Coleoptera 



21 I 



cavities which receive the front haunches are closed behind. The 

 legs are short, and largely hidden beneath the body ; the feet are 

 apparently three-segmented, the very small third segment being 

 hidden in the lobes of the second. The claws are toothed (fig. 1 16). 

 The larv2 are campodeiform, tapering before and backwards 

 and possessing well-developed legs, but the skin is largely soft, 

 protected by spine- 

 bearing tubercles, 

 and there are no cer- 

 copods. The lady- 

 birds are often 

 b r i g h t ly coloured 

 and marked with 

 dark spots ; both 

 beetles and grubs are 

 common on plants, 

 where they devour 

 aphids. The family 

 is world-wide in its 

 range. 



Endomychidae. — 

 The Endomych'tJ(£ are 

 nearly related to the 

 Coccinellidz but are 

 usually more elon- 

 gate in form and 

 have longer feelers 

 and legs. The pro- 

 notum has a trans- 

 verse groove near its 

 hinder edge, and a 

 longitudinal impres- 

 sion on either side. 

 The cavities of the 

 front haunches are 

 open behind, and the 

 claws of the feet are 

 simple. These 

 beetles feed on 

 plants, especially on 

 fungi. They are 

 found in most parts 

 of the world, abundantly in tropical countries, less so in temperate 

 regions. They are absent from New Zealand. 



Erotylidae. — The Erotylid^ are a family of beetles closely allied 

 to the two preceding, but distinguishable from both (except in the 

 case of a few Endomychidz) by having the feet evidently four- 

 segmented. The claws are simple as in the Endomychids, but the 



C it 



Fig. ii6. — d. Ladybird Beetle (Vedalia cardinatis), 

 Australia, a. b. larva ; c. pupa. Magnified 7 

 times. From Riley, Insect Life, vol. 3 (U.S. 

 Dept. Agr.). 



