288 Transactions.— Zoology. 
concealment, the newly-hatched larva eating its way to the centre of the 
log ; but, when approaching maturity, boring towards the surface again, in 
order that when it emerges from the pupa state the beetle may readily effect 
its exit, which, of course, can only be done by eating its way out. 
I regret my inability to place before you a portion of the log, as I could 
not have done so without an assistant to cross-cut a section, and it would 
then have had to be carried a distance of five miles to my house, and very 
carefully too, to be of much service in illustrating my remarks. Type 
specimens of the larva and pupa, in alcohol, accompany this paper, so that 
they may be preserved in the Museum, where the perfect insect also may 
be seen. 
Art. XXXVI.—Deseription of the Larva of Pericoptus truncatus, with 
Observations as to Habitat. By Captain T. Broun. 
[Read before the Auckland Institute, 2nd June, 1879.] 
Tue larva of this beetle may be said to be of an elliptieally cylindrie form, 
being somewhat contracted near the middle, and with its first and anal seg- 
ments, especially the former, narrower than the adjacent ones. Its upper 
surface is moderately convex transversely, the lower almost plane, but 
wrinkled. If preserved in its natural posture, the ventral segments may be 
seen to be considerably ineurved, so that the hinder part of the body 
appears to be almost at right angles to the anterior. The lateral margins, 
though uneven, are well defined. 
The body is moderately soft, but the head and claws are decidedly 
corneous. ` 
The size varies according to the degree of maturity ; my two specimens 
measure 17 lines in length by 74 in breadth, and 15 x 6 respectively, but if 
straightened, the larger must have about 14 lines added to its length. 
Its colour is uncertain ; usually a pale yellow or dirty white, but be- 
. coming more or less livid; the head, however, is constantly castaneous, 
with piceous mandibles, the claws also arë pitchy, and the stout bristles 
borne by the legs and certain portions of the body are of about the same 
chestnut hue as the head. Sometimes the larva is irregularly spotted with 
blue, but the colour, as previously indicated, generally degenerates into a 
brownish white, with livid blotches. 
The body is apparently divided into fourteen segments, all of which, 
except the first and three last, are strongly wrinkled transversely, so much 
so, that some care will be required in determining the difference between 
the real sutures and the folds; the three terminal are by far the largest; of 
