COLEOPTERA. 



467 



putrefaction. The most remarkable insects of this tribe are the 



Histers (Fig. 454), the Stlphce, properly so called, and the Necrophori. 



The Histers are small insects, to be recognised by their body being 



almost round, smooth, and shining, with the elytra marked with strias, 



Fig. 450. — Lucanus bellicosus. 



and their mandibles pretty well developed. They attain to a length 

 of about a fifth of an inch. The Silphce, thus named on account of 

 their broad and rounded form, are of a large size (about half to three- 

 quarters of an inch), of a dark colour, and exhale a sickly odour. 



