74 



INSECTS ABKOAi). 



them of a similar form, and notched like a saw below ; and 

 others, again, have them axe-sliaped, and furnished with two or 

 more long teeth. It is impossible to figure or even describe all 

 the varieties of form assumed by the antennge, and I will there- 

 fore^select one or two of the most conspicuous insects. 



The first example is Homoptcrus Bradliensis, one of the few 



species that have been found in the !N"ew World. 



This little Beetle measures rather more than a quarter of an 



inch in length. Its colour is wholly red, without any markings, 

 ^__ whence its name of Homopterus, 



i.e. " equal- wing." The whole surface 

 is very delicately punctured, and the 

 thorax has a channel on either side, 

 just within the hinder angles. The 

 legs are very short and flattened, 

 and the thighs are grooved so that 

 the Beetle can close its legs and shut 

 up the tibiae into the grooves. The 

 insect was taken on the Corcovado 

 Mountain, near Eio Janeiro, by a 



negro in the employment of Mr. Miers. The whole body is 



rather flattened, and the head, including the whitish eyes, is a 



trifle wider than the thorax. 



Fig. 29. — Homopterus Brasiliensis 

 (Red-duu.) 



-'S3! 



The genus to which our next example of the Paussida; 

 belongs has been variously named. In ]\fr. Westwood's mono- 

 graph it is called Platyrhopalus. 

 This term is formed from two Greek 

 words, one signifying ''wide" or 

 " broad," and the other a " war-club" or 

 "mace." It is given to the insect on ac- 

 count of the structure of the antennas, 

 the terminal joint or club of which is 

 very wide and rather flattened, like 

 the head of a metal war-mace. This 

 enormous joint is so large that it is actually wider than the 

 thorax, and indeed, if one of the antennae were detached 

 and laid flat on the thorax, the head would be almost hidden, 

 and the thorax completely so. The name Phcrhopalus simply 



Pig. 30. — Piierliopalus d^iitiuorais. 

 (Red ; black marks on elytra.) 



