93 
Oct,, 1920 
The Queensland Naturalist. 
economic value in the destruction of very many insect pests, 
might prove of interest. So far as regards the vicinity of 
Brisbane, the insects are all now of rarity and seldom seen, 
though in earlier days, when scrubs were quite close to the 
town, several fine species were obtainable without much 
trouble. We have bred the large C. renardi from larvae 
obtained under stones and logs at the old Kelvin Grove 
Scrub, also the smaller and rarer C. viridescens. Those of 
C. imperiale I also saw on my first visit, many years ago, 
with Dr. A. J. Turner, to Tambourine Mountain. 
To see the Carabidae at work one needs to visit a scrub 
with a good lantern, as they are nocturnal insects. The 
elytra of the species of the genus now under review are 
soldered together ; hence, they cannot fly, but they are 
extremely active on their feet. They chase and seize many 
insects, sometimes other ground beetles, but the larval food 
seems to be mostly grubs of other insects, especially those 
of Dynastidae. Melalonthidae, &c. (the cane grub pests). 
I fed my larvae on these in a box of sand and leaf-mould 
which I carried from the scrub where they were found. 
These were taken in the winter and pupated about two 
months after, for in October they became imagines. The 
grubs are not by any means pretty pets, but are voracious, 
greedy creatures, and if not well fed, eat one another. 
Though the Carabidae are usually termed ground beetles, 
there are many forms amongst them which are only found 
on trees, mostly under the bark during the day, but running 
about at night on the trunks in search of food. Again, all 
are not predaceous, but species of the tribe (Brachini) are 
said to be herbivorous, and protect themselves against 
predatory insects by a discharge of acrid matter from the 
anus. 
In several of the species of Castclneaiidia those of the 
male sex are characterized by a more slender build, notably 
so in C. renardi. 
The described species still obtainable within a twenty- 
-mile radius of Brisbane are — 
Castchiaiidia renardi. C. viridescens. 
C. angnlosa. C. unlsoni. 
C. suhvirens. C. marginifera. 
C. cordaia. 
