286 



MORDELLIDyE MORSE. 



when growing. They should be fresh potted every 

 autumn, and when they have made roots they may 

 be removed from the cold frame into the greenhouse 

 to flower. They are increased, like other bulbs, by 

 offsets ; or they may be raised from their seeds. 



MORDELLID^: (Leach). A family of coleo- 

 pterous insects, belonging to the section Heteromera, 

 and sub-section Trachdides, Latreille, having the body 

 of an elevated and arched form, the head inserted 

 very low, the thorax semicircular, the elytra nar- 

 rowed towards the tips, or very short, and the ab- 

 domen sometimes produced into a point. In the 

 form of the antennse many of these insects approach 

 the PyrochroidtE ; whilst others in the form of the 

 maxillae, tarsal claws, and parasitical habits, are 

 allied to some of the Cantharidae. They differ from 

 these, however, in the solid consistence of the body, 

 and especially in their great activity. The species 

 are generally of small size, and occasionally varie- 

 gated in their colours ; they frequent flowers, espe- 

 cially those of the whitethorn, in the imago state, and 

 fly and run very quickly. The British genera are 

 Anasjis, Mordella and Ripiphorus. The first has 

 the wing-covers entire, and the abdomen not pointed ; 

 whilst the second differs from the preceding, in having 

 the abdomen terminated in an acute point , the tarsal 

 claws are also here denticulated, and the antennae 

 filiform and serrated. There are seventeen British 

 species of Anaspis and eight of Mordella, the type of 

 the latter being the Mordella aculeata, Linnaeus. 



The genus Ripiphorus, Bosc, is distinguished by 

 having the elytra narrowed at the tips, so as not to 

 be able to meet in a straight line down the back, nor 

 to cover the wings ; the antennae of the males are 

 deeply pectinated, and serrated in the females. There 

 is only one British species, Mordella paradoxa, Lin- 

 naeus, a remarkable insect, which resides in the nests 

 of a wasp (Vespa rufa), and respecting which Mr. 

 Kirby has given the following notice in the second 

 volume of his Bridgewater Treatise. 



" Connected with the subject of parasites is a sin- 

 gular history communicated to me by the Rev. F. W. 

 Hope, one of the most eminent entomologists of the 

 present day. In the month of August, 1824, in the 

 nest of the above mentioned species of wasp, he found 

 more than fifty specimens of a singular little beetle, 

 which may be called the wasp-beetle, long known to 

 frequent wasps' nests. From their being found in 

 cells which were closed by a kind of operculum ; 

 he conjectures that they lay their eggs in the grub of 

 the wasp, upon which they doubtless feed subsequent 

 to this ; upon opening some of the cells, he was sur- 

 prised to find, instead of beetles, several specimens of 

 an Ichneumon belonging to Jurine's genus Anomalon. 

 Upon another -examination, some days after this, no 

 more of these last insects appearing, he discovered 

 that they had been pierced in their chrysalis state by 

 a minute species belonging to the family of the Chal- 

 cidians, of which he found no less than twenty spe- 

 cimens flying about in search of their prey. From 

 the above facts, Mr. Hope remarks, we have a con- 

 vincing proof, if such were wanted, of a superintending 

 power which ordains checks and counter checks to 

 remedy the superfecundity of the insect world. First 

 the wasp, a great destroyer of flies and various other 

 insects, and often a troublesome pest and annoyance 

 to man himself, is prevented from becoming too 

 numerous, amongst other means, by the wasp-beetle ; 

 then, lest it should reduce their numbers so as to 



interfere with their efficiency, this last is kept in 

 check by the Anomalon, which, in its turn, that it may 

 obey the law, 'thus farshalt thou come, and no fur- 

 ther,' becomes the prey of another devourer. Mr. 

 Hope observed, and the fact is curious, that the spe- 

 cimens of the wasp-beetle obtained from the female 

 wasps were about one-third larger than the others." 



MORINGA (Decandolle). A Malayan tree, of 

 rather an ornamental character, belonging to Legu- 

 mmoscB. In India it is called the horse-radish tree, 

 because the roots are so acrid that they are used 

 instead thereof. It is a stove plant, and may be 

 increased by cuttinars. 



MORMOLYCE (Hagenbach). A very curious 

 genus of coleopterous beetles from Java, belonging to 

 the family Carabidce, and apparently to the subdi- 

 vision BrachinidoE, having the body flattened and 

 dilated, scarcely exceeding in thickness a sheet of 

 paper ; the antennas are as long as the body ; the 

 head very greatly elongated behind the eyes ; the 

 sides of the thorax dilated and notched ; and the 

 elytra furnished with a broad lateral leaf-like append- 

 age, extending far beyond the extremity of the body, 

 giving the insect much more the appearance of a 

 Mantis or Phasma than that of a carabideous insect ; 

 the legs are long and slender. We know nothing of 

 the habits of this remarkable creature, which is speci- 

 fically named M. phyllodes, from its resemblance to 

 a leaf. The length of our fine specimen is not less than 

 three inches and a half. A good figure is given in 

 the title-page of Mr. Shuckard's Manual of Ento- 

 mology. 



MORSE (Trichecus). A very singular genus of 

 mammalia, belonging to Cuvier's tribe of amphibious 

 animals, and one of the largest and most remarkable 

 of that singular tribe. There is only one known 

 species of this genus ; but the singularity of its appear- 

 ance has procured for it a great number of names. It 

 is called " the walrus,"" the sea-cow,'' " the sea-horse," 

 and some other names, but they all refer to one and 

 the same species of animal. It has often (see MAM- 

 MALIA) been classed with the herbivorous cetacean ; 

 but in this a double error has been committed, for it 

 is not a cetaceous animal at all ; neither is it, generally 

 speaking, herbivorous, if we iiidge of it from its ali- 

 mentary system, though it is alleged that it occasion- 

 ally feeds on the more succulent kinds of sea-weed. 

 The only animals with which it agrees in its general 

 structure are the seals ; and, although there are very 

 wide differences between them, some of the most 

 essential points are very much alike in both. The 

 hind legs, for instance, though imperfectly developed, 

 and in great part united with the tail by means of the 

 membranes, still exist, while in the cetacea they are 

 entirely wanting. 



When, however, we come to examine the teeth, we 

 find a remarkable difference between the teeth of this 

 animal and those of the seals. The teeth of the seals 

 approximate to those of the carnivora ; while in the 

 morse there is an approach toward the elephant, 

 though not sufficiently great to bring the animals 

 within the same class, even in their dentition. The 

 most remarkable character of the mouth of the morse 

 is the immense canine teeth with which the upper 

 jaw is furnished. Those teeth are curved downwards 

 and slightly forwards ; they are rounded on their 

 external surfaces, and furrowed on their internal. 

 They form an article of commerce, as ivory ; but 

 their texture is not formed of curves of different 



