COLEOPTEROUS INSECTS. 
251 
is greyish. The head is ornamented with two tri- 
angular patches of red, and two lines of the same 
hue are placed in the centre of the thorax, which 
converge in front: from each side of the thorax 
behind there projects a strong spine, which can be 
moved in different directions at the will of the in- 
sect ; and two others, of small size, and incapable of 
motion, issue from the back, one towards each side. 
The elytra are variegated with undulated lines and 
angular figures of red and grey : towards the base 
the surface is pretty thickly covered with impressed 
points, interspersed with small black shining tuber- 
cles ; and each elytron bears an acute spine on the 
shoulder, and two others at the hinder extremity. 
The under parts are likewise covered with silky 
pubescence, but it is of a grey colour. The thighs 
are smooth and black, each of them surrounded by 
a red ring near the apex. The anterior thighs and 
tibiae are of great length, the latter much incurved 
at the tip, where they are armed with a spine, and 
covered with small points and granulations on the 
under side ; these parts in the other legs are smooth, 
and more or less ash-coloured. This insect is of fre- 
quent occurrence in Brazil, Guiana, and other tropi- 
cal countries of America. It is known to the natives 
by the name of Mouche bagasse , a term taken from 
a tree which has lately been described under the 
botanical appellation of Bagassa Guyanensis. The 
wood of this tree is of a bright yellow, and when it 
is felled, there issues from it a white viscid juice of 
