BEETLES. 35;-) 



The species of Ptiniiu-: are generally small ; tiieir antciiiia> are vari.-iliii' in form 

 and ])laee of inscrti.in, mh.I have from nine to eleven joints; the hiad is ([uite retrac- 

 tile, so uiiicii so as to lie often [irotected by the jirothorax ; the elytra are entire. Tlie 

 food-haliits of this family are very diversified; both larva' and imaLjos show a jirefer- 

 ence for dead animal or vcuetable matter, although living plants do not escape their 

 attacks. The larva' eat drugs, even devouring cajisicum, tobacco, allspice, and other 

 material not generally acci'ptible to insects; they .also bore in both living and dead 

 fun^'i, bai'k, twies, roots, and wood of many kinils; and (jne species, Cntoixuna zem 

 from the Harbadoes, lives somewhat after tlie m.aimer of JJi'iic/iiihc, in maize. 



.V common beetle lielonging to this family, that attacks ajiple trees in the middle 

 L'nited States, is AiiijihiccrtiS biciiudatioi, which is abo\it O.o of an inch long, of a 

 cylindrical, slender form, and of a dark-brown color. Its specific name is tlerived 

 from the fact that the males have two small thorns projecting from the posterior end 

 of tile body. This species (b]es not, in all probability, breed in young twigs of apple, 

 althougii it niav often be found in fheui, head (hiwnwai'd, in burrows which occupy 

 one or two indies of the pith of the twii;'^, and extend ilownw.ai'd fi'om an opening by 

 which the Ijcetle li.as entered the twig. These buri'ows are used only for hibernation, 

 and the larval history of tliis beetle is not yet known. Similar injuries to those which 

 A. hicai'iJiitnK cause in apple twigs are also produced by the same sjiecies of beetle in 

 ]iear, peach, and grape twigs. In Eurojie lieetles of the genera ^l^:)«<c' and Linoxylon, 

 closely related forms to Aiiiphicvvus, attack grape twigs, as well as the bark an<l wood 

 of numermis trees. , 



.Liisioderi/ia neniconw, a small species of this family, eats, as larva, capsicum and 

 drii'(l tobacco, i. hrrc attacks stems and leaves of dried tobacco, often doing much 

 damage to them. The former is found in Imth Europe and ^Vmerica; the latter is 

 Eurojiean. ('atonima, of which <iik' species has been mentioned as eating maize, 

 differs from Lasioilermn in not having serrate antenn;e. ( '. tahaci attacks cigars in 

 Cuba, and (_\ sdHi/i, from the West Indies, undergoes its metamorphoses in the pods 

 of a plant closely like Saint-.Tohn's-bread. 



In Aiiobiinn. the f^irm is elongate<l, somewhat cylindrical; the eleven-jointed 

 antenna' are inserted just in front of the eyes, and the metasternnm is deejily excavated 

 in front. These little lieetlcs, \\ liich are generally black or brown in coloration, and 

 about O.2.") of an im-li long, have received the name of death-watch on account of a 

 ])eculiar ticking sound which they j)roduce in the wood of houses, a sound which was 

 supposed, by superstitious peojile, to ]iresage death to some member of the household 

 where it was heard. The sound itself consists of from six to twelve sharp, distinct 

 ticks, at nearly as regular intervals as the ticks of a clock ; then a jiause of a mimite 

 or mf)re occurs, and the sound is repeated, often in another locality from that where 

 it w.-is first he;n-(L ^Vs this tirking is generally emitted when there is no other dis- 

 turbing noise, often in the stillest part of the night, one can scarcely wonder that 

 ])eople wiio d(5 not know its cause should listen to it, perhaps while watching at the 

 sick-bed of a friend, with hushed breath, and sliould associate its sounds with death. 

 The sounds are really, however, only signals by one beetle to discover another of its 

 species; probably, as in many other insect-noises, they liave a sexual significance, and 

 serve to guide one sex to the other. At any rate, by deftly imitating their call by 

 snap]iing with the finger-nail upon a piece of hard wood, the beetles can be deceived 

 into repeatedly answering your telegrajihic message. The mode by which the beetle 

 proihtces its S(.)und was first observed by Swaminenhmi, the distinguished Dutcli 



