133 



margin of the prothorax on either side, and its middle at about 

 the centre of that segment, together with the disposition of the 

 elytral tubercles, will distinguish this species from its described 

 congenei's. The elytral tubercles are smaller than in the allied 

 species. In the hinder third part of the elytra they do not rise 

 above the pubescence ; they run in six or seven fairly regular 

 longitudinal lines on each elytron (the first, third, and fifth rows 

 containing the largest tubercles), and in each row no tubercles 

 behind the front quarter of the elytra are nearly so large as some 

 of those on the front quarter. The straight truncation (with its 

 external limit not at all spiniform) of the apex of the elytra also 

 seems to be a good character. 



Yilgarn, W. Australia ; sent to me by C. French, Esq. 



PHYTOPHAGA. 



POLYOPTILUS. 



I believe P. Lacordairei, Germ., and P. Erichsoni, Germ., to 

 be the male and female respectively of one species. My reasons 

 for thinking so are that the two always seem to occur in company, 

 and that all the examples I have dissected of the former are 

 males and of the latter females. The principal difficulty that I 

 see in the w^ay of this conclusion is the existence of an insect 

 which is described by Mr. Baly (Cist. Ent. TI. p. 46) as the 

 female of P. Lacordairei, of which I have an ;L^)parently identical 

 example before me (its antennae unfortunately have been broken 

 off). This latter is very like P. Lacordairei J and moreover is 

 a female ; its elytra are abbreviated and are dehiscent behind and 

 its hind femora are unarmed. The armature of the hind femora 

 however is certainly not a reliable sexual character as I possess 

 5 examples of a species (described below) with unarmed femora 

 — nor is the abbreviation of the elytra indicative of sex as the 

 examples of P. Erichsoni before me are all females and all have 

 fully developed elytra. I doubt whether the example Avith short 

 elytra is P. Lacordairei — if it is I should take it to be an aberra- 

 tion — but I find that its prothorax is diflerently shaped, having 

 its greatest Avidth manifestly nearer to the middle than in 

 P. Lacordairei, and moreover it comes from New South Wales 

 where I am not sure that the latter species occurs. Some years 

 ago I found a great number of P. Lacordairei and Erichsoni 

 {IjCicordairei much the more plentiful) promiscuously under stones 

 near Port Lincoln, but there were no examples with shortened 

 elytra among them. It is of course a possibility that my example 

 with shortened elytra is not specifically identical with that 

 described by Mr. Baly. As far as my observations go — I have 

 dissected only the two forms described by Germar and the 

 example with shortened elytra — the females of this genus, as 



