COLEOPTERA. 589 



form (fig. 457). Ndoc L. The beetles live in grass, and when touched they give 

 out an acrid pungent fluid between the joints of the legs. The larvae creep on 

 the stalks of plants, penetrate into the flowers of Asclepiadae, Primulacese, etc., 

 and attach themselves fast to the body of bees (Pediculus mdittce Kirby), in 

 order to be carried to the bees' nest, in which they nourish themselves chiefly 

 on honey. M. proscarabeeus L., J/. vialaceus Marsh. Lytta m-icatoria L., 

 Spanish fly. Sitaris humeralis Fabr., South Europe (fig. 485). 



Fain. Rhipiphoridae. The larvae live in wasp nests (Metoccvx), or in the 

 abdomen of cockroaches ^Rhiptdlus). Rltipiphorus bimaculatus Fabr. 



Fam. Cistelidae. Itistela fulvipes Fabr.. C. murina L. 



Fam. Tcnebrionidae. Tenebrio molitor L., Larva known as meal-worm. Slaps 

 murtisaga L. 



Tribe 4. Pentamera. Tarsus usually five -jointed. 



Fam. Xylophaga. Tarsus sometimes only four-jointed. The larvae some- 

 times feed on dead animal matters, sometimes bore cylindrical horizontal 

 passages in wood, and are therefore destructive to furniture and wooden 

 material as well as to living trees. Lymexylon navale L., on docks in oak. 

 Anoliwm pcrtinax L., death watch, produces a ticking noise in wood. Ptinvs 

 fur L., Pt. rufipes Fabr. 



Fam. Cleridae. The variegated larvae live under bark and for the most part 

 on. other insects. Clerus formicarius L., Trichodes apiarius L. The larva is 

 parasitic in bee-hives. 



Fam. Malacodermata. JtfalacJilns esncus Fabr. Cantharls (Tflcphoms) 

 riolacea Payk., C. fusca L. Lampyrls Geoffr., Glow-worm. Female 

 apterous, or only with two small scales. Light organs in the abdomen 

 L. noctiluca L.. L. splendidula L. Female with two small scales instead of 

 wing-covers. 



Fam. Elateridae (Springkafer). The elongated body is distinguished by the 

 very free articulation between the prothorax and mesothorax ; and by the pos- 

 session of a spine upon the prothorax which fits into a pit on the mesothorax. 

 These two arrangements enable the beetle to jump up when lying on its back. 

 The larvae lire under the bark of trees on the wood, sometimes in the roots of 

 grain and turnips, and may be very destructive. Agriotes lineatvs L., Lacon 

 murinuslj., Elater sanguineus L., PyropJtorus noctilucvs L., in Cuba, prothorax 

 dilated to the form of a vesicle and phosphorescent. 



Fam. Buprestidae (Prachtkafer). Body elongated, pointed behind, often 

 brightly coloured, with a metallic lustre. The elongated vermiform larvae are 

 without ocelli and, as a rule, legs ; and possess a very broadened prothorax. 

 They live like the larvae of the Cerambycidce, to which they present a general 

 resemblance, in wood, and bore flat ellipsoidal passages. Trachys minuta L., 

 Agrilits bif/uttatits Fabr., Bupn'stis rustlca Fabr.. B.flawmaculata Fabr. 



Fam. Lamellicornia (Blatthornkafer). The antennae are seven- to eleven- 

 jointed ; the basal joint is large, and the terminal joints (three to seven) are 

 widened to a fan shape. In many the anterior legs are adapted for digging- 

 The soft-skinned larvre possess a horny head, moderately long legs, and a curved 

 abdomen, which is dilated behind to the form of a sac ; they feed sometimes on 

 leaves and roots, sometimes on putrefying vegetable and animal substances, and 

 enter into the pupal stage after two or three years sojourn in a cocoon beneath 

 the earth. Lucanus eervus L., stag beetle. Larvae in rotten wood of old oaks. 

 The beetle feeds on the sap which comes from the oak. L. paralli'liplpcdus L., 



