FOREIGN AND BRITISH LAGRIAS. 185 



Lagria basalts, which has been chosen as the representative ot 

 the family, is a native of Northern India, and is a singularly 

 beautiful insect. Its body is very convex, so as to be nearly 

 cylindrical. The head and thorax are apparently black, but 

 when viewed by a strong light are seen to be the very deepest 

 purple, just as a so-called black coat is mostly blue, and not 

 black. The elytra are curiously granulated, the granulations 

 running in curves so as to produce a sort of uncertain spiral 

 pattern, thus giving a peculiar soft richness to the surface. The 

 colours of the elytra are so equally divided that it is not easy to 

 say which is the ground hue. The basal half of each elytron is 

 deep, glowing purple, to which fact the insect owes its specific 

 name of basalis. The remainder of the elytron is yellow, the 

 punctures or granulations beiDg shown much more distinctly on 

 the yellow than on the purple half. The under surface of the 

 body is dull black. 



There are many species of this genus, the present being by far 

 the largest in point of size and the handsomest in point of 

 colour. Little seems to be known 

 of the larvse of the various species 

 and their habits. The larva of our 

 own species is, like the perfect insect, 

 clothed abundantly with long hairs, 

 and its shape is rather cylindrical, 

 but flattened beneath. The pupa is 

 also hairy. Mr. Westwood mentions 

 that he has often beaten the larva out 

 of whitethorn hedges in the spring 

 and autumn ; and Ly onnet states that Fl °; sr. -Lagria basaHs. 



' J (Purple and yellow.) 



he took the larva at the foot of oak- 

 trees, under a quantity of fallen leaves, on which they were feeding. 

 Their larva is, however, generally thought to be carnivorous. 

 "When disturbed they roll themselves up, and Lyonnet states 

 that they assumed the pupal form at the beginning of July, 

 emerging in the perfect state in the wane of the same summer. 



The Beetle which is represented in the illustration on the next 

 page has never before been described. It belongs to the family 

 Evanioceridae, and I have given to it the name of Trigonodera 

 angulata. The former of these names is Greek, and signifies 



