356 MODERN CLASSIFICATION OF INSECTS. 



10.) have the three basal joints cushioned beneath, the first and 

 second being dilated, the third deeply bilobed, the fourth small 

 and nodose, and inserted between the lobes of the third, and the 

 fifth long and slender {jiQ' 43. li.) ; the nientum is short and trans- 

 verse, and the labium generally membranous and cordate ^fig- ^S. 

 4. 9., and 44'. 2. 13.) ; the palpi are filiform, and of moderate length. 



These insects are found in woods and hedges, in the neighbourhood 

 of timber-yards, and upon the bark of trees, beneath which the fe- 

 males deposit their eggs by means of a strong, corneous, and tubular 

 ovipositor, capable of being protruded to a considerable length. Some 

 of the species are, indeed, occasionally found upon flowers (as Mo- 

 lorchus and the Lepturidae) ; but it is evident that their habits in 

 their early states are similar to those of the remainder of the sub- 

 section ; Molorchus possessing an elongated ovipositor, and the 

 LepturidcB certainly undergoing their transformations in wood, as 

 subsequently detailed. 



When alarmed, many of the species produce a slight but acute 

 sound by the friction of the narrowed anterior part of the mesothorax, 

 or rather a polished part of the scutellum, against the edge of the 

 prothoracic cavity, by which motion the head is alternately elevated 

 and depressed. It has been generally stated, that it was by the 

 friction of the hind margin of the thorax against the base of the 

 elytra that this sound was produced, but this is not the case. 



The females are, in general, distinguished by their larger size, their 

 shorter antennae, and their more robust and shorter bodies. During 

 the day, the majority of these insects are to be found upon the trunks 

 of trees, but in the evening they take flight in search of their 

 mates. But few observations have been made on the habits of these 

 insects in the perfect state. W. W. Saunders, Esq., has, however, 

 published an interesting notice upon the East Indian Lamia rubus, 

 in the Trans. Entom. Society of London, vol. i., stating that it feeds 

 upon the buds of the Pipal tree (Ficus religiosa), leaving the leaves 

 untouched. Professor Peck^ the Rev. L. Guilding, and M. Lacordaire 

 have also respectively made observations upon various other species, 

 as subsequently noticed. 



M. Pictet has recently published a detailed account of the peculiar 

 respiratory apparatus of some of the LongicorneS;, consisting of a sac 

 emitting numerous filaments at the orifice of the spiracles (^Mem. Soc. 

 d'Hist. Nat de Geneve, tom. vii.). M. L. Dufour has also noticed the 



