BEETLES. 



357 



FlG. 401. Corn- 

 netes rujicollis. 



many other substances, is to put the goods containing insects into a loosely covered 

 tin box or pail and to set this for a time into boiling water, taking care that the 

 water does not boil over into the box containing the goods. 



The family of CLERID.-E includes over seven hundred species of beetles, of which 

 many have beautiful coloration, and a general aspect somewhat ant-like. This ant-like 

 appearance is due to their prominent eyes, their short antennae, their generally long 

 legs, and their elongated prothorax, which is often much narrower than the elytra and 

 slightly narrower than the head. The antennae, which are usually eleven- 

 jointed, have the apical joints enlarged, forming a more or less compact 

 serrate club. The posterior coxae are flat, and the tarsi have membran- 

 ous lobes. The larva? of Cleridae are mostly predaceous, inhabiting the 

 burrows of xylophagous coleoptera, or the nests of bees, and feeding 

 upon the living larva? which they find in these situations ; a few ( Cory- 

 netes and Necrobia) eat decaying animal matter. Many species of 

 Cleridae, as images, frequent flowei-s, but a large number of them, espe- 

 cially species of Thaiiasimus, can be found running quickly over dead pine bark, and 

 piles of freshly-cut pine wood furnish the agile insect-collector numerous species. 



The species of Necrobia which have been introduced into America from Europe, 

 are small pubescent carrion beetles of which the outer three joints of the antenna? 

 form a club. The last joint of the palpi is long and truncate. N. violacea is about 

 0.15 of an inch long and deep steel blue, rarely greenish, in color. N. rujicollis is a 

 trine larger than the last-mentioned species, and its legs, prothorax and the anterior 

 portion of its elytra are dull red. N. rufipes differs from N. violacea in having brown 

 legs. The larva of Necrobia frequents the same places as does the 

 imago ; it is of a light brownish-red color, and its 

 abdominal segments increase in size posteriorly, so 



V that the tenth segment is over one-fourth wider than 



x, 



the fourth segment. 



Thaneroclerus sanquineus is a pretty red species 



FIG. 402. Than- 

 eroclerus san- in which the light red elytra are densely punctate, 



f/itineus. 



and the brownish-red prothorax is covered with long 

 pubescence. Its life history is unknown. Clerus ornatus is a beau- 

 tiful species from the western coast of North America. Its length 

 is about 0.4 of an inch ; its elytra are yellow, marked with very 

 dai'k shining blue, its prothorax is blue, clothed with long yellow 

 hairs, and its legs are blue. 



In Trichodes the club of the antennae is somewhat triangular, the 

 last joint of the labial palpi is dilated, that of the maxillary palpi 

 only slightly larger than the penultimate joint. T. apifirius, a well- 

 known European species, is about 0.6 of 

 an inch long. Its ground color is deep 

 blue, but three broad bands of yellow ex- 

 tend from the outer nearly to the inner 

 edge of the elytra ; the head, prothorax, 

 and legs are clothed with long pubescence. 

 The larva of this species lives in the nests 

 of wasps and wild bees, and at times in ill-kept hives of honey bees, where it eats not 

 only such half-dead bees as come within its reach, but nests in the honey-comb and 



FIG. 403. Clerus 

 ornatus. 



FIG. 404. Perilypus 

 carbonarius. 



FIG. 405. Trichodes apinrins. 



