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SOUTH AFRICA 
certainly afford by no means despicable weapons of defence against 
such foes as may presume to come to close quarters. 
This suggestion meets with support from the fact that Lepitrix 
lineata , Fabr., a pretty species that I found abundant on the 
flowers of Mesembryanthemum at Simon’s Town, has long thin hind¬ 
legs not provided with teeth, but, unlike Heterochelus and Dichelus , 
this insect is very active, taking to its wings almost as readily as 
a bee. Dr. Dixey did not notice this beetle on Mesembryanthemum , 
but not far off found five specimens inside the spathes of the Cape 
Lily, or common white Arum, Galla aethiopica (Bichardia africana), 
three in one spathe and two in another. He says that they did not 
attempt to fly. Possibly the fact that they were to some extent 
enclosed in the arum, whereas those on Mesembryanthemum were 
quite exposed, making no attempt to burrow like Heterochelus , may 
explain this notable difference of habit. 
Mr. Trimen in the introductory chapter of his “ South African 
Butterflies,” after remarking on the poverty of the Bhopalocera of 
the Cape Peninsula as compared with the richness of its Flora, and 
stating that in that part of the world butterflies cannot perform a 
very prominent part in the fertilization of flowers, goes on to say: 
“ The great number of densely-hairy flower-frequenting Coleoptera in 
South Africa must also play a large part in plant fertilization.” 1 
The beetles referred to are chiefly Lamellicornia of the sub-families 
Cetoniinae and Hopliinae. 
The meadows by the estuary yielded a different lot of things, 
especially Phytophaga and Weevils. Thus Malacosoma polita, Jac., 
was abundant in the flowers of an Iris, while sweeping yielded 
Ootheca laevipennis, Cryptocephalus polyhistor , Suff., Trochalus sp., two, 
and the Cetoniid Oxythyrea haemorrhoidalis , as well as the following 
small Weevils :—Eremnus gyrosicollis, Boh., Sciobius o’neili, Mrshll., 
?, S. pullus , Strophosomus sp., and two new species which Mr. 
G. A. K. Marshall has described 2 under the names Ellimenistes callo- 
sicollis , sp. nov., and Myorrhinus longstaffi , sp. nov. [see Plate II., 
Figs. 1, 3]. Both these insects are black: the first (of which I 
obtained four examples) covered with brownish grey scales, Mr. 
Marshall says, is somewhat intermediate between E. pulvinaticollis , 
Boh., and E. bidentatus , Boh.; the second, which was to be had in 
abundance, is a much smaller insect, covered with light-green scaling, 
and is said by Mr. Marshall to be nearly allied to M. setarius , Fahr., 
but with much more obvious setae. With the beetles in the sweeping 
1 Op. cit., vol. i., p. 42, note. 
2 Marshall, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud ., 1906, pp. 922 and 932. 
