1S4 NEW AUSTRALIAN SPECIES OF THE FAMILY AGRIONIDJi, 



This remarkable insect is most difficult to capture. It occurs 

 amongst the reeds that fringe the creeks here and there in the 

 dense scrub. As it darts in and out in the most bewildering 

 way it is almost invisible to the eye, owing to the extreme thin- 

 ness of its abdomen. Tt is not gregarious, but generally occurs 

 singly or in pairs, and is very sparingly distributed. On nearly 

 every day on which I went collecting I secured one specimen, 

 but only twice did I get a pair, and once a male and two females 

 in one day. This fact suggested the name solitaris. It generally 

 frequents the same localities as Nososticta solida, a much com- 

 moner insect. 



This species is the first of the genus to be recorded for 

 Australia. It is essentially a tropical and oceanic genus, all the 

 known species inhabiting Polynesia. The present species is 

 closely allied to A. salomonis Selys, from the Solomon Islands. 



5. Alloneura coelestina, n.sp. 



3". Total length, 37 mm.; abdomen, 30mm .; wings, fore 21 mm. r 

 hind 19 mm. 



Wings beautifully suffused with lemon-yellow all over 

 (more rarely with yellowish-brown). Pterqatigma 1 mm., black. 

 Nodal Indicator 2 13-151 

 2 13 



H e a J. — Epicranium jet black with a beautiful broad greenish- 

 blue transverse band extending from eye to eye in front, and 

 enlarged downwards on each side where it meets the eye. 

 Clypeus black, hairy. Labruni black. Labium and mandibles 

 pale dirty brownish. 



Thorax. — Prothorax black with two greenish-blue spots on 

 either side. Meso- and metathorax black above, with a pair of 

 beautiful broad olive-green humeral stripes of an elongated oval 

 shape, widest in front; sides with two bright bluish-green stripes 

 separated by a narrow band of black. Underside pale dirty grey. 

 Legs black; coxae pale dirty brownish. 



Abdomen very thin; 8 cylindrical, 1-2 slightly enlarged, 

 7-10 increasing gradually in width, but very slightly. Colour 



