CURIOUS ANTENNJS. 



311 



its wings. The elytra, as may be seen by reference to the illus- 

 tration, are so small as to be entirely useless by way of protec- 

 tion to the wings, which are very large and beautifully coloured. 

 The ground colour is shining black, but upon the disc of the 

 wing is a large patch of yellow, edged with a number of bright 

 blue spots. The antennae are of extraordinary length, reminding 

 the observer of the same organs in the familiar Long-horned 

 Moths of England. 



Kid. 154. — Neci'usciu Zcuxis. 

 (Green; wings marked with blue and yellow.) 



Many species of this genus are beautifully coloured, among 

 which may be mentioned Necroscia ruseipennis of Borneo, in 

 which the hard upper edge of the wing is green, and the rest a 

 beautiful pale pink, just like the hue of a blush rose. Another 

 species, Necroscia annulipes, is remarkable for the bands of 

 bright yellow which not only surround the legs, as is implied 

 by the specific name, but even extend to the antennae, although 

 those organs are scarcely thicker than human hair and run to a 

 very great length. In all these insects the wings wdien closed 

 lie flat along the back, protected by their hard upper edge ; and 

 the contrast between the same insect with its wings closed and 

 open is absolutely startling. I presume that the generic name 



