SOFT-WINGED PREDACEOUS-BEETLES. 107 



row yellowish border, and suture. Mr. Eiley Las shown that it is lumin- 

 ous in the larva and pupa as well as the perfect state. It is common in 

 the latitude of Southern Illinois 5 but farther north and east its i^lace is 

 to a great extent supplied by a very similar but much smaller species, 

 the P. seintillans, Say. The P. angulata, Say, is as large as the j>yralis; 

 and is distinguished by its generally paler color, the wider yellow mar- 

 gin of the elytra, and by the extreme margin of the thorax being clouded 

 with black. Certain species which (like the P. pensylvmiica, of DeGeer), 

 have the head but partially covered by the thorax, were placed in a 

 separate group by Dejean, to which the name Photuris was subsequently 

 given by LeConte. The genus is retained by Lacordaire, but it is aban- 

 doned by Dr. LeConte himself, in his work on the Classification of the 

 Coleoptera. 



The Lampyris plumosa, of Olivier, is the type of the remarkable genus 

 Fheugodes, Iloff. The anteuuie are beautifully plumose, and the elytra 

 are abruptly narroM^ed to a point, and do not extend more than a third 

 the length of the abdomen. It is half an inch long and of a brownish 

 color. Six other species are known which inhabit South America. La- 

 cordaire states that these insects possess luminous properties, but Le- 

 conte questions this, as none of the ventral segments exhibit the usual 

 suli)hur-yellow color in the dried specimens. In the specimens in my 

 collection, the ventral segments are black in the middle, and fulvous or 

 tawny-yellow at the sides, with a narrowed portion at the base of each 

 segment of a lighter yellow color, and this may possibly be the seat of 

 the phosphoresence. 



Sub-family TELEPHOKIDES. 



In this sub-family the head is usually wholly uncovered by the thorax, 

 and narrowed behind into a short neck. They are more active than the 

 other Lampyridaj, and are often found upon flowers, or running over 

 the surface of leaves in search for their prey, which seems to consist 

 mostly of the soft larvae of other insects. 



A. Head partially covered by the thorax ; maxillaj elongated and extensile ; elytra yellow with a large 



black spot or stripe Chauliognathus, Dap. 



A A. Head wholly uncovered ; maxilhe normal ; elytra black, sometimes with a narrow yellow border. 



B. Head with a distinct neck ; size various TELEniORUS, 72. 



B B. Head without visible neck; size small Sius, 3. 



The genus Chauliognathus, Ilentz, is remarkable for the extensile 

 maxilhe, apparently analogous to the elongated maxilhie and labium of 

 bees, with which they lap the honey of flowers. Indeed, the perfect in- 

 sects are usually found upon flowers, especially those of the golden rod, 

 upon which they have been said to feed ; in which case they form an 

 exception to the carnivorous habits of the family in which they are 

 placed. The beetles, however, are furnished with sharp curved mandi- 

 bles like other Telephorides, and the larvae are known to be pre-emi- 



