PHASMIDJE. EURYCANTHA. 



63 



subcylindrical and attenuated at the tip in the males, broader 

 and with the last joint long and pointed in the females. 

 Four fore-legs short, thick; two fore-thighs straight at 

 the base. Posterior femora greatly incrassated and spined ; 

 tibiae spinose on the inside. 



I do not consider it requisite to adopt M. Montrouzier's 

 suggestion for suppressing Boisduval's generic name for 

 this group, because some of the species are not so strongly 

 spined as the type. The Karabidion australe which led 

 to the suggestion, has, in fact, the hind legs of the male 

 even more strongly, although less numerously, spined than 

 in E. horrida. 



1. (173.) Eurycantha horrida. 



Piceo-castanea, nitida, tuberculis spinisque numerosis ar- 

 mata ; metathorace utrinque dilatato, abdominis lateribus 

 spinosis; pedibus (prsesertim duobus posticis) valde in- 

 crassatis, spinisque fortibus armatis (mas). 



Focmina multo major, minus scabra ; abdomine latiore 

 convexo, segmento ultimo dorsali valde elongato attenuato. 



Long. corp. maris, unc. 4| ; cap. lin. 5 ; proth. lin. 6 ; 

 mesoth. lin. 12 ; metath. lin. 6i ; abdom. lin. 19 + lin. 6 

 = lin. 25. 



Long. corp. fcem. unc. 6 ; cap. lin. C ; proth. lin. 8 ; 

 mesoth. lin. 13; metath. lin. 7 ; abdom. lin. 21 + lin. 17 

 = lin. 38. 



Eurycantha horrida, Boisduval, Voy. de F Astrolabe, Zool. 

 Ent. p. C47. pi. 10. f. 2, male. 

 G. R. Gray, Syn. Phasm. p. 14. 

 Serville, H. n. Orth. p. 279. 

 Brulle, H. n. Ins. ix. pi. 10, male. 

 Phasma (Eurycantha) horridum, De Haan, Orth. Orient. 



p. 136.pl. 14. f. 8 (larva). 

 Karabidion horridum, Montrouzier, op. cit. p. 82. 



Hub. Dorei, New Ireland, Woodlark Island. <? inJB.M. 

 Mas et fcem. in Mus. Oxon. (Hopeiano). 



The figure of this fine insect given by Boisduval, as well 

 as the much better one published by Messrs. Audouin and 

 Brulle, represent the male. M. Serville, however, very 

 carefully describes the structure of both sexes, which differ 

 chiefly in the form of the abdominal segments (H. n. Orth. 

 p. 278). 



The last-named author having the Phasma dilatatum of 

 Shaw in view, considered, that as that insect, although a 

 female, was provided with rudimental wings, it might, from 

 its large size, be supposed to be a fully developed female of 

 the present genus, and hence that the Eurycantha horrida 

 of Boisduval was most probably only a larva, which, being 

 a male insect, would from analogy ultimately acquire more 

 fully-developed wings than those of the female, Ph. dila- 



tatum. Burmeister (Handb. d. Ent. ii. 570) also considered 

 Eur. horrida to be a larva. On the contrary, I feel con- 

 vinced that this species is an apterous one, and that it is 

 already known to us in its ultimate form. Not only have 

 the insects themselves all the appearance of maturitv, but 

 the figure of the larva of the present species, given by De 

 Haan, as well as the analogy afforded by the new species 

 described below (of which several specimens in various 

 states of growth are contained in the National Collection), 

 sufficiently prove that these insects are no longer in the 

 larva state, whilst their want of the slightest rudiments 

 of wings or tegmina equally proves that they are never 

 destined to acquire organs of flight. Hence the observa- 

 tions of Serville and Burmeister on the probability that 

 this genus would ultimately be found to merge into Hete- 

 ropteryx, cannot be adopted. 



M. Montrouzier gives the following account of the habits 

 of this curious species : — "On le trouve dans les lieux om- 

 brage's, particulierement dans les troncs des vieux arbres 

 charge's de plantes parasites. Les naturels m'ont assure' 

 qu'il pullulait dans les marais ou croit le sagoutier. Comme 

 tous les Phasmiens, il vit de substances vegctales, mais je 

 n'ai pu decouvrir la plante dont il fait sa nourriture. 

 Plusieurs fois j'ai observe qu'il avait touche a des feuilles 

 de Broussonetia papyrifera, que je choisisssis parfaitement 

 eutieres et que je trouvais ensuite e'ehancrecs, mais je ne 

 croissais qu'il aime ce vegetal. Outre qu'il n'y touchait 

 qu'apres plusieurs jours de diete, e'est a dire quand la 

 faim le pressait, j'ai eu beau en fournir abondamment au 

 nombreux individus que j'ai essaye' d' clever, je n'ai pu en 

 conserver longtemps aucun. Je pense que tous sont morts 

 d'inanition. La femelle porte un tres grand nombre d'eeufs, 

 de 80 a 100, longs de m -009, larges de m -005 oblongs, 

 bombds des deux bouts, ressemblant a un barillet, et revctus 

 d'une coque calcaire, tantot noirs, tantot gris, mouchete's de 

 brun. Quand eclosent-ils ? Je ne le sais au juste. Mais 

 une fois que j'avais eu en cage une femelle, avant de mourir 

 d'inanition, comme les autres, elle deposa ses ceufs: un 

 mois apres je vis paraitre de petits insectes de la longueur 

 d'un pouce et de l'epaisseur d'un fil. Je n'en pus 

 sauver aucun. Le Karabidion horridum semble avoir des 

 mceurs nocturnes ; le jour il fuit la lumiere et la nuit j'en- 

 tendais ceux que je gardais, s'agiter et chercher a forcer la 

 porte de leur cage pour s' evader. II sont tres forts. J'en 

 ai vu soulever des planches assez epaisses, que j'avais placee 

 sur un seau au-dessus d'eux pour les empecher de sortir. 

 II n'est pas sans quelques dangers de les saisir sans pre- 

 caution. Des qu'ils se sentent pres, ils levent pcrpendicu- 

 lairement leurs pattes de derriere et les font retomber ob- 

 liquement en dedans, de maniere a blesser jusqu'au sang 



