530 INSECTA. 



confiiieil to the eastern coantries of Asjn, and parMcularly to America ; Madame Merian says that the harva of 

 the species she fig'ured fi^eds upon the roods of the batatas : the perfect insect is not rare in su:;ar g;round,s. 



[Eschscholtz, Sadovski, and I'ercheron, have recently published niono^raplis of the ^enus Passalus. Mr. Hope 

 has described various new species of Lucunids in the Trans. Zool. Socifty, vol. i., ColeopierlsVs Manual, &c. I 

 have also described some new genera and species in the Annales den Scienccn Xaiardlea, vol. i., and in the Entomol, 

 Magazine, No. 23.] 



Tlie second 2;encral section of the Coleoptcra, named IIeteromera, has five joints in the 

 four anterior tarsi, and one joint liiss in the two hind tarsi. These insects entirely subsist on 

 vegetable substances, and are divided by us into four great families, the two first of which, in 

 respect to certain portions of their internal organization, have some analogy with the first of 

 the ]ientamerous Beetles. Some of the Ileteromera have tlie elytra generally hard, the tarsal 

 claws almost always simple, the head ovoid or oval, capable of being posteriorly received into 

 the thoracic cavity, or sometimes narrowed behind, but never forming a sudden neck at its 

 base: many of then:i avoid the light. This division comprises the three following families, 

 ^ Melasoina, Taxicornes, and Steneli/tra']. 



THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE COLEOPTERA HETEUOMERA,— 



Th p. jMelasoma, — 



Is composed of insects of a black or ashy colour, and unvaried, whence the name of the family ; they 

 are for the most part apterous, with the elytra often soldered together; the antennai entirely or pailiy 

 nioniliform, nearly of equal thickness tbrougliout, or slightly thickened at the tip, inserted beneath 

 the produced margins of the head, and having the third joint generally elongate; the mandibles bifid 

 )r notched at the tip ; and having also a horny tooth at the inner edge of the maxilla: ; all the joints of 

 the tarsi are entire, and the eyes oblong and but slightly elevated, which, according to Marcel de Serres, 

 indicates their nocturnal habits. Tliey Hve for the most part in the ground, beneath stones, or in the 

 sand ; often also in low and dark parts of buildings, such as cellars, stal)les, Sec. 



The adipose tissue of these Ileteromera is so much more abundant than in the following, that even 

 when stuck upon a pin they are aMe to live nearly six months without food, as I ascertained in some 

 specimens of Akis. 



We divide this family, which corresponds with the genns Tenebrio of Linnaeus, from the absence or 

 p-esence of wings. Amongst those which are destitute of these organs, a first tribe, Pime/mru/:', is 

 composed of those which have the palpi subfiliforra, and not terminated by a distinctly liatehct-shj|H-d 

 joint. This tribe is named from the very numerous genus, — 



Fi:melia, Fabi". 



[None of the Rpecies are found in this country.] 



Pimelia proper, cnnjiists of species pecubar to the shores of the Mediterranean, Western and Soutliein Asia 

 (except India), and Afi ira, wliich have the body more or less ovab with the thorax narrower behind than tlie 

 elytra; the front margin of the head straipfht, without a tooth in the middle, or a deep notch for the recejitiun of 

 the antenna; ; the two terminal joints of the antennae distinct, and the mentuni more or less heart-shaped. M. 

 Fischer has divided the species into thn^e g;enera, Ijut tht characters lIo not api>ear to be sulficii-ntly marked. .V 

 very remarkable species. — 



i foro»a^(7, is peculiar to upper Eii^ypt, where it is found in the tombs ; it is aliout an inch and a lialf V>ivx,t 

 bUck, with a row of short spines bent backwards aloiip; the edf^es of the elytra. 



Trachyderma, Latr., consists of Pimehre with a narrower abdomen. 



Cniptochile, Latr,, difl'ers in their shorter form, with tlie mentum concealed by the prostrnmni. They are pe- 

 culiar to the southern extremity of Africa. 



The three following' suhg-enera differ from Pimelia in having; the body short, g-ibbous above, with the thorax 

 short, and as broad behind as the elytra. 



Eiodius, Latr., has tlie last two joints of the antenn.T united into a small club, the body f,^enerally swollen, and 

 the fore tibice with a spur in the middle. 



Zop/iosisy Latr., has the antenna; nearly filiform, or sli^;htly thickening to the tip, with the tenth joint disl.iut 

 from the precedinfi;, and the third scarcely larger than the second. 



Nijcfelia, Latr,, differs from the last in the much si'eater length of the third jnint of the anteniue. The species 

 t'_re from South America, whilst tliose of Erodius and Zophosis are found in the Did World. 



Ilcgeter, Latr. (having" the thorax trapeziform), and 



'J'fiifi/i'la, Latr. (with the head rather broader than the thorax, and antennrc longer than in Akis), are separated 



