62 COMMON BRITISH INSECTS. 



irritation. I believe that, out of every ten 'flies ' that 

 get into the eye, seven are Brachelytra. 



Although the larger Brachelytra need not be 

 particularly dreaded, in spite of their fierce looks, it is 

 as well not to handle them without necessity. Their 

 bite, although sharp, is of no particular consequence ; 

 but they possess a more formidable weapon than their 

 jaws. At the end of the tail are two tubercles, which 

 exude a secretion of the most odious character. Like 

 that of the skunk, it has an odour, or rather a stench, 

 peculiarly and fortunately so its own, and which 

 cannot be described by any comparison. That of the 

 common snake, when irritated, comes, perhaps, nearer 

 it than any other ; but even that singularly unpleasant 

 emanation is not so utterly disgusting as the effluvium 

 of an angry Rove Beetle. 



THE first family is that of the Aleocharidae. In 

 this family the front tarsi of the males are not wider 

 than those of the females, but the sexes can be dis- 

 tinguished by looking at the last segment but one of 

 the abdomen, and seeing whether it is tubercled, 

 ridged, or has a thicker posterior margin. In such 

 cases the insect is of the male sex. 



THE typical genus AleocJiara has the head deeply 

 sunk into the thorax, which is convex and broad. 

 The elytra are broader than they are long. The 

 abdomen has a flattened margin along the sides, and 

 the tarsi have five joints, the basal joint of the hinder 

 tarsi being longest. The antennae are short, stout, 

 and the fourth and tenth joints are of equal length. 



