100 ' COLEOPTEEA. 



One of the most common kinds of Callidium found here 

 is a flattish, rusty-black beetle, with some downy whitish 

 spots across the middle of the wing-covers ; the thorax is 

 nearly circular, is covered with fine whitish down, and has 

 two elevated polished black points upon it; and the wing- 

 covers are very coarsely punctured. It measures from four 

 tenths to three quarters of an inch in length. This insect is 

 the CalUdium hajulus (Plate II. Fig. 12) ; the second name, 

 meaning a porter, was given to it by Linnaeus, on account 

 of the whitish patch which it bears on its back. It inhabits 

 fir, spruce, and hemlock wood and lumber, and may often 

 be seen on wooden buildings and fences in July and August. 

 We are informed by Kirby and Spence, that the grubs 

 sometimes greatly injure the wood-work of houses in Lon- 

 don, piercing the rafters of the roofs in every direction, and, 

 when arrived at maturity, even penetrating through sheets 

 of lead which covered the place of their exit. One piece of 

 lead, only eight inches long and four broad, contained twelve 

 oval holes made by these insects, and fragments of the lead 

 were found in their stomachs. As this insect is now com- 

 mon in the maritime parts of the United States, it was 

 probably first brought to this country by vessels from Eu- 

 rope. 



The violet Callidium, Callidium violaceum,* ^ (Plate II. 

 Fig. 11,) is of a Prussian blue or violet color ; the thorax is 

 transversely oval, and downy, and sometimes has a greenish 

 tinge ; and the vsdng-covers are rough with thick irregular 

 punctures. Its length varies from four to six tenths of an 

 inch. It may be found in great abundance on piles of pine 

 wood, from the middle of May to the first of June ; and the 

 larvae and pup^ are often met with in splitting the wood. 

 They live mostly just under the bark, where their broad and 

 winding tracks may be traced by the hardened sawdust with 



* Cerawbyx molaceus of Linnseus. 



[ 12 Our species is considered different from the European QilUdium violaceum, 

 under the name C. anfennatum^ Newman. — Leg.] 



