STAPH YLINIDiE . 441 



sought for on dewy mornings under stones and pieces of vv ood, 

 which should be taken up and shaken over a white clotii or 

 paper ; or tlie Vv'liole nest should be sifted through a rather 

 coarse sieve, when the small beetles will fall through tlie 

 meshes. The eggs are very large. The larv;e (Fig. 386, un- 

 der side of a larva probabl}^ belonging to this family, fr&m 

 Maine, enlarged twice) closely resemble the beetles, being 

 narrow, the segments of very equal size, the terminal ring 

 forming a long prop-leg, on each side of which there 

 is a long ciliate seta. In the pupsB the hind wings 

 are not folded beneath the el3'tra, but extend below, ^ 

 meeting upon the breast. 



In the true Staphylini the anterior cox.ne are prou^.i- 

 nent and their coxal cavities are open behind. Aleo- 

 chara and its allies are difficult to distinguish, as tlie 

 characters separating them are but slightl}^ marked ; 

 they have the maxillary palpi moderate in length, with 

 the second and third joints also of moderate length, 

 the fourth small, subulate, distinct, and in Aleochara •^'^- ^^^'■ 

 itself there is an additional very small fifth joint. In Tloma- 

 lota, numerous in species, the ligula is short and bilid, and the 

 first to the fourth joints of the hind tarsi decrease in length. 

 In TacJiyporns and allies the prothoracic spiracles are visible ; 

 the anterior coxte are large, conical and prominent, with the 

 trochanters very distinct, while the antennae are inserted under 

 the lateral margin of the front. The species are 

 usually convex above, with the thorax always ample, 

 arched and highl3r polished, and the abdomen conical, 

 sometimes very short. They are found partly in 

 fungi, partly under bark. Dr. Leconte, whom we 

 have been quoting, states that the species of Bolito- 

 hias usually have the head much elongated ; when, 

 however, the head is oval, they approach closely to 

 the genus Quedius of the next tribe, but are recog- 

 nized by the antennae being inserted at the lateral ^'»- "^~- 

 margin of the front, near the eyes, and not at the anterior 

 angle of the frontal margin, as in Quedius. 



In StaphyUnns the antennae are inserted on the anterior mar- 

 gin of the front, inside of the base of tne mandibles, but dis- 



