C.—lβ

Odontria puncticollis, magnified Five Times

I, Antennae of male, magnified thirty-five times; 2, antennae of female, magnified thirty-five times. The following is Major Broun's description of Odontria puncticollis: — (;Roup MELOLONTHID/E. Odontria, White, Man. N.Z. Coleopt., p. 265. Odontria -puncticollis, sp. Nov. Subovate, broadest near the hind thighs, moderately convex, somewhat nitid; head and thorax reddish-chestnut, elytra and legs rather paler, the latter often testaceous; sparingly covered with distinct, decumbent, moderately short, yellowish hairs, but also with longer erect ones along the sides, the base of elytra thickly clothed, in the middle, with elongate pubescence. Head coarsely and moderately closely punctured, except at its extreme base, the forehead with reflexed, well-developed margins, broadly rounded in front, upper surface nearly nude. Eyes large, only slightly convex, hyaline. Thorax almost twice as broad as long, its sides finely margined, nearly straight, and only slightly narrowed behind the middle, gently curvedly narrowed towards the front; anterior angles acute, the posterior somewhat rounded; base widely sinuate towards the sides, rounded in the middle, the apex widety emarginate; its surface very distinctly, moderately closely and evenly punctured, frequently with a smooth linear space along the middle. Scutellum punctate, cordate or suboblong. Elytra thrice the length of the thorax, of the same width as it is at the base, gradually dilated posteriorly, the apices rounded at the sides, much less so, sometimes subtruncate, towards the suture; on each elytron there are nine fine striae, the outer ones indistinct, the central ones obsolete near the shoulder; interstices plane, their punctation distinct, slightly finer that that of the thorax. Pygidium broad, with distant subgraniilar sculpture. Under-side more or less finely punctate, fusco-testaceous, the abdomen a little shining and often fuscous in mature individuals; the sternum with numerous elongate, slender, fulvescent setae, those on the femora erect. Male. —Antennae rather short, -basal joint elongate, oblique and thickened at the extremity, the second as stout but only half as long, third more slender, fourth stout, angulate, and generally slightly produced in front; club minutely and densely pubescent, composed of four nearly equal leaflets. Female.—Fifth antennal joint short, usually somewhat prolonged in front, but only a third, or less, of the length of the club, which is triarticulate and shorter than that of the male. Length, 12-14; breadth, 7-8 mm. This species can be distinguished from almost all the others by the very distinct, though not coarse, thoracic punctation, which is quite perceptible to the unaided eye, whereas in many other cases the punctures, either very fine or obsolete, can only be detected by means of a powerful lens. As a further aid to identification, it may be stated that, with the exception of White's Bhizotrogus zealandicus, 474, and one or two others, the surface is opaque and often maculate, and the elytra in some instances broadly sulcate. In the more closely allied, but larger, much paler, and rather more glossy, 0. nitidula, 3233, the hind angles of the thorax, though obtuse, are more rectangular, and only those striae that are near the suture are well marked. Specimens collected by 11. A. Goudie, in larch nursery-beds, Whakarewarewd, 6th February, 1913. The illustration is drawn from, nature by Mr. Ti. H. Atkinson. [Extract from the Journal of the Department of Agriculture, 15th March, 1913.] To face p. 6.]