FAMILY BUPRESTIDAE 211 



LAMPRA. 



A new species of this genus was taken on young india-rubber plants 

 in Assam. 



Lampra assamensis, sp. nov., Stebbing. 



Habitat. Darrang, Assam. 



Tree Attacked. Ficus elastica. Charduar Rubber Plantation, Darrang, 



Assam. 



Beetle. Elongate, constricted behind, with brilliant metallic colouring. Head purple in 

 centre, metallic blue-green on either side. Disk of thorax purple, with a longitudinal median 



area green, the lateral margins green anteriorly, the basal half crimson. 

 Description. Scutellum light blue-green. Elytra with basal margins green, merging 



into dull coppery medianly, this latter colour produced in a longi- 

 tudinal median dull band to apex, a broad, crimson, longitudinal band laterally ending in the 

 apical fourth, the band interrupted by purple patches. A yellow coppery spot immediately 

 behind the band, apical fourth coppery-purple. Head strongly rugose-punctate, with a frontal 

 median d.pression and a weak longitudinal line basally on vertex. Prothorax much wider 

 than long, anterior margin weakly sinuate, sides rounded, base bisinuate, median lobe produced ; 

 rather finely rugose-punctate, coarsely so laterally, the purple areas on disk sparsely punctate. 

 Elytra slightly wider than thorax at base, sides sinuous at level of posterior coxae, thence 

 constricted sharply to apex, the edges, in slightly over apical half, toothed ; apices separately 

 rounded and toothed ; striate-punctate, the striae most prominent on apical sutural two-thirds ; 

 the punctures fine, densest laterally. Under-surface brilliant coppery-green. Abdominal seg- 

 ments crimson. Length, 9.5 mm. ; breadth, 3.1 mm. The species is figured in pi. xv, fig. 3. 



I took a specimen of this brilliantly-coloured buprestid in April 1906 



on a leaf of one of the young eight-foot sapling plants 



Life History. in the rubber nursery at Charduar in Assam. \Vhen 



disturbed the beetle feigned death, and dropped to the 



ground. The insect proves new to science. 



BUPRESTIS. 

 Buprestis (Ancylocheira) geometrica, Cast, et Gory. 



REFERENCES. Cast, et Gory, Man. Rupr. i, 141, pi. 35, fig. 194 (1837) ; decemnotata, Cast, et Gory, id. 

 J 33> pl- 33. fig- J 84 ; aurantiopicta, Cast, et Gory, id. fig. 183 (next text). 



Habitat. Ravi Valley, Chamba, North-West Himalaya. Also reported 

 from Simla, Himalaya, Bengal. 



Tree Attacked. - I'iniis longifolia. Chamba, Ravi Valley. 



Beetle. Elongate, finely granulose. Dull bronze or black, \\ith yellow 01 \rlli.\\ is| M -ed 

 spots on elytra ; under-surface and legs coppery-bronze. Head broad, finely pmirt.itr. Imnt 



yellow, with two small black spots placed one on each side ol .1 

 Description. middle line, a small depression on vertex placed niedianly behind the 



yellow patch. 1'rothorux broader than Ion-, punctate, will) lien- and 



there small smooth areas; a yellow spot at lateral cd-rs and on lateral halves of anterior 

 margin. Elytra slightly wider than thorax at base., constricted in upper louitli and truncate, 

 the extremities weakly sinuate; striate-punctate, with tour largish orange pai< lies placed on 

 external half of each elytron, the upper one near the humeral angle and coining down on to the 

 lateral edge, the basal irregularly triangular, not reaching apex, the other two between the>e at 



O 2 



