51 



writing of Mr. W. S. Macleay "Sericesthis ciliata, McLeay, 

 N.S.W." It is a fair assumption that this is the type of 

 the insect which Boisduval described as Melolontha ciliata, 

 McLeay, or at any rate the specimen which Macleay — if he 

 sent the type to Boisduval — retained as in his opinion iden- 

 tical. Boisduval gives merely "New Holland" as the habitat 

 and does not mention the size or any character indicative 

 of genus. It must be admitted that the Sydney specimen 

 does not agree well with Boisduval's description such as it 

 is, for Boisduval calls the head and prothorax "rugose-punc- 

 tate" and the elytra "punctate striate," while in the Sydney 

 specimen there is no "rugulosity" except on the head, and 

 the elytra have only feeble indications of the pseudo-striation 

 that occurs much more conspicuously on many Heteronyces. 

 Boisduval's phrase "interstitiis (elytrorum) punctatissimis" 

 fits the Sydney specimen very well and expresses a character 

 that is not extremely common in the Australian Sericoides. 

 Blanchard (as previously noted by me, Tr. R.S., S.A., 1906, 

 p. 295) catalogues Melolontha ciliata, Boisd., as Haplonycha 

 (section with 8-jointed antennae) without indicating his reason 

 for doing so. The probability, however, of the Sydney speci- 

 men being at least a co-type justifies me, I think, in claiming 

 for it the name ciliata, Boisd., until some more definite con- 

 trary evidence shall be forthcoming. I may add that I have 

 in my own collection a badly-damaged specimen taken in 

 South Australia which seems to be identical with that in 

 the Macleay Museum. 



H. tempestivus, Er. It is well to notify that I have not 

 seen the type of this species, and that my identification of 

 it is founded on the description. I do not think, however, 

 that there is much doubt about the Tasmanian species to 

 which I apply the name being correctly identified. 



H. Alpicola, Blackb. It will be well to mention here 

 that this species (the only previously described one of the 

 group of closely associated species discussed under the head- 

 ing of II. tceniensiK) differs from all the others of that group 

 by the very evidently larger punctures of its elytra, of which 

 there are only about 22 in the width of an elytron. The 

 punctures of its pronotum are very much smaller. 



H. testaceiis, Blackb., resembles the species that I have 

 called "H. prcecox, Er. ?" in the form of its labrum and hind 

 tarsi and in general appearance, but differs by its less trans- 

 verse prothorax as well as by the evidently less fine punctura- 

 tion of its dorsal surface, especially its pronotum. 



H. r/racilipes, Blackb. This species and H . cojiiosus, 

 Blackb., are closely allied, but are certainly distinct. I do 

 not like the use of colour distinctions for tabulation, but in 



