96 INSECTS AT HOME. 



The fcirnily of the Anisotomidas is known from t)ie .Silphidaa 

 by several points of structure, none of them being- singly very 

 conspicuous, but not to be mistaken in the aggregate. They 

 are much more globular, the Silphidai being flattened ; the legs 

 and antennas are short, and the mandibles have a single tooth at 

 the base. Like the preceding family, these are small insects, 

 the largest being Anisotoma cmnamoniea, which is shown on 

 Woodcut X. Fig. 3. This Beetle is about one-sixth of an inch 

 in length. In this genus the tarsi of the first and middle pairs 

 of legs have five joints, while those of the hinder pair have but 

 four joints. The club of the antennae has three joints, as may 

 be seen at Fig. g of the same illustration. The structure of 

 the labial palpi is shown at c. The generic title Anisotoma 

 is derived from a Greek word signifying unequal, and has been 

 given to these Beetles in consequence of the inequality of the 

 joints of the front and hind tarsi. 



The specific name cinnamomea refers to the colour of the 

 insect, which is very much like that of cinnamon, with the 

 exception of the club of the antenna, which is black. There 

 are eight punctured striae on each of the elytra. The hinder 

 tibiae are very long and boldly curved in the male, but not in 

 the female insect, which has them small and straight. This 

 Beetle is found chiefly upon the truffle. There are twelve or 

 thirteen species of this genus. 



Another member of this family is shown on Woodcut X. 

 Fig. 4. Its name is Agathidium Icevigatum. 



In this genus the antennae are short, and the club is egg- 

 shaped and composed of three joints. The thorax is large and 

 round, and with overhanging sides, and the body is very globu- 

 lar. All the tarsi have four joints. The present species is smooth 

 shining-black, with the exception of the lateral and posterior 

 margins of the thorax, which are edged with a narrow line of 

 rust-red. The elytra are not striated. Like all the members of 

 the genus, this insect has a habit of rolling itself into a ball 

 when alarmed, so that it looks more like a very small shot than 

 an insect. It inhabits fungi and decaying wood, dead leaves, 

 and similar localities. It can be best obtained by taking up 

 handfuls of dead leaves from under hedges, and shaking them 

 over paper, when the Agathidia will appear like little black 

 beads. 



