286' NATURAL ATIUANGEMKNT OF INSECTS. 



probable that CUnidium, Rhysodes, and Cupes, also as- 

 sociate ; indicating another affinity, in the direction of 

 Brenthus, amongst the Curculios. "\\'ithin this circle, 

 possibly, also, but certainly its most aberrant sub- 

 family, may we place the remarkable PaussidcB, —in- 

 sects that sport with the integrity of all previous sys- 

 tems, and present a problem, as to their relations, never 

 yet satisfactorily solved. Indeed, the small lignivorous 

 and fungivorous genera of coleopterous insects are far 

 from having yet been lucidly investigated, or even an 

 approximation made to their affinities and analogies. 

 The PaussidcB not only exhibit a very heterogeneous 

 structure in their antennae, all the species differing con- 

 siderably inter se in their form ; but they present, like- 

 wise, an extraordinary difference in the number of the 

 joints of these organs, in the several genera of which 

 the sub-family is formed : thus, in Cerapterus there 

 are ten, in Pentaplntarthrus there are six ; in Paussus 

 two, the terminal joint being usually variously swollen 

 and denticulated ; but, as if Nature took here a par- 

 ticular pleasure in extraordinary freaks, we have even 

 one in which this joint is perfectly cylindrical. Their 

 legs present similar anomalies, for some are much com- 

 pressed and dilated, and otliers are likewise cylin- 

 drical. [W. E. Sh.] 



(255.) The Cerambycidte, according to the views 

 already explained, form a family group, in which the 

 front of the head, when viewed in profile, is always 

 more or less vertical. This singular formation, which, 

 as a general character, is found in no other family of 

 the capricorns, is almost essential to the economy which 

 belongs to the whole of this group. Sufficient evi- 

 dence is before us, that the manners of Lamia am- 

 putator, first made known by Guilding, are more or 

 less similar to its numerous congeners : for some pur- 

 pose, which is not yet sufficiently cleared up, these 

 beetles are in the habit of gnawing off the branches of 

 trees; and this is done in such a manner that they 



