Mr. 

 G. C. Champion. 



Along part of the river bank which we explored, bull's 

 horn thorns were abundant and close together so that one 

 had to be extremely careful to avoid them; for as we have 

 said the bite and sting of the ants inhabiting them are very 

 severe and on P. at least raised a little welt lasting perhaps 

 half an hour. I noticed that the plants inhabited by ants 

 ranged in height from one to thirty feet, but not all were 

 tenanted although the great majority were. It was not 

 evident why some were not. We obtained an attractive 

 little Chrysomelid beetle (Megascelis lacertina) on these 

 thorns. It was but one-sixth of an inch long; its head and 



