COLEOPTERA. 567 



tarsi are simple, and the penultimat'e at least is slightly bifid, 

 which, with some other characters, distinguishes these Insects 

 from the Fungicolse. 



Here, the body is more or less thick, and never much flattened in 

 the manner of a shield; the thorax is transversal^ the head is exposed; 

 the antennae consist of eleven distinct joints, the last of which form 

 an obconical club. 



These Insects compose the genus 



COCCINELLA. 



LiTHOPHiLus, Frohl. 



Where the body is ovoid, the thorax strongly recurved laterally 

 and narrowed posteriorly, and the penultimate joint of the tarsi, as 

 well as the preceding one, is very slightly bifid(l). In 



CocciNELLA, Lin. Geoff. Fab. Oliv. 



Or Coccinella proper, the body is almost hemispherical, the tho- 

 rax very short, almost lunate, the margin not recurved or but very 

 slightly, and the penultimate joint of the tarsi profoundly bilobate. 

 Various species of this genus are extremely common on the 

 trees and plants of our gardens, and frequently in our houses; 

 they are known by the names of the Scarabees hemispheriques or 

 Tortues, Bete a Dieu, Vache a Dieu, Cow-bug, Lady-hug, &c. 

 The figure of these Insects, which is frequently hemispherical, 

 the number and arrangement of the spots on their elytra, that 

 form a sort of mosaick on a fulvous, yellow or black ground, 

 together with the vivacity of their motions, render them easily 

 distinguishable. They are among the first that appear in spring. 

 When seized, they fold their legs against their body, and like 

 the Chrysomelae, Galerucae, &c. expel a yellow mucilaginous 

 humour of a penetrating and disagreeable odour, from the arti- 

 culation of the thighs with the tibiae. They feed on Aphides, 

 their larvse, which in form and their metamorphoses greatly 

 resemble those of the Chrysomelae, employing the same aliment. 

 According to the observations of M. Leon Dufour, they are 

 provided with salivary vessels. 



(1) Lithophilus ruficollis, Dahl, Catal., p. 44; Tritoma connatum, Fab. This 

 genus would perhaps be placed more naturally near Triplex, Fab. ; but in the an- 

 tennse it also approaches the Coccinella:. Count Dejean arranges it among the 

 Heteromera. 



