139 



About half of the females have the hind femora conspicuously 

 black in the middle. 



Laius nodicornis, Blackb. 



A variety of this species (apparently commoner than the 

 typical form) occurs, whose pronotum has a conspicuous, 

 subquadrate, blackish blotch. Such specimens in general 

 appearance rather closely resemble villosus, orthodoxus, and 

 plagiaticollis, but may be at once distinguished by the second 

 joint of the male antennae. The female, described at the 

 same time as the typical male, had such a blotch, but it is 

 not confined to that sex. 



Hab. — New South Wales: Wentworth; South Australia: 

 Petersburg, Adelaide, Minnipa Hill, Leigh Creek; Western 

 Australia : Kalgoorlie. 



Laius variegatus, Blackb. 

 PI. xiii., fig. 20. 

 The type of this species is before me, and is a female. 

 I have seen no other specimen agreeing with it in markings, 

 but it is certainly allied to quinquenotatus , having the post- 

 median dark elytral markings quite as densely punctate as 

 the adjoining surface ; in fact, it seems possible that it should 

 be regarded as a variety of that species. The prothorax 

 was described as "fulvo, antice transversim late nigro-uni- 

 lineatOy disco maculatim infuscato," but is now uniformly 

 flavous ; probably the specimen when described had the 

 pronotum semitransparent, allowing part of the head to 

 appear as a dark transverse line (such apparent transverse 

 lines are often to be seen in fresh specimens of the genus). 



Laius pretiosus, Blackb. 

 PI. xiii., figs. 21, 45, 46. 



A male of this species (from Lake Callabonna) differs 

 from the female in having the first joint of antennae stouter, 

 and the second much larger and distorted, convex on the 

 lower-surface and irregularly concave on the upper ; the two 

 specimens before me have the discal blotch on the pronotum 

 so large that only a narrow flavous border is left; the elytral 

 markings are somewhat like those of trisignatus, but the 

 surface is shagreened, rather than punctate. 



Laius eyrensis, Blackb. 

 PI. xiii., figs. 22, 47, 48. 

 The pattern of the elytral markings of this species is 

 somewhat similar to those of sinus, but the prothorax is much 



