THE NECYDALIN.E. 295 



them a peculiarly inquisitive appearance. They are 

 usually very agile, and frequently gaily coloured : this 

 is conspicuous in Leptura, Toxotus, and Strangalia; 

 whereas in Rfiamnusium, Rhagium, and Cometes, the 

 legs are short and their gait is heavy. They are fre- 

 quently found upon flowers and the trunks of trees, 

 and many species are natives of this country. The 

 other sub-families are noticed below. Q(263 — 265.) 

 W.E. Sh.] 



(266.) On the sub-family A^ec?/rfa/m« we shall venture 

 more at large. After our first theoretical arrangement of 

 the Capricornes, we selected this group for minute ana- 

 lysis, with the object of ascertaining how far the result 

 would demonstrate the accuracy of our general distri- 

 bution of the whole tribe. As we have already ex- 

 plained the distinguishing characters of this group, it 

 will be only necessary to impress upon the reader its 

 true typical perfection. The Necydalince represent 

 the Malacodermes, or soft- winged beetles, in the family 

 of floral Capricornes, precisely the same as do the Sta- 

 phylinidcB in the tribe of Predatores, — with which, in 

 fact, it is naturally analogous. Now, the great peculi- 

 arity of the Malacodermes and the Staphylinidce is this, 

 — that the elytra are soft, and much less developed than 

 in any other type : hence it follows that, as the Necy- 

 dalina represent these two groups, those forms which 

 have the most imperfect elytra become the most typical. 

 They are, in short, pre-eminently imperfect in that 

 particular structure, which distinguishes the Coleoptera. 

 The genus Necydalis of Linnaeus- accordingly stands at 

 the head of this sub-family, because, of all those forms 

 which compose it, these have the shortest and the most 

 imperfect elytra. 



(267O '^^^ general aspect of these insects, particularly 

 when alive, and running upon flowers, so closely re- 

 sembles that of the hymenopterous sand-flies (^Sphecida) 

 that even an entomologist is often deceived at the first 

 glance. The wing-cases are so short that the true wings 

 are exposed ; and these, unlike most other beetles, have 



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