170 



The scutellum varies from pale, with very narrow black 

 margins, to entirely black. The elytra vary from a form 

 with the suture narrowly black, and shoulders not spotted, to 

 forms with a fairly wide sutural stripe, and a distinct spot on 

 each shoulder. One male, in the National Museum, Melbourne, 

 has the humeral spot black, with the sides thence to the apex 

 irregularly mottled with brown, of a sufficiently dark shade 

 to cause the space between it and the sutural patch to appear 

 conspicuously striped (fig. 74). 



The pygidium in the female is pale, with very narrow 

 black margins, and sometimes with a medio-basal spot con- 

 nected with the base. On the male -there is a distinct black 

 spot on each side, and the medio-basal spot is more distinct 

 than is usual in the female. The sterna and abdomen are 

 black with pale spots on the sides. The hind femora are 

 usually black with the front margin pale ; but on one male 

 they are entirely pale (although darker on the lower than on 

 the upper parts) . On this specimen also the four front femora 

 and four hind tibiae are obscurely diluted with red in places. 

 The clypeus varies from almost entirely pale, to about three- 

 fourths black. The front tibke of the female are tridentate, 

 but on one specimen the subapical tooth is very feeble, and 

 on others they are apparently identical with the front tibiae 

 of the male. The size varies from 17 to 19 mm. 



A female from Northern Queensland (from Mr. Elgner) 

 seems greatly aberrant, as the only parts that are pale are 

 an irregular patch on each side of the clypeus, a narrow flavous 

 border on each side of the prothorax, the pygidium (except at 

 base and apex), some spots at the sides from mesosternum to 

 apex of abdomen, a spot on the mesosternal process, and an 

 irregular mottling of the hind femora. But as I cannot 

 distinguish it structurally from other females, presumably it 

 is a variety of the species, despite its entirely black elytra 

 and scutellum. 



Ablacopus ater, Schoch. 

 PI. xii., figs. 117, 118, 119. 



This species was made the type of a new genus (Anthra- 

 copharisj by Schoch, who stated that it would not fit into 

 any previously known one. It is, however, absolutely con- 

 generic with Albacopus trapezifer, originally referred by 

 Thomson to Biaphonia, but subsequently made the type of his 

 new genus Ablacopus. In fact, I am unable to define a single 

 structural feature by which a specimen, sex for sex, may be 

 distinguished from trapezifer. 



There are now before me seven males and two females 

 (the latter sex was unknown to Schoch), ranging in length 

 from 20 to 25 mm. Of these three males agree with the type 



