COLEOPTEROUS INSECTS. 1/1 



ELATER MELANOCEPHALUS. 



PLATE VIII. Fig. I. 



Fdbricius — Olivier, ii. No. 31, pi. 4, fig. 36, #, I — Melan- 

 oxanthus melanocephalus, Esch. Dejean. 



This insect, of which we have given a greatly en- 

 larged figure from Olivier, bears some resemblance 

 to the indigenous species E. balteatus. The anten- 

 nae and head are black. The thorax is reddish, very 

 smooth and shining, and there is an oblong spot of 

 black extending from the head rather beyond the 

 middle. The elytra are reddish, with the hinder 

 extremity black, the surface marked with punctured 

 lines. The under side and legs are red, the extre- 

 mity of the abdomen being more or less suffused 

 with dusky black. It is a native of the East Indies. 



The section of the Serricornes, formed by spe- 

 cies with a somewhat flexible integument, compre- 

 hends the interesting family of glow-worms, or Lam- 

 pyridce. It corresponds to the undivided genus Lam- 

 pyris as constituted by Linnaeus. The species may 

 be known by having antennae approximating at the 

 base, the head small and nearly concealed by the 

 projecting edge of the thorax, and the body de- 

 pressed or very slightly convex. In the male the 

 eyes are so large as to occupy almost the whole 

 head. The penultimate joint of the tarsi is always 

 divided into two lobes, and the claws are simple ; 



