CHAPTER II. 



THE GEODEPHAGA. 



The word with which this chapter is headed is not a very 

 aUuring one, and yet to an entomologirf': it would say that the 

 chapter contains the history of the best developed and some of 

 the most interesting of the British Beetles. The term Greode- 

 phaga is formed from two Greek words, signifying earth-de- 

 vourers, and is given to the large group of predacious Beetlet; 

 which live on the ground. There is another large group, callfc<i 

 the Hydradephaga, or water-devourers, i.e. those predacious 

 Beetles which inhabit the water. We will take these tT\o 

 important groups in succession, selecting such examples as 

 may best illustrate them. 



It must be, in the first place, observed that any Beetle may 

 be recognised as belonging to either of these great groups by 

 the structure of the mouth. In reference to the illustrations 

 already described, the reader will see that each of the maxilla; 

 (Fig. 4) is furnished with a four-jointed maxillary palpus. All 

 ■".hese carnivorous Beetles possess the same organs, but, in addi- 

 tion, they have an inner lobe, which is also furnished with its 

 palpus. Several examples of this structure may be seen by 

 reference to the accompanying illustration (Figs, a, c, 6, and/). 

 Both tiiese groups are associated in one large group called 

 Adephaga, the word being a Grreek one, and signifying greedy 

 or gluttonous. 



Beginning with the Geodephaga, we take the first family of 

 the group, the Cicindelida::, or Tiger Beetles. In all these 

 Beetles there is a little movable hook at the end of the 

 maxilloe, and the ligula is \ ery short, and not appearing beyond 

 the meritum. There is unly one genus of these Beetles in- 

 habiting England, and this ir the typical genus Cicindela The 



