ON THE CLAVICOllNES. 419 



trenchant. They have six scaly feet, very short, attached to 

 the first three rings of the body. When arrived at their full 

 growth they sink into the earth, to the depth of more than a 

 foot, form for themselves a sort of oval box, which they 

 invest with a kind of gluey substance to consolidate its pa- 

 rietes, and there they become changed into the nymph-state. 

 The perfect insect comes out at the end of three or four 

 weeks. 



The Necrodes are closely allied to the last sub-genus, and 

 present nothing worthy of remark here. 



Passing over the intervening divisions, which present 

 nothing worthy of remark, we come to the genus Nitidula, 

 a name derived from nitidus (shining), and given to these 

 insects by Fabricius, for no very assignable cause. It is but 

 little suited to them in reference to their external forms, but 

 M. Latreille has retained it in consequence of the generality 

 of its adoption. 



The Nitidulae differ from Silpha in their bifid mandibles, 

 and toothless jaws ; from Dermestes in the same mandibles, 

 the antennas, the figure and proportions of the articulations 

 of the tarsi, and the general form of the body. They ap- 

 proximate more to the peltis of Fabricius, to Colobicus, to 

 Byturus, and to Cercus. 



The nitidulffi are found in carcases, or dried animal sub- 

 stances, under the rotten bark of old trees, in mushrooms, and 

 even upon flowers. The species which frequent flowers fly 

 more frequently than those which are found on carcases, or 

 under the bark of trees. The sombre, obscure, or at all 

 events not very brilliant colours of the great majority of the 

 nitidulse, contrast a little with the generic name which they 

 have received. Yet we cannot help thinking, notwithstanding 

 its unsuitableness, that its retention was more judicious than 

 the substitution of another, which, without addino- to our 

 knowledge, always tends to increase a confusion in nomen- 



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