204 



Geodephaga.- 



-INSECTS.- 



-Manticoeid^. 



I. Tongue and appendages uuited throughout their whole 

 extent, ...... Pamtgcitlfs.* 



Beautiful insects, especially two fine metallic South 

 American species with fiery elytra, 



II. Tongue partly free. 



Head not widened in front ; body very often pubescent. 



Chltrniides.* 



Another set of insects with fine colours, and a soft 



downy aspect. Head widened in front ; body always 



smooth, ...... Licittidcs* 



In the sixth section the elytra are entire or simply 

 Biniiated at the tip. The fore tarsi are sometimes 

 simple in both sexes, sometimes dilated. The number 

 of the dilated joints, their form and clothing on the 

 under side, are variable. 



I. Mandibles short, or moderate, . . Cnemacaathliles. 



II. Mandibles elongated, Stomuks. 



Placed by Waterhouse in the FeroniidcB close to Broscus. 



In the seventh section the first four joints of the 

 fore tarsi, and often the intermediate, are more or less 

 dilated in the males. They are triangular or heart- 

 shaped. Their garniture on the under side is variable. 



I. Anterior tarsi of the males simply ciliated or spiny 

 beneath, Cratocerides. 



II. The same, furnished with brushes of hairs, Anisodactyluks. 



III. Anterior tarsi of males furnished with scales, Harjmlides. 



There are sixty-four species in Britain placed in the 

 genera ArdsodacUjlus, IHachromus, Harpahis, Stfno- 

 ioplitis, Bradycellus, Trcchus, and Aepus. Before me is 

 TlialassoiMlus Whttci, a rare Madeiran insect, figured 

 and described by T. Vernon WoUaston, Esq. I insert 

 its figure elsewhere. 



In the eighth section the three first joints (rarely the 

 two first) of the fore tarsi are dilated in the males, and 

 almost always furnished with scales below. The inter- 

 mediate tarsi are constantly simple. 



I. The three first joints of the fore tarsi in the males dilated. 



a Tongue and appendages united, . Pseiido-fcroitidcs. 



aa Tongue free at the tip. 



b Mentum very feebly, scarcely notched, Trigoiwtomides. 



hh Mentum, notched in the usual way. 



c Fore tibia more or less robust, and dilated at the end, 



Fcroniiks. 

 There are fifty-one British species in genera Aiuara, 

 Pterosticlms, Broscus, Labrus, &c. 

 cc Fore tibia more or less slender ; anterior tarsi of males 

 furnished with brushes of hairs beneath, Antarc- 

 tiides. 

 Anterior tarsi of males furnished with scales, Ancho- 

 vtcnides. (See Panagmides.) 

 II. The two first joints of fore tarsi dilated in the males, 

 Pogonules. (See CMceniidce.) 



In the ninth and last section the last joint of the 

 palpi is in nearly all very small and slender, and appears 

 as if planted in the end of the preceding joint, which is 

 of considerable size. The elytra are entire, and the 

 tarsi of the males are of variable form, often with the 

 first joint much dilated. Lacordaire divides the section 

 into two tribes. 



I. Last joint of palpi not acicular, , . AncJtmwdcrtdcs. 

 II. Last joint of palpi acicular, . . Btinbidiuks. 



There are fifty three British species in the genera Blemus, 

 Oillcniim, Beinhidium, and Tachgjius. 



This is an enormously large group of insects, much 



* "With Anchomenus placed in one family by Mr. Water- 

 house. ChlmniidcK containing fifty-six species in the genera 

 Panagceus, Lorkera, Lkinus. Badister, CuUistus, Chlfrmus, 

 Oijdes, PijgonuSy Patrobus, Pristunychus, Spliodrus, Calathus, 

 and Tapllria. 



Studied by the Count Dejean, and more recently by Mr. 

 Tatum and the Baron Chaudoir. 



I now proceed to notice a few members of this great 

 section of beetles. 



The Rev. Mr. Dawson has published a valuable 

 work on the British Geodephaga. How desirable that 

 a similar work on the remaining groups slioidd be 

 pul)lished, now that we have a list by Mr. Waterhouse, 

 published in 18G1, it is indispensable as a guide. 



Family— MANTICORID^. 



Platyciiile. — This genus is African ; it is a flat, pale 

 insect, usually placed at the beginning of the Geode- 

 phaga. It is very rare in collections, and must be 

 nocturnal, judging from its colour, or may come from 

 the coast of some seldom visited part of South Africa. 



Manticora. — This genus — fig. 61 — is peculiarly 

 African. The larger species must be formidable 

 opponents to caterpillars and the grubs of insects. 



Fig. 61. 



Three or more good species are figured. Mr. Thomson, 

 in his fine work on Cicindelidce, has figured several 

 species. 



OltDS. — The genus is indigenous to the west coast of 

 America, California, and Vancouver's Island. I have 

 seen many specimens of a species of this genus from the 

 latter locality. 



Megacepiiala. — Tills is an extensive genus, or 

 rather group, allied to the Tiger beetles, and resembling 

 them closely in habit. The body is much more robust, 

 the head and thorax are broader and stronger, the 

 upper lip is short and transverse, and the mandibles 

 are stronger, which shows that they prey upon larger 

 insects, and require greater force to tear their food in 

 pieces; the antennae are longer, more tapering, and 

 the legs more robust than in the other Tiger beetles. 

 Mr. Bates, who collected so assiduously on the hanks 

 of the Amazon from the sea to Ega, and beyond it, 

 and who spent eleven years making researches on the 

 entomology of that fine tropical region, took eleven 

 species. He describes them as being all natives of 

 sandy soils in exposed situations, as he never met with 

 a specimen in the shades of the moist forests, which 

 cover nearly the whole surface of the country. They 

 appear to be all nocturnal in their habits. During the 

 day they are concealed several inches deep in burrows 

 in the sand. Although possessed of wings, he never 

 observed any one make use of them ; but he adds. 

 " their powers of running exceed anything I have ever 

 observed in locomotion ; they run in a serpentine course 

 over the smooth sand, and when closely pursued in 

 endeavouring to seize them, they are apt to turn sud- 

 denly back, and thus baffle the most practised hand 



