SHORT NOTES. 283 



Dorsally the general colour is yellowish brown speckled 

 with close-set irregular black dots : there are a number of 

 ill denned black cross bars which are not so wide as the 

 interspaces between them but anteriorly in the first £ of 

 its length all there colours are merged together. In the 

 posterior half of the body there is a series of white spots 

 close to the ventrally and anteriorly the colour is yellow 

 with some black spots, posteriorly the 2 colours merge the 

 black predominating. The tail is black with incomplete white 

 rings. These 2 species of snakes were taken near the 

 Astana, Kuching by His Highness the Rajah Muda of Sara- 

 wak who kindly presented to the Museum all 3 snakes here 

 mentioned. 



John Hewitt. 



Note on the life-history of the Cicindelid beetle, Collyris 

 emarginatus, Dej. 



Within quite recent years a most interesting entomologi- 

 cal discovery has been made by Dr. J. C. Koningsberger of the 

 Buitenzorg Zoological Museum, but the facts being hidden in a 

 publication of somewhat limited circulation seem to have 

 escaped the general notice of those interested in the insects 

 of the Far East. 



Nearly all the Cicindelidae or tiger-beetles are found in 

 exposed situations, such as sandy banks, roads or even the 

 sea-shore and as a general rule the larvae live in burrows in the 

 soil and feed on insects which they capture when these pass 

 over their burrows. Collyris emarginata however is arboreal in 

 its habits, running with great speed over leaves and flowers 

 and rea lily taking to wing ; its larvae live in small burrows 

 excavated in coffee shoots and in these burrows await their 

 prey which consists of ants and aphides. Cicindelid larvae 

 are readily recognised by the swollen anterior end and by the 

 presence of two tubercles armed with small hooks on the dor- 

 sal surface of the eights segment ; by means of these protu- 

 brances the larvae are enabled to wedge themselves up at the 

 top of their burrows awaiting their prey, retiring to the 



R. A. Soc, No. 45, 1905. 



