175 



Var. 5. — Another variety (figs. 83, 84) is common in the 

 Cairns district. It is of a rather pale-castaneous, with each 

 side of base of head, two prothoracic spots of variable size, 

 scutellum (wholly or in part), sterna (except the sides and 

 the mesosternal process), and abdomen black. On each side 

 of the prothorax also there is sometimes a small infuscate 

 spot. The male has the hind femora and tibiae densely fringed 

 on the lower-snrf ace, and the other femora moderately fringed. 

 The female has the femoral fringes much less conspicuous, 

 and the fringe on the hind tibiae very feeble. Both sexes 

 have the punctures of the upper-surface rather more con- 

 spicuous than usual, although much smaller than on gymno- 

 pleura. One of the females, in Mr. French's collection, is 

 labelled as from York (in Western Australia), but this is 

 certainly an error, probably Cape York in Queensland was 

 meant. 



Disregarding colour the females of the species differ from 

 the males in being larger, elytra distinctly wider, less nar- 

 rowed posteriorly and with decidedly finer punctures ; abdo- 

 men evenly convex instead of depressed along middle and 

 hind legs with their femora much less conspicuously fringed 

 than their tibiae, or sometimes with both femora and tibiae 

 feebly fringed. The differences in the dentition of the front 

 tibiae are slight and apparently somewhat variable. 



Cacochroa pullata, Janson. 



There are five specimens from the Endeavour River, 

 under examination, that agree with the description of this 

 species except as regards the colour of the femora, which were 

 described as having "a large rufous patch." Three < 36 ) of the 

 specimens have the femora entirely dark, one has all the 

 femora more or less obscurely diluted with red, and the other 

 has the hind femora only partly diluted with red. The size 

 ranges from 16| to 19 mm. 



Janson stated that it was most nearly allied to variabilis ; 

 in general appearance it is, in fact, close to var. 1 of that 

 species, but the clothing of the hind legs is very different. It 

 was made the type of a new genus (Aphanesthes) by Kraatz, 

 who described the mesosternal process as "latus, obtuse 

 rotundatus." That of Cacochroa being "modice productus, 

 angustus, acuminatus." The clypeus of the latter was "for- 

 titer," that of the former "leviter emarginatus." As a matter 

 of fact, the clypeus and mesosternal process are much alike 

 in pullata and gymnopleura. 



(36) Two of these were labelled as pullata by the late Rev. T. 

 Blackburn. 



