THE BILPHAS AND THEIR HISTORY. U3 



wbicli it was drawn was a male. The coloiu" of the Beetle is 

 black, the three last joints of the antennae being reddish- 

 yellow. Each of the elytra has three smooth ridges running 

 down its complete length, and a short one at the base between 

 the second and third ridges. Between the second and third 

 ridges there is a bold elevated tubercle, the second ridge bend- 

 ing towards it and then beriding back to its course. Beneath, 

 the body is glossy-black. 



Though not so plentiful as the preceding insects, this is not 

 a rare Beetle, and can be found in carrion, or under decaying 

 sea-weeds.' I have knocked it out of suspended moles. The 

 antenna of this Beetle is shown on the same illustration, 

 Fig./, the maxillary palpus at d, and the labium at e. A 

 favom-ite resort for this Beetle is the bank of a river, or the 

 sea-shore, and on this account it has received its specific title 

 of littoralls. This is the only British species. 



The genus Silpha is known by the flattened body, the 

 antennae being less boldly clubbed, and having eleven joints 

 instead of ten. There are thirteen species inhabiting England, 

 and they are all much smaller than the members of the pre- 

 ceding genera. Upon Plat i IV. is shown the handsomest of 

 the British Silphffi, namely, Silpha thoraoica. It is represented 

 as crawling over the body of the bird. This fine insect is 

 readily known by its colouring. The head is black, and the 

 thorax is brick-red, covered with a vejy short golden down, 

 and much crumpled. The elytra are very much like those of 

 the preceding insect, being black, and traversed longitudinally 

 by three ridges, the second and third of which are connected 

 by a raised tubercle. Tlie surface, however, is more satiny 

 than that of Necrodes, and, when viewed with a magnifying 

 lens and a strong light, the space between the ridges is change- 

 able in patches, like ' moire ' silk, and there are short ridges at 

 the base of the elytra. 



The larvae of all the Silphas are very different from those of 

 Necrophorus. Instead of being sluggish, fat, long-bodied grubs, 

 they are active, flat, and ■^'ide, running about with wonderful 

 velocity. A heap of old marrow bones is a very favourite 

 baunt of these larvae, and, if the bones are tapped so as to 

 distm'b without hurting their inmates, it is wonderful to see 



