42 



THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. 



them. They are introduced here as ])rol)ably indicating" tlie uatural re- 

 lationship of the sub-famihes, and also because they form the basis of 

 Dr. LeConte's classification of this family. 



CAI.OSOMA CALIDUJl:- 

 Beetlo — aftiT Kilev. 



Sub-family CAKABIDES. 



This sub-family contains nearly all the large species in the family, the 

 [Fig. 8.] principal exception being the genus Pasi- [Fijr. 9.] 



machus, in the family of Scaritides. These 

 large species, constituting the Oarabides pro- 

 per, are distinguished from all the rest of the 

 family by the absence of the characteristic 

 notch on the inner side of the anterior tibia^, 

 near the extremity, and by having the two 

 tibial spurs situated at the apex. All the 

 other Carabidie have a conspicuous notch in 



Calosoma 



this part, and one of the spurs is inserted cauduh:— 



Larva- after 



above the notch. The anterior tarsi of the i^jiey- 

 males are usually dilated, and spongy beneath. The palpi terminate in 

 a large triangular joint, and this sub-family was therefore called, by 

 Latreille, Grandipalpi. This div/siqu of the sub-family embraces the 

 genera Carabus, Calosoma and Cychrus. The Calosoma calidum, a large 

 black beetle, an inch in length, with three rows of golden dots upon each 

 wing-cover, is one of the most common of the larger Carabides. This is 

 the species illustrated at figs. 8 and 9, 



But besides these large insects, a number of genera, composed of small 

 and very different species, are usually included in this subfamily, in 

 order to avoid a large number of primary divisions. This section con- 

 tains the genera Elaphrns, JNotiophilus and Omophron, all of which are 

 usually found in wet situations. Elaphrns rnscanus, resembling a small 

 Cicindela of an ashen bronze color, and with round pits upon the wing- 

 covers, is often found in abundance running upon the wet sand along 

 the margins of water-courses. Notiophilus is composed of small bronze- 

 black species, not exceeding a quarter of an inch in length, and distin- 

 guished from the small species in the other sub-families by their large 

 prominent eyes, giving to the head a width greater than that of the tho- 

 rax. Omophron is an extremely anomalous genus, resembling a Cocci- 

 nella or a Cassida much more than a Carabus. The species are rare in 

 the northern States, but Omophron lahiatnm is common at the South, 

 where its larvoe are said to dei)art from the ordinary carnivorous habits 

 of the family, by feeding upon the grains of growing corn. 



The most prominent characters of the leading N. A. genera are exhi- 

 bited in the following table : 



