COLEOPTERA. CICINDELIDiE. 49 



and prominent: the mandibles {fg. 1-2. the head,) very large, acute, 

 and armed with several strong teeth : the palpi are not longer than the 

 mandibles: the lower lip is concealed by the broad mentum i^Jig. 1. 4.); 

 and the labial palpi (which are three-jointed, and appear to arise from 

 a moveable base, and arc densely clothed with w hite hairs), as well as 

 the legs, tarsi, and antennae, are long and slender : the anterior tibiae 

 are not notched on their inner side, and the penultimate segment of 

 the abdomen is often notched in the males : the anterior tarsi of the 

 males are often broader than in the females {^fig- 1. 5., anterior tarsus 

 Cicindela $ — 1.6. ditto ? ). Of these characters, that afforded by 

 the slight development of the labium is, perhaps, the most valuable, 

 although tliat of the articulated terminal maxillary hook has been 

 chiefly relied upon ; but M. Audouin has recently observed, not only 

 that in the genus Ctenostoma the hook is entirely wanting — as, indeed, 

 I had previously noticed by dissection {fig. 1. lO.) — but also that, in 

 the Carabideous genus Trigonodactyla, the hook is distinctly articu- 

 lated. In the genus Stenocera Bfulh' (Pogonostoma Klug), the 

 hook is also wanting. 



The Cicindelidaj generally frequent hot sandy districts, where they 

 may be observed flying in the sunshine with great velocity ; whence 

 Messrs. Kirby and Spence have termed them Eupterina. Their flight 

 is, however, of short duration ; but they immediately take wing again 

 on our approaching them. From the brilliancy of their colours they 

 have been termed sparklers, whilst the name of Tiger-beetles has also 

 been conferred upon them, not only from the spots and stripes with 

 which they are ornamented, but also from their savage propensities, 

 preying upon ever}' insect which they can overcome, their extreme 

 agility at the same time rendering escape impossible to their luckless 

 prey. In the warmer climates of the New World some of the species 

 of Cicindela, Iresia, Euprosopus, &c., appear to lose some of the 

 habits of their congeners of more moderate climes ; since it is upon 

 the leaves and trunks of trees that they are generally found,' where, 

 like their terrestrial relatives, they carry on a ferocious war against 

 other insects ; flying from leaf to leaf with the agility of flies, and 

 darting upon their prey with great quickness: some, however, make 

 less use of their wings, running rather than flying, and seeking the 

 most arid spots of ground for their abode. 



The only larva' hitherto observed in this family are those of several 

 species of the genus Cicindela. GeofFroy {Hist, des Insectes, vol. i.), 



E 



