1 78 Zoology of Colorado 



almost everywhere. These are the active beetles commonly 

 found under rocks, the elytra frequently shiny and with fine 

 striae or grooves. Many are black, but some are green, others 

 blue or purple, still others red. The species of Chlaenius are of 

 fair size, green, often with bright red legs; the elytra have a dull 

 surface. In Brachynus the narrow head and thorax are clear 

 red, while the elytra are purple. Species of Lebia are small and 

 prettily colored; green (L. viridis), or with dark purple elytra, 

 red thorax and black head (L. atriceps), or with dark blue head, 

 red thorax, and elytra mainly orange at the base, and greenish 

 blue beyond (L. divisa). The last is usually considered a rare 

 species, but it is not uncommon at Boulder. At Salina and in 

 Wet Mountain Valley I have taken another rare species, L. vivida 

 of Bates. 



The tiger beetles or Cicindelidae, very active beetles with 

 long legs and prominent eyes, are numerous in Colorado. They 

 are found in sandy places, and move so quickly that they are 

 sometimes taken for flies. The elytra are of various colors, usually 

 with distinct light markings. The voracious larvae live in bur- 

 rows in the ground. Cicindela formosa of Say, which I found at 

 White Rocks, near Boulder, is rich, deep, rosy red above, the 

 elytra with dull surface, and with a white outer margin, from 

 which arise inward extensions of the same color, the middle one 

 bent and with rounded end. Cicindela purpurea, a common 

 species, is obscure purplish, with the outer margins of the elytra 

 brilliant peacock blue and green. The light markings are greatly 

 reduced. It varies however, and in one form (var. audubonii) 

 the purple, blue and green are replaced with black. C. punctulata 

 var. bouldcrensis was described by Casey from Boulder County; 

 it is said to be more elongate than usual, convex, rather dull, 

 dark coppery brown, the sides of the abdomen densely pubescent. 

 C. limbalis var. eldorensis of Casey came from Eldora, and was 

 said to be smaller and more slender than the typical form. 



It is a singular thing, that although tiger beetles are now so 

 abundant in Colorado, not a single species has ever been found 

 fossil at Florissant or any where in America. 



DIPTERA (Flies) 



The Diptera, or two-winged flies, are so numerous that an 

 account of the Colorado species would fill a large volume. Some 



