338 MANDIBULATA. — COLEOPXERA. 



Genus CCLVI. — Anobium, Fabricius. 



Antenna subfiliform, distant at the base, with the three terminal joints a little 

 . incrassated and suddenly elongated, the two basal of which are somewhat 

 obconic, and the apical one oval. Palpi clavate: head short, retractile: 

 thorax short, gibbous, the sides margined : scutellum short, rounded : body 

 ovate-cylindric, rounded anteriorly and posteriorly : elytra embracing the ab- 

 domen : legs simple ; tarsi composed of short articulations. 



The Anobia may be known by their cylindric form and subfili- 

 form antenna?, the three terminal joints of which are suddenly very 

 much longer and stouter than the foregoing ; in which point they 

 somewhat agree with Choragus and Cis, but their tarsi, although 

 short, are evidently pentamerous. 



Their larvae are very destructive to furniture, particularly to such 

 articles as are made of soft wood, perforating and riddling it in all 

 directions, forming little round deep holes : they are white, soft, 

 elongate, with six short legs ; the head is scaly and terminated by 

 two very powerful mandibles, by which they reduce the wood to an 

 almost impalpable powder, within which they change to pupa?, in 

 a soft silken cocoon : — some however attack hard bread or biscuit, 

 or the dried remains of animals, as skins and insects in collections. 



Some of the species, when in search of a mate, are remarkable 

 for the singular noise they make, which distantly resembles the 

 faint ticking of a watch — thence called " death watches" and the 

 origin of many superstitious notions. 



A. With the elytra striated. 



Sp. 1' castaneum. Fusco-castaneum, pubescens, oculis 7iigris, thorace antice 

 transverslm impresso, elytris profundi crenato-striatis. (Long. corp. 2 — 2f 

 lin.) 



An. castaneum. Fabricius. — Steph. Catal. 141. No. 1426. 



Fuscous, inclining to castaneous, pubescent : eyes black, thorax rugose-punctate, 

 with a transverse impression within the anterior margin, the disc rather densely 

 pubescent : elytra rather more castaneous than the head and thorax, deeply 

 crenate-striate, with the interstices slightly elevated and finely punctulated ; 

 antennae and legs ferruginous ; the latter fuscescent. 



Extremely variable in size, and slightly so in colour. 



Not very common, in whitethorn hedges, within the metropolitan 



