40 
The South Australian Naturalist 
Our common species measures about four inches across the 
expanded wings, its body being about one and a half inches, h 
has four glassy-looking wings with black ''veins’’, and the two 
on each side can be fastened to each other so that when in hiaht 
they beat the air together. On the head there is a large red cm- 
pound eye on each side, and three small simple ones (ocelli) on 
the forehead. There is a long beak that, when at rest, is carried 
between the three pairs of legs; the antennae are small and could 
easil}' be overlooked. The upper parts are almost entirely black, 
the under parts arc mottled dingy yellowish-brown and black,' 
'Fhere is a small amount of whitish or silken hair in places. The 
male has a fairly large "drum” on each side of the base of the 
abdomen, pressed close to the side so as to be invisible from above. 
On many species the drums are much larger and visible from 
above, this is notably the case with two larger species of the genus 
Thopha ih^t occur in the interior parts of South Australia. One 
of our interior species, M acrotristria hillieri, is covered on the 
under surface with a white mealy substance, much as the floury- 
baker of Sydney. 
In addition to South Australia our common species occurs in 
Victoria and New South Wales, and has also been recorded from 
Queensland and Tasmania. Several smaller species of Psaltoh 
also occur in Queensinad and New South Wales. 
I he life history of our Australian species has been fullv 
worked out and published, larvae are often seen during digging 
operations, and are much the same as those occurring in other 
parts of the world. In summer the j')upae may be seen breaknig 
the ground in many^ places, after which they crawl up trees and 
fences (usually at night). After resting for a short period the out- 
er shell bursts and the mature insect emerges with soft wings: 
in a few hours the v'ings harden and the mature colour becomes 
hxed. Mr. Ham saw a newK^ emerged specimen of our common 
species and described it as having mauve, violet, applegreen, and 
\’arioiis other shades of colour, but these soon changed to black 
on the upper surface. 
I he female is provided with a pair of saw-like organs at the 
tip of the abdomen, and these she uses to make slits in twigs in 
which to deposit her eggs. 'These remain beneath the bark for 
some time, but the young larvae on hatching out immediately 
go below ground, to suck up the juices of the roots of plants. 
An American species is known to live seventeen years under- 
grotind, but it is certain that our species live for much shorter 
periods, probably most of them being annual. 
