STAPHYLINID^ . 44 1 



sought for on dewy mornings under stones and pieces of wood, 

 which should be taken up and shaken over a white cloth or 

 paper ; or the whole nest should be sifted through a rather 

 coarse sieve, when the small beetles will fall through the 

 meshes. The eggs are very large. The larvae (Fig. 386, un- 

 der side of a larva probably belonging to this family, from 

 Maine, enlarged twice) closely resemble the beetles, being 

 narrow, the segments of very equal size, the terminal ring 

 forming a long prop-leg, on each side of which there 

 is a long ciliate seta. In. the pupae the hind wings 

 are not folded beneath the elytra, but extend below, 

 meeting upon the breast. 



In the true Staphylini the anterior coxae are promi- 

 nent and their coxal cavities are open behind. Aleo- 

 chara and its allies are difficult to distinguish, as the 

 characters separating them are but slightly marked; 

 they have the maxillary palpi moderate in length, with 

 the second and third joints also of moderate length, 

 the fourth small, subulate, distinct, and in Aleochara rig> 

 itself there is an additional very small fifth joint. In Homa- 

 lota, numerous in species, the ligula is short and bifid, and the 

 first to the fourth joints of the hind tarsi decrease in length. 

 In Tacliyporus and allies the prothoracic spiracles are visible ; 

 the anterior coxae are large, conical and prominent, with the 

 trochanters very distinct, while the antennae are inserted under 

 the lateral margin of the front. The species are 

 usually convex above, with the thorax always ample, 

 arched and highly polished, and the abdomen conical, 

 sometimes* very short. They are found partly in 

 fungi, partly under bark. Dr. Leconte, whom we 

 have been quoting, states that the species of Bolito- 

 bius usually have the head much elongatecl; when, 

 however, the head is oval, they approach closely to 

 the genus Quedius of the next tribe, but are recog- 

 nized by the antennae being inserted at the lateral ri s- 387 - 

 margin of the front, near the eyes, and not at the anterior 

 angle of the frontal margin, as in Quedius. 



In Stapliylinus the antennae are inserted on the anterior mar- 

 gin of the front, inside of the base of the mandibles, but dis- 



