PARASITIC-BEETLES. Ill 



parasitic in the bodies or in the nests of bees. Their history was long 

 involved in obscurity, but the development of the larviv of the genus 

 INIeloe has been satisfactorily elucidated by Newport, iSiebold and other 

 modern observers. It appears that the parent beetles deposit their 

 eggs in the nests of various kinds of bees, but especially those of the 

 humble-bees. The young larv;u are somt'tinies found in the nests, buti 

 usually upon the bodies of the bees, from which tliey draw their nutri- 

 ment. Infested bees, observeil in conHiicmeiit, have been seen to be- 

 come exhausted by these larva', thus proving them to be genuiue parasites. 

 The following are the principal genera : 



A. Elytra niucli sliortor tlian tlie iil)il(>iiioii, soparato at their tips, and usually la]iping one u))on llie 



otlier at base Mei.ok, U sp. 



A A. Elytra covering the abdomen. 



B. Head large, front not prolonged beyond the base of the anteun.T ; frontal sntnre wanting : 



IIOKIA, 3. 

 15 li. Head moderate, front somewhat ])rolonged, and with a distinct suture. 



C. ilandible.s long and acute ; niaxilhe greatly elongated !NemoonatiiI"8, 28. 



C C. ilandibles short and obtuse ; maxilla- norman LvrrA, 99. 



The genus McJoc, Linn., is alluded to by Kirby as apparently forming 

 a connecting link between the Coleoptera and the Ortlioptera, having 

 the head vertical, and the elytra lapi)ing at base, but the resemblance 

 is very remote. The itiforior or true wings are Avanting, and these in- 

 sects are found on the ground, where they feed upon herbaceous plants, 

 mostly those of the genus Kanunculus. The females become so swollen 

 with eggs that they drag their abdomens with difficulty along the 

 ground. When captured they exude a yellow oily fluid from the joints 

 of their legs, whence they have received the popular name of oil-beetles. 

 They vary in length from half an inch to an inch, and are either black 

 or of a dark violet-blue color. Our most common species is the Meloe 

 angusfacolUs, Say, of a violaceous color, the female upwards of three- 

 <luartersof an inch in length; the male is considerably smaller, and has 

 the antennji} remarkably swollen and knotted in the middle. 



We have two species of the genus Iloria, Fab., both of which are ex- 

 tremely rare. They are found in ants' nests. The H. saugiiinipennits, 

 Say, is four-tenths of an inch long, black, with light red elytra. 



The genus Neminjnntha,, lUiger, is remarkable for the elongation of 

 the outer lobe of the maxilhe into a long setaceous proboscis, very simi- 

 lar in appearance to that of the honey-bees in the hymenoptcrous order. 

 These insects are found on flowers, the honey of which they probably 

 extract. We have seen a somewhat similar structure to exist in the 

 genus Chauliognathus, in the family of Telephorida'; but here the organ 

 is soft and elastic, and capable of being retracted within the cavity of 

 the mouth. 



