404 INSECTA. 



This tribe is composed of the genus 



HoEiA, Fab. 

 These Insects inhabit the intra-tropical countries of South America and of 

 the East Indies. 



The sixth and last tribe, that of the Cantiiakidi^, is distinguished 

 from the preceding one by the hooks of the tarsi, which are deeply 

 cleft, and seem to be double. The head is usually large, wider, 

 and rounded posteriorly. The thorax is commonly narrowed be- 

 hind, and approaches the form of a truncated heart; in others it is 

 almost orbicular. The elytra are frequently somewhat inclined la- 

 terally, or tectiform, flattened, and rounded. These Insects simu- 

 late death when they are seized, and several, thus situated, produce 

 a caustic yellowish liquid of a penetrating odour, from the articula- 

 tions of their feet; the organs which secrete it have not yet been 

 detected. 



Various species — Meloes, Mylabres, Cantharides — are employed 

 externally as epispastics. This tribe is formed of the genus 



Meloe, Lin. 

 Which has been divided into several others. 



In Meloe properly so called, the antennse are composed of short and 

 rounded joints, the intermediate of which are the largest, and sometimes 

 so disposed, that these organs present in this point, in several males, an 

 emargination or crescent. The wings are wanting, and the elytra, oval 

 or triangular, with a portion of the inner margin crossing each other, only 

 partially cover the abdomen, particularly in the females, where it is ex- 

 tremely voluminous. 



They crawl along the ground, or upon low plants on the leaves of which 

 they feed. A yellowish or reddish oleaginous liquid exudes from the articu- 

 lations oftheu'legs. 



In some districts of Spain, these Insects are used in place of Cantharides, 

 or are mixed with them. They are also employed by the Farriers. They 

 were formerly regarded as a specific in hydrophobia. I suspect that our 

 Meloes are the Buprestes of the ancients, Insects to which they attributed 

 very noxious qualities, and which, according to them, killed tlie Oxen that 

 accidentally swallowed them while grazing. 



Among the divisions of this genus the most noted is the 



Canthahis, Geoff. Ohv. — Meloe, Lin. — Lytta, Fab. 

 All the joints of the tarsi entire, and the thorax almost ovoid, slightly 

 elongated, narrowed anteriorly and truncated posteriorly, by which this 



