THE DEVIL'S COACH-HORSE 79 



ally puzzle the young student of entomology. A mo- 

 ment ago, while on the wing, he appeared a veritable 

 wasp, and now a nondescript a kind of wingless hor- 

 net or fly. The edges of its body flash with a yellow 

 satiny sheen in its various motions in the sun, and an 

 occasional attitude betrays the presence of the two tiny 

 wing covers otherwise unnoticed. In these unconspic- 

 uous wing covers, however, we may find our key to his 

 identity among insects the distinguishing character 

 of the beetle tribe, of which these comical creatures 

 constitute a curious exception and a distinct genus 

 the staphylinus. 



