COLLECTION OF ARTICULATED ANIMALS. 



oxyporus, and pcederus, Fabr., which live upon 

 decayed animal or vegetable substances. Few 

 insects prove with time so destructive in the 

 larva state as those which belong to the genera 

 ptinus, Lin., ptilinus, Geoff., and Unobium, Fabr.; 

 some, as the p. fur (n 2) and p. scotias (n 3) com- 

 mit their depredations on our herbals. The little 

 holes With which the rafters of our furniture 

 and houses are sometimes perforated, the galle- 

 ries dug through books and papers, are the 

 work of several species of anobium and ptilinus. 

 The noise, like the ticking of a watch, which 

 is frequently heard in wainscoated rooms, is 

 made by the anobium. The male and female, 

 often at a distance from each other, call and re- 

 ply by knocking violently and repeatedly against 

 the pannels. 



The richest and most brilliant colours generally 

 adorn the coleoptera of the genus buprestis, Lin. 

 The Indians use the wing-sheaths of the b. chry- 

 sis (n i) to adorn their dresses. The b. vit- 

 tata, Fabr. (n 23), the b.fastuosa (n 29), and 

 many other species exhibited in the same frame 

 are equal in beauty to the chrysis. On the 

 wing-sheaths of the b.fasciculata (n 7) are small 

 linear bunches of yellowish hairs ; the b. gigan- 

 tea(n2) is remarkable for its size, being 2 inches 

 long ; and on the elytra of the b. ocellata (n d 24) 



