142 



CLASS INSECTA. 



COLEOPTEROUS INSECTS. 



the last articulation of its palpi. Carabus 1 0-guttatus of Linnaeus belongs 

 to this genus, and is the Anthia decem-guttata of Fabricius, &c. 



Illustration : Anthia quadriguttata. 



ELAPHRUS. Elytra entire, or not truncated behind ; front pair of legs 

 slightly nicked on the lower part of the inner side, with a linear slit ; 

 tongue prominent, membranaceous, or rather horny, divided into three 

 lobes, the lateral of which are tooth-like, and the middle of the upper end 

 of the middle lobe is nicked ; jaws scarcely dilated externally ; antennas 

 insensibly enlarging towards the end, formed of short obconical joints ; eyes 

 large and prominent. 



Several species are found in Great Britain ; they live on the banks of 

 rivers and ponds, searching for small insects. Their larvae and pupa are 

 quite unknown. 



Illustration : Elaphrus idiginosus. 



OMOPHROX. Antenna filiform, with the basal joint robust ; palpi six, 

 filiform, with the terminal joint nearly conic ; mandibles horny, ciliated, 

 and entire ; head oval, deeply inserted into the thorax, which is very short, 

 transverse, emarginate in front and lobate behind, the base nearly as broad 

 as that of the elytra ; the latter hard, entire, as long as the abdomen ; legs 

 slender, elongate ; anterior tibiae with a notch in front ; tarsi pentamerous. 



The species of this remarkable genus frequent damp, sandy places, but 

 none of them have yet been detected in Britain. 



Type of the genus, which is also our 



Illustration : Omophron limbatum. 



NECBOPHORUS. Antennae rather longer than the head, slender at the 

 base, and terminating suddenly in a large ovate perfoliate club, composed 

 of four coarctate joints, the last of which is acuminated ; head with a dis- 

 tinct neck ; thorax suborbiculate, rounded behind, transversely-truncate 

 anteriorly ; elytra truncated in a straight line, with a marginal channel, not 

 carinated; body oblong, much longer than broad; tibia short, robust; 

 posterior trochanters sometimes with a spine at the apex ; anterior tarsi 

 dilated and furnished with long cilia in the males. 



Seven of the twenty-seven species are found in England ; they frequent 

 carcases, especially of the smaller mammalia, which they bury beneath the 

 surface, and in them deposit their eggs, which become hatched in the putrid 

 remains, and their larvae reside in them until their period of change arrives, 

 when they seek for a spot in which to become pupa. 



Type of the genus, Sflpha germamca. Linnaeus. 



Illustration : Necropharus ixspitto. 



TACHYS. Antennae submoniliform, increasing in size towards their tip, 

 and inserted before the eyes ; mandibles simple ; palpi in some filiform, in 

 others awl-shaped ; head deeply sunk in the thorax ; body lengthy ; elytra 

 tolerably large ; legs spiny. 



Illustration : Tachys minuta. 



DRILUS. Antennae of twelve joints, longer than the head, and thorax 

 pectinated on the inner side ; maxillary palpi projecting forwards ; thorax 

 transverse, rather broader than the head; body depressed, rather long; 

 head truncated; mandibles one-toothed, thin, horny; jaws simple, or at 

 least destitute of any internal appendix, supporting two club-shaped 

 palpi ; lower lip rounded, wings membranaceous, plaited ; tarsi all five- 

 jointed, the last joint heart-shaped. 



These insects fly with facility, and are found on flowers, especially on 

 those of trees. They are parasitical on the common Snail. 



Illustration : Drylus flavescens (of Olivier), common in England and the 

 south of Europe. 



TILLUS. Antenna filiform, as long as the thorax, increasing in thick- 

 ness towards the tip, and toothed on the edge like a saw ; mandibles 

 slightly double-toothed; maxillary palpi filiform, last joint of the labial 

 large and hatchetshaped ; body lengthy and roundish; thorax narrower 

 than the wing-cases ; tarsi five-jointed. 



This insect is not carnivorous, but frequents plants and flowers, upon the 

 juices of which it feeds. Two species are described, both European. 



Illustration: Tittus mutSarius. 



ULEIOTA. Antennae filiform, at least as long as the body, with lengthy 



cylindrical joints ; upper lip projecting between the mandibles ; last joint 

 of the palpi sharpish at the tip ; body oblong, much depressed ; tarsi short. 

 These insects live beneath the bark of trees. The type of the genus is 

 Cerambix planatus. Linnnrus. 



Illustration : Uletota flavipes. 



MOLORCHUS. Antennas setaceous, nearly as long, or longer than the 

 body, basal joint stout, second minute, the remainder long, cylindric, a litt It- 

 elevate ; labrum minute, pilose, heart-shaped ; maxillary palpi quadriarticu- 

 late, the three basal joints small, the terminal one ovoid, compressed, 

 truncate; labial triartioulate, the two basal joints short, terminal longer, 

 ovate-truncate; elytra abbreviated, gaping at the apex; wings exposed; 

 legs unequal, anterior shortest, posterior longest ; femora very much clavate ; 

 tarsi four-jointed. 



There are nine species, found in flowers, especially of the umbelliferous 

 kind ; two of them occur in Britain. 



Illustration : Mdorchus abbreriatiis. 



RHAGIUM. Antennas setaceous, shorter than the body, tin- Uisal joint 

 stout, second small, somewhat nodose, third longer than the fourth, which 

 is shorter than the fifth, the latter being longer than the third, the remaining 

 joints of nearly equal length, about as long as the fourth ; palpi four, with 

 the terminal joint thickened, short, obconic, truncate ; labium with divari- 

 cating, slender lacinia; head large, with a tumour behind the eyes, the 

 latter rounded ; thorax constricted within the base and apex, the lateral 

 margins with an acute spine ; elytra broad, with the shoulders considerably 

 elevated ; legs moderate ; femora rather stout ; tarsi tetramerous. 



About twenty species, of which three are occasionally found in England, 

 frequenting the old stumps of decayed trees. 



Illustration : Rhagium mordax. 



CEROCOMA. Antenna club-shaped, or increasing considerably towards 

 the extremity ; of nine articulations, the last very large ; elytra horizontal. 



These insects are remarkable for the great brilliancy of their colours. 

 They make their appearance towards the middle of summer, and principally 

 frequent radiated flowers, as the Camomile chrysanthemum, &c. They fly 

 easily, but walk little ; and on being taken, like many other Coleoptera, 

 counterfeit death. 



Type of the genus, our 



Illustration : Cerocoma Schoefferi. 



NOTOXUS. Antenna? subfiliform, inserted before the eyes, simple, eleven- 

 jointed, the articulations a little obconic, the second smallest, the remainder 

 somewhat equal, the last oval ; mandibles slightly curved, acute, cleft at the 

 apex ; palpi with the terminal joint securiform ; body oblong ; head natant, 

 united by a slender neck to the thorax, the latter heart-shaped, narrowed 

 and truncate posteriorly, with the anterior edge prolonged into a point in 

 form of a horn projecting over the head ; scutollnm minute ; legs rather 

 long ; tibia very short ; tarsi heteromerous. 



Type of the genus, which is also our 



Illustration : Notoxus monocerus. 



LOMECHUSA. Antenna forming a perfoliate or fusiform club, often shorter 

 than the head and thorax ; the palpi ending in an awl-shaped joint ; head 

 sunk into the thorax to the eyes ; legs not spinose. 



The type of the genus is L. paradoga. 



Illustration : Lomechsusa dentata. 



PLATE 4. 

 COLEOPTEROUS INSECTS (continued.) 



ELOPHORUS. Mandibles not toothed at the end ; maxillary palpi rather 

 shorter than the antenna ; the last joint broad, oval, the club of the anteim;" 

 commencing with the sixteenth joint. All the species are small i: 

 living in water, and swimming on its surface, and living ujxm duck-meet, 

 conferva, and other aquatic plants. 



Illustration : Elophorus aquations. 



SCAPHIDIUM. Antenna longer than the thorax, slender at the base, with 

 an abrupt elongate club, composed of five somewhat hemispheric, nearly 

 equal joints, the terminal one rounded at the tip ; palpi four, filiform ; head 

 produced in front; thorax ample, margined on the sides; body robust, 



