732 CLASS IV. INSECTA. 



Fam. 54. Malacodermidae. Elongate, soft skinned beetles with 

 seven or eight free abdominal sterna. This is a large and varied family 

 of moderate sized beetles. The antennae are often serrated, the tarsi five- 

 segmented. The larvae vary greatly and are predaceons and carnivorous. 

 This family includes the glow-worms Lampyris noctiluca, Luciola italica, 

 etc. 



Fam. 55. Melyridae. Antennae serrated or filiform. Six abdominal 

 sterna visible. The Melyridae are soft-skinned beetles that frequent 

 flowers, but the larvae are carnivorous. Malachius, which gives an 

 alternative name Malachiidae to the family, has British representatives. 



Fam. 56. Cleridae. Tarsi five-segmented, but the proximal segment of 

 the hind tarsus very indistinct. Thorax narrower than elytra, head con- 

 spicuous. Antennae often clubbed, seldom serrated. Five or six visible 

 abdominal sterna. A varied family of soft beetles often brightly coloured. 

 They are predaceous. The larvae are hairy and brown or red ; they feed 

 on other insects notably on Dipterous and Hymenopterous larvae which 

 they find amongst carrion or vegetation. Tillus, Laricobius, Cylidrus. 



Fam. 57. Lymexylonidae. Tarsi five-segmented. Anterior and middle 

 coxae placed longitudinally. Antennae short and serrated. A small 

 family of under two score species of soft, longish beetles which bore in 

 hard wood. The larvae of Lymexylon navale were very destructive in the 

 time of wooden ships. That species and Hylecoetus dermestoides are British. 



Fam. 58. Dascillidae. Antennae serrate or filiform, arising close in front 

 of eyes. Anterior coxae inserted apart, posterior close together. Five 

 visible abdominal sterna. A widely distributed family of smallish beetles. 

 The larvae of some, e.g. the British Hydrocyphon, are aquatic, of others 

 subterranean. 



Fam. 59. Rhipiceridae. Five-segmented tarsi with a hairy, chitinous 

 process between the claws. The male antennae bear long processes. 

 Mandibles strongly incurved. A small, chiefly tropical family. The 

 cylindrical larvae sometimes live in timber. Rhipicera, Callirhipis. 



Fam. 60. Elateridae. Antennae serrate as a rule or pectinate. Pos- 

 terior angles of prothorax conspicuous. Five visible abdominal segments. 

 The click-beetles form a large family capable, when they fall on their backs, 

 of jumping into the air and so righting themselves. This they do by 

 suddenly forcing a prosternal process into a mesosternal hollow or " catch." 

 The articulation between the pro- and meso-thorax is a loose one. The 

 larvae of the skip-jack beetle Agriotes lineatus, sometimes termed the wire- 

 worm, but not to be confused with the Myriapod Julus terrestris, causes 

 much damage to crops by gnawing roots. The fire-flies of the tropics, 

 notably the genus Pyrophorus, belong to this family, which is large and 

 cosmopolitan. 



Fam. 61. Buprestidae. Antennae short and serrated. Head partly 

 hidden by pronotum. Prostern projects into a mesosternal depression. 

 Five visible abdominal sterna. A large family of beetles which feed under 

 bark or in timber mostly in hot climates. Often highly ornamented and 

 metallic, so that the elytra are used as decorations. The larvae usually 

 have a very broad and flattened thorax. 



Sub-order 4. HETEROMERA 



Five tarsal segments on first and second pairs of legs, four on the third. 

 Fam. 62. Aegialitidae. Coxae widely separate. Five abdominal 



