Members of the Genus _Trox_ feed chiefly on decaying animal matter, and are to be found under dead animals, and a few in caves among the accumulated dung of bats; they are curious dull brown insects, convex and rounded on the upper surface; the head is so small and retractile that it appears to be wanting. _Trox dohrni_, from Central Australia, one of our largest species, is just under 1 inch; is almost black, covered with a regular armour plate of shining black bosses and ridges all over the dorsal surface. _T. australasiae_, our common species, is about half the length, and is dull brown, with the bosses on the elytra more regular and ridged. * * * * * The MELOLONTHIDES are mostly small beetles with the tip of the abdomen not always covered; they feed chiefly upon the foliage of plants. The Genus _Phyllotocus_ contains about 27 described species of small reddish brown beetles with long black or yellow legs: some species are very abundant about Sydney, swarming over the flowers of native scrubs; they even come to the garden plants to feed upon the honey. [Illustration: =Fig. 67.=--_Diphucephala aurulenta_ (Kirby). The Metallic Green Wattle Beetle. In Tasmania it damages young apples by eating off the skin. (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)] _Phyllotocus macleayi_ has even been found swarming round bee-hives, probably attracted by the smell of the honey. It is a smooth, shining, yellowish brown beetle about ⅓ of an inch in length, with the apical portion of the wing covers blackened. _P. marginatus_ is smaller than the last, and of the usual dull reddish colour; the head, centre of thorax, and stripe down the centre of the wing covers black; the whole lightly clothed with fine hairs. _Diphucephala aurulenta_, typical of another group of bright, metallic coloured, broad bodied beetles, measures ¼ of an inch in length, and has the dorsal surface of a rich reddish-copper tint, thickly and coarsely punctured; the under surface and legs are deep green, clothed with fine grey hairs. It is common upon the foliage of the black wattle about Sydney. _D. rufipes_, a smaller beetle, is coppery green with reddish legs; is not uncommon about Sydney. _D. colaspidoides_, a southern species, is metallic green; the thorax smooth; the elytra deeply and thickly marked with punctured striae. _Maechidius tibialis_, representing another group, is a flattened, reddish brown beetle over ⅓ of an inch; the head is produced into two shell-like flanges in front of the eyes; the thorax is finely punctured; and the elytra ribbed, with closely punctured striae. I have found both the beetle and its larva, a soft white grub, in numbers in the open galleries of the termitaria built by our common White Ant (_Termes lacteus_) in the Shoalhaven district, N.S.W., where they seemed to live in harmony with the swarms of White Ants.