ROVE BEETLES. 77 



are packed a pair of broad and expansive wings, which in some 

 of the species can he used almost as readily as those of a fly 

 or a bee. 



The popular name of Eove Beetles is also appropriate. They 

 are veritable rovers, ranging over earth, air, and even water. 

 That they can fly well has already, been mentioned. They are 

 found in decaying animal matter, in foul or decaying vegetable 

 substances, under the bark of trees, within the nests of ants, wasps, 

 and even in the habitation of the formidable hornet. Some of 

 them haunt the blossoms of flowers ; others, more darkling, hide 

 themselves away in rocky crevices ; while some few species are 

 actually in the habit of living on the sea-shore below high- 

 water mark, so that they are submerged for several hours twice 

 every day. 



As is the case with the groups which we have already de- 

 scribed, the Brachelytra are but little represented in tropical 

 countries, and, as a rule, those of temperate climates are superior 

 both in size and colour to the inhabitants of tropical lands. I 

 have, however, selected a few examples of foreign Brachelytra 

 which present points of interest in which they differ from our 

 own insects. 



The first insect is the Sterculia fulgens, a really splendid Beetle, 

 outshining almost all the rest of its kinsfolk. The Sterculias 

 are readily known by their very 

 peculiar shape. The head is 

 comparatively large, the an- 

 tennas are very long, and the 

 eyes are very small. The 

 thorax is so narrowed in front 

 that it looks like a thin, 

 slender neck, and it rises in 

 the middle into a bold ridge. 

 The mandibles are small, and ^ttt 8 !!?^ , 



' (Metallic blue, purple, and copper. ) 



are toothed at the base. 



The present species is found in various parts of the West 

 Indies, there being specimens in the British Museum brought 

 from Jala pa, Cayenne, Surinam, &c. There are many species of 

 this genus, some of which have not been named at the moment 

 of writing this account, and they range widely in point of colour 



