8o COMMON BRITISH INSECTS. 



eleven joints instead of ten. There are fourteen 

 species inhabiting England, and they are, with one 

 exception, much smaller than the members of the 

 preceding genera. The handsomest of the British 

 Silphae is called scientifically Silpha thoracica, and 

 can be identified at a glance. This fine insect is 

 readily known by its colouring. The head is black, 

 and the thorax is brick-red, covered with a very 

 short golden down, and much crumpled. The elytra 

 are very much like those of the preceding insect, 

 being black, and traversed longitudinally by three 

 ridges, the second and third of which are connected 

 by a raised tubercle. 



The larvae of all the Silphas are very different 

 from those of Necrophorus. Instead of being 

 sluggish, fat, long-bodied grubs, they are active, flat, 

 and wide, running about with wonderful velocity. A 

 heap of old marrow bones is a very favourite haunt of 

 these larvae, and, if the bones are tapped so as to 

 disturb without hurting their inmates, it is wonderful 

 to see how the flat, black larvae come scurrying out, 

 looking very much like black wood-lice, and perfectly 

 well able to take care of themselves ; while the larvae 

 of Necrophorus lie utterly helpless on the surface of 

 the ground. Silphae maybe found in much the same 

 localities as the preceding insects. The best places to 

 find them are, however, the moles that are too often 

 seen suspended on twigs, and the more moles there 

 are near each other, the richer will be the harvest of 

 Silphae. I have found that ten moles on one branch 

 contain many more Silphae than double the number 

 scattered over a wide area. 



