CYPHONIDiE.— SC1RTES. 281 



females sometimes are entirely livid above, with the abdomen alone dusky, 

 or have the head and thorax dusky, but the legs are always paler. 

 My experience proves incontestably that the sexes above described are legiti- 

 mately united, for similar reasons to those mentioned under the last-described 

 insect: (Campylus linearis.) 



Extremely abundant in hedges in the vicinity of Darenth and 

 Birch woods, and not uncommon in Coombe and Beer woods near 

 Dover: also occasionally about Hertford: I have usually found it 

 attached to chalky districts. " North Wales, abundantly in July." 

 Rev. F. W. Hope. " Samlsfield."— T. C. Heysliam, Esq. « Fros- 

 tenden, Suffolk, and Marsden, near Newcastle." — W. C. Hexoitson, 

 Esq. " In profusion on the Downs near Brighton, especially on 

 thistles, in May, 1826." — S. Saunders, Esq. " Scarborough." — 

 W. Bean, Esq. 



Family XXXV.— CYPHONIDIE mihi. 



Antenna filiform, simple, sometimes slightly serrated, with the second and 

 third joints generally shortest: mandibles concealed beneath the lahrum : the 

 labial palpi bifurcate : head very small : body ovate, or hemispheric, rather 

 soft: elytra flexible, as long as the abdomen: thorax very short, transverse, 

 narrowed and rounded in front and on the sides : legs short : femora some- 

 times incrassated: tarsi five-jointed ; the penultimate joint bifid. 



The Cyphonidse are insects of small size and plain colours: 

 they differ from the Cebrionidee by having the labial palpi bifurcate, 

 the body ovate or rounded, soft, and not greatly convex : they are 

 attached to damp and marshy situations amongst herbage; fly and 

 run with rapidity. 



Two genera only have hitherto been formed out of the indi- 

 genous species, distinguished by the magnitude of the hinder 

 femora. 



C valde incrassata : . ... 234. Scirtes. 



Femora postica-K 



fgracilia: . . ... 235. Cyphon. 



Genus CCXXXIV.— Scirtes, Illlger. 



Antennae short, about half as long as the body, slender, filiform ; the basal joint 

 short, robust; the second and third very short, the former subglobose, the 



u 2 



