PREBACEOUS GROUND-BEETLES. 



3!) 



Tlieir larvi^ dig holes in the sand, often a foot or more in deptli, at 

 the mouth of Avliich they lie in wait for their prey, dragging it, ^vhen 

 [ l.i..^ (1. ] captured, to the bottom of tlieir 



burrows. The name of the princi- 

 pal genus, CiciiKh-la, is derivi-d 

 from the Latin, Caiukla, a candle 

 or taper, aud was applied by the 

 , , ancients to the glow-worm. The 



I'Alilr- OF CiClMiElA:—!, lliiul; e. maxilla; 3, men- '*''^*^ *' 



tuui ; 4, antenna; 5, anterior tersus— alter LeCouto. gpgcies are all of mcdium Or rather 



large size, and are generally marked with yellow angular spots upon a 

 dark green or purple ground. The Cicindela sexguttata of Fabricius, 

 of a Irilliaiit metallic green color, with two yellow dots at the side, and 

 one at the end of each wing-cover, is one of our most beautiful beetles. 

 It is often seen running over prostrate logs in the forest, in search, no 

 doubt, for wood-eating larvie. 



Family II. CAKABID^, (Ground-beetles.) 



The leading characters of this fauiily have been given in the descrip- 

 tion of the tribe to which it belongs. They are readily distinguished 

 l^'-- '^1 from the Ciciudelidie by the position of the 



head, it being directed forwards instead of 

 downwards, so that the face aud parts of the 

 mouth are fully seen when viewed from 

 , , above. The two families, however, closely 



,M<il Ill-I'AKTSOK LAKAUI 6: — 1. lieutl ; ' *' 



2, uuvxiiia; 3, mentuiu— alter LeConte. approach each othcr in somc of their species. 



This is one of the most numerous families in the oider of Coleoi)tera, 

 eleven hundred distinct .species having been already described as in- 

 habiting Xorth America alone. They are usually black, or of dark nie- 

 talllc colors, but are sometimes parti-colored. Tliey are almost always 

 found upon the ground, under stones, or in other obscure places. They 

 never attempt to escape by flight, but run with great rapidity. Some 

 of the smaller sjjecies, however, are seen flying in considerable numbers 

 in the lirst warm days of spring, and a few are sometimes seen flying 

 about our lights in summer evenings. 



In view of the great numbers an<l predaceous habits of these insects, 

 both in the larva aud perfect states, it is evident that they must etjnsti- 

 tute a very important agency in holding in check the excessive niulti- 

 ])lication of other in^;ects. There are, however, a few exceptions to the 

 almost univer.sally carnivorous habits of this family. Species of the 

 genera Omophron and Zabrus liave,been known to feed, even to an in- 

 jurious extent, upon the soft grains of growing corn, and ^L Ziinmer- 

 mann, in his memoii' upon the genus Amara, states that the species 



