of Buprestidz and Elateride. 203 
scurus, sputator, Ampedus balteatus fifteen to eighteen; Cardio- 
phorus ruficollis, Agriotes marginatus twelve ; Cryptohypnus qua- 
dripustulatus and Adrastus limbatus five. The oviducts are short, 
and open through a short common duct into the under surface of 
the vagina at a varying distance from its top; when filled with eggs, 
their appearance is quadrangular. ‘The eggs are rather small, 
of short oval form: mature eggs, when taken out of the ovi- 
ducts, measured in Agriotes marginatus 0-25 millim. in length, 
and 0:169 in width; in. Limonius cylindricus 0-304 millim. by 
0°179 millim.; in Diacanthus bipustulatus 0°309 millim. by 
0°184 millim.; in Diacanthus pectinicornis 0'429 by 0°232 milli. 
The vagina is either long and tubiform, or short and club- 
shaped. ‘The tubiform type of vagina is, in places, of varying 
thickness, strongly curved (Diacanthus pectinicornis) or sharply 
bent at an angle (Melanotus castanipes, Limonius cylindricus, 
Ampedus sanguineus, Diacanthus eneus); when the oviducts join 
the vagina far behind the end of the latter, it is wmding or even 
forms a spiral (Lacon murinus, Agriotes marginatus). The club- 
shaped vagina is not often gradually widened towards the fore 
end (Adrastus limbatus, Agriotes lineatus) ; more frequently the 
thick fore end is sharply defined, and besides is constructed so 
as to assume various forms (Cardiophorus ruficollis, Cryptohypnus 
quadripustulatus, Agriotes aterrimus, obscurus, Diacanthus tessel- 
latus, bipustulatus, Athous niger and subfuscus). The imternal 
surface of the vagina is furnished with a greater or smaller 
number of spinulose plates of chitine, or with spines placed in 
rows, or with both contrivances together, which do duty in the 
act of copulation as retaining instruments. The most frequent 
combination is a couple of lateral plates (Cardiophorus ruficollis 
and asellus, Lacon murinus, Agriotes aterrimus, lineatus, obscurus, 
sputator, Diacanthus. tessellatus, pectinicornis, sjelandicus, bipus- 
tulatus, Athous niger, ruficaudis, and subfuscus). The plates are of 
different sizes, oblong, often with ribs and marginal teeth ( Athous 
niger and subfuscus) ; and in some cases a second pair of plates 
over them are met with, which have spines on their inner margin 
(Cardiophorus asellus, Diacanthus sjelandicus and tessellatus) ; 
in Lacon murinus there are, besides the pair of plates first men- 
tioned, a number of long spines at the anterior extremity of the 
vagina. When plates are wanting, the spines are so much the 
more abundant (Agriotes marginatus, Ampedus sanguineus and 
preustus, Diacanthus eneus). 
The foremost dilated extremity of the vagina receives the 
semen during the act of copulation, and thus serves as a kind of 
bursa copulatrix, but is rarely separated by a constriction, 
which, however, is the case in Cardiophorus ruficollis and asellus 
and in Campylus linearis. 
