THE BLIND BEETLE. 221 



of a lens, that the little black speck is even an insect, much 

 less whether it be a Beetle or not. The best mode of capturing 

 these Beetles is to take some leaf-mould from under a heap, 

 scatter it thinly on a sheet of white paper, and then go over 

 it carefully with a tolerably powerful lens. 



Owing to the very minute dimensions of these Beetles, the 

 exact definition of the species is a very difficult business, but 

 it is estimated that twelve species are known in this country. 



Passing by one family of this section, we come to the 

 Pselaphidnp, of which remarkable family two examples will be 

 given, each illustrating one of the sub-families. 



In these Beetles the elytra are very short, so short, indeed, 

 that for many years these insects were classed among the 

 Brachelytra. The club of the antennae is bold and well-defined, 

 the last joint being very large. The head is narrowed behind 

 into a distinct neck. 



The first sub-family is called the Pselaphinse, and in them 

 the antennae have eleven joints, and the eyes and parts of the 

 mouth are well developed. The genus Pselaphus, of which 

 there are only two British species, has the antennae, palpi and 

 legs very long. The commonest species, Pselaphus Ileisci, 

 which is represented on Woodcut XXIV. Fig. 4, is shining 

 yellow-brown, has its body very flat and wide, and on each side 

 of the suture of the elytra there is a stria which runs from tlie 

 base to the tip. It can be shaken out of moss, as can its con- 

 gener, Pselaphus Dresdenensis, which may be distinguished 

 by its dark colour and. a semicircular impression at the base of 

 the thorax. 



The last example of the British Beetles is, perhaps, the 

 strangest of all our native insects, and how it can find any 

 gratification in existence is not easy to see. We think that 

 the life of a deaf and dumb man is a hard one, shut out as he 

 is from free intercourse with his fellow creatures, and incapable 

 of enjoying, or even of comprehending, the common blessings 

 of sight and hearing. Yet he is capable of one kind of 

 animal enjoyment, for he can eat, and indeed upon this capa- 

 bility is based the course of instruction by which such afflicted 

 persons have been rescued from their wretched isolation, and 



