444 



COLEOPTERA. 



eleven-jointed antcnnie, which are A'erticillate, with long hairs, 

 are inserted at the margin of tlie front, and the chib is long 

 and loosely articulated. The beetles live under the bark 

 of trees and in ants' nests. The larvai are carnivorous, 

 being very active, without ocelli, and with cylindrical 

 bodies, with four-jointed antennie and long four-jointed 

 legs. Trkliopteryx is known by its pubescent body, 

 and laminate posterior coxa. One species is one-third 

 of a line long ; others are still smaller. The larva 

 of the European T. intermedia Gillmeister (Fig. 3t)l, 

 enlarged) feeds on Poduroe. 



Phalacrid^ Erichson. "A small number of oval or 

 rounded oval, convex, shining insects, constitute this faniilj-. 

 They are found on flowers, and sometimes under bark. The 

 elytra have sometimes approximate roAvs of small punctures, 

 but more usually only a sutural stria. The scutellum is larger 

 than usual, triangular. One of the four genera (Tolyphus) 

 of this family is wanting in our fauna. The other tliree are 

 separated by the form of the posterior tarsi." (Leconte.) In 

 Plialacrus the anterior and posterior tarsi are of the same 

 length. The larvce are vegetable feeders, living in the flowers 

 of composite plants. 



NiTiDULARi^E Latreille. This family includes small oval or 

 elliptical, flattened beetles, which are sometimes almost globu- 

 lar. The head is suddenly narrowed before the insertion of 

 the antennae, thus forming a short beak, and the antennas may 

 ^ be partially retracted into a groove under 



the eyes. The larvae are both carnivorous 

 and vegetable-feeders ; they are elongated, 

 with two to four-jointed anteunte, three ocelli 

 on each side, with a flattened htaxy body, 

 ending in four small, hornj^ recurved tuber- 

 cles. The pupre may be found under the 

 '^' '■ surface of the ground in earth and sawdust. 



Carpopldhis has the second and third abdominal segments 

 short, while the first, fourth and fifth are longer, and the claws 

 are simple. GarpopMlus antiquus Mels. is a well known spe- 



