COLYDIIDAE. 89 



The maxillaa are not seen in my specimens. The antennae are 

 11-jointed, with 3-jointed club; antennal grooves short; the front 

 truncate, sides widely dilated. 



The anterior coxas are transverse, but prominent and contigu- 

 ous; the coxal cavities are closed behind. The posterior coxae 

 are transverse, but prominent internally, and concave behind. 

 The tibial spurs are obsolete. The joints 1 — 4 of the tarsi are 

 very short and equal, hairy beneath ; the last joint is very long, 

 with moderate-sized simple claws. The fifth ventral segment is 

 rounded behind, but the sixth projects slightly. 



Fam. xviii.— c olydiidae. 



Mentum subquadrate, rarely covering the base of the max- 

 illae ; ligula corneous ; palpi 3-jointed, short. 



Maxillas with two lobes ; palpi short, 4-jointed. 



Antennas inserted under the margin of the front, 10- or 

 11-jointed, rarely 8-jointed, sometimes gradually thickened, 

 usually terminated by a small sudden club. 



Prothorax with the side pieces not distinct; anterior coxal 

 cavities almost always closed behind, sometimes distant, 

 sometimes confluent; prosternum scarcely ever prolonged 

 behind the coxae. 



Mesosternum small, side pieces not attaining the coxae. 



Metasternum large ; side pieces long, narrow ; epimera not 

 visible. 



Elytra never truncate, always covering the abdomen. 



Abdomen with five ventral segments, the three or four 

 anterior ones more or less connate. 



Anterior and middle coxas small, globular, not prominent; 

 posterior transverse, either distant or contiguous, not promi- 

 nent. 



Legs short ; tibiae not dilated ; terminal spurs usually 

 small, frequently indistinct; tarsi 4-jointed, not dilated; un- 

 gues simple. 



Small insects, usually of an elongate or cylindrical form, living 

 under the bark of trees, in fungi, or in the earth. The small 

 globular anterior and middle coxae, and the 4-jointed simple tarsi, 

 will enable them to be readily distinguished from any of the 

 neighboring; families. 



