SOFT-WINGED PREDACEOUS BEETLES. 109 



dium size, often prettily colored with orange and blue, and their surface 

 is usually more or less pubescent or hairy. They are oblong in form, 

 and the thorax is considerably narrower than the elytra. 



These insects are purely carnivorous. The larvte are sometimes found 

 under the bark of dead trees, in company with the small wood-eating 

 larvne, upon which they subsist. Others are found in the nests of ants, 

 and still others in the dried carcases of dead animals. 



The genera of Cleridai is as follows : 



A. Tarsi 5-jointed ; thorax rounded at the sides, without a sharp margin. 



B. First tarsal .ioint of ordinary length ; bodj^ much elongated. 



C. AntenniB 10-jointed, the last very long and flat Elasmocekus, 1 sp. 



C C. Antennto ll-jointed ; serrate but little enlarged at tip. 



D. Eyes finely granulated Tillus, 1. 



D D. Eyes coarsely granulated Cymatodera, 17. 



B B. First tarsal joint usually small and concealed beneath the second ; body moderately elongated. 



E. Eyes notched, and of moderate size ; head not wider than thorax. 



F. All the palpi enlarge<l at the tip ; body coarsely punctured and very hairy ; antennal 

 club trianguhir .' Trichoues, 6. 



F F. Only the laljial i)alpi enlarged ; body moderately i)unctured and hairy ; antennal 



club long and loose Clerus, 29. 



E E. Eyes very large and entire ; liead much wider than the thorax Hydnocera, 22. 



A A. Tarsi 4-jointed; thorax with a narrow but distinct lateral margin. 



G. Antennai strongly serrate at the end Enoplium, 4. 



G G. Antenniij terminating in a 3-jointed flattened club Neckobia, 5. 



The genera Clerus and Hydnocera are the most numerous in species, 

 some of which are sufficiently common. Clerus, Geoffroy, with which 

 we include Thanasimus, Latr., and Thaneroclerus, Spin., contains a num- 

 ber of prettily marked species, which are sometimes seen running over 

 prostrate logs in the forest, in search probably of small wood-eating 

 larvic. The Clerus duhius, Fab., is a little more than three-tenths of an 

 inch long, of a steel-blue color, the elytra crossed by three orange 

 bands. The C. nigrijrons, Say, is upwards of two-tenths, of a tawny 

 yellow color, the elytra cinereous behind, including a broad black 

 band ; there is a black spot on the front, and the venter is black. 

 C. nigripcs, Say, is very similar, but the frontal spot is wanting and the 

 venter is red. The C. sanguineus, Say, is of the same size as the last, 

 with the thorax brown and the elytra scarlet. 



The Hydnoceree are small and obscure insects, less than a quarter of 

 an inch in length, but easily distinguished by their large prominent 

 eyes, which cause the head to be wider than the thorax. They are often 

 beaten from the leaves of forest trees. 



The genus Trichodes, Herbst, contains a number of very hairy and 

 prettily banded species, the larva3 of which devour the larvse of certain 

 kinds of bees. Some are found in the nests of the mason-bees, and the 

 European T. apiarius has been known to be very destructive to the hive- 

 bee. 



The Necrohia violacea, Oliv., a small dark-blue or greenish beetle, 

 three-twentieths of an inch in length, has been imported from Europe. 



