54 MR. E. J. TILLYARD : LIFE-HISTORIES AND 



blunt dorso-lateral spines and two pairs of small sublateral spines close 

 together. Meso- and metathorax without spines ; wing-cases 8 mm. Legs o£ 

 medium build, dark brown blotched with pale brown. Abdomen shaped 

 as in A. longissima, with no dorsal spines ; lateral spines on 6—9, small to 

 medium (sometimes a tiny spine on 5). Appendage s. — Superior 3' 3 mm., 

 triquetral, pointed, liairj ; inferiors somewhat broader, a little more pointed, 

 same length, hairy (Plate 7. figs. 6, 18) ; the three together form a closed 

 pyramid much less sharp than the spines of A. longissima. Involucres : S 

 superiors 1 mm., sharp ; inferior 0'8 mm., bluntly triangular, broad ; ? sharp, 

 O'O mm. Ovipositor 3 mm., reaching a little beyond end of 9 (occasionally 

 to middle of 10) (Plate 6. fig. 12). Colour. — Dark brown, with very few 

 markings except a row of more or less distinct pale dorsal spots on 3-10, 

 those of 7-10 broad and conspicuous. 



Larval Types : c? ? , Coll. Tillyard. Medlow Bath, Blue Mountains, 

 N.S.W. [S bred Dec. 26th, 1909). 



Habitat. This rather sombre-coloured dragonfly occurs abundantly through- 

 out the mountainous parts of Eastern Victoria and New South Wales ; in 

 South Queensland it is rare, occurring sparingly on Mount Tambourine. 



The colour-scheme of grey-blue or creamy spots on a black ground is 

 eminently suited to the habits of the insect, which is very fond of resting on 

 the trunks of trees. A peculiarity of this and allied insects of the same 

 colour-group is the bright russet colour of the legs, for which I am not able 

 to offer any explanation, as they are quite the most conspicuous part of the 

 insect. I can only suggest that the legs, being nearly hidden in the position 

 of rest, have not been acted on in the formation of the protective colour- 

 scheme from an originally much higher " hylochrome " coloration. This 

 explanation is supported by the fact that in the closely allied A. parvistigma, 

 an insect which, both in its coloration and its very short pterostigma, has 

 departed even further from the original generic tj^pe, only the femora are 

 bright russet, the tibise being almost black, with only a touch of russet 

 (usually in the females), and the tarsi quite black. In the position of rest 

 the femora are quite hidden, while the tibise and tarsi project beyond the 

 body. 



Types: S Coll. Martin, ? Coll. Tillyard (Alexandra, Vic). 



AUSTRO^SCHNA PARVISTIGMA, SellJS. 



Two exuviae of this species were taken by me, a male at Launceston and a 

 female at St. Patrick's River, in December 1908. Unfortunately I did not 

 at the time consider ^4. mtdtipunctata, Martin, as distinct from this species, 

 and the specimens were not taken care of — at any rate, they are no longer in 

 my collection. From my notes I find that the larva is very similar in 

 general appearance to that of A. multipunctata, but differs as follows : — 

 Total length only 35 mm., breadth of abdomen 6*5 mm. Ovipositor not so 



