10 
SERICA ALCOCKI, 
BRENSKE. 
Reference :—Brenske in litt, 
Classification :—Order, COLEOPTERA. Family, Scarabaeidz. Sub- 
Family, Melotonthini. 
Description. ¢ 
A smallish thick brown beetle, black to plum-coloured 
above ; clypes rounded thickly but lightly punctured. Prothorax 
convex, rounded at sides. Scutellum small but broad. Elytra 
broadly striated, the striae being irregularly punctured, the 
channels lightly punctured. Thighs broad, not spined; hind 
tibie slightly dilated, front ones with two teeth. Antenne 
slender, ten jointed, the club consisting of three small plates. 
The last joint of the maxillary palpus short, ovate, and pointed, 
Pl. IV, fig. t, shows this insect. 
Life History. 
This beetle is found on the wing in the middle of June, and 
probably makes its first appearance somewhat earlier. The 
insect was discovered on the 16th June 1896 by Mr. C. G, 
Rogers, Deputy Conservator of Forests, feeding on Mallotus 
philippinensts. No further notes on its life history have since . 
appeared, and where the larval and pupal stages are passed has 
yet to be discovered. As is usual with meiolonthids, these will 
probably be passed in the ground, the larva feeding at night on 
young seedlings and spending the day in its burrow in the 
earth. It is thus probable that this pest will be found to do 
damage in both its larval and imago stages. 
Area from which reported. 
As far as my available information goes, this insect has only 
as yet been reported from the Debra Dun District, North-West 
Provinces. 
Relations to the Forest. 
The beetle feeds on the young and tender succulent leaves 
of Mallotus philippinensis. Nearly the whole of the leaf, with 
