STAPHYLINIDAE SPHAERIIDAE TRICHOPTERYGIDAE 227 



remarkable Staphylinidae yet discovered are some viviparous 

 species, forming the genera Corotoca and Spirachtha, that have 

 very swollen abdomens, and live in the nests of Termites in 

 Brazil : l very little is, however, known about them. A very 

 large and powerful Staphylinid, Velleius dilatatus, lives only in 

 the nests of hornets and wasps. It has been supposed to be a 

 defender of the Hymenoptera, but the recent observations of 

 Janet and Wasmann make it clear that this is not the case : the 

 Velleius has the power of making itself disagreeable to the 

 hornets by some odour, and they do not seriously attack it. The 

 Velleius finds its nutriment in larvae or 

 pupae of the wasps that have fallen from 

 their cells, or in other organic refuse. 



The larvae of Staphylinidae are very 

 similar to those of Carabidae, but their 

 legs are less perfect, and are terminated 

 only by a single claw ; there is no dis- 

 tinct labrum. The pupae of some are 

 obtected, i.e. covered by a secondary exu- 

 dation that glues all the appendages 

 together, and forms a hard coat, as in 

 Lepidoptera. "We have about 800 species 

 of Staphyliuidae inBritain,and it is prob- 

 able that the family will prove one of the 

 most extensive of the Order. It is prob- 

 able that one hundred thousand species 

 or even more are at present in existence. 



Fam. 20. Sphaeriidae. Very 

 minute. Antennae eleven-jointed, clubbed. 

 Tarsi three-jointed. Abdomen with only 

 three visible ventral segments. This family 

 includes only three or four species of In- 

 sects about nX of an inch long. They are FlG - iW.Trichopteryx fasti- 



j 11 cularis. Britain. A, Out- 



M TV convex, and may be found walking ii ne of perfect Insect; B, 

 on mud. S. acaroides occurs in our fens. part J u PP e . r surface ; C, 



larva from side : D, from 



Mr. Matthews considers that they are above ; E, pupa ; F, wing ; 

 most nearly allied to Hydrophilidae. 2 G ' natural size of ima s' 



Fam. 21. Trichopterygidae. Extremely minute: antennae 



1 Schibdte, Ann. Sci. Nat. Zool. (4) v. 1857, p. 169. 

 2 JBioL Ccnti: Amcr. Col. ii. pt. i. 1888, p. 156. 



