PILL BEETLES. 89 



caused by this Beetle is due to the larva. Its colour 

 is whitish-brown above and white below, and it is 

 profusely covered with long hairs. The cast skins of 

 these larvae may be seen abundantly when the Beetle 

 has taken possession of any place, and by them the 

 museum owner is often warned of the danger which 

 has come on his collection. The reader will see that, 

 like many other destructive insects, it is most valuable 

 in its right place, and does good service by removing 

 from sight objects which are not only unpleasant to 

 the eye and nostril but injurious to the health. In 

 these places it should be protected and encouraged ; 

 but when it makes its way into a house, extermina- 

 tion is the only course to be used. 



WE now come to the Byrrhidae, or Pill Beetles, so 

 called from their rounded shape, and the manner in 

 which they can hide their limbs and antennae when 

 alarmed. There is no difficulty in distinguishing 

 Beetles belonging to this family. The antennae are 

 gradually thickened towards the extremity, and the 

 head is very small and deeply sunk in the thorax, 

 with which it can be completely retracted in most of 

 the species. 



The machinery by which the legs are packed up 

 is extraordinary, and this alone would serve to 

 indicate the family. On the tibiae there is a groove 

 in which the tarsi are received when doubled, the 

 tibiae fold closely to the femora, and the whole leg, 

 thus reduced into a very small compass, is received 

 into a groove under the body. In fact, the legs are 



