136 ABEPHAGA. \_Odacantha. 



West-wood (Classif. i. p. 77) records the capture of many hundred 

 specimens of our species under the bark of trees growing in the Avater, 

 in Italy, in a district where the insect had been very scarce. 



O. melanura, Payk. Head and thorax dark bluish green, elytra 

 testaceous with the apex bluish-black or violet ; head very large, much 

 produced behind eyes, and gradually narrowed to base, antennte fuscous 

 with first three joints and base of fourth testaceous ; thorax very elon- 

 gate, cylindrical, much narrower than head, coarsely punctured and 

 rugose, with plain dorsal furrow, very narrowly margined ; elytra elon- 

 gate, parallel-sided, with rows of fine punctures, which are more or less 

 obsolete ; legs testaceous, knees and more or less of the tarsi pitchy. 

 L. 6 mm. 



Marshy places, among reeds ; also in stems of Typha in winter ; common in the 

 fen districts of Cambridoreshire and the neiglibourino- counties (Whittlesea Mere, 

 Horning Fen, Wicken Feu, &c.) ; Earlswood and Merton, Surrey; Birchington, 

 Margate ; Dagenliavn, Essex ; Balcombe, Sussex ; Sliiplcy, Horsham ; Ilford, Essex ; 

 Manniiigtree ; Woodbastwick, Norvvicli ; Swansea, Crymlyn Boar ; formerly found in 

 Hammersmitli Marshes; not recorded from the nortli of England, Scoth\nd, or 

 Ireland, but it probably occurs in many more localities and districts than have been 

 hitherto known. 



lEBIINA. 



This tribe, as here constituted, contains Lehia, Dromius and its imme- 

 diate allies Aetophorus and Denietrias, and also Metahletus, Blcchrus, and 

 Lionyckus; in many points these genera differ widely inter se, but a 

 further revision of the whole group is necessary before they can be pro- 

 perly subdivided : this point will be found again alluded to in the intro- 

 duction to the genus Dromius ; for the present the tribe must be regarded 

 as more or less unformed, and provisional. 



ZiEBIA, Latreille. 



The genus Lebia comprises a large number of species (over 200), which 

 are widely distributed throughout the Avorld, but occur more especially 

 in tropical regions ; they are usually bright-coloured, handsome insects, 

 although not large sized ; they are found under stones and in moss, also 

 under bark, and on flowering shrubs (such as broom, &c.): their habits 

 are carnivorous, and their presence on the plants is probably to be 

 accounted for by their prey inhabiting the leaves and flowers. Of our 

 five species two are extremely doubtful as British. 



. Elytra metallic, green, blue, or violet (LampeiaS, BonellL) 



i. AntenniB with the first joint reddish ; elytra slightly 



pubescent; scutellum dark L. CTANOCEPHALA, L. 



ii. Antennae with the first three joints reddish ; 



elytra smooth ; scutellum red L. Chlorocephala, Hoff. 



II. Elytra not metallic ; prevailing colour orange, tes- 

 taceous, or reddish (Lebia, i. sp.) 



i. Palpi black L. crux-minuR, L. 



