BEETLES. 53 



Tliey also destroy caterpillars, and the only species which is 

 to be regarded as an injurious insect is >S^. atrata, the larvae 

 of which feed on young beetroot-plants. 



* S. (Necrodes) littoralis, Linn. (Plate V., Fig. 17). Antennae 

 gradually thickened. Pronotum wedge-shaped ; elytra trun- 

 cated, black, with three raised longitudinal lines. They are 

 found in fresh or dried meat, in carrion, under stones, and in 

 damp moss on the banks of streams. 



* aS*. thoracica, Linn. (Plate YL, Fig. 1). Pronotum red, with 

 golden-yellow pubescence ; wing-cases with three raised 

 longitudinal lines, and an elevation in the centre. It may 

 be found on dead slugs and Amphibia, in woods, &c. 



* aS^. rugosa, Linn. (Plate YL, Fig. 2). Antennae with three 

 distinct terminal joints. Head and pronotum black, with thick 

 grey pubescence. The elytra are transversely rugose and free 

 from hair. This is the commonest of the genus with us. 



S. quadrijpundaia, Linn. (Plate YL, Fig. 3). Black, with 

 the lateral borders of the pronotum and the wing-cases 

 brownish-yellow, the latter each with a round, black spot in 

 the middle and another at the base. They are common in 

 oak woods in spring, where they attack the nests of caterpillars. 



* aS'. opaca, Linn. Upper surface covered with dense sessile, 

 grey pubescence. The wing-cases have three raised longitudinal 

 lines. It is said, like the rather larger S. atrata, to be some- 

 times injurious to beet. 



* S. obscura, Linn. (Plate YL, Fig. 4). Black, slightly 

 shining. The pronotum is scarcely emarginate in front. 

 The wing-cases are regularly punctured, the punctures being 

 at regular intervals, and not coalescing. 



* >S^. atrata, Linn. (Plate YL, Fig. 5). Shining black. The 

 pronotum is slightly concave. The elytra are roughly 



