128 



COLEOPTERA. 



of these inhabit trees, creeping beneath the bark, 

 where, too, their progeny is reared, Avhile some are 

 only found on flowers, or are appropriate to different 

 kinds of fungi or of mushrooms. 



The Trachelides,* distinguished by the length and 

 size of their necks, are likewise found on plants, of 

 which they eat the leaves or suck the nectar from 

 their flower-bells; many of them are remarkable 

 for shamming death as soon as they are seized or 

 feel themselves to be subjects of observation. Him- 

 dreds of these are seen in summer time in every 

 garden, known by their thin elytra, slender limbs, 

 and pretty tints, to be the fit concomitants of flowers. 

 Among the most remarkable examples of the group 

 are 



The Blister Beetles (Cantharis), valuable from their 

 great utility in medicine. These little insects, as is well 

 known, contain a j^eculiar irritating 

 matter, which when applied to the 

 human skin has the property of 

 producing a blister. They are of 

 T a golden green colour, and are very 

 I common in France, Italy, Spain, 

 I and Eussia, where they feed upon 

 I the leaves of the ash, the lily, and 

 I the privet. The "Potato Fly" 

 (Cantharis vittata) is an American 

 species, which possesses qualities 

 Fig. 84.-BLISTER BEETLE, similar to the European, for which 

 it forms an efficient substitute. 



Coleopterous Tetramerans. 



The third great section of the Coleoptera includes 

 all those beetles that have only four joints in the 

 tarsi of all their legs. It embraces an immense host, 

 which, however, have the following characters in 

 common. They all live upon vegetable substances. 

 Their larvae have very short legs, or in some in- 

 stances legs are entirely wanting, their place being 



* rpaxri^os, trachelos, the neck. 



