494 



Div. 3. ARTICULATA.— mSECTA. 



Class 3. 



The second tribe, that of the Carabici, Latr., comprises the genus 



Carabus, Linn., — 

 Which has the maxillje terminated simply in a point or hook, not articulated at its base. The head is 

 generally narrower, or at least not broader, than tlie thorax ; the mandibles, except in a few instances, 

 are destitute of or with very slight teeth ; the tonguclet is generally exposed, and the labial palpi are 

 only distinctly three-jointed, ( the basal joint, which in Cicindela is detached, forming a fourth 

 joint, being here entirely fixed, and forming a support to the palpus, and is accordingly not reckoned 

 as a separate joint). Many species are destitute of wings, and have only elytra. They often emit 

 a fetid odour, and discharge from the anus an acrid and caustic liquid. 



Geoffroy considered that the ancients designated these insects under the name of Buprestis, and 

 which they regarded as a dangerous poison, especially to oxen. (See the genus Meloe). 



The Carabici conceal themselves in the earth, under stones, the bark of trees, &c., and are for the 

 most part very active. Their larvae have the same habits. This tribe is very numerous, and of diffi- 

 cult investigation. 



We form a first general division with those in which the exterior [maxillary] palpi are not terminated 

 by a minute conical joint, the last joint forming, with the preceding joint, an oval or conoid mass, 

 with a sharp point at its tip. 



Some of these have a deep notch on the inner edge of the anterior tibiae, separating the two acute 

 spurs, which are ordinarily placed at the apex of the limb. These constitute several [five] sections.* 



1. The Truncatipennes, thus named from their elytra being almost invariably truncate at the 

 posterior extremity. The head and thorax are narrower than the abdoinen. Some have the ungues 

 of the tarsi simple, or without teeth beneath. Of these the three following are destitute of wings. 



Anthia, Weber, Fab., with the tonguelet homy, oval, and nearly as long- as the palpi ; the abdomen is oval, often 

 convex, and the elytra are nearly entire, or scarcely truncate. These, as well as those of the next subgenus, have 

 the body black, and with spots of white down. They inhabit the deserts and other sandy places of Asia and 

 Africa. From an observation of De Latour, they eject from the anus, when disturbed, a caustic liquid. The 

 species are generally of large size, and in the males of some the thorax is dilated more or less behind, and termi- 

 nated by two lobes. 



Graphipterus, Latr. long confounded with the preceding, but differing in the tonguelet, entirely membranous 

 except in the centre ; the abdomen is always flattened and orbicular. The species of this subgenus are exclusively 

 African, and are much smaller than the preceding. 



Aptinus, Bonelli, has the last joint of the exterior palpi, and especially of the labial palpi, evidently dilated, and 

 a tooth in the middle of the mentum. But that which more particularly distinguishes them, and also the Brachini, 

 is, that their abdomen, which is oval and thickened, contains organs which secrete a caustic fluid, escaping with an 

 explosion from the anus, and instantly evaporating, with a penetrating scent. This fluid, when the animal is held 

 between the fingers, produces upon the skin a spot similar to that made by nitric acid, and even, if the species be 

 large, a painful burn. Dufour first made us acquainted with the organs by which it was secreted (in Annal. du 

 Mus. cCHist. Nat., torn. xvii.). These insects are often found assembled in societies, especially in the spring, 

 under stones. They make use of this defence to alarm their enenues, and they are able to repeat the explosion a 

 considerable number of times. The larger species are found in the tropics and other hot countries, as far as the 

 limits of the temperate zone. A. Batista, Dej. (Brachinus disptosor, Dufour), inhabits Navarre and various parts 

 of Spain and Portugal. 

 Brachimu, Weber, Fabr., differs only from Aptinus in being provided with wings, and the middle of the emar- 

 gination of the mentum not toothed. Brachinus crepitans, Fabr., is found common in the environs 

 of Paris [as well as in various parts of England]. It is generally four lines long, fulvous-orange, 

 with the elytra dark blue or greenish blue, and the antenna' ftdvous, the third and fourth joints 

 being black. The breast, with the exception of the middle of the abdomen, is also fulvous. Other 

 species are named, from their ex])losi ve powers, B. t>oml>arda, B.exliatnnx, B.causticut, B. sclopela,SiC. 

 {Caiascopits, Kirby, appears to us to belong to the section Simplicimani, from a recent investi- 

 gation, rather than to this section.) 

 Cor*vr«, Stev., is placed by Dejean between Brachinus and Catascopus. The claws are simple ; 

 body flat, short, broad ; palpi filiform. 



The other Carabici of the same division have the ungues also simple, but the head is narrowed behind the eyes 

 into a neck. In some the tarsi are nearly identical in the two se.xes, subcylindrical or linear, the penultimate 

 joint being alone deeply bilobed. 



¥\c, 53. — BtiFn- 

 hardier beetle. 



• 1 Mr. M'Leay and several more recent writers baTe cut up the 

 Linneeaii genus Cnrahuft, or the family CarabirlK, into several divisions, 

 each of which they have regarded as equivalent in value to the family 

 Cicindclids. The views of Latreillc, in regarding them aa divisions 



of the primary group Carabiques, which is itself regarded, as a whole, 

 of equal rank with the Ciciudetetie, correspond with those uf Linosu* 

 and Kirby.J 



