37 
green, averaging about an inch in expanse of wing, and are 
lovely little objects much sought after by collectors. Several 
were disturbed, but the wind and rough ground prevented capture, 
Coleoptera w'ere numerous in a few species we did not want, 
but scarce in good things. We took a few specimens ofTthe 
smallest examples of the Longicorn, Eroschema atricolle we have 
met with. They are of interest from the fact of being just about 
half the ordinary size. There is little doubt but that this is 
the result of the bush fires consuming the food plant ( Stypheha 
sp.), or, rather, the portion above ground, thus cutting off supplies, 
and producing this stunted development. The egg; of this beetle 
are deposited near the summit of the main branches of the food 
plant, and as soon as the small larvae emerge, they eat through 
the bark into the -wood, and work their way downwards. As 
soon as the gallery is long enough to contain them the little fellows 
turn round, and carefully plug up the hole by which they en- 
tered, to prevent attack from the rear by small Ants, and Hvmen- 
opterous parasites. The plug is made of fine shavings of the 
wood cut on purpose, and is very firm and secure. W hen thus 
secured from attack they again turn and make their way down- 
wards to the roots, packing away the excreta resulting from 
the consumed wood into the gallery behind them. On reaching 
the secure haven of the root, they construct a chamber larger 
than the gallery, as a refuge to retreat to when danger threatens 
from above. This chamber and the lower part of the gallery 
to a space ol about six to eight inches above the ground is kept 
quite free, so as to give quick passage either way, as once this 
retreat is provided they enlarge it to the size required by their 
growth, using the remainder of the inside of the wood of the 
branch as a food, so that in many cases nothing but the bark 
is left , when numbers are broken off by the winds, cattle walking 
amongst them, etc. As soon as this happens the larvae set to 
work and plug it up as described above. Fires sometimes burn 
off all the wood above the ground without roasting the half-grown 
larvae in the roots. These have then no alternative but to 
construct the pupal chamber and change into the perfect state, 
or die. The tenacity of insect life is astounding in some species 
and instead of dying we get these stunted abnormal specimens, 
which, strange to say, do not appear any earlier than those 
which have been fully matured. 
A few Cleridae, Nitidulidae and Chrysomelidae comprised all 
the beetle life taken. 
It was not an ideal day for Hymenoptera, so the small number 
of species did not surprise us. We took one species of Fossorial 
Wasp not previously met with, and a very rare Native Bee, 
this being only the third time we have taken it — each time one 
solitary individual. Three species of Saw-flies, not previously 
met with, were also captured, but, as is inevitably the case with 
