HABITS OF THE ANTIII^. 47 



Coleopterous iusect, but had not the least idea to which it be- 

 longed till the day after, when I observed at the foot of a large 

 bauiau tree several AntJtia guttata, which, however, I could not 

 secure, as they retreated into holes when I came near them. I 

 therefore ordered my palankin bearers to dig them out, when we 

 at the same time obtained another of the larva found on the 

 preceding evening. 



" Without being positive, as I wrote to j\I. Latreille, I now 

 consider it to be that of an Antliia, and conclude it was in the 

 habit during the night of leaving its hole and crawling about in 

 search of worms. M. de Haan having observed to me that this 

 larva appeared, according to his observations, to belong to an 

 Elater, I informed him that on the very tree where we obtained 

 the larvfe from the holes at the roots, I found Elater fascipcs 

 (Fabr.) in great abundance, this being the largest Elater which 

 ever came under my observation in Bengal." Mr. Westwood is 

 inclined to agree with M. de Haan, saying that the larva, 

 although found in the same locality as the Anthia, does not 

 belong to any Carabidous insect, whereas it does present many 

 of the characteristics of Elater larvie. 



To my mind, the insect which is here represented is the most 

 striking and characteristic of the whole genus. 



The arch-looking jaws are of enormous proportionate size, bent 

 rather than curved, and so long, that when they are closed their 

 points cross each other even further than do those of any Tiger 

 Beetle. The thorax is developed in a most singular manner 

 — a projecting, heart-shaped, shining-black shield guarding the 

 junction between the thorax and the abdomen, and in front of 

 the shield two flattened discs rendering the thorax quite as wide 

 as the abdomen. In the specimen from which the illustration 

 was drawn, these discs are thickly covered with yellow down, 

 a narrow belt of wliite down runs along the edges of the elytra, 

 and there is a good deal of sindlar down on the antenna. The 

 rest of the insect is shining black. All the Anthias are confined 

 to a few districts of Asia and the greater part of Africa. 



The bidding habits of the insect are well shown in M. Wester- 

 mann's letter. Generally the Anthiae prefer dry and sandy soils, 

 in which they scrape small hollows as hiding-places in which 

 they lie in wait for their prey. "In manners" (writes Mr. 



