203 



MlCROVALGUS YILGARNENSIS, Blackb. 



Prior to the type of this species being sent to the British 

 Museum I carefully examined it, but was unable to find any 

 specimen that agreed exactly with it, although it appeared 

 close to many, and closest of all to a small female of dubius, 

 from which, however, it differed to a certain extent in colour 

 and clothing. The front angles of its prothorax, upon which 

 much stress was laid in the description, are much the same 

 as in other species of the genus ; in all they are strongly pro- 

 jecting, but are normally indistinct to the naked eye, owing 

 to juxtaposition with the head ; but if this is more depressed 

 than usual they stand out prominently. 



The species, of course, as are so many of the genus, may 

 be a widely-distributed one, but until a male has been de- 

 scribed from Yilgarn or a nearby locality, it would be unsafe 

 to identify even females, other than from Western Australia, 

 as belonging to it. 



MlCROVALGUS, sp. 



A species of the genus occurs in South Australia, but the 

 only specimens of it before me are a female from Mylor (be- 

 longing to Mr. Griffith), and another from Mount Lofty (from 

 Mr. S. H. Curnow) ; and these agree with the females of so 

 many species that it would be unsafe to assign them to any 

 one. They are of a rather dingy red, with the head (except 

 in front), meso- and metasternum black; and rather sparsely 

 clothed. The Mount Lofty specimen has some very obscure 

 dark spots on the prothorax, and a few sooty scales forming 

 four extremely feeble spots on the py- and propygidium, so 

 that, to a certain extent, it resembles scutellaris, although it 

 probably does not belong to that species. 



MlCROVALGUS CASTANEIPENNIS, Macl. 



PL xiii., fig. 190. 



d . Black ; elytra and tip of scutellum castaneous, legs 

 of a dull-red, sometimes blackish. Moderately densely clothed 

 (in series on the elytra) with white or stramineous scales, 

 denser on scutellum, propy- and pygidium than elsewhere. 



Pygidium with a small subtriangular process, projecting 

 distinctly backwards. Abdomen with a wide depression along 

 middle. Length, 2f-3J mm. 



9 . Differs in being larger (3i-4 mm.) with only the head 

 black (the muzzle paler) but usually the meso- and meta- 

 sternum are black or infuscate ; pygidium not produced back- 

 wards at apex, and abdomen strongly and evenly convex. 



Hab. — Queensland: Gayndah, Dalby; New South Wales: 

 Tamworth, Forest Reefs, Wollongong, Jenolan, National Park, 

 Galston, Sydney, Queanbeyan. 



