COLEOPTERA. 517 



the thorax nearly orbicular, imd the spurs of the tibifE of ordinary size. Tlie species are found in Europe, the 

 e(matorial parts of the New World, India, and Australia. [The type, Si/pha Uttoralis, Fabr., is a very common 

 Eii;^lish insect.] 



Others of this subdivision have the body o;'al or ovoid, -witli the head not, or scarcidy, narrowed beliind, and 

 narrower than the thorax:, which is nearly semicircular ; the elytra are rouniled, or slightly emarj^inate at the tipj 

 tlie le;?s scarcely diller in the sexes, and the maxilliehave an inner horny tooth. 



(S/V/j/m. Linn. , has tliebody nearly shield-shaped, depressed, with the thorax semiciixular and the palpi liliform, Tlie 

 majority reside in [and feed upon] carcases, and thus diminish the quantity of obnoxious vapour which they emit. 

 Some creep upon the stems of plants, especially of corn on which small Snails have crawled, in order to devour 

 these animals ; others mount hii-'h trees to feed on Caterpidars. Their larva; are equally active, live in the same 

 manner, and are often found collected in ^;;reat numbers. They bear much resemblance to the perfect insect ; the 

 body is depressed, composed of twelve seg-ments, with the posterior anj^les acute, the extremity of the body being' 

 narrowed, and terminated by two conical apppendages. In the majority of the sj^ecies the two anterior tarsi of the 

 males are alone more dilated than the rest. The species with the extremity of the antenn;i; distinctly perfolialed 

 or with transverse joints, forming- a sudden club, with the elytra notched at the tips, forms Leach's genus Thana- 

 toiihihi.s (S. sinunta, Fab., &c.), wdiilst those with similar antennie, but with the elytra entire, form his genus 

 Oi'x'optoma (type -S. thorar/ca, Linn., of a black colour, with the thorax red, silky, and with three elevated lines ; is 

 chiefly found in woods.) Those species which have the anteunffi perfoliated, but with the club gradually formed, 

 are retained under the generic name of SUpha by Leach. They are generally found in fields, on the borders of 

 paths, &c.: example, Silphah-evigala, Fab.; shining hlack, with the thorax much narrowed in front, and the elytra 

 without elevated lines : S. obscura,\A\iTi., S. reticulata, Linn., &c. In some the terminal joints of the antennae 

 are globular and not perfoliated ; these form the genus Phosphuga of Leach : ex. .S'. afrata, Fab., &c. 



A German species [S. subtcrranea, Ilbg.), having the four anterior tarsi alike dilated at the base in the males, 

 and thehve terminal joints of the antennae forming- a perfoliated club, maybe formed into another subgenus, Nevro- 

 pthilun, Latr. 



Agyrtes, Froehh, has the body thick, convex above, not shield-like, thorax nearly square, and the edge of the 

 elytra not margined. A. caatancus, Gyll. 



Those Clavlcornes which appear to us to approach Agyrtes, both in respect to their characters and 

 habits, but wliick have the mandibles notched or bidentate at the ti}), form the fourth tribe, Scapkidi/es. 

 Their tarsi liave five distinct and entire joints, the body is oval, narrowed at both ends, convex above, 

 thickened in the middle, with the head low, and received posteriorly in a trapezoidal thorax. The 

 antenute are generally as long as the head and thorax, and terminated by an elongated 5-joiuted ma^s ; 

 the legs are long and slender. Except in. the Cholevie, the tarsi are identical in the sexes. This tribe 

 consists of the genus 



SCAPHTDIUM, OliV. 



Sca)ihid'uim proper, has the five terminal joints of the antenna; nearly globular, and forming the club. The 

 maxillary palpi are but little porrected, and termhiate gradually in a point ; the body is navicular, and the elytra 

 truncate. They reside in boleti. Few species are known, one inhabiting Cayenne, the others the north of Europe. 

 [S. quadnmaculatam, a very pretty and rare British species ; black shiny, with four red spots on the elytra.] 



Choleva, Latr., has the club of the antenna? composed of more or less perfoliated joints; the maxillary paipi are 

 much exposed, and suddenly terminated like an awl ; body ovoid, thorax flat ; the four basal joints of the anterior 

 and the basal joint of the intermediate tarsi are dilated as in the males of some species. {Catops Olapoides, Germ) 

 111 Choleva proper, the antennae are about as long as the bead and thorax, the eighth joint is evidently shorter 

 than the preceding and following, and sometimes scarcely distinct, and the last is pointed. In Myltcchus, Latr., 

 Catops, Payk., Gyll., the antenna; are shorter, the eighth joint being longer than the preceding, and the last 

 rounded at the tip. {See the monograph on Choleva, by W. Spence, published in the Transactions of the Li/tnu:an 

 Society of London.) 



The fifth tribe, Nitididaria^, approaches the Silphales in the shield-shaped, margined body, l)ut the 

 mandibles are bifid at the tips, the tarsi appear only -l-jointcd, the basal and following joint in some 

 lieiu'"'- only visible on the under-side ; the penultimate joint iu others is very small, nodose, and hidden 

 between the lobes of the preceding ; the club of the antennae is always perfoliated, and composed of 

 three or two joints, and generally short, or but little elongated. The palpi are short and filiform, the 

 elvtra short and truncated in some species. The habitation of these insects varies according to the species, 

 bein'"'- found iu flowers, boleti, fungi, waste victuals, and under the bark of trees. They form the genus 



NiTIDULA. 



Colobicus, Latr., has the club of the antennw only 2-jointed ; the front of the head is produced like a semicircular 

 clypeus, covering the mandibles and other i>arts of the mouth ; the tarsi appear only i-jointed, the real basal joint 

 being only visible on the under-side. 



AH the other Nittdulaires haye t}\e antennx terming ted by a 3-jointed club, and the front of the head is not pro- 

 duced over the mouth. 



Thiimaliis, Latr., agrees with Colobicus in having the basal joint of the tarsi very short, and the three foUowing 

 h)n"- and entire. In the nearly hemispherical species {T. limbcdus), the club of the antenna? is shorter. 



