In Gray's "Zoological Miscellany," 1842, p. 78, there first appeared a description of the great forest Weta of New Zealand, under the name of Deinacrida heteracantha, White. A further account of this remarkable insect was given in the List of the Fauna appended to Dieffenbach's "Travels in New Zealand," from which I extract the following: "The length of the specimen brought by Dr. Dieffenbach, measuring from the forehead to the end of the abdomen, exclusive of appendages, is 2in.; from the end of the tarsus of hind leg to end of antenna stretched out, this specimen measures at least 12½in. The specimen may be in the larva state. The presternum, as in Anostostoma, with two spines approximating in the middle; meso-and meta-sternum deeply grooved behind, with a strong tooth on the sides behind. Dr. Andrew Sinclair, since my short description was published in the second part of Mr. Gray's Miscellany, has brought from New Zealand a specimen of this species which, with its hind legs and antennæ stretched out, is at least 14in. long; its head and body, exclusive of appendages, being 2½in. The specimen is a female; its ovipositor is rather more than 1in. long, is slightly bent upwards and compressed through the greater part of its length, the two cultelli forming its principal part being somewhat angular at the base. Nearly the whole insect is of an ochry-yellow colour, the end of the ovipositor and the extreme tip of the spines on the legs being brown; the margins of the abdominal segments are of a lighter colour; the transversely-ridged and rough-surfaced femora have many light-coloured streaks. The greater portion of the dorsal part of the thorax is somewhat ferruginous. This specimen was found by itself on the marsh-pine in Waiheke, in the Firth of the Thames. Five other specimens of smaller size Dr. Sinclair found congregated under the bark of trees."^*

The last-mentioned specimens belonged, no doubt, to the species afterwards described as Deinacrida (Hemideina) thoracica, White (Voy. Ereb. and Terr., Ins., 1846).

In 1867 I published in the "Zoologist," page 850, the description of a new species, Hemideina megacephala, Buller, distinguished by its enormous head.

In 1869 ten more names were added to the group, namely: Hemideina producta (afterwards referred by Professor Hutton to H. thoracica),^* H. capitolina, H. figurata, II. abbreviate, H. tibialis, Ceuthophilus (?) lanceolatus, Macropathus filifer, M. faseifer, and M. altus (White, Cat. Loeustidæ); also Hadenæcus edwardsii (Scudder, Proc. Boston Soc. of Nat. Hist., xii., p. 408).

In 1870 I communicated a paper to this Society (Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. iii., pp. 34-37) in which I republished my account of Hemideina megacephala, and described a new species under the name of Deinacrida rugosa, Buller (with figures of both).

In 1880 Mr. Colenso described (Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. xiv., p. 278), under the name of Hemideina gigantea, "a species bigger in every way than D. heteracantha," adding, "it is also much more spiny, and differs greatly in colours," &c. He at the same time described (tom, cit., p. 240) another species, Hemideina speluncæ, giving as its habitat "dark underground caves near the head of the Manawatu River, in the Forty-mile Bush."

Respecting the first-named of these Mr. Colenso gave some very interesting historical particulars.

An admirable figure of Deinacrida heteracantha appeared in the "Zoology of the Erebus and Terror," part "Insects," p. 24, pl. 5, fig. i.; and in 1868 Professor Hochstetter published a good figure in outline ("New Zealand," p. 170), with a brief and somewhat inaccurate account of the insect, concluding with this remark: "Despite its hideous looks it is perfectly harmless."

Mr. Colenso stated in 1880 (l.c., p. 280) that his unique specimen of Hemideina gigantea had then been forty-two years in spirits with its colours unaltered, the liquid in the glass bottle containing it being still clear and pure. To this we must now add thirteen years more; so that the specimen has been canonized for more than half a century. I think the beautiful female specimen of Deinacrida heteracantha in my son's collection can show almost as good a record. It is amongst the earliest recollections of my life that, about forty-five years ago, wandering through the woods at Tangiteroria with my private tutor, Dr. Beard, we found this huge Weta at the foot of a tree, and brought it home in a silk pocket-handkerchief. Being something of a naturalist, the doctor care-

^* Catalogue of the New Zealand Diptera, Orthoptera, Hymenoptera, 1881, p. 82.

page 145 fully stuffed the insect and placed it in a small glass show-case of his own construction, where it has remained hermetically sealed ever since. It had perhaps a better chance than the specimen in spirits of preserving its colours, and it is now as fresh and bright as the day it was stuffed. I remember that some years later, in riding through a strip of bush between Mangakahia and Whangarei, I caught a pair of them on a low tree, where they were apparently feeding on the young leaves. Dismounting from my horse, I secured the two Wetas in a pocket-handkerchief, and hung them up in a tree to await ray return a day or two later. On coming back, however, I found that they had eaten their way out and made their escape.

For many years this fine insect has been looked upon as extinct, and it certainly is extremely rare; but since my last return from England I have been fortunate enough to secure the large male specimen now on the table. I purchased it from a dealer in Auckland, who told me he had procured it from one of the small wooded islands in the Hauraki Gulf. Formerly it was very abundant in all the woods at the far north; but I never heard of its being found south of the Waikato district. The Maoris attribute its disappearance to the introduced Norway rat. They distinguish it as the Wetapunga.

In 1884 Mr. Colenso (op. cit., vol. xvii., p. 155) added another species, under the name of Deinacrida amiger, from Wairoa, Hawke's Bay District, stating that it seemed allied to H. megacephala. In 1886 he described (op. cit., vol. xix., p. 145) Hemideina longipes, from a specimen obtained in a totara forest at Norsewood, in the County of Waipawa. Finally, in 1888, he described, under the name of Hemideina nitens", "a peculiar species, differing from other described ones in its general very dark colour, extreme glossiness," &c.

It will be seen, therefore, that Mr. Colenso has added no less than five species to the list. I have not had an opportunity of examining any of his types, and cannot therefore express any opinion as to the value of his specific characters. After a careful study, however, of his descriptions, I am satisfied that none of them apply to the fine insect which I have the pleasure of exhibiting to-night, and for the loan of which I am indebted to Mr. Teutenberg, of Auckland. He informed me that he obtained it at Coromandel, but he could give me no particulars respecting it. Judging by its character, I should say it is an inhabitant of caves or overhanging rocks.