110 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. 



It is sometinieis fouud in houses, but more commonly ou the carcases, 

 and especially the bones, of dead animals. The have even been found 

 under the wrappings of Egyptian mummies. Tlie iV. {Cory^ietes) ruJipeSj 

 \ DeGeer, has also become spread over the whole globe. 



Section J^ HETEROMEEA. 



Five joints in the anterior and middle tarsi, and four joints in the hind tarsi, the joints being usually 

 slender and bare, or at most, sparsely haired or s])inous. 



The Heteromera constitute the second principal division of Coleopte- 

 rous insects, distinguished i>rimarily, as the name implies, by the diverse 

 luunber of joints in their tarsi, or feet. This character is remarkably 

 uniform, only two or three exceptional cases having been detected in 

 all the known insects of this section ; and as but lew of them are of 

 ver^' small size, the number of tarsal joints is usually easily determined. 

 It is also seen by the above formula that the tarsal joints in the insects 

 of this, as of the preceding section, are usually sleuder and clothed, 

 at most, with scattered hairs or bristles, thus strongly contrasting with 

 the dilated brush-like and bilobed tarsi of the two succeeding sections. 



This section embraces an extensive series of beetles, though less 

 numerous than the first and third sections. Although most of them 

 are vegetable feeders, at least in the imago state, comj)aratively few 

 subsist upon growing plants, and but few, even of these, have been 

 known to increase to such an extent as to become injurious to cultivated 

 croi^s. The ])rincipal exceptions to this statement are the common meal- 

 worms belonging to the genus Tenebrio, and the Lyttte or Cantharides, 

 w hich are sometimes seriously destructive to the foliage of vegetables, 

 csi>ecia]ly that of the potato. 



The Heteromera comprise two very diverse groups of beetles, which 

 have, indeed, scarcely any characters in common except the number of 

 tarsal joints. 



The first division, of which the well known Cantharides may be taken 

 as the leading type, is distinguished by having the head wider than the 

 anterior part of the thorax and attached to it by a short neck 5 by the 

 elytra being comparatively thin and flexible ; by their frequently diver- 

 sified colors ; their active diurnal habits ; and the i)arasitic character of 

 many of their larvie. 



The other section, which may be represented by the common black 

 Tenebrio or meal-beetle, is distinguished from the foregoing by having 

 the head partially immersed in the thorax 5 their hard and inflexible 

 elytra ; their obscure and mostly black or brown colors ; and by their 

 being vegetable feeders in both the perfect and the larva states. 



The first of these divisions contains a considerable number of suffi- 

 ciently distinct and well marked families ; but many of the minor groups 



