OF NEW ZEALAND. 335 



medium fascia obliqua elevata notatis ; pedibus fusco variegatis ; cor- 

 pore infra nitide fusco. 



Long., 4-4 J lin. 



Auckland (Captain Broun). 



NOTE. The habitat is a mistake, I did not send any from the town ;~ 

 I found it but sparingly at Stake's Point and Tairua. The head is not 

 always tubercular, and seldom has more than one tubercle. 



608. P. violacea. Opilus violaceus,Klug.; Abh. Berl., 1840, 391. 

 Notoxus violaceus, Fabr. ; Ent. Syst., i. 210, 2. 



The antenna are fuscous, the basal joints paler. The body is of a 

 shining violet colour. The thorax is convex |ind uneven, rather longer 

 than it is broad, its sides dilated behind the middle, the front rather 

 narrow and constricted, and contracted at the base. The elytra are 

 oblong, not much wider than the thorax, slightly wider behind than at 

 the base, shoulders distinct, apices obtusely rounded ; each bears an 

 obtuse elevation near the scutellum, a raised yellow spot in front of the 

 middle, and an interrupted yellow patch not reaching the suture near 

 the middle ; immediately behind the posterior spot there is a rather 

 large marginal depression ; the posterior half is smooth, the anterior 

 has several rows of punctures. The margins of the body and the legs 

 are sparsely pilose. 



Length, 3 lines. 



I found this species at Tairua, and it is from specimens in my pos- 

 session that the above description has been drawn up. I have not seen 

 the diagnoses by Klug. and Fabr. ; that given by White (Voy. Er. Ter. 

 Ins., p. 8) is meagre, and, moreover, does not specify the size. 



609. P. hilaris, Sharp; Ent. Men. Mag., May, 1877. Late 

 violacea, nitida, fere impunctata, elytris bulla elevata maculaque laterali 

 flavis ; antennis tarsisque nigricantibus, trochanteribus et femorum 

 basibus flavis. 



Long., 7 mm. ; lat, 2\ mm. 



Antenna testaceous, with the basal joint obscurely testaceous behind. 

 Thorax a little longer than broad, the sides distinctly prominent a little 

 behind the middle and thence narrowed to the base, the constricted 

 anterior part elongate. Elytra rather long and narrow, with a double 

 elevation behind the scutellum ; behind these scutellar elevations on 

 each is an elevated bright yellow spot, and again just behind this is a 

 large yellow elevated patch reaching the lateral margin but not the 

 suture ; their surface is almost impunctate. 



I am indebted to Mr. Wakefield for this elegant and easily distin- 

 guished species ; it was found by him, I believe, at Christchurch. 



6 10. P. pantomelas, Boisd. ; Voy. Astr. t. 6., / 14. Colour 

 blackish, antennae fuscous. Head and thorax punctured, the former 

 closely, the latter rugosely \ the thorax is longer than broad, dilated 

 behind the middle, and with two small obtuse tubercles on the disc in 

 front. The elytra are oblong, widest posteriorly, and each bears an 

 irregularly-curved testaceous mark near the suture on the middle, and 



