272 ITS CHARACTERISTICS. 



irritated. Come ! A little courage will conquer your new 

 feeling of disgust. 



What do you smell ? 



A pleasant odour of rennet apples ! It reminds me of that 

 diffused by another insect, much less ugly than your Staphy- 

 linus, the Cicondela campestris. 



It is this peculiarity which explains the specific name of 

 " odorous " (olens) given to your captive. As for its generic 

 name, Staphylinus, I have no means of interpreting its ety- 

 mology ; for the insect's shape has no resemblance to that 

 of a bunch or cluster, in Greek, grapuXs?. But this last word 

 also signifies the uvula, and, perhaps, by the effort of a little 

 imagination, the naturalist may trace a similitude between 

 that organ of the throat and the body of the Staphylinus. 



The Staphylini are characterised by a very narrow neck, 

 which separates, as by a kind of web, the head from the 

 thorax. In diffusing the peculiar odour of which we have 

 just spoken, they simultaneously eject a musky volatile liquid 

 contained in two retractile whitish bladders, situated near the 

 anus. They run quickly, elevating their abdomen like the 

 earwig. The antennae, inserted in the rear of the strong 

 mandibles, are each composed of eleven articulations, of 

 which the first is the longest ; these joints, rounded in form, 

 are arranged like the beads of a necklace. 



The Staphylini belong to that numerous section of insects 

 whose tarsi are composed of five articulations, and which have 

 thence received the name of Pentaceii 



