50 COLEOPTERA. 



FAMILY I. Lymexylonidm. 



Tarsi five-jointed ; body long and slender ; head contracted 

 behind; mandibles dentated. 



The most important species of this small family is Lymexylon 

 Navale, Linn. The male is black, with the basal half of the elytra 

 along the suture, and the abdomen and legs yellow ; the female is 

 yellowish, with the head and the border and tips of the elytra 

 black. It measures from a quarter to half an inch in length. This 

 insect feeds on oak, and though fortunately rare in England, has 

 sometimes committed great ravages among the timber intended for 

 shipbuilding in several parts of the Continent. 



FAMILY II. Ptinidce. 



Body oval or cylindrical, with the ends rounded off; head not 

 contracted behind, partly covered by the prothorax; antennae 

 filiform and tapering, or pectinated, sometimes terminating in 

 three large apical segments ; tarsi generally five-jointed. 



These are small beetles, some of which feed on wood, while 

 others are met with in houses, not only attacking wood, but also 

 dried animal products, such as leather, wool, preserved objects of 

 natural history, etc. A few of the more interesting species may 

 here be mentioned. 



Ptinus Fur, Linn., is a small beetle about an eighth of an inch 

 in length. It varies from red to pitchy brown, with red legs and 

 antennas, and the elytra are marked with two more or less distinct 

 transverse stripes of white hairs. Anobium Domesticum, Fourcr., is 

 an insect not exceeding one-sixth of an inch in length. It is of a 

 pitchy-brown colour, and feeds on old wood. It is often common 

 in the woodwork and furniture of old houses, and is popularly 

 known as the Death- Watch, from its habit of producing a slight 

 ticking noise by striking its head against the wood as a call to its 

 mate. The name of A. Tessellatum, Fabr., has frequently been 

 applied to this insect, but A. Tessellatum is a brown species, 

 measuring about a quarter of an inch in length, and although it 

 likewise feeds on old wood, it is seldom or never found in houses. 



FAMILY III. Bostrychidce. 



Body cylindrical; head generally covered by the prothorax; 

 antennae nine- to eleven- jointed, inserted at the front edge of the 



