176 
PLATEROS DISPALLENS, 
WLK. 
Classification:—Order, COLEOPTERA. Family, Malacodermide. 
Sub-Family, Lycides. : 
Tree attacked :—TZectona grandis, L. (Teak). 
Description. 
Egg.—Dirty pale yellow in colour and elliptical in shape. 
Very small. 
Beetle.—Head and prothorax shining black. Prothorax 
entirely covers the head, wider than long, with a deep sinus running 
round its edge. Antennz longish, serrate, and shining black, 
as also are legs; elytra soft, leathery, not meeting rigidly at 
the suture; rounded at ends. Anterior half of elytra orange 
yellow, posterior portion black. Under-surface of insect shining 
black. ¢ resembles ? in colouration, but latter is slightly 
larger Length 4 inch when fresh. Pl. VIII, fig. 3, shows 
the ¢ and 2 of Plateros sp., to which this one is very similar in 
appearance. 
Life History. 
The insect is to be found on the wing in the middle of 
August, about which time it pairs. The eggs appear to be laid 
very soon after pairing, as beetles kept under observation laid 
within 24 hours of coupling. ‘The eggs are laid in batches of 
irregular shape, from 30 to 35 being deposited close together in 
a batch, Ihe eggs were not laid upon the teak leaves placed 
in the tube with them, but on the sides of the tube. Itis not 
improbable that they may be laid upon the teak twigs in the 
forest or round and on the buds. This point requires further 
observation. FPlateros dispallens frequents teak forests at this 
time of the year and does a certain amount of surface defoliation 
to the leaves. So far my observations have shown me that 
it eats patches out of the parenchyma of the upper surface of 

