184 



In Mr. Masters' " Catalogue of the described Coleoptera of 

 Australia " tliere are twenty-two species belonging to this group 

 recorded, but besides there are seven others that appear to have 

 been accidently omitted from the catalogue, making a total (so 

 far as I have been able to ascertain) of twenty-nine. 



The Trichosoinidre of Mulsant contains a group, Ejnlachnides, 

 which Dr. Chapuis has since, apparently with good reason, ele- 

 vated to the rank of a principal division of tlie Coccinellidcp.. If 

 the Australian Ejnlacltnides be abstracted, the number of species 

 of true Coccinellidce of the pubescent group hitherto recorded as 

 occurring on the continent is reduced to twenty -two. I do not 

 think that the division of the family into a pubescent and a non- 

 pubescent group is altogether natural, but as it happens acci- 

 dently that my jDresent paper has to do only with the former 

 (owing to my having no new species of the latter before me), it 

 will be convenient to my present purpose by accepting that 

 division to avoid having to distinguish the new genera and species 

 before me from any of the non-pubescent group. 



Dr Erichsen was the first to describe Australian insects of this 

 group. In his " Beitrag zur Insecten-Fauna von Vandiemens- 

 land" (1842) he describes three species as members of the genus 

 Scymnus. In 1851 M. Mulsant, in his great work, "Species des 

 Coleopteres Trimeres securipaljyes,^^ characterised seven additional 

 species apportioned among three genera, and in a supplement to 

 the same, two years later, added four more. In 1859 M. 

 Bohemann described an additional species; in 1874 Mr. Crotch 

 (in his " Revision of the Coccinellidae ") another six, and finally 

 in 1876 Dr. Chapuis (Gen. Col. xii.) one more still. Of these, 

 two are attributed by their author to our own colony, one is 

 stated to be from New South Wales, one from Victoria, one from 

 "Western Australia, while three are Tasmanian, and seven come 

 from Queensland, the remainder being vaguely set down as in- 

 habiting " Australia." 



The Australian Coccinellidce that have received names have 

 been more fortunate than many of our Coleoptera in having been 

 intelligibly described, and there are comparatively few whose 

 identification is attended with much uncertainty ; I trust that I 

 may prove to have maintained this excellent character for the 

 group in the descriptions that I now ofier to the Society. 



The principal difficulty that I have encountered in deaKng with 

 the following species has been their apportioimient into genera. 

 I am of opinion that a large number of new generic names will be 

 eventually required for the Australian pubescent CoccineUidce, but 

 I do not think that the work of providing them is one that it 

 would be wise for a student resident in Australia to undei'take. 

 Such contributions to science, if they are to be of permanent (or 



