FAMILIES NITIDULIDAE AND COLYDIIDAE in 



Beetle. Elongate, flat, much narrower than haroldi. Shining brown. Head elongate, 

 concave on top. Eyes black, large, placed at base of head on either side. Prothorax slightly 

 wider than long, margins channelled, punctate. Elytra elongate, slightly convex on disk, 

 punctate ; apex truncate, leaving exposed three abdominal segments which are punctate. Under- 

 surface and legs lighter-coloured. Length, 7.7 mm. 



I took a specimen of this beetle from beneath the bark of a felled sal- 

 tree at Dholkhand, in the Siwaliks, in January 1902. 

 Life History. The insect proved new to science, and forms the type of 

 the species in the British Museum collections. The 

 species was taken in company with E. haroldi. 



Family COLYDIIDAE. 



The minute beetles of this family are fairly plentiful throughout the 

 forests of the country, and for many reasons they may to the uninitiated be 

 easily mistaken for serious bark-boring pests. Investigations seem to show, 

 however, that this family does little, if any, damage in the forest, whilst 

 some of its members are of high utility as predaceous foes of the tree pests. 



The beetle is elongate or squarish in shape, and in the case of the bark 



forms flat. The antennae are clubbed at the top, and 



Beetle. the tarsi four-jointed, with five ventral segments of the 



abdomen visible. The elytra have often plainly marked 



series of raised longitudinal striae down them, and the thorax is sometimes 

 channelled or sculptured. The colours are browns, yellow-browns, and greys. 

 Perhaps the commonest predator beetles of the family met with in 

 India are the species of Bothrideres which are predaceous upon the 

 Sinoxylon and Dinoderus borers of wood and bamboo. These are the small, 

 elongate, brown, flat beetles which are commonly found in the tunnels of 

 the borers, and may be easily mistaken, and in fact have often been mis- 

 taken, for the authors of the damage themselves. Investigation has shown, 

 however, that the insects are predaceous upon the beetle-borers, and lay 

 their eggs in the galleries of the latter. 



I have at times taken various larvae which I have placed as colydiid 

 ones, and in the hope that investigations may l>i> carried 

 Larva. out in this direction a description of one of th< 



forms may be attempted here. The notrs were recorded 

 on the grubs at the time they were taken from the trees. 



Larva taken from bark-beetle galleries in blue-pine trees in the North- 

 West Himalaya: Head black, with three-jointed antennae, the upper joint 

 longer than other two. Twelve segments follow the head, the first and 

 last orange-yellow ; rest black, each with ,i median dorsal orange spol : tin- 

 segments are flat and broadish medianly. The posterior segmenl terminates 

 in two black-pointed stout cerci jointed and curved inwards. Legs two- 



