288 Traiisactions.- — 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 inabihty 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 jDreserved in the Museum, where the perfect insect also may 

 be seen. 



Aet. XXXVI. — Description of the Larva of Pericoptus truncatus, ivith 

 Observations as to Habitat. By Captain T. Beoun. 

 [Read before the Auckland Institute, 2nd June, 1879.] 

 The larva of this beetle may be said to be of an elliptically cylindric/or???, 

 being somewhat contracted near the middle, and with its first and anal seg- 

 ments, especially the former, narrower than the adjacent ones. Its upper 

 sm-face 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 incurved, 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 1\ in breadth, and 15x6 respectively, but if 

 straightened, the larger must have about 14 lines added to its length. 



Its colour is u.ncertain ; 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 are 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 u-regularly 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 



