Proceedings of the South African Philosophical Soctety. xxxvul 
and even to the orange-tree, could be surpassed in such resem- 
blance. Too little is, however, known of the habits and identity 
of the larve of South African moths for me to enlarge much on 
their colouration. 
In the CouEortTERA, or Beetles, probably the most numerous of 
all insects, colour-harmony with the surroundings is not greatly 
exemplified. This is not surprising, since in the early stages the 
larvee of most species are hidden, or if they live in the open, they 
are often covered with prickles, or are slimy like some of the 
hymenopterous saw-flies. We have, however, some good instances 
in South Africa. Here, most of the cursorial Tenebriomd@e are 
black. They are covered, however, in life with a greyish or yel- 
lowish pulverulence easily lost on capture, it is true, and therefore 
seldom seen in the Cabinet specimens, but which helps them to har- 
monise so well with the tint of the soil as to make their detection 
very often impossible. Many of them (Zophosis, Adesmia) are 
extremely rapid runners. Zophosis muricata, with its easily rubbed 
coating, is in the veld, a very different insect from a Museum 
specimen. One of the most striking examples of change of colour 
is found in the case of some of the very agile Adesnua (Onymachris), 
found on the south-west coast of Africa, From 20° N. lat. south- 
wards to Blaauwberg there extends along the coast a series of 
sand dunes, ever shifting and often extending very far inland, as 
in Damaraland. On these dunes are found black insects of some- 
what large size and provided with long legs which enable them to run 
with extreme rapidity on the sand. When pursued or fearing attack 
they bury themselves head foremost. They are, like many other 
members of this family, covered with a greyish or yellowish pul- 
verulence ; however, in Onymachris lang1, marginipennis, palgravei, 
the wing-covers are of a straw colour, with whiter or slightly 
pinkish lines, or in the case of O. candidipennis and of Steno- 
cara eburnea ivory-white. Until I observed near Port Nolloth the 
singular habit of the kindred species occurring there, I could not 
understand why this white colouration was restricted to the hind 
part of the body, but it is easily explained. However rapid in its 
movements, it takes a little time for the insect to disappear head 
foremost into the sand, and while the animal is burying itself, the 
hind part which is considerably longer than the anterior, is almost 
invisible owing to the close resemblance to the sand produced by 
the straw or white colour of the hind part of the body. 
“All the cursorial species of Trachynotus, and they are very 
numerous in South Africa, have also this pulverulent covering, 
which in the case of J. bohemani is even sulphureous, and is 
