56 COLEOPTERA. 



from Cayenne, is black, with pale yellow transverse markings. 

 Anaspis Frontalis, Linn., which represents another section of the 

 family, is a common European species about one-eighth of an inch 

 in length. It is black, with the front of the head, the base of the 

 antennae, and the front legs, yellow or brown. 



Family X. — Rhipidophoridce. 



Antennae eleven-jointed, pectinated, or in the females serrated; 

 filiform only in perfectly apterous females ; thorax as wide as the 

 elytra at their base ; elytra sometimes shorter than the body ; 

 habits parasitic. 



One of the best-known species is Metoecus Paradoxus, Linn. It 

 is about one-third of an inch in length, and is black, with yellow 

 elj'tra in the male ; the sides of the thorax and the abdomen are 

 red. The larva lives parasitically in the nest of the common wasp. 

 In the genus Bhipidophorus, Bon., the elytra are as short as in the 

 Stapliylinidce, but the large Avings are not covered by them. R. 

 Subdipterus, Bon., a South European species, is shining black, 

 with grey hair ; the antennae are reddish in the male, the elytra 

 are ochre-yellow ; the hind wings transparent, with a brown spot 

 in the middle ; and the abdomen and legs are reddish, the former 

 being tipped with black in the female. R. Fasciahis, Say, from the 

 Southern United States, is black, with yellowish elytra. 



Family XL— Stijlopidce. 



Elytra very short ; hind wings very broad, and folded longi- 

 tudinally ; tarsi with from two to four joints ; eyes large ; antennae 

 bifurcate or ramose ; metathorax very large ; female apterous ; 

 habits parasitic. 



This peculiar family includes only a few species, which were 

 formerly included in a separate Order (Strepsiptera) but are now 

 regarded as Coleoptera. They are small black insects, not more 

 than a quarter of an inch long. They are parasitic on various 

 species of wasps and bees, a situation which the female never quits, 

 though the head of the female, or of the male pupa, may frequently 

 be seen protruding from between the segments of the abdomen of 

 the host. The commonest species in England is Sti/Iops Melitke, 

 Kirb., which infests various species of Andrena. The males arc 

 rarely observed on the wing, owing to their small size and the 

 rapidity of their movements. 



