MR. A. MURRAY’S MONOGRAPH OF THE FAMILY OF NITIDULARI. 221 
Wings.—The wings are moderately long (about twice the length of the insect) and 
have very few nervures—one or two at the base, and, in most cases, none towards 
the apex of the wing. There appear to be two points which may perhaps be useful ` 
for classification. One of these is whether the wing is entire or bilobed as it were—that 
is, the basal part separated by a narrow cut from the rest of the wing. Fig. 12 repre- 
sents the wing of Amphotis marginata, in which this bilobation is present (letter a); 
a 12. 
Wing of Amphotis m Wing of Ipidia 4-notata. 
and fig. 13 that of Ipidia 4-notata, where it is absent. The bilobed wing seems to be 
more frequent in the Nitidulide proper than in the Strongyline, but it is not confined 
to them. Some of the genera of Nitidulide, notably Ipidia, Lobiopa, Lordites, &c., have 
the wing entire, Meligethes has it bilobed, while in Pria itis entire. I have not met with 
any of the Brachypteride or Carpophilide where it is simple; they seem all to have 
a lobe, usually a small one, at the base of the wing. The other specialty is a distribution 
of the veins somewhat resembling the letter H, as shown at 5 in these figures. This 
seems a more constant character than the previous one, being generally absent in the 
true Strongyline and present in the Nitidulide, but, like the other, it is uncertain and 
not to be depended on. 
Elytra.—Varying greatly in size (especially length) and form— sometimes square or 
oblong, sometimes truncate, sometimes spherically triangular, and sometimes partly 
rhomboidal; sometimes they caver the whole abdomen, at others only a single segment 
of it, with all gradations between these extremes. Combined with the relative proportion 
of the abdomen exposed, they furnish useful characters for classification. 
Abdomen.—The characters drawn from the abdomen are valuable from being easily 
accessible and readily recognizable. It is composed of only five segments (with, in some 
genera, a small additional appendage in the male). On uncovering the back it appears 
to be composed of six segments, or six and the lateral portions of a seventh ; but the sixth 
and seventh are soldered to the metathorax, leaving only five free segments. The whole 
of the five segments are visible on the underside,—a point to be noted, as in some classes 
of Coleoptera the first segment is covered by the metathorax. The segments vary in 
length, and their relative length has been found a useful sectional or subgeneric character. 
The junction of the under with the upper side of the segments is almost always effected 
on the margin or the dorsal side; the under side is turned up and soldered to the upper, 
the turned-up margin being usually raised higher than the dorsal portion of the segment : 
in some genera, as Carpophilus, the suture is close to the margin; in others, as Brachy- 
peplus, distant from it; in others, as Colastus, the last segment or pygidium has the hem 
broad at the base and the other segments narrow. It is also more or less (in Brachypeplus 
entirely) continued along the anterior margin of each dorsal segment, so that if the 
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