172 



Its larval and pupal stages are often passed in rotting cores 

 of plants of the genus Xanthorrhoea. 



The male has a wide shallow depression along the middle 

 of the abdomen, and is generally somewhat smaller than the 

 female, with the large black blotch of the upper-surface more 

 sharply defined. 



I cannot regard breweri (whose larvae also occurs in rot- 

 ting cores of species of Xanthorrhoea) as more than a variety. 

 Specimens from Western Australia (one of which was iden- 

 tified by Mr. Arrow as breweri) have the punctures of the 

 clypeus, prothorax, and elytra much as on some Sydney 

 specimens. But Western Australian specimens sometimes 

 have the prothorax and elytra almost entirely reddish- 

 castaneous, the only distinctly dark .part of the upper-surface 

 being the scutellum. 



var. melancholica, n. var. 



A female (in the National Museum, Melbourne) labelled 

 as from Queensland and F. H. duBoulay, apparently belongs 

 to this species, but is entirely black, except for a minute red- 

 dish spot near the top of the pygidium, and two where the hind 

 coxae almost touch. In all structural details it agrees abso- 

 lutely with normal females. 



Cacochroa gymnopleura, Fisch. 



A specimen (from New South Wales) in Mr. French's 

 collection may be an immature female of this species; it differs 

 from the typical form in having the head in front of the eyes 

 red, the prothorax black with the sides and base of an obscure 

 deep-red; the elytra of a dingy flavous with the suture and 

 shoulders black, narrowly bordered with dingy-red; the 

 pygidium entirely and the abdomen partly red ; and the legs 

 more or less obscurely reddish. In all structural details it 

 agrees with normal females. 



A male labelled as from Roebourne/ 34 ) also in Mr. 

 French's collection, appears to be an unusually small (13J 

 mm.) form of the variety concolor, with the head and pro- 

 thorax much hairier than is usual. 



Cacochroa decorticata, Macl. 



var. assimilis, Macl. 



var. neva, Gestro. 



PI. x., figs. 76, 77, 78. 



The female of this species is much rarer than the male, 



and has no white clothing on the sides of the prothorax. The 



(34) North-western Australia ; probably an incorrect locality. 



