410 



INSECTS ABROAD. 



head dull .and granulated This species is a native of Java. 

 In order to show the peculiar structure of the hind leg and the 

 ovipositor, the figure has been drawn rather larger than the 



insect. 



In the very unpretending form of Lyci&ca Romandi we have 



one of the most splendid insects that the earth produces. As 

 is the case with many insects which have already been described, 

 the colours are so exceedingly rich that they can hardly be seen 

 except in a brilliant light. When placed in a drawer with other 

 insects, the Lycisca might easily be passed over as one of no 

 greater beauty than those which surround it ; but when a gleam 

 of light darts across it, the sudden flash of emerald-green and 

 crimson at once catches the eye. 



Kic. 206.— Lycisca Romandi 

 (< I o, crimson, and black.) 



The abdomen of this species is divided boldly into two 

 colours, the basal half being vivid crimson and the rest shining 

 green. The whole of the abdomen has a metallic polish. The 

 thorax is deep black, covered with bars and dots of emerald- 

 green, and the wings are transparent, the upper pair having 

 two patches of deep velvety black. It is a Brazilian insect. 

 There are four species of Lycisca in the collection of the British 

 Museum, and this species is much the largest of the four. 



Thf. curiously shaped insect which is shown in the next 

 illustration is a very small one — barely one-third of an inch 

 in length, and the figure, therefore, has been magnified three 

 diameters larger than the insect itself. 



