In economy this little group differs from the rest of the Cie- 

 ridee, all of them undergoing their metamorphoses in wood ; 

 but the Necrobiae live on dead animals, dried skins and old 

 bones ; they walk slowly, but fly rather swiftly. 

 Three species are found in this country. 



1. N. rufipes Fab.—Oliv. v. 4. No. 16 his, tab. l.f. 2. 

 Shining, pubescent, bright blue, head and thorax greenish, 



coarsely punctured, elytra rugose with punctures, having also 

 8 or 9 lines of punctures on each, the spaces between them 

 pubescent: antennae and legs bright ferruginous, the 6 ter- 

 minal joints of the former black; irophi brown, palpi ferru- 

 ginous ; eyes black. 



The geographical range of this insect is very extensive ; it 

 is found in the South of France and in Africa, even to the 

 Cape of Good Hope : my specimens from Senegal, however, 

 are larger than our English ones, and the punctured striae on 

 the elytra are more evident. It is rare in Britain, but has 

 been found by Mr. J. E. Gray in November near Copenhagen 

 Fields. 



2. N. ruficollis Fab.— Curt. Brit. Ent. pi. 350.—Oliv. tab. 1 ./ 3. 

 Also inhabits Africa, and even the East Indies. It is found 



here in May and the beginning of July. 



3. N. Quadra Marsh. 323. 4.— violaceus Gj/ll. 3. 376. 

 Shining pubescent, bright cyaneous; head and thorax 



greenish, thickly punctured, the latter with a smooth shining 

 line down the back : elytra finely punctured, with 8 or 9 rows 

 of large and deep punctures on each : antennae and legs dull 

 black, coxae piceous, underside of tarsi ochreous. 



This insect is at once distinguished from Corynetes violaceus, 

 with which it is so often confounded, by the greater size of the 

 terminal joint of the antennae, and by its 4-jointed tarsi. It is 

 also broader in proportion to its length, of a deeper blue ; the 

 thorax is more regularly, and the elytra are more deeply punc- 

 tured; the latter are also more pubescent, and have only a 

 very slight transverse impression below the base. 



I have found this beetle in Norfolk in April and May, al- 

 ways amongst old bones. 



The plant is Silene atiglica (English Catchfly), communi- 

 cated from the neighbourhood of Heron Court by the Hon. 

 C. A. Harris. 



