120 BEETLES. 



Genus Metcecus, Gerst. 

 . Wing-cases covering the entire body, but not meeting at 

 the suture. Hind tarsi with elongated, cylindrical joints. 



* 31. paradoxus, Linn. (Plate XII., Fig. 25). Wing-cases 

 partially or completely yellow in the male, black in the female. 

 The beetle, which is rare in Britain, is found in wasps' nests. 



Family XXXIX. CANTHARID.ffi. 



Body soft, and either winged or not. Head vertical, broader 

 than the pronotum, and constricted behind into a neck. The 

 beetles live on trees and grass, and the larvse are parasitic 

 upon hymenopterous insects. 



Genus Meloe, Linn. 

 Apterous. Abdomen generally large in the females, and 

 usually not covered by the short elytra. Antennae filiform 

 or moniliform. They are found in grass. The young six- 

 legged larvae hide themselves in flowers, and are carried by 

 bees into the hive, where they feed upon the eggs until it 

 is time for them to change into a footless grub. 



* M. Proscar ahceus, Linn. (Plate XIL, Fig. 26). This species 

 is black, with a blue shine, and blue -black antennae and legs. 

 The wing-cases are nearly as long as the abdomen in the 

 male. It is common on paths and in grass in the spring. 



Genus Lytta, Fabr. (Cantharis, Linn.) 

 These beetles are soft, and provided with wings. The 

 wing-cases are much broader than the pronotum, and some- 

 what cylindrical. The only British species is: 



* L, vesicatoria, Linn., the Blistering Beetle, or Spanish Fly 

 (Plate XIL, Fig. 29). This is shining golden, or bluish-green. 

 The beetle appears in large numbers in some years on oaks, 



