﻿114 BRITISH BEETLES. 



larged, visible from above, and joined to the outer 

 margin of the laminated hinder coxae (of which the pos- 

 terior angles are acute), which form a strong tooth 

 about the middle of the sides of the elytra, and slightly 

 turned outwards, when viewed from the upper side. 

 This development of the mesothoracic epimera acts as a 

 " skid " or " break " upon the base of the elytra, and is 

 accompanied by a departure from the ordinary method 

 of flight ; for, in Cetonia, the elytra are scarcely sepa- 

 rated, and only elevated a little, so as to give room for 

 the wings to expand : in flight, also, a humming noise 

 is made. In Gnorhnus and Trichius the elytra are, as 

 usual in Culeoptera, widely separated, and much elevated. 



Cetonia aurata, the common " llose-beetle," is too 

 well known to require description : besides being found 

 in roses it occurs on elder-flowers and thistles, and at 

 sap, or on rotten pear blossom; another species (C. 

 (snea), duller in colour, is found in Perthshire, where its 

 larva has been found in ants^ nests, feeding on the eggs; 

 the perfect insect, also, has been seen burying itself in 

 the nests. 



The RuTELiD.E, apart from the greater divergence 

 of the last abdominal spiracles, differ chiefly from the 

 Melolonthida (to wliich they are allied) in always having 

 the ligula horny and soldered to the mentum ; the 

 mandibles horny; the labrum distinct, and free from 

 the clypeus ; and the club of the antenna three-jointed, 

 and alike in both sexes. Their tarsi are robust, rigid, 

 prehensile, with the terminal hooks unequal, the outer 

 one being often forked at the apex ; and the metatho- 

 racic epimera always visible. In our species (belonging 

 to the sub-family Anomalides) the antennae are nine- 

 jointed ; the mesothoracic epimera do not ascend to the 



