STAPHYLINIDAE SPHAERIIDAE TRICHOPTERYGIDAE 227 



remarkable Staphyliiiidae yet discovered are some viviparous 

 species, forming the genera Corutuca and Spiraclitha, tliat liave 

 very swollen abdomens, and live in the nests of Termites in 

 Brazil : -^ very little is, however, known about them. A very 

 large and powerful Staphylinid, Vdlcias dilaiatus, lives only in 

 the nests of hornets and wasps. It has been supposed to be a 

 defender of the Hymenoptera, but the recent observations of 

 Janet and Wasmann make it clear that this is not the case : tlie 

 Veil c ins has the power of making itself disagreeable to the 

 hornets by some odour, and they do not seriously attack it. The 

 Vdleivs finds its nutriment in larvae or 

 pupae of the wasps that have fallen from 

 their cells, or in other organic refuse. 



The larvae of Staphylinidae are very 

 similar to those of Carabidae, but their 

 legs are less perfect, and are terminated 

 only by a single claw ; there is no dis- 

 tinct labrum. The pupae of some are 

 obtected, i.e. covered by a secondary exu.- 

 dation that glues all the appendages 

 together, aird forms a hard coat, as in 

 Lepidoptera. We have about 800 species 



of Staphylinidae in Britain, and it is prob- xrClinTIIlTJTDr* 

 able that the family will prove one of the <"■ ^ ^^ 



most extensive of the Order. It is prob- 

 able that one hundred thousand species 

 or even more are at present in existence. 



Fam. 20. Sphaeriidae. — Very 

 minute. Antennae eleven-jointed, cluhhecl. 

 Tarsi three-jointed. Abdomen with only 

 three visible ventral segments. This family 

 includes only three or four species of In- 

 sects about g\j- of an inch long. They are ^^'^'^^^^^^^^^ 

 very convex, and may be found walking une of 

 on mud. S. acaroides occurs in our fens. 

 Mr. Matthews considers that they are 

 most nearly allied to Hydrophilidae.^ 



Fam. 21. Trichopterygidae. — Extremely minute: antennae 



106. — Triclwpteryx fasci- 

 Britain. A, Out- 

 perfect Insect ; B, 

 pai-t of upper surface ; C, 

 larva from side ; D, from 

 above ; E, pupa ; F, wiug ; 

 Gr, natural size of imago. 



1 Solnodte, Ann. Sci. Nat. Zool. (4) v. 1857, p. 169. 

 2 Biol. Gentr. Amer. Gol. ii. pt. i. 1888, p. 156. 



