THE BANDED PUMPKIN BEETLE. 123 



CHAPTER LXXXVIII. 



THE BANDED PUMPKIN BEETLE. 



(Aulacophora hilaris, Boisd. ) 

 Order: Coleoptera. Sub-Family: Gallerucides. 



A handsome little beetle, belonging to the great 

 family of the Chrysomelidce, and so well known for their 

 leaf -eating propensities. This insect is about a third of 

 an inch in length, with a slender head and neck. In 

 color it is a distinct orange-yellow, with a blackish 

 patch in the u shoulder " of each wing case, with a 

 corresponding but more rounded blackish spot on either 

 side towards the tips of its wing cases. So far I have 

 been unable to find either larvae or the eggs, which are 

 laid on the leaves, so am at present unable to figure 

 them, but trust to doing so later on. 



This very destructive beetle, eight species of which are 

 described as being from Australia, is a native of Victoria, 

 and also of other parts of our continent ; and has hitherto, 

 with very few exceptions, been looked upon by Victorian 

 collectors as a somewhat rare insect, and, so far as our 

 own State is concerned, a collector may hunt the bush for 

 days together without finding even a solitary specimen ; 

 and it is only during the last few years, and at long 

 intervals, that it has proved such a pest to growers. 



As a rule, the depredations of this beetle have mostly 

 been confined to plants belonging to the great order of 

 Cucurbitacecz, to which belong our pumpkins, marrows, 

 cucumbers, gourds, etc.; and peaches, nectarines, etc., 

 have also been attacked ; but of late years their attacks 

 have by no means been confined to the plants above 

 mentioned. 



In December, 1895, I was first made acquainted with 



