76 BRITISH BEETLES. 



Tachyusa constricta, a slender, graceful insect, found 

 in wet shingle on the banks of rivers (especially the 

 Mole, near Leatherhead) , has a peculiar appearance, 

 owing to its very " pinched-in " waist ; when alive, like 

 the greater part of this family, it curls its abdomen up- 

 wards and forwards, and runs with great quickness. 

 Perhaps, however, the most curious instance of this 

 curling propensity is afforded by Encephalus complicans, 

 a small black species found in rotten fungi, etc., and 

 about as unlike the insect last-mentioned as possible, 

 being extremely ' c squab " and flat : it is not very com- 

 mon, and may be easily passed over by a novice, on ac- 

 count of its turning its abdomen entirely over its back, 

 and thus (when not in motion) looking more like a small 

 black seed than a beetle. The species of Gyrophcena, 

 minute bright- coloured insects, also occurring (gre- 

 gariously) in fungi, and very closely allied to Encephalus, 

 have a similar habit, though in a rather less degree : 

 they are difficult to determine, but may generally be 

 distinguished inter se by the rows of punctures on the 

 thorax. Full English descriptions of our species, by 

 Mr. G. R. Waterhouse, are to be found in the Trans- 

 actions of the Entomological Society of London, 3rd 

 series, vol. i. (1861). 



The genera Oxypoda and Homalota, comprising many 

 small species, and very troublesome to beginners, exhibit 

 a considerable likeness to each other : the former may, 

 however, be known by all its tarsi being five-jointed (the 

 front tarsi in Homalota having only four joints) ; the 

 more elongate basal joint of its hind tarsi (except in the 

 instance of Homalota gr eg aria, which has a similar for- 

 mation in that respect) ; its usually more convex form 

 and stouter antennae ; and the greater sinuation of the 



