BEETLES. 



377 



of perforate stigmata. Pupation takes place beneath the flat oval shell of the 

 larva. 



In Psephenns the abdomen has more than five ventral segments. P. lecontei has 

 a wide distribution over the eastern. United States. Mr. H. G. Hubbard writes of 

 this species : " The males and unimpregnated females are very active, and in the heat 

 of the day collect upon stones in mid-stream, which barely break the surface of the 

 s»-)ag.. water, and are occasionally washed by a ripple. Over these stones they 



run in ceaseless activity, chasing each other like flies at play, and making 

 occasional short flights over the surface of the water, but never plunging 

 beneath it, nor suffering themselves to be submerged even for an instant. 

 They are at such times exceedingly wary, and, unless approached very 

 cautiously, they vanish before the observer can get near enough to use 

 Fig. 438. — Pse- his net. They leave the stone with a flight so swift that it cannot be 

 p emus econ ei. ^qHq-^q^^ with the eye, but they will invariably be found all together and 

 at play upon another stone at no great distance. The gravid females are found in July 

 or August engaged in laying their eggs on the underside of submerged stones in shallow 

 brooks. When so engaged they are very sluggish, and never attempt to escape. The 

 eggs are of a bright orange color, and are deposited in irregular clusters." The larva 

 of this species, which is very abundant in some streams, is especially common in the 

 rapids above Magara Falls. This larva was originally described as a crustacean 

 under the generic name of Fluvicola. 



Elmis has only five ventral segments and rounded anterior coxae. JE. condiment- 

 arius is said to be used in Peru for flavoring food. 



rtS' 



Fig. 439. — a, Anthrenus muscBorum,- 6, Ptinus fur (see page 356); c, Attagerats pelllo i d, Dermestes lardarws. 



The Deemestid^ are small oval or elongate beetles, some of which are the most 

 troublesome insects of houses and storerooms. Systematically they are recognized, 

 according to Le Conte and Horn, by their having the dorsal segments of the abdomen 

 partly membranous, the ventral segments free, the mentum moderate or small, the 

 palpi approximate at the base, the posterior coxae not prominent, the antennae 

 moderate in length and capitate, the body usually scaly or pubescent. Most of the 



