44 
The Queensland Naturalist. 
Sept., 1923 
NATUEE NOTES. 
(By Mrs. F. H. Hobler.) 
One hot afternoon last March I braved the heat, and 
set out to explore a ridge close by, and covered mostly 
with luilf-grown ironbark timber. There had been no wet 
season, so everything looked dry and drought-stricken. 
No insects to be found, evidently. Still, see, here’s the 
large auger-shaped hoh* in the trunk of an ironbark, 
showing where one of thOvSe large heavy moths had 
emerged, and quite lately, too. From the first breaking 
(.f the egg. the tiny grub has bored its way into the dark 
mysteries of the inner wood. There it has fed and en- 
larged its hole as its growing needs required, livhig on 
the Juice obtained as it bored, till at last the big, ugly 
grub is matured. Now a change takes place. Slowly it 
wrai>s itself in a brown casing- — it does not die, yet it 
ceases to be a grub. Does the transfornialion cause pain 
(^r sickness.’ Tlie grub is gone effectually, yet from that 
r'uitd sleep in the brown sarcophagtxs, as it were, emerges 
the living winged insect. Not a beauty by any means, 
but to tile ('ol lector a family of intense interest. 
Again the search among the trees is continued. Here 
in a crevice is something shiny — a liat-pin at all times is 
useful. A few prods and several bright beetles scuttle 
out; secured, they are dropjxed into the glass tube which 
contains a bit of cotton wool and chloroform. Examined, 
one belongs to the rather i>erfumed genus of Chalcop- 
terus, the other is a l^aro))sis (P. purpureo-viridis), with 
bright shining tints, and one of the few of that genus 
that keeps its brightness. Nor is it very common, so it is 
a Avele<une spt'einien. In otlu'r cnM'iees it is found again, 
generally in company with the ordinary l)laek Paro])sis, 
( f alioiil the same si/.e. Hero they hide from 1h(‘ light 
and from (Uiemies. rnder covt>r of the friendly darkness 
They sally forth to feiul on the tmnh'r leavos of their 
(‘boson fof)(] plant. 
Ants and B(*et h's.- )n a bare patch of ground we 
so-on find a larg(‘ nest of ants. These ants need no de- 
s'-ribitig. Till* harassiui iioiisewife knoAvs lln'in too well. 
'Phe stiadvowner eurst's tlie brutes for the endless misery 
they cause any unfortunate animal bogged or maimed — 
even to man— Avbo lias lain Avith broken limb waiting, 
waiting: and the luiurs iuiA'e been so long tiil succour 
tame. But Avliy mention ants, when beetles are the study’ 
