BEETLES 



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joints in the feet, beetles may be divided into four suborders, the first being 

 the five-jointed group (Pentamera). 



carnivorous Among the families of this group, that of the carnivorous ground- 



Ground-Beetles, beetles (Carabidce) is one of the most important. The representa- 

 tives of this family are mostly long-legged, swift runners, whose larvae live in 

 droppings or putrid animal-matter, while the full-grown beetles dwell under 

 stones, moss, or bark, and feed on insects or their larva?. These beetles winter 

 in their haunts, and, when seized, not infrequently emit an evil-smelling fluid. 

 The largest European species, Procrustes coriaceus, the leather-beetle, gener- 

 ally found in the woods, is about H inches long, and dull black in colour, 

 wrinkled in such a way as to look like leather. Another characteristic genus is 

 Calosoma, which is almost world-wide in distribution, and is distinguished by 



^#P& 



THE LEATHER-BEETLE. 



the rectangular form of the wing-covers. In the fir-woods C. sycophanta may 

 frequently be found climbing the trees in search of larvas and pupas. It is from 

 1 to 1^ inches in length, and blue-black, with a triple row of impressions on 

 each of the closely dotted, striped, greenish gold elytra. In oak-forests, a com- 

 panion species (C. inquisitor) is as easily discoverable; this is about f inch in 

 length, copper-coloured above, darkish green beneath, the elytra being edged 

 with green, and striped, and obliquely furrowed with three rows of impressed 

 dots on each side. The bombardier-beetles live gregariously under stones or 

 at the roots of trees ; and are so called from their habit, when in danger, of 

 spurting out from behind, three or four times with a loud puff, a coi-rosive, 

 volatile, odorous liquid. The common bombai-dier-beetle (Brachivus crepitans) 

 is a third of an inch long, and of a ferruginous red colour, the mouth and third 

 and fourth joints of the antennae being pitchy black, and the elytra black with 

 a bluish and greenish tinge and indistinct stripes. 



