BRACHINUS, THE BOMBARDIER. 



The members of this large genus are 

 Pterostichus 



among the most common of the Carabida?, 

 but it is difficult to describe, without technicalities, even 

 lucublandus, which lives in tilled fields. Plate LXXII 

 shows its general form; its color is greenish or bluish. 

 Amara and Platynus (Plate LXXIII) are related and also 

 large genera. All the species are small. Amara angustata, 

 shining bronze, is common in gardens, running rapidly on 

 paths in midsummer, especially when weeding operations 

 disturb its shelter. 



i 



Dicselus Similar to the preceding, but differing 



sufficiently in form to be recognized from 

 the illustration on Plate LXXII is Diccdus elongatus, a 

 black, shiny beetle often found under stones. 



Galerita A slender Carabid, -75 in. long, with 



blackish head and elytra, and a narrow, 

 reddish-brown pronotum, is fairly certain to be this genus; 

 if the head is strongly rounded behind the eyes, it is 

 probably janus. G. bicolor is similar but has the back 

 of the head tapering, rather than rounded. They are 

 often abundant about lights but their home is in fence 

 rows or open woodlands. The larvae are bluish and 

 yellow. 



Lebia Plate LXXIII shows a species, grandts, 



which is credited with feeding on the eggs 

 and young larvae of potato beetles. It is fairly typical, 

 although one of the largest, of its genus, the members of 

 which live under stones and leaves but often climb plants 

 to feed on injurious insects. Their tarsi are comb-like, 

 a feature which probably helps them in climbing, and the 

 elytra are square-cut at apex. 



The beetles mentioned from Bembidium (p. 286) to this 

 point have two bristle-bearing punctures above each eye. 

 The Carabidae which follow have but one. 



Brachinus These beetles ( Plate LXXIII) have the 



tip of the elytra square-cut; the head is 



tapering behind and both it and the thorax are very 



287 



