734 CLASS IV. INSECTA. 



Fam. 67. Melandryidae. Anterior coxal cavities open behind. Claws 

 .smooth. Head partly hidden by pronotum, not constricted behind. 

 A smallish family of beetles widely distributed in temperate climes. The 

 larvae are cylindrical, with head, thorax and posterior segment chitinous, 

 the rest of the body soft. Melandrya, etc., are British. 



Family 68. Mordellidae. Antennae filiform, slightly serrated. Head 

 constricted behind the eyes, and easily bent down on to the prosternum. 

 Anterior coxae small and spherical. Body convex. A family of active 

 beetles, found often amongst flowers. Mordella, Anaspis. 



Fam. 69. Monommidae. Small, oval beetles whose parts are capable 

 of being packed together in a very small compass. A small family un- 

 known in Europe. 



Fam. 70. Nilionidae. Broad, rounded forms with extensive inflected 

 portions of the elytra. Anterior coxal cavities closed, though they 

 appear open because the tips of the epimera are free. A small, chiefly 

 South American family, found amongst fungi. 



Fam. 71. Oedemeridae. Antennae long and filiform. Prothorax 

 rounded at the edge. Head not constricted into a neck. A largish, 

 cosmopolitan family of rather soft-skinned, brightly-coloured beetles 

 living in flowers ; the larvae live in old wood. The larva of Nacerdes 

 melanura lives in timber cast ashore on our coasts or river sides. Asclera 

 is also British. 



Fam. 72. Othniidae. Soft insects, with the abdominal segments 

 semi-membranous posteriorly and very mobile. Antennae clubbed. A 

 very small family of doubtful value. Oihnius. 



Fam. 73. Pyroehroidae. Head constricted behind and carried hori- 

 zontally. Antennae strongly serrated or pectinated. A small family of 

 usually red, weak beetles, which however fly actively. They are re- 

 presented in Britain by Pyrochroa sp., the " Cardinal beetles." 



Fam. 74. Pythidae. Separated from the Melandryidae by the shape 

 of the pronotum, which is oval or heart-shaped and narrower than the base 

 of the elytra. A small family of bark and timber haunting beetles, widely 

 distributed in temperate climates. The very flat larva of Pytho depressus 

 lives under the bark of British conifers. 



Fam. 75. Rhipiphoridae. Resemble the Mordellidae but have large 

 conical anterior coxae. Antennae pectinate in males, serrate in females. 

 A widely distributed family represented in Britain by Metoecus paradoxus 

 whose larva preys on wasps' larvae. 



Fam. 76. Tenebrionidae. Antennae thickening at ends. Front coxae 

 small and spherical, their cavities closed behind. Tarsal segments not 

 lobed. , A very large, cosmopolitan family : many species are incapable 

 of flight and have their elytra fused together. They live amongst fungi 

 or timber and in desert places. The larvae are cylindrical and very tough 

 skinned, that of Tenebrio molitor being the well known meal-worm. 



Fam. 77. Trictenotomidae. Antennae long with last three segments 

 shortened and produced into angular processes. Strong and projecting 

 mandibles. This family consists of but two genera of very large beetles 

 found in Indian and Malayan forests. 



Sub-order 5. PHYTOPHAGA 



Tarsi really five-segmented, but only four segments are easily seen, the 

 fourth being reduced to a small ring or tubercle at the base of the fifth. No 

 beak or rostrum on the head. 



