INSECTA. 681 



having been recently published especially devoted to tnis great tribe of insects. Of these, the most important are 

 the volumes devoted to the Lamellicornes, inMulsant's Histoire Naturelle dcs Coleoptercs de France, and Dr. Bur- 

 meister's llandbuch dor Entomologie, Vols. Ill, IV", and V. Mulsant adopts the two groups of Scarabai'ides or 

 Petalocerides, and Lucanides or Priocerides, and divides the former into eight families, from the structure of the 

 perfect insect and larva, namely— the Copriens, Aphodicns, Trogidiena, Geotrupins, Oryctesiens, Calicnemiens, 

 Melonthens, and Cetoniens. These families are chiefly characterized by the position of the legs, the exposed or 

 concealed scutellum and terminal segment of the body ; the texture and position of the mandibles ; form of the 

 presternum and number of joints in the antennm. A more interesting plan of distribution of the Lamellicornes 

 derived from the habits of the insects, is also given by Mulsant as follows : — 



1. Coprophages, feeding upon excreraentitious or stercorarious matters. 



a. Copromorges, deriving their subsistence from the more succulent portions of excremcntitious 



matters. {Copriens, Aphodiens.) 

 6 Xerophages, feeding on dry animal or partially decomposed vegetable matter. (TrogidiensJ 

 0. Coprophages, devoui'ing excreraentitious matters. (Geotrupins.) 



2. Saprophagcs, feeding upon decomposed vegetable matters, (Orycttsicns.) 



3. PhjUophages, devouring leaves, divided into 



a. Phytobies, feeding chiefly upon decomposed vegetables (Calicnemiens.) 



h. Phyllophages, leaf-eaters. (Melolonthins.) 



c. Anthohies, feeding upon the petals of flowers. (nopliLe.) 



4. Melitopliiles, feeding on the honey of flowers, divided into 



a. Dcndrohies, generally residing upon trees. -i 



&. Melitophiles, generally feeding upon the honey of flowers, j -^"^ "^ "^"^• 

 Dr. Burmeister's plan of arrangement differs from that of any of his predecessors, by the introduction of the 

 Lucanides into the midst of the other Lamellicornes, and by reversing the order of the groups. His plan of dis- 

 tribution, given in Vol. Ill of his Handbueh der Entomologie, is as follows :— * 



1. Thalerophaga, divided into a Melitophila, h Antbobia, o Phyllophaga. 



2. Saprophaga, divided into 



A. d Xjlophila ; e Pectinicornia ; and/ Arenicolx. 



B. g Stercoricolse, h Coprophaga. 



Many excellent remarks upon and descriptions of new species of the Lamellicornia will be found in Mr. 

 Ilope's Coleopterist's Manual, and in the text of Guerin's Iconographie du Regne Animal. 



The typical Coprophaga with the middle legs wider apart than the rest (p. 622), have been revised by Reiehe in 

 the Annals of the French Entomological Society, and various additions thereto made by myself in the Transac- 

 tions of the Zoological and Entomological Societies of London ; in which I have alao described various species 

 from New Holland. Others from the same country have also been described by Hope (Proc. Ent. Soc), and 

 by Erichson in Wiegmann's Archives. 



The Phanaii have been divided by Klug into thirteen groups, in the Proceedings of the Berlin Academy in lS-11. 

 The same author has described various African Ateuchi in his splendid Syrabolx Physics. 



The Coprophagi, with the legs inserted at equal distances apart, have been carefully investigated by Mulsant in 

 his work on the Coleoptera of France, by whom the family Aphodiidx is divided as follows : — 

 lat Branch, Aphodiaires. Divided into three groups : — 



A. The Aphodiates composed of ten genera. 1. Colobopteras (A. erraticus) ; 2. Coprimorphus (A. 



scrutator) ; 3. Eupleurus (A. subterraneus) ; 4. Otopbonis (A. hsemorrhordalis) ; 5. Teuchestes 

 (A. Fossor) ; 6. Aphodius (A. scybalarius, and thirty-four other species, including a great number 

 of named varieties) ; 7. Acrossus (A. njfipes Linn, and four other species) ; 8. Melinopterus (A. prod- 

 romus, contaminatus, and two other species) ; 9. Trichonotus (A. scropha) ; 10. lleptaulucus 

 (A. sus and two other species.) 



B. The Ammteciates, comprising the genus 11, Ammiscius (A. elevatus). 



C. The Pleurophorates composed of five genera, 12. Plagiogonus (A arenarius) 13. Oxyomus (A, 



porcatus) ; 14. Platytomus (A. sabulosus, new species) ; 15. Pleurophorus {A. ca-sus) ; 16. Rhyssc- 

 mus (A. asper and one new species.) 

 2nd Branch, Psammodifiires containing the two genera Diastictus (A. sabuleti) and Psammodius (A. sulei- 

 collis and another species). 

 The genera Euparia, Ryparus, Cha?topisthes, and Corythoderus are singular exotic genera alhed to Aphodins, 

 described by myself in the Trans. Ent. Soc, Vol. IV., and by Dr. Klug in the Symbol:^ Fhysicte. 



The Arenicoli (p. 523), with exserted mandibles and ten-jointed antenna?, have been revised by myself in the 

 Transactions of the Entomological Society, in which many new genera are described. A beautiful mongraph of 

 the Athyrei and Bolbocerata has been published by Dr. Klug in the BerUn Transactions, and a number of addi- 

 tional species by myself in a paper read before the Linniean Society. All the species are exotic, and of great 

 variety and singular foiTns. The Acanthoceri have also been monogi-apbed by Germar in his Zeitschrift. 



Ma'chidius (p. 524), placed in the Trogidas by M'Leay, belongs to the Melolonthids and Cryptodus (p, 524), 

 which 'Mr. M'Leay gave in his paper on the Cetoniid;e of Southern Africa as the type of the Cremastocbeilide.?, 



"■' This distribution has been modified in his Fiftli Volume so as tu unite the Xylojihila with the Thaleropha<^a, 

 (under the new name Phaneropyga), leaving the four remaining families uf the Saprophaga together, under the 

 new name of Stegopyga. 



