6 



COLEOPTERA 



listed below are certainh- very homogeneous in general appearance and their elytra are strongly at 

 variance with most species of Belus ; so that they might fairly be considered as entitled to subgeneric 

 rank. 



Type. — Isacautlia ylii)wtioides. Mope. 

 Geographical distribution of species. 



Australia, Tasmania and Lord Howe Island. 



1. /. albicollis, Lea {Pachyura), Proc. Lmn. Soc. N. S. Wales, p. 6o3 (1898). 



2. /. dermestiventris, Boisduval i Rliiiiolria), \'ny. Astrolabe, Vol. 2, p. 3oi 



(1832) . 



deimestiveutris , Blanchard, Voy. Pôle Sud. Vol. 4, ji. ig8 (t853i. 

 fascicularis, Hombrecht & Jac<]mart, t. i3, t. 6. 



ptcioralis, Erichson ( ß/;///oi'/<i),\Viegm. Arch. f. Xaturjr. Vol. i , p. i85 (1S421. 

 i\7)-. fiimigata, Germar \Delus), Linné, Ent. Vol. 3, }>. 20S (1848). 



3. /. exigua, Pascoe. Ann. Nat. Mag. Hist. Vol. 12. p. 280 (1873). 



4. /. iuciilia, Ollifï", Mem. Austral. Mus. p. 92 (1889). 



5. /. papulosa, Pascoe {Pachyura), Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist p. 99 (1871). 



6. /. rhinotioides, Hope, I'rans. Zool. Soc. Lond. Vol. i, p 102, t. 14, f. 6 



(1833) . — Pl., Flg. 6. 



rhiiiotionics, Schoenherr, Gen, Cure. Vol. 5, p. 353 ii840j. 

 coiigesta, Pascoe, Ann. Mag Nat. Hist. p. 97 ,1871). 



7. /. servaia. Lea, Mém. Soc. Ent. Belg. \'o]. 16, p. 149 (1908). 



N. S. Wales. 



.Australia, Tasma 



Queensland. 

 Lord Howe Island. 

 N. S. Wales. 

 Queensland. 



Queensland. 



2. Subgenus MACROBELUS, nov. subgenus 



Characters. — Rostium short, stout and lightly curved; scrobes foveiform. Antenna- long, ihin 

 and not at all inflated towards ape.x. Elytra wider than prothora.x, each separately strongl}' rounded at 

 base, and encroaching upon but not overlapping prothorax. Femora edentate; tibia' not denticulate 

 below, the hind pair inflated at apex. Other characters as in Bilus. 



The short rostrum (much as in Pachyura) and peculiar elytra and tibia are strongly at variance 

 with normal species of Behis; and I consider the species is fulh' as entitled to subgeneric rank as are the 

 species o{ Isacaiifl/a . 



Type. — Mail obelus iiisigiiis, Lea. 



Geographical distribution of species. — Queensland. 

 I. M. insignis, nov. sp.fii, Lea - - PI ., Fig. 7. 



(i) M. insignis. nov. sp — Bl.u k. witli n gloss varyiii)j in places roin a steel-blue to recklisli -violet. ; antennae tarsi and parts of tibias more 

 or less red. Witli stramineous pubesfence forming a line from apex' ot prothorax to xpex of elytra, but very irregularly distributed on suture and dense on 

 scutellum, rest of elytra with a few feeble whitish spots; rest of upper surface with very sparse pubescence. I'nder surface with dense puljesccnce on head, 

 pro- and niesosternum, and on sides of metasternuni and abdomen. 



Head with large, round, clearly defined punctures between eyes, becoming much smaller and partially concealed else\\'here. l^ostrum scarcely 

 longer than head, short and stout, slightly inflated at insertion of antenna;, behind which the punctures are dense coarse and partially concealed, in front 

 of antenna: highly polished and inipunctate. .Antenna; long and thin, not even slightly inflated towards apex, third joint almost twice the length ot first and 

 second combined, eleventh distinctly shorter than ninth and tenth combined. Prothorax rather strongly transverse, base strongly bisinuate, median 

 cliannel wide but interrupted in middle; with dense, round, rather large und usually clearly defined punctures. Sciitellttin transversely subcordate. 

 Elytra near base considerably, but not suddenly, wider than prothorax, shoulders strongly rounded, regularly and rather strongly diminishing in width 

 from near base to apex, which passes abdomen for a very short distance only; eacii strongly and regularly separately rounded at base ; feebly depressed 

 on each side of suture, not suddenly raised behind scutellum; with rather dense but not very large punctures, becoming larger and subgranulate towards 

 base. Metaslernnm feebly granulate. Legs long; femora edentate, the front pair not very stout, hind pair passing apex of second abdominal segment : hind 

 tibia; rather strongly inflated at apex. 



Length, 16-17 mm. Habitat, Queensland : Rockhampton (Maclcay Museums), Mackay (C. Frenchl. 



A remarkable and handsome insect. The blue or violet gloss varies according to the direction the insect is viewed rom ; the steel blue gloss is 

 most conpicuous on the disc of the prothorax, the reddish violet on the under surface, and on the sides of the elytra. The suturai clothing is in the tonn 

 ot very irregular conjoined spots, but towards tbe apex it becomes more or less line-like. On one spei imen each elytron has in addition three very feeble 

 rows of minute whitish spots, but on two others the spots (perhaps ow ing to abrasion) are fewer in number, and without linear arrangement. 1 here are two 

 nude spots on each side of the metasternum (of w hich one is on the side piece), and a nude spot on each side of each of the four (or three) basal segments 

 of abdomen. The antenna; arc inserted nearer the apex than base of rostrum. The elytra regularly diminish in width from near the base to the apex. The 

 tine denticulations or granules, nearly always present on the four hind femora of the species of Betas, arc entirely absent from this .species. 



