84 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



not see any disposition to use their wings, altliougli Mr. Rye 

 states that one specimen flew briskly. Tlicy are to be found in 

 the chinks of the rotten wood, or else resting on a piece of rotten 

 wood or fragment of stick ; the damper the situation the more 

 they appear to enjoy it. On being touched or disturbed they 

 feign death, but as soon as all is quiet again they make off to 

 the friendly shelter of a lump of wood, or whatever happens to 

 be in their way, where they remain quiescent until again dis- 

 turbed. 



I was surprised to notice, however, that only the perfect 

 males and perfect females were in cop., but on one occasion only 

 did I see a perfect male and a slightly distorted female together. 



Out of the thirty-five examples captured in 1893, eleven of 

 them have either one or both of the antennae deformed. Three 

 of them have the joints 8 and 9 anastomosed, while in another 

 specimen the joints 9 and 10 are coalescent, and in another it is 

 joints 10 and 11. In five of the remaining cases the antennae 

 are imperfectly developed, probably owing to injury in the pupal 

 stages ; in one specimen the 4th and 5th joints on each side are 

 doubled over, as if they had been forced into each other, the 

 middle of each joint being notched. In all the cases the antennae 

 are twisted out of shape. The 5th joint, in the last case, of the 

 left antenna is unduly dilated on the outer side. 



In only one case is the thorax distorted, and then it is almost 

 circular in shape, both the anterior and posterior angles having 

 disappeared ; the transverse carinaG have also disappeared, 

 leaving the thorax quite smooth. 



In seven cases the elytra are deformed ; two specimens have 

 the left elytron much shorter than the right, but this is a 

 common occurrence in all beetles. In the remaining five cases 

 the elytra were most probably retarded in development, being 

 twisted into a variety of forms. 



A great number of the specimens taken have the striae of the 

 elytra anastomosed. One specimen has the left intermediate 

 tibia shortly twisted, while the corresponding tibia on the right 

 is abnormally curved. Four specimens have the hind tarsi 

 abnormal. No specimens with superfluous limbs or joints were 

 seen. 



In my notes of my captures in 1892, I find that out of thirty- 

 three specimens, eight had abnormal antennae, five had abnormal 

 elytra, and seven had abnormal legs. Mr. Rye states that he 

 found one specimen w'hich had a male antenna on the right and 

 a female antenna on the left. Another specimen, a male, had 

 the right front tibiae deeply bifurcate at the apex, the upper 

 furcation bearing a normal tarsus, and the lower bearing a tarsus 

 of which the three basal joints -were normal, the fourth unduly 

 dilated, with two perfectly formed claw-joints springing from 

 near the centre of its apparently monstrous lobes. 



