149 



from olivaceous-green to bright golden-green. In the Black- 

 burn collection there were two specimens from North-West- 

 Australia placed as belonging to the species without comment, 

 and they agree with the description of speciosa, which ap- 

 pears to be simply a variety. All the rather numerous speci- 

 mens that I have seen from North-West Australia have a 

 brighter colour than those from the other parts of Australia. 

 Numerous specimens from Tennant Creek (taken by Mr. J. 

 F. Field) are intermediate in appearance. Froggatti appears 

 to have been described from a male of speciosa. The form 

 described as olivacea is quite the common Northern Territory 

 form of the species. 



A specimen from Darwin has the elytra (except the 

 suture, which is green) and abdomen of a distinct bluish- 

 purple, strongly at variance in colour with all the other 

 specimens that are before me. A second specimen, however, 

 has the elytra slightly tinged with purple, although when 

 viewed from behind the purple tinge is more evident. The 

 punctures and lateral scratches vary to a certain extent. The 

 male is considerably narrower than the female, consequently 

 more strongly convex, and its pygidium is much less trans- 

 verse, with its lower edge slightly more produced. 



Dilochrosis brotjni, Kirby. 

 PL vii., figs. 15, 16, 17. 



This species should never have been generically separated 

 from Dilochrosis atripennis, and to make it the type of a new 

 genus (Phceopharis) largely on account of colours (even using 

 a prothoracic spot that is not always present) is reducing 

 generic distinctions to an absurdity. Only that Australian 

 species have been catalogued in accordance with Kraatz's 

 ideas, it would be better to regard his treatise as non-existent. 



The prothoracic spot, when present, is generally fairly 

 large, but I have never seen it of exactly the same shape on 

 any two specimens. Sometimes it is split up into two, some- 

 times it is represented by two small vague spots, and not in- 

 frequently it is entirely absent. Generally there are two or 

 three small lateral spots slightly in advance of the middle. 



A female in the National Museum, evidently belonging 

 to this species, is of a very dark brown, so dark that the black 

 markings are very ill-defined. It is covered all over (except 

 on the black parts) with minute granular elevations, giving 

 the surface an appearance as if covered with very fine dew. 

 To the naked eye the granules are not distinct, but, when 

 present, they cause the surface to appear less polished than 

 the other parts. This curious appearance was probably due 



