2l6 AN INTRODUCTION TO ENTOMOLOGY. 



nished with a furrow into which the margin of the wing-cover fits 

 when not in use. The antennae are five-jointed except in the 

 exotic genera Adrisa and Pachymcroides ; the distal three seg- 

 ments are usually united by slender threads. 



The species are generally black or very dark brown. They are 

 found burrowing in sandy places, or on the surface of the ground 

 beneath sticks and stones, or at the roots of grass and other herb- 

 age. A European species is said to suck the sap from various plants 

 near the ground. It is desirable that further observations be made 

 upon the habits of this family. 



Family XXXV. 



(The Negro-bugs^] 



This family is represented in our fauna by a single genus, 



Corimel&na. They are mostly black, beetle-like in appearance ; 



some have a bluish or greenish tinge, and all are very convex. The 



form of the body is similar to that seen in the next family. It is 



short, broad, and very convex, in fact almost hemispherical. The 



scutellum is very convex, and covers nearly the whole of the 



abdomen. At the base of the scutellum there is on each side a 



short furrow into which the edge of the wing-cover fits when at rest. 



* i This character allies this family to the two preceding, 



jf\ and separates it from the following. These insects 



]_ ^Jwl JtV infest various plants ; and often injure raspberries, 



Jl^^i an d other* fruit, by imparting a disagreeable, bed-bug- 



FIG iss.-cw- l*ke odor to them. Fig. 188 represents Corimelcena 



meianaatra. atro,, somewhat enlarged ; this is a common and widely 



distributed species. 



Family XXXVI. SCUTELLERID.E. 



The Scutelleridae resemble in the form of their body the pre- 

 ceding family. They are turtle-shaped bugs; that is, the body is 

 short, broad, and very convex. The scutellum is very large, cover- 

 ing nearly the whole of the abdomen. The lateral margin of the 

 scutellum is not furnished with a groove for receiving the edge of 

 the wing cover, as is the case in the three preceding families. The 



* Corimelaenidae, Corimelaena : coris (KopiS), bug ; melas (#e'Aa), black. 

 t Scutelleridae, ScutSllera : scutdla, little plate. 



