186 INSECTS ABROAD. 



" triangular-skinned." It is given to all the Beetles of the genus 

 because, when viewed from above, the thorax appears more or 

 less triangular. 



In the male insect the antennoe are beautifully feathered, and 

 the eyes are greatly developed, meeting together on the top of 

 the head. Indeed, the head seems to be all eyes, much like 

 the head of a blue-bottle, and it is so bent downwards under the 

 thorax that it cannot be seen when the insect is viewed from 



above. In the female the antennas 

 are comparatively simple, and the 

 e} r es are much smaller. 



In all the species of Trigonodera 

 the hinder curves of the thorax are 

 pointed, but in this species, espe- 

 cially when viewed in profile, the 

 curves are elongated into such 

 sharp, angulated points, that I have 

 fig. 88.— Trigonodera angniata. New given it the specific name of anqu- 



speeies. ° * ° 



(Reddish brow-n.) lata. Whether viewed from above 



or from the side, there is a curious high-shouldered appearance 

 about the Trigonodera that is especially conspicuous in this 

 species, it being the largest of the genus. 



All the Trigonoderae are soberly clad, and this insect is no 

 exception to the rule, its colour being pale reddish brown 

 above and below, and its surface covered with a soft, silky 

 down. This hairy covering is easily rubbed off, and then shows 

 the real colour of the deeper elytra beneath. 



Australia has been celebrated as the home of some of the 

 most singular mammals in the world, such as the Echidna, 

 popularly called the Porcupine Ant-eater, the various species of 

 Kangaroo, the Tasmanian wolf (which is not a wolf at all, but a 

 marsupial), and the Duckbill She likewise produces plants and 

 trees which are quite as distinct from those of the old world as 

 are her marsupials from ordinary mammals. And, as we shall 

 presently see, she keeps up her reputation for strange forms by 

 producing some very odd-looking, not to say grotesque, insects. 



Among these are the Beetles belonging to the genus Helams. 

 So remarkable are the insects which constitute the family of 

 the Heliidpe, and so bizarre are their forms, that I sincerelv 



