290 Transactions. — Zoology. 



body, and accumulated around the cavity in the sand or debris usually occu- 

 pied by the larva, would be apt to lead one to suppose, at first sight, that 

 the wood must have been hi a decayed state previous to the insects' recourse 

 to it ; experienced observers particularly might be deceived in this matter, 

 knowing, as they do, that the larvae of the Dynastidae repair to decomposmg 

 vegetable matter as tlieu' natural food, then- services being peculiarly valu- 

 able in reudeiiug such substances innocuous. I apprehend that naturalists 

 have still much to learn respecting the various modes of life of New Zealand 

 insects ; preconceived notions derived from the study of the habits of what 

 may be termed "old-world animals," would prove to be unreliable guides 

 in the search for many of our species, which, to my knowledge, pass the 

 various stages of their existence under ch'cumstances quite at variance with 

 cognate, or even congeneric, forms found elsewhere. 



I am of opinion that decayed ligneous matter is not at all a necessary 

 means of support to this species ; if that were so, the larva would be more 

 often seen ; it is nowhere common, certainly not met with in such profusion 

 as to account for the numbers of the imago that may on certain occasions 

 be seen strewn, dead and mutilated, along the sea-shore. Its true home 

 is, beyond doubt, the loose drift above high-water mark. 



I have not been able to find the pupa, but I have frequently, especially 

 on calm mornings, followed the tracks of the perfect insects along the beach, 

 w^hereon they had been disporting during the night, and these invariably 

 ceased amongst the looser drift-sand, into which, it must be evident, the 

 beetles had burrowed, very deeply too, a,s I could never excavate a hole deep 

 enough to reach them by hand. I was once fortunate enough to secure a 

 living specimen, and, to place the matter beyond mere surmise, allowed him 

 to escape from my hand, when he instantly sought refuge in the sand. At 

 other times I noticed dead beetles belonging to this species which had not 

 effectually secured their retreat, the hind-body being visible. 



Another remarkable trait remains to be noticed, that is, the extraordin- 

 ary paucity of female specimens ; of the many hundi-eds of dead imagos I 

 have seen lying on the beach at various times, I can only remember having 

 found one female ! ! I do not mean to imply any analogy between the habits 

 of Pericoptus and the Bee, beyond the touching fact of her domestic i^ro- 

 clivities ; if she were not a good wife or daughter, she would surely be more 

 frequently visible to strangers. 



I shall deposit an alcohohc specimen as a type of this larva in the 

 Auckland Museum as soon as possible ; the perfect insect is already there, 

 and, when compared, they will afford a striking illustration of the metamor- 

 phoses of a beetle. 



