Groups of the Bracheli/tra. Q5 



and at which the insects of both groups are of a dilated form : 

 and thus to complete the circle.* 



Whetherthe four remaining Families, yVi.StaphylinUla.', SlcnidcCj 

 Tac/iT/portdce, and Pselaphidce,he perfectly natural ones, I am not 

 prepared to say ; they however certainly appear to me to be so, 

 and I shall here only endeavour to shew the points of connexion 

 between some of the groups. 



Gyllenhall, (Ins. Suec. 2. 372) speaking of the genus Pccderus, 

 which belongs to the Stenidce, ( Lortgipalpes, Lat.) says " la 

 ipso apice articuli tertii palporum anticorum, interdum acumen 

 minutum ob«ervatur, quod forte prajsentiam articuli quarti licet 

 retracti denotat ; quare hac in re, generi pra^cedenti (^Lalhi'obium.') 

 nimis affines sunt Pcpderi" — And Lathrob/um is placed by La- 

 treille in his Section Fissilabres (Staph^linidcp, MacL.) — As to 

 the Pseh/phidcE, Latreille, (Regue Anim. 3. 364) says, they have 

 " une grande aflinite avec les Aleochares." — 



The connexion between the Brachelj/tra (the last and certainly 

 the most aberrant Stirps of the Chilopodomorpha) and the terres- 

 trial Adephaga (the first and normal Stirps of the same tribe) 

 evidently takes place, as Mr. MacLcay has observed, in the Ann. 

 Jav. at the genus Lesteva (A>iihoj)hagus, Gyll.) and I shall add 

 Gyllenhall's remark on this affinity: "Generi Lebce quoad- 

 modo similes et affines sunt hujus Generis (Anthophagi) Species; 

 idcoque familiam prajcedentem (Carabidce) cum praesenti (Bi'ache- 

 lij(ra) coiijunguut" (Ins. Suec. 2, 191.) 



I cannot quit the present subjet*" without directing the atten- 

 tion of British Entomologists, to a circumstance connected with 

 the Brucheljjtra^ which is mentioned in Dallman's work above re- 

 ferred to, and which has I belie i^e never yet been noticed in any 

 English work (See Note 3). And as Dallman's work has not yet 

 found its way into every one's hands, I am sure I need not apolo- 

 logize for quoting the passage. 



* In the genus Elonium no steniitiata are visible, and the consequent affinity 

 to 0.ri/telus, which I regard as the type of the other section, is certainly very 

 obvious — while on the other hand Evtrsthelus does possess stemmata, thus 

 clearly demonstrating its affinity to Omalium. 



Vol. III. E 



