NORTH amp:rican coleoptera. 19 



Glyptiis sculptilis Brulle. 



During a visit to the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cam- 

 bridge in the summer of 1887, Dr. Hagen showed me some larvse 

 from the west coast of Africa with the following history : 



About fifty years ago Dr. Savage, in company with Dr. Perkins, 

 was engaged in missionary work in Sierra Leone. On their return 

 they brought many objects of natural history, among them some 

 insects, which received attention from Dr. T. W. Harris. A speci- 

 men of Glyptus sculpUlis in the lot came finally into the possession 

 of Dr. LeConte, and is now in his cabinet. This insect, it is well 

 known, lives in the nests of the great white ant of that region. 



From the nests of that ant Dr. Savage obtained queens, some of 

 very great size, and in the same bottles were smaller objects sup- 

 posed to be small queens of the same. When the collection reached 

 C'anibridge, from Salem, Dr. Hagen at once recognized the fact that 

 these smaller specimens were not queen ants, but larvae unknown to 

 him. 



When these larvre were shown to me it was at once seen that they 

 were Carabide larvae. The fact that Glyptus was known to occur 

 with these ants was made known to Dr. Hagen who has searched the 

 literature with great care for any mention of the larva, but fruit- 

 lessly. Believing that a larva, which seems so rare, should be made 

 known the following description is given : 



Form. — Somewhat clavate, robust, narrow in front, gradually 

 broader to the ninth and tenth segments, then raj:)idly narrower. 

 Length 1.25 inch or 32 millimetres. PI. iii, figs. 1-2. 



Color. — Whitish, the head pale brown. 



Head. — Small, flat above, very convex beneath, pale brown, the 

 gular region broadly paler. Clypeal region prolonged, arcuate, the 

 margin slightly crenate, a few erect hairs at the sides of the front 

 and behind the insertion of the antennae, a few punctures at sides of 

 the head. PL iii, fig. 3. 



Ocelli. — Entirely absent. 



Antennae. — Four-jointed, arising from a membranous base behind 

 the base of mandibles and not much prolonged beyond the apex of 

 tlie latter ; first joint stout, with moderately long stiff hairs in front ; 

 second narrower, two-thirds as long ; third narrower and shorter ; 

 fourth small, almost subulate, placed obliquely on the third, termi- 

 nating in two bristles. PI. iii, fig. 4. 



