52 Lea, The Guests of Ants, Bees, and Termites. [^'^jui^^^' 



the PselaphidcE the elytra are very short, and some of the 

 abdominal segments are exposed). They also feed on mites, 

 and move about freely amongst the ants. The family is a much 

 smaller one than the Pselaphidce, but a good many species are to 

 be taken in ants' nests. 



Another family which is largely represented in ants' nests is the 

 Staphylinidce, and many of these appear to depend for safety 

 amongst the ants by their strong resemblance to the ants them- 

 selves. Some of them are undoubtedly hostile, but others feed 

 on mites, and so are regarded as friendly. Falagria, Myrmedonia^ 

 Polylohiis, Calodera, Homalota, Dabra, Conosoma, Fhilonthus, 

 Sunius, Oxytelus, Eleusis, Lispinus, Glyptoma, and other genera 

 are to be found with the ants, sometimes in abundance, but 

 usually rarely. Few of them, however, are so singularly modified 

 as are some of the hostile groups, Glyptoma being, perhaps, the 

 most remarkable. 



Of ants'-nest beetles, perhaps the most singular are those of 

 the genus CJdamydopsis, and the allied genus Orectoscelis, of 

 which fifteen species (including some shortly to be published) are 

 known. These all, when at rest, have the head withdrawn into 

 the thorax, with the basal joint of the antennae fitted into grooves, 

 and some of the legs also packed into grooves or otherwise 

 protected. Most of them have the shoulders raised into hollow 

 epaulettes, and usually with a tuft of golden hairs or a fine 

 membrane proceeding from the hollow. One species recently 

 taken by Mr. Davey has the hind legs fully twice the length of 

 the body ; another taken by Mr. Goudie resembles a scrap of 

 charcoal, and there is not one but has some remarkable aberra- 

 tion. They are, however, all extremely rare, and probably of no 

 species is there more than one specimen in any collection, with 

 the single exception of C. formicicola, which was taken in some 

 numbers by the late Rev. R. L. King about Liverpool, New 

 South Wales. Some of them were taken on fence tops, &c., but 

 many ants'-nest species come out at dusk to pair on tops of 

 fences, or similar situations. They are probably all hostile to 

 the ants. 



In the family Ptinidce there are some very curious genera — 

 Polyplocotes, Diplocotes, Uexaplocotes, and Enasiha — all of which 

 have the terminal joints of antennae of singular form, and the 

 palpi almost or entirely concealed — a most unusual thing with 

 insects, but fairly common in ants'-nest species. In Ectrephes 

 and Patissoptinus the palpi are similar, but the antennae are 

 dilated much as in the curious family Paussidce. They are 

 probably all hostile. 



The Paussidce is a family of beetles remarkable for the shape 

 of their antennae, and which are usually considered as belonging 

 to the Clavicornes, but by some are now associated with the 

 Carabidce. All the species are supposed to feed on ants, although 



