2 Transactions South African Philosophical Society, [vol. xiii. 



general appearance of Melolonthidous insects, and their vestiture 

 is that of many of the Pacliypodini or true Schizony chides. Doubt- 

 less allied to the Hopliinje on one side, and to the Melolonthin^: 

 on the other, the distinctive character of this Sub-Family is 

 to be found in the mode of insertion of the two spurs of the hind 

 tarsi, which are situated one on each side of the basal tarsal joint, 

 sometimes near the outer angle of the dilated apical part, sometimes 

 close to the tarsal joint, but never are the two found on one side of 

 the tarsal joint as in the Melolonthin^e ; we have seen that in 

 the Sericin^e there is only one spur, and as often none at all. 

 Certain genera of the Ablaberini are so closely allied to the Pachy- 

 yodini, which I retain in the Melolonthin^:, that but for that 

 character they would have to be included among them, in spite of 

 their having strongly dentate maxillae. Another character of im- 

 portance is the complete obliteration of the labrum, which part is 

 always strongly developed in the Melolonthin.e. 



Tkibe SEEICINI. 



Body elongate or very strongly ovate and convex ; lateral margin 

 of clypeus either nearly straight or very strongly constricted, anterior 

 one always renexed and either simple or tri-dentate ; eyes divided in 

 front by the genal canthus, and having or not a posterior keel either 

 connected with or disconnected from the genal canthus ; prothorax 

 always sloping forward ; elytra elongated and then moderately con- 

 vex, or strongly ampliato-ovate and very convex, covering the propy- 

 gidium ; pygidium wide, vertical in most cases, but sub-horizontal 

 in Pleophylla ; anterior coxae almost sub-vertical, intermediate ones 

 narrow and somewhat broadly separated, posterior always very 

 broad, and wider along the sides than the metasternum ; femora and 

 tibiae very compressed, the hind tibiae often broadly ampliated 

 inwardly, and with two more or less obliterated, slanting, spinose, 

 seldom entire ridges outwardly ; hind spurs of the female not 

 ampliated. 



Herr Brenske has divided this Tribe into Sericince and Trochalinc?, 

 and has endeavoured to find for them characters which are not 

 common to both. I regret to say that as far as the South African 

 genera and species are concerned, I have been unable to find lines 

 of demarcation between them. Brenske's SericincB are doubtless, as 

 a whole, of a more elongated form than his Trochalince* which are 

 as a rule, but not always, more spherical and shorter; but if we take 



* Cf. some species of Ablaberoides. 





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