Thanasimiu.] SERRICORNII. 171 



angles rounded ; elytra depressed, parallel-sided, black with the base 

 red, strongly punctured in front, finely behind, with two strong bands 

 of thick white pubescence, one before middle, very irregular, and the 

 other behind middle ; legs black, with the tarsi more or less ferruginous. 

 L. 6|-9 mm. 



Under bark of felled trees, especially fir ; in rotten wood, Ac. ; local ; London 

 district, Kent, and Surrey, not uncommon, Camberwell, Shirley, Ksher, Woking, 

 Coombe Wood, Richmond Park, Kipley, Maidstone, Sbeerness, Bearsted ; Deal ; 

 Walmer Forest ; Dover ; Hastings ; Glanvilles Wootton ; Windsor ; Cambridge ; 

 Scarborough ; Northumberland and Durham district ; Scotland, Highlands, on logs 

 of Scotch fir, Forth, Tuy, Dee, and Moray districts; Ireland, near Dublin. 



TRICHODES, Herbst.) 



This genus contains a considerable number of species, which are 

 widely distributed, but which appear to be more characteristic of 

 temperate climates than the other members of the family ; no less than 

 seventeen species are found in Europe, a number exceeding all the 

 other European members of the Clerina and Tillina taken together ; 

 the genus is widely distributed in North America, and is represented 

 in Siberia ; the species are in most cases very handsome, brightly 

 coloured and conspicuous insects, and may be known by their strong, 

 compact and abrupt club, and by the formation of the palpi ; some of 

 thorn appear to be very variable. 



The perfect insects are usually found on flowers, but the larvae are 

 exceedingly destructive to bees and wasps of various species ; that of 

 T. alvearius is described and figured by Westwood (Classification, 

 i. p. 262, fig. 29, 9); these larvae appear to be rather broader and 

 plumper than those belonging to some of the other Cleridse, and rather 

 broader in front ; otherwise they do not differ materially from them ; 

 they are of a beautiful red colour, and are spoken of by Swammerdam, 

 who first described their habits, as " red worms ; " the females manage 

 to lay their eggs in the bees' cells, and the larva first devours the grub 

 in' the cell in which it is hatched, and then proceeds from cell to cell 

 devouring the inhabitant of each until it comes to maturity ; it then 

 forms a small cocoon in which it changes to a pupa, and when it 

 emerges as a perfect insect it is enabled to escape, as it is too hard to 

 be affected by the stings of the bees. 



I. Elytra orange-red with three cyaneous fasciae, apex orange- 

 red T. ALVEABIC8, F. 



II. Elytra orange-red with two fascia) and the apex cyaneous T. APIABIUS, L. 



(T. alveariua, F. Elongate, depressed, very hairy, upper surface 

 rather dull, under-side more shiny, very thickly pubescent ; head and 

 thorax greenish-blue, deeply and closely punctured, eyes finely granu- 

 late, antennae pitchy or pitchy-ferruginous or bluish-black ; elytra 

 orange-red, with a spot at ecutellum, a transverse fascia, usually united 



