PREDACEOUS GROUND-BEETLES. 



Their larvte dig boles in the sand, often a foot or more in depth, at 

 the mouth of which they lie in wait for their prey, dragging it, when 

 [ Fi-. fi. ] cai^tured, to the bottom of their 



burrows. The name of the princi- 

 pal genus, Cicindela, is derived 

 2^1'^' — .^m. from the Latin, (7«rw?e?a, a candle 



or taper, and was applied by the 



PAins OF C.c.NDELA:-l,lnead.2.inax,lla- 3 men- a"CientS tO the gloW-WOrm. The 

 turn ; 4, antenna; 5, anterior tersus-after LeConte. gpeciCS are all of medium Or rather 



large size, and are generally marked with yellow angular spots upon a 

 dark green or purple ground. The Oicindela sexguttata of Fabricius, 

 of a Irilliaiit metallic green color, with two yellow dots at the side, and 

 one at the end of each wing-cover, is one of our most beautiful beetles. 

 It is often seen running over prostrate logs in the forest, in search, no 

 doubt, for wood-eating larvte. 



Family II. CARABID^E, (Ground-beetles.) 



The leading characters of this family have been given in the descrip- 

 tion of the tribe to which it belongs. They are readily distinguished 



from the Ciciudelidie by the position of the 

 head, it being directed forwards instead of 

 downwards, so that the face and parts of the 

 mouth are fully seen when viewed from 

 above. The two families, however, closely 



2, maxilla; 3, mentmu— after LeConte. approach Cach Othcr iu SOmC of their SpCCicS. 



This is one of the most numerous families in the order of Coleoptera, 

 eleven hundred distinct species having been already described as in- 

 habiting North America alone. They are usually black, or of dark me- 

 tallic colors, but are sometimes parti -colored. They are almost always 

 found upon the ground, under stones, or in other obscure places. They 

 never attempt to escape by flight, but run with great rapidity. Some 

 of the smaller species, however, are seen flying in considerable numbers 

 in the first warm days of spring, and a few are sometimes seen flying 

 about our lights in summer evenings. 



In view of the great numbers and predaceous habits of these insects, 

 both in the larva and perfect states, it is evident that they must consti- 

 tute a very important agency in holding in check the excessive multi- 

 plication of other insects. There are, however, a few exceptions to the 

 almost universally carnivorous habits of this family. Species of the 

 genera Omophron and Zabrus have been known to feed, even to an in- 

 jurious extent, upon the soft grains of growing corn, and M. Zimmer- 

 mann, in his memoir upon the genus Amara, states that the species 



]\ioL' 1 H-f ARTS OF CAHAliue: — 1, head ; 



