138 



blackish, with the front tibiae inf uscated ; on the female 

 the legs are almost entirely black ; the large subapical spots 

 on the elytra are usually separated, but on one specimen 

 the suture between them is infuscated. The basal joint of 

 the male antennae has a short but rather acute process, which 

 is invisible from most directions, owing to the overlapping 

 tip of the first joint. 



Laius aulacophoroides, n. sp. 

 PI. xiii., figs. 19, 43, 44. 



d" . Flavous, basal half of head and scutellum black; a 

 large spot on each shoulder and a large, curved, supapical 

 spot on each elytron (each of the latter touching its fellow 

 across the suture) metallic-purple (or blue, or bluish-green) ; 

 metasternum black or infuscated, extreme tip of antennae 

 infuscated with moderately dense and not very long, upright, 

 whitish and greyish setae. 



Bead with feeble depression in front, and with very 

 small punctures. Antennae short, first joint stout, angularly 

 dilated in middle on one side, second large and distorted, 

 convex on lower side, irregularly concave on upper, third 

 to sixth joints obtusely serrated on one side, the others mere 

 rounded, tenth pointed and almost twice the length of ninth. 

 Prothorax almost twice as wide as long, sides strongly 

 rounded, apex truncate and much wider than base ; sides 

 with rather coarse punctures, but becoming small and sparse 

 in middle. Elytra comparatively short, base much wider than 

 base of prothorax ; with dense and asperate but rather 

 sharply-defined punctures, becoming smaller and sparser on 

 parts of the metallic markings. Second joint of front tarsi 

 partly overlapping third, and with a conspicuous black rim. 

 Length ( S , 9 )> 5-6 mm. 



9 • Differs in having the eyes less prominent, antennae 

 with first joint much smaller, second much smaller and simple 

 (much stouter than third, and about as long as third and 

 fourth combined), tip of abdomen black, and in the 

 front tarsi. 



Hah. — North-western Australia (Blackburn's collection). 

 Type, I. 7572. 



In general appearance somewhat like verticalis (W. S. 

 Macl.), but with subapical markings not quite the same in 

 pattern, and without similar punctures to those on the 

 adjacent parts. At first glance it strikingly resembles 

 Aulacophora hilaris and other four-spotted species of that 

 genus. The second joint of the male antennae (in addition 

 to some vague depressions) has three conspicuous foveae 

 (two near the apex and a much larger one near the base). 



