90 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XI, January, 1957 
Prothorax distinctly narrowed in anterior 
third; pronotal disc finely punctured; 
tibiae, tarsi, and hind femur blue; antenna 
bluish basally bicolor 
136. Promecotheca caeruleipennis 
Blanchard 
Promecotheca caeruleipennis BL, 1853, Voyage 
Pole Sud Zool. 4: 312 (Tonga: Vavao). 
Promecotheca Reichii Baly, 1869, Ent. Soc. 
London, Trans. 1869: 374 (Vavao); new 
syn. 
Promecotheca reichei , Weise, 1911, Coleopt. 
Cat. 35: 54 (Tonga, Viti); Veitch and 
Greenwood, 1921, Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, 
Proc. 46: 511; Maulik, 1929, Insects of 
Samoa 4(3): 210, figs. 17, 18 (Samoa); 
Taylor, 1937, The biological control of an 
insect of Fiji, Imp. Inst. Ent. pp. 1-239, 
figs. 1-17, maps 1-2, pis. 1-23; Green- 
wood, 1940, Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, Proc. 
65: 215; O’Connor, 1949, Agr. Jour. [Fiji] 
20(2): 50 (Tonga). 
Promecotheca lindingeri Aulmann, 1914, Ent. 
Rundschau. 31: 27 (Samoa). 
Promecotheca caeruleipennis ab. reichii , Weise, 
1922, Philippine Jour. Sci. 21: 70. 
Testaceous; posterior two-thirds of elytron 
metallic blue-green; abdomen purplish; an- 
tenna pitchy distally. Head smooth; prothorax 
very slightly broadened in middle, constricted 
posteriorly, its disc fairly smooth, sometimes 
with vague and sparse minute punctures; 
elytron punctured in even, regular rows. Length 
7-8 mm.; breadth 2-2.6 mm. 
This species was stated by Taylor to occur 
on practically every island of Fiji, and to 
fluctuate in population, becoming a pest par- 
ticularly in the Lau Islands. It has been very 
well controlled by the parasite Pleurotropis 
parvulus. 
Fiji, Tonga, Samoa. 
hosts: Cocos nucifera L.; Pritchardia (Eu- 
pritchardia ) pacifica Seem; Livistona sp. 
137. Promecotheca bicolor Maulik 
Promecotheca bicolor Maulik, 1927, Ann. and 
Mag. Nat. Hist. Ser. 9, 20: 107, fig. 2 (Viti 
Levu; type in Brit. Mus.). 
Reddish testaceous; antenna bluish; pos- 
terior two-thirds of elytron blue-green; ab- 
domen blackish green; tibiae, tarsi, and hind 
femur greenish. Head smooth; antenna slen- 
der; prothorax distinctly broadened in middle, 
narrowed apically, strongly constricted near 
base, its disc finely punctured; elytron punc- 
tured in regular rows. Length 7-8.5 mm.; 
breadth 2.5-3 mm. 
viti levu: Near Suva (type locality). Lami, 
Mar. 1951, Tholo-i-suva, Jan. 1955, Krauss; 
two specimens. 
VANUA LEVU: Wainunu, in Flagellaria , 
Sept. 1934, R. W. Paine (Dept. Agr. collect., 
Koronivia). 
host: Flagellaria sp. 
REFERENCES 
Baly, J. S. 1869 . Descriptions of new genera 
and species of Hispidae; with notes on some 
previously described species. Ent. Soc. Lon- 
don , Trans. 1869: 363-382. 
- 1877. Descriptions of new species of 
phytophagous beetles belonging to the 
family Eumolpidae; and a monograph of 
the genus Fumolpus. Ent. Soc. London , Trans. 
1877: 37-56. 
Blanchard, Emile. 1853. IN: Voyage Pole 
Sud . . . sous J. Dumont d'Urville. Zoologie, 
Insectes 4. 422 pp., 12 pis. (See esp. p. 312.) 
Boisduval, Jean A. 1835. Faune entomolo- 
gique de l’Ocean Pacifique. Voyage de 
l Astrolabe. Deuxieme Partie, Coleopteres. 
716 pp. Tastu, Paris. (See esp. p. 548.) 
Bryant, G. E. 1925. New species of Phyto- 
phaga from the Fiji Islands. Ann. and Mag. 
Nat. Hist. Ser. 9, 15: 590-600. 
- 1931. New species of Fijian Eumol- 
pidae. Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. Ser. 10, 8: 
355-365, figs. 1-8. 
1936. Insects of the New Hebrides: 
Chrysomelidae. Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. 
Ser. 10, 17: 242-256. 
- 1938. New species of Chrysomelidae 
from Fiji, British North Borneo and Malaya. 
