of the world, and are chiefly distinguished by the peculiar structure
between the tarsal claws, and the beautiful feathery antennae of the
males. _Rhipidocera mystacina_, our typical form, is ¾ of an inch
in length, elongate in form, with narrow sloping thorax and large
feather-like antennae; the general colour is black, with the sides of
the thorax and whole of the wing covers thickly spotted with white
downy dots. I have often taken this insect in numbers in the North-West
of Victoria.
Family 33. Fire-Fly Beetles.
MALACODERMIDAE.
The members of this family have a softer integument than most beetles.
They do not all emit light; the true “fire-flies” and “glow-worms”
belong to the sub-family LAMPYRIDES.
The Genus _Metriorrhynchus_ contains about 50 small, elongate,
flattened beetles of a dull red colour marked with black; the wing
covers are deeply ribbed but soft and flabby. The larvae are curious,
smoky black creatures with blunt spines along the sides of the body,
and live under stones or logs. _M. rufipennis_, one of the largest, is
¾ of an inch in length; the head and thorax are black and roughened;
the wing covers are light red, deeply ribbed and reticulated:
Waterhouse figured and described many of these (Trans. Entom. Soc.
1877). Our true fire-flies belong to the Genera _Luciola_ and
_Atyphella_. On these Olliff has written an interesting paper entitled
“New Species of Lampyridae with notes on the Mount Wilson Fire-fly”
(Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1889). Our fire-flies are small, light brown
beetles, which during the day cling to the foliage, flying about at
night, emitting a bright flash of phosphorescent light from the tip of
the abdomen as they move their wings. Several species are found on the
Blue Mountains and in the tropical scrubs of North Queensland; they are
very brilliant after night-fall: _Luciola flavicollis_, ¾ of an inch,
is our common species. The Soldier Beetles, chiefly belonging to the
Genera _Telephorus_ and _Selenurus_, are common upon low bushes and
flowering shrubs. _Telephorus pulchellus_, ½ an inch in length, is a
slender, dull orange coloured beetle; the dorsal surface is shining
blue black except the apical half of the thorax, which is bright
yellow. This beetle sometimes appears in great numbers; I have seen the
Melaleuca scrub on the Blue Mountains black with them.
Family 34. Hunting Beetles.
CLERIDAE.
There are many handsome little beetles in this family which spend their
time hunting over logs, tree trunks, or in flowers to catch smaller
insects which they devour; most of them lay their eggs in the bodies
of the pupae of wood moths and other insects. A freshly fallen tree is
a good locality to look for Clerids, as they find many small beetles
attracted by the withering bark: in Europe the larvae of several groups
infest the nests of wild bees.
_Natalis porcata_, 1 inch in length, is black covered with a whitish
down, and is found under the dead bark on tree trunks; it is probably
parasitic upon the grubs of longicorn beetles (_Phoracantha_).
_Cleromorpha novemguttatus_ measures only ⅕ of an inch; it is rich
metallic blue, lightly clothed with black hairs, and the elytra spotted
on either side with white dots: it is common in the flowers of the
_Angophora_ in early summer. The Genus _Aulicus_ contains a number of
bright metallic green or blue beetles which live on flowering shrubs;
about 20 species are described, chiefly by Cheverolet (Memoirs of the
Cleridae 1878). _Aulicus instabilis_, one of the smallest, is only ¼ of
an inch in length; it has a wide range over Australia. _Trogodendron
fasciculatum_ is another widely distributed species, and may be often
seen flying about in the height of summer; if captured it bites most
viciously. I have on several occasions pulled its body off, leaving
the head with the jaws buried in my finger: it is parasitic on the
pupae of our large wood moths. It is variable in size, about 1 inch in
length, thickset and broad in proportion; is dark brown, with bright
yellow antennae, and broad black fasciae at the base and apical half
of the elytra. _Zenithicola obesus_, ⅓ of an inch in length, is like
the last in general form, but with dull yellow thorax and shining black
elytra marked with white: _Z. australis_, a slightly larger species,
has a black thorax. The members of the Genus _Eleale_ are elongate,
dark metallic green or blue beetles clothed with fine hairs and deeply
punctured wing covers; they also live among flowers. _Tarsostenus
zonatus_ is typical of the small, slender, cylindrical clerids that
infest the gall-making coccids, and are often bred from these galls.
It has a bright reddish brown head and thorax, and green wing covers
barred across the centre with white. _Lemidia hilaris_, ⅙ of an inch
long, is a short broad beetle of a shining black tint, with the basal
half of the elytra red. The Red-legged Ham Beetle, _Necrobia rufipes_,
an introduced species, is found all over the world. In the interior it
swarms under dead animals, feeding upon fresh bones; and is also often
found about cheese and other preserved foods in the pantry.
Family 35. Anobiums.
PTINIDAE.
These beetles are small insects, with the head hidden under the
thorax; they have filiform, pectinate or slightly clubbed antennae;
and several species are world wide in their range, for as they live
in all kinds of dried food stuffs they are easily introduced into new
countries. _Gibbium scotius_ is a curious little beetle hardly over
¹⁄₁₂ of an inch in length, with a bright shining brown body, and the
legs and antennae covered with yellow scales; it feeds upon feathers,
and is often found in birds’ nests. _Anobium paniceum_ is known as the
“Biscuit Weevil,” but feeds upon all kinds of things; I have found
it in boots, seeds, drugs, botanical specimens, and it is said to
have been found burrowing through sheet lead. The Cigarette Beetle,
_Lasioderma serricorne_, is another little brown beetle common in
Sydney in waste tobacco. Olliff has described a number of Australian
species (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1886); and Westwood others (Ent. Soc.
1869), among which are several members of the Genus _Ectrephes_, which
live in ants’ nests.
[Illustration: =Fig. 75.=--_Sitodrepa (Anobium)
panicea_ (Fabr.).
The omniverous drug-store beetle (Introduced).
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Family 36. Powderpost Beetles.
CIOIDAE.
[Illustration: =Fig. 76.=--_Lyctus brunneus_
(Douglas).
The Beetle so destructive to Rattan furniture.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Though small in size and number of species, these are very important
beetles on account of the damage they do to rattan furniture and
sapwood in unseasoned timber. _Lyctus brunneus_, a small elongated,
reddish brown beetle about ⅙ of an inch in length, lives and breeds in
wood, and is only too common about Sydney. A second species has been
described from South Australia by Blackburn.
Family 37. Auger Beetles.
BOSTRYCHIDAE.
[Illustration: =Fig. 77.=--_Bostrychopsis jesuita_
(Fabr.).
The Auger Beetle which attacks dead or dying trees. Orange
tree stem in which a number have been feeding.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
These beetles are easily recognised by their curious cowled thorax,
with the head turned down beneath, and the last 3 joints of the
antennae forming a well-defined club; the body is long and cylindrical,
adapted for burrowing in dead wood. Specimens of these beetles
can generally be found upon fallen trees or freshly-cut timber.
_Bostrychopsis jesuita_, one of the largest of the group, about ½
an inch in length, is black, cylindrical, with the rounded thorax
rugose in front, and the tip of the wing covers truncate. _Bostrychus
gibbicollis_, about ⅓ of an inch, is dark reddish brown, with a spined
thorax and the tips of the wing covers produced into blunt teeth.
_B. cylindricus_, about the same size and similar colour, has elytra
furnished with three curled spines on each side. It has been found
damaging wine casks. In the Genera _Apate_ and _Rhizopertha_, also
found in dead timber, we have a typical form in _Apate collaris_,
measuring ¼ of an inch in length, with a dull yellow thorax, dark brown
wing covers spined at the tips.
[Illustration: =Fig. 78.=--_Bostrychus cylindricus_
(Macleay).
The Wine-cask borer.
(“Agricultural Gazette.” N.S.W.)]
Family 38. Mealworm Beetles.
TENEBRIONIDAE.
This is a very large family of beetles, generally dull brown or black
in colour, but varying much in shape; many of the more typical forms
are found under logs and stones, and might easily be mistaken at first
sight for carnivorous carab beetles until the mouth parts and head are
noticed. They have somewhat thickened antennae placed on the sides of
the head; some have wings, others are wingless; most of them are slow,
heavy beetles, very easily captured. The larvae are usually slender
shining cylindrical brown worm-like creatures living in rotten wood, of
which the introduced Mealworm is a typical example. Our species have
been described by a great many English and foreign writers, chief among
which are Pascoe, in the Journal of Entomology 1869, and Annals of
Natural History 1869–80; Hope in the Transactions of the Entomological
Society of London 1842–48; Bates in the same journal 1873; and later
on in the Proceedings of the Australian Societies by Macleay and
Blackburn. Carter has within this last year described a number of new
species (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1905–6).
The Ironbark Beetle, _Zopherosis georgii_, is found in the northern
scrubs of N.S. Wales, generally climbing on tree trunks; it is an
elongated, flattened, dull brown beetle, slightly over 1 inch in
length; the antennae thickened, and the whole of the upper surface
covered with rounded irregular knobs; it is not unlike a caricature of
a large click beetle.
The members of the Genus _Pterohelaeus_ are smooth, shining,
tortoise-shaped black beetles, found under dead bark on the trunks of
trees. _P. piceus_, common in S. Australia and N.S. Wales, is just
under 1 inch in length, but broad in proportion.
[Illustration: =Fig. 79.=--_Helaeus subserratus_
(Blackburn).
The Tortoise Beetle.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
_Helaeus subserratus_, from Western Australia, is typical of a very
curious group not only wingless, but having the elytra and abdominal
segments soldered together into a broad flattened box with a wide thin
flange running right round, continued round the thorax, and overlapping
in front of the head, which latter is turned down and is thus situated
in a regular frame; this one is dark brown, with the outer flange
lighter coloured; it measures 1⅓ inches in length, and is broad and
rounded in form. These beetles are usually found in the driest parts
of the interior, where they live under stones or logs among the dust,
and in spite of their size, remain so motionless that they can be very
easily overlooked.
_Saragus floccosus_, found on tree trunks in the north of N.S.W., is
a smaller tortoise-shaped insect, under ¾ of an inch; is convex and
keeled down the centre of the thorax; and the elytra have a more
narrow flange running right round but curving in and rounded on either
side of the head. When alive, it has the whole of the upper surface
covered with loose flocculent matter like soft sawdust, evidently
as a protective covering, but this is easily brushed off when dead.
_Hypaulax tenuistriata_ is one of the common large black beetles found
under dead bark; it measures about 1 inch in length; the head is small,
projecting; the thorax broad, rounded, shining; and the broad wing
covers are distinctly ribbed with punctured striae.
_Chartopteryx childreni_ is one of our most remarkable and rare
species; it is 1 inch long; the only specimen I have seen alive,
I caught alighting on a tree trunk at Mosman, near Sydney; it is
elongate, broad, oval in form, with the head and thorax turned down,
and the convex, shining, black elytra deeply punctured and clothed with
dull yellow moss-like material; the head and thorax are ornamented
with fine white hairs, forming an elongated mark on either side of the
latter and two parallel lines down the centre of the head and thorax.
_Blepegenes aruspex_ is a shining coppery black coloured beetle
measuring ¾ of an inch; it is slender in form, remarkably like a carab,
with a small thorax that is produced into a spine on either side; the
elytra are deeply ribbed; it is found under logs in the Illawarra
district, N.S.W.
_Cardiothorax howitti_ is also found under logs; it is an elongate
beetle, black with a dull purple tint on the thorax, which is flattened
and almost round, a regular rim running round the margin; it is arcuate
behind the head, and produced into a spine on the hind margins; the
wing covers are elongated to the apex, and ribbed. The members of the
extensive Genus _Adelium_ are found under logs; some species are quite
common, clustering together in considerable numbers; they are all black
or coppery tinted. These beetles are about ¾ of an inch in length; the
thorax is roughened, and the wing covers more or less striated.
The Genus _Chalcopterus_, which now includes most of those described
as _Amarygmus_, are black or brightly metallic coloured beetles; the
head and thorax are small and curve downward; the wing covers are
large, convex, and pointed at the tips. They are found crawling about
on tree trunks, or hidden under dead bark, and give out a very pungent
offensive odour when handled. _Chalcopterus variabilis_ measures ½ an
inch in length; its head and thorax are black, the elytra rich coppery
red, and it is common about the Sydney scrubs.
The common Mealworm, _Tenebrio molitor_, has a world-wide range; it
was introduced into Australia at a very early date, and not long ago
a packet of seeds imported from England was found on examination by
one of the inspectors of the Agricultural Department N.S.W. to be full
of the shining wireworm-like larvae of these beetles. It is a common
beetle in stables and produce stores.
Family 39.
CISTELIDAE.
These are delicate, elongate, long-legged beetles, with weak
integument, and are closely allied to the TENEBRIONIDAE, only differing
from them in having comb-like or pectinate claws on the tarsi; and
their larvae are like wireworms. The Genus _Atractus_ comprises a
number of slender beetles of bright metallic tints common upon the
flowering shrubs in summer; _Atractus viridis_, ½ an inch in length,
is bright metallic green, with the thorax and shoulders tinted with
coppery red, the wing covers deeply marked with punctured striae. _A.
virescens_ is a smaller species with a more dull metallic coppery
tint. The members of the Genus _Allecula_ are larger beetles, with
long slender legs and antennae, shining brown or black in colour,
with finely striated elytra; the larvae are slender, dark, shining
brown wireworms living in decaying wood. _Allecula subsulcata_ is
slightly over ½ an inch in length, of a uniform black colour, with the
last three joints of the antennae and the last two of the tarsi pale
ferruginous. The larvae breed in the rotten stems of dead grass trees,
and the beetles are generally found hiding among the foliage.
Family 40.
LAGRIIDAE.
This is another small group containing few species, but _Lagria
grandis_ is one of our very common beetles, and can be collected on
low scrub anywhere about Sydney. The larvae are to be found under logs
or among damp leaves on the ground, and are thickset, black, shining
creatures. covered with short reddish hair on the upper surface; short
antennae standing out in front; and the tip of the abdomen is produced
into a pair of pointed spines. The beetle is light reddish brown,
closely covered with fine confluent punctures and short scattered brown
hairs. It is slightly over ½ an inch in length, with a small head,
slender, narrow thorax, and with the front of the wing covers forming a
broad shoulder in front.
Family 41.
ANTHICIDAE.
These are small ant-like beetles, with the head having a regular neck
and the thorax narrow and elongate; most of them are found among
rubbish upon the ground, or along the edges of creeks and watercourses.
It is chiefly owing to the researches of King, who collected and
described a great number of the species found about Sydney (Trans. Ent.
Soc. N.S.W. 1869), that we know much about this family.
Family 42.
PYROCHROIDAE.
This is a small group containing some beetles with the head attached
to the thorax by a neck, and with the wing covers much broader than
the thorax: _Lemodes coccinea_ is a pretty little bright red beetle
with black legs and antennae, the latter tipped with white; it measures
slightly over ¼ of an inch in length; is common under logs in the
Illawarra district. Another species, _L. splendens_, has recently been
described by Lea (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1906) from specimens obtained
by me at Noundoc, N.S. Wales.
Family 43. Pintails.
MORDELLIDAE.
This group, in which the _Rhipidophoridae_ are now included, are very
distinctive beetles; they have the head tucked down in front; the
thorax large, broad, and rounded at the base, with the hind margins
angular and fitting closely into the wing covers, which taper down
to the apex; the end of the abdomen forms a stout spine-shaped tip
extending beyond the wings.
They are very active little beetles; several species are very numerous
and swarm over the flowers of the low scrub. _Mordella leucosticta_, ½
an inch in length, is black; the whole of the upper surface is thickly
spotted and marked with dull white, and the legs and under surface
are also mottled. _M. limbata_ is a much smaller black beetle ⅙ of an
inch in length, and has a pale silvery sheen: _Tomoxia flavicans_,
from the northern rivers, is a shorter broader insect. _Pelectomoides
conicollis_ is 1¼ inches in length; is of a uniform dull brown colour,
with pectinate antennae; the head is small, turned down, and the thorax
is broad and rounded. This fine beetle is found about Sydney. Lea has
described and listed the members of this family (Trans. Ent. Soc.
London 1902).
Family 44. Oil and Blister Beetles.
CANTHARIDAE.
The true Blister Beetle is a slender insect with soft integument,
and a small head produced into a neck behind; the thorax is small in
proportion to the slender rounded abdomen and wing covers. A number of
species have been described from this country by different writers,
among whom Fairmaire has been chief (Stett. Ent. Zeit. 1880). Most of
them belong to the Genus _Zonitis_, of which about 40 species have been
described. _Zonitis bipartita_, under ½ an inch in length, has the
head, thorax, base of the wing covers, and under surface of abdomen
orange yellow, with the abdomen and rest of the elytra dark shining
blue: _Z. brevicornis_ is a very similar insect, but has the whole of
the wing covers deep metallic blue.
The true Oil Beetles are more rare; unable to fly, they are found
crawling about on the ground with the body distended and the wing
covers overlapping each other at the base. Nothing is recorded about
the larvae of our species of this family, but in other countries they
are known to feed upon the eggs of locusts; others attach themselves to
bees, and are thus carried into their nests, where they devour the eggs
and afterwards the honey.
The OEDEMERIDAE are somewhat similar looking insects to the Blister
Beetle; _Ananca puncta_ is found in the northern parts of N.S. Wales;
it is a very slender long-legged beetle over ½ an inch in length, of a
general dull yellow colour, with the head, thorax, and legs mottled
with dull blue, and the whole of the elongated wing covers dull blue
except a dorsal stripe of the prevailing yellow which widens out
towards the apex.
Family 45. Woodborers.
SCOLYTIDAE.
[Illustration: =Fig. 80.=--_Hylesinus fici_ (Lea).
The Fig-branch Beetle, better known under the name of _H.
porcatus_ (Chap.).
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
This is a group the members of which are allied to the Weevils, but
differ in having a short broad snout with clubbed antennae, and
the tibiae toothed on the outer edge. Only a few species have been
described from this country, but several of them are well-known
pests, and like the smaller species of the Auger Beetles are usually
attracted to dying trees. In the Genus _Hylesinus_ we have one,
_H. porcatus_, which attacks the terminal buds of both the wild
and cultivated figs. It is a short thickset black beetle, about 2
lines in length, with the head turned down to the fore-legs, and the
clubbed antennae 5 jointed; the head and thorax are rugose, and the
wing covers finely striated; the whole insect is lightly clothed with
fine hairs. The Ambrosia Beetle, _Xyleborus solidus_, is a common
beetle in the bush, and has lately turned its attention to fruit trees;
boring into the branch and then gnawing a chamber right round under the
bark, she deposits her eggs at the end of the burrow, at the same time
killing the branch and causing it to snap off. This beetle is about
⅛ of an inch in length, of a uniform black colour, with the legs and
antennae reddish brown. It is stout and cylindrical in form; the head
is turned down in front and hidden from above; the rounded thorax is
nearly as large as the body, covered with short rasp-like points in
front; the wing covers are flattened and squared off at the tips.
[Illustration: =Fig. 81.=--_Xyleborus solidus_
(Eichhoff).
The Scolytid Beetle that damages the Apple tree Branches.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Family 46. Slender Weevils.
BRENTHIDAE.
These are remarkable looking beetles, very long and slender in form,
with the snout never turned down but standing out straight in front
of the head; the antennae not elbowed, but composed of a number of
bead-like joints attached near the tip on either side; and the jaws
situated at the extremity of the snout. In many of the larger forms the
males are much bigger than the females, and have the snout much longer;
they are chiefly found in the tropical scrubs, two small species
however coming from the south. _Trachelizus howetti_, a shining reddish
brown beetle about ¼ of an inch in length, has the antennae thickened
to the tips; and _Cordus hospes_, a larger beetle of a somewhat darker
colour, is found under dead bark on the tree trunks, and also sometimes
in ants’ nests. _Ectocemus pterygorrhinus_ comes from North Queensland,
and is common on the low scrub about Cairns where timber has been
felled; it is somewhat short and thickset; the male is about 1¼ inches
in length, with the tip of the rostrum produced into an angulate
process, and very long cylindrical antennae. The general colour is
dark reddish brown, with the wing covers ornamented with four parallel
rows of shining dull yellow bars. _Ithystenus hollandiae_, also from
Cairns, is found in similar situations; it is very long and slender,
1½ inches long, blackish brown, with two parallel light reddish brown
lines down the centre of the wing covers, and the extremities produced
into a tooth at either side. _Homocerus fossulatus_, found under rotten
bark, is of a general dull brown colour; is thickened and flattened,
with the wing covers much roughened. The male measures about 1¾ inches
in length, but the female is much smaller. _Mesetia amoena_ is a very
pretty, slender, bright reddish yellow beetle, with the head, legs, and
sides of the thorax black, and a dark medium stripe down the thorax
and elytron. It is about 1 inch in length, and is common in the scrubs
about the Richmond River N.S.W.
Family 47. Carnivorous Weevils.
ANTHRIBIDAE.
These beetles are allied to, but very distinct from, the true weevils,
and are usually found on the trunks of dead trees, where they hunt for
and devour the small wood-boring beetles that are attracted to the dead
twigs, or which breed out of fungus. They have a short blunt snout, and
many have long slender antennae which are not elbowed; they are most
plentiful in the northern scrubs and forests.
_Ecelonerus albopictus_ is typical of those with short antennae clubbed
at the tips; it is a stout thickset dark brown beetle, thickly covered
with pubescence, and the whole of the under surface, front of thorax
and middle and tip of the body blotched with white pubescence. It
measures over ½ an inch in length, and is found in the northern parts
of N.S. Wales.