466 



THE INSECT WORLD. 



putrefaction. The most remarkable insects of this tribe are the 

 Histers, the Silphas, properly so called, and the Necrophori. 



The Histers are small insects, to be recognised by their body 

 being almost round, smooth and shining, with the elytra marked 



Fig. 450.- Lucanus bellicosus. 



with streaks, and their mandibles pretty well developed. They 

 attain to a length of about a fifth of an inch. The Silpha, 

 thus named on account of their broad and rounded form, are 

 of a larger size (about half to three-quarters of an inch), 

 of a dark colour, and exhale a sickly odour. When seized 

 they disgorge a blackish liquid. They introduce themselves 

 under the skin of the carcasses of animals, and devour their 

 flesh to the very bone. The larvae, flat and indented, live, like 

 the adults, in carrion. The commonest species is the Silpha 

 obscura, of an intense black, delicately dotted. Two species found 



