308 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



There are about GOO tolerably well-defined genera in this second division of Carabidae, grouped 



under a proportionally large number of sub-families. Our space permits us only to allude to a few of 



the most remai-kable forms of this immense assemblage. The starting 

 point of the division is formed by the sub-family flroscini, a group 

 resembling the Scaritinse of the first division in the thorax being 

 separated from the elytra by a peduncle, formed by the exposed 

 narrow mesothorax. The great majority of the species belong to the 

 Southern Hemisphere, in New Zealand, Australia, and Chili. One 

 (Broscus ceplialotes) is a well-known British Beetle, found under debris 

 on sandy sea-shores. Another conspicuous sub-family is the Panagaeinae, 

 belonging to the " Patellimani." the first pair of feet in the males in 

 the principal species having two or three joints dilated in the form of 

 a platter. They prefer situations having a light sandy soil, and are 

 distinguished by their minutely-sculptured roughened surface, and 

 generally by the ornamental marking of their wing-cases, consisting of 

 four bright red square spots, so arranged that the ground colour between 

 them forms a black cross. Panagceus crux-major is a well-known British 

 sj>ecies. A gigantic black or metallic-coloured form of the Panagajidae 

 is the genus Tefflus, found in numerous species in tropical Africa, in 

 which region the red-spotted species also occur in great variety. Next 

 to these come the Licininae and Chlseniinae sub-families. The Chlasniinae 

 inhabit marshy places, and the margins of streams and pools. They 

 are mostly of beautiful metallic colours, with elytra clothed with soft 

 silky pile. Upwards of 400 species are known from nearly all parts 

 of the world, tropical and temperate, and several are found in the 

 British islands. The AncJwmenince and Pterostichince, which next 

 follow, contain the most abundant and widely-distributed Beetles of the 

 whole family, and include the common Black-beetles of our pathways 



(Steropus madidus, Oniaseus vulgaris), and the little oval bronzed Sun-beetles (Amara) seen so 



commonly running along pathways in spring. Australia is ex- 

 ceedingly rich in genera and species of Pterostichinae, and it is there 



that occurs the largest species of the sub-family, the Hyperion 



schrceteri of our illustration, two inches and a half long. In aH the 



above the number of smooth, non-sensitive basal joints cf the 



antennse is three ; in another series of sub-families there are only 



two ; among these are the Harpalinse, and the Anisodactylinse, which 



have dilated palms to the four anterior feet of the males. 



The last; or highest, sub-families of the division are those con- 

 taining all the principal arboreal groups. But whether terrestrial 



or ai'boreal they may be recognised by the wing-cases being clipped 



short, or truncated, at their apices ; hence the name of Truncati- 



pennse applied to the whole series. The genera are excessively 



numerous and varied, and the great majority are found only in 



richly wooded regions, chiefly in the tropical and sub-tropical zones of 

 the earth. Most are of small or medium size, and of light graceful 



shape. The Lebiinse, which constitute one of the groups, and are 



tolerably well represented in Europe and in Great Britain, ai'e 



extremely numerous in tropical America, where they live on low trees, 



and run with great ease and rapidity over the smooth broad leaves of 



Heliconlce and other broad-leaved plants in moist situations. The 



Callidince, larger and more linear in form, are another numerous 



group, but foreign to Europe ; they are more exclusively arboreal than the Lebiina?, and one of 



their genera, the Agree, are remarkable insects with narrow and elongated head, and thorax, 



HITEllION SCIIKUCTLUI. 



AVTHIA THORACICA 



