COLEOPTERA. 49 



and around the sides with short spines ; the true legs were six, a 

 pair to eacli of the first three rings ; and were tipped with a single 

 claw. Soon after this grub was found it cast its skin and became 

 a pupa, and in due time the latter was transformed to a beetle. 



Elater ( fyrophorus) noctilucus, the night-shining Elater, is the 

 celebrated cucuio or fire-beetle of the West Indies, from whence 

 it is frequently brought alive to this country. It resembles the 

 preceding insect somewhat in form, and is an inch or more in 

 length. It gives out a strong light from two transparent eye-like 

 spots on the thorax, and from the segments of its body beneath. 

 It eats the pulpy substance of the sugar-cane, and its grub is said 

 to be very injurious to this plant, by devouring its roots. 



The next two common Elaters, together with several other 

 species, are distinguished by their claws, which resemble little 

 combs, being furnished with a row of fine teeth along the under- 

 side. The thorax is short and rounded before, and the body 

 tapers behind. They are found under the bark of trees, where 

 they pass the winter, having completed their transformations in the 

 previous autumn. Their grubs live in wood. The first of these 

 beetles is the ash-colored Elater, Elater (Melanotus) cinereus of 

 Weber. It is about six tenths of an inch long, and is dark 

 brown, but covered with short gray hairs, which give it an ashen 

 hue ; the thorax is convex ; and the wing-covers are marked 

 with lines of punctures, resembling stitches. It is found on fen- 

 ces, the trunks of trees, and in paths, in April and May. 



Elater (J)Jelanotus) communis of Schonherr, is, as its name im- 

 plies, an exceedingly common and abundant species. It closely 

 resembles the preceding, but is smaller, seldom exceeding half an 

 inch in length ; it is also rather lighter colored ; the thorax is 

 proportionally a little longer, not so convex, and has a slender 

 longitudinal furrow in the middle. This Elater appears in the 

 same places as the cinereus in April, May, and June ; and the 

 recently transformed beetles can also be found in the autumn un- 

 der the bark of trees, where they pass the winter. 



Another kind of spring-beetle, which absolutely swarms in 

 paths and among the grass during the warmest and brightest days 

 in April and May, is the Elater (Ludius) appressifrons of Say. 

 Its specific name probably refers to the front of the head or visor 



7 



