FAMILY ENGIDJE. 59 



Engidaa. 



The insects of this family are allied to the Nitidulid;e and Dermestid.sc : from the former, 

 they differ by their elongate form and simple tarsi ; and from the latter, by their highly 

 polished bodies, and more developed form of their mandibles (Westwood). 



The Engid.e subsist upon wood in a state of decay, or upon fungi, in some species of 

 which many individuals may lie found. I procured a large number of individuals belonging 

 to this family, in the gelatinous sap which was slowly oozing from a wound in the trunk 

 of a yellow birch : they are also found under the bark of trees, and never feed upon living 

 or dead animal matters. 



The anatomical characters, as given for the Engidje proper, are : Antenna short, cla- 

 vate, ten- or eleven-jointed ; maxillary palpi equalling the lobes of the maxillse ; labium 

 advanced in front of the mentum ; labium transverse ; mandibles bifid at the tip ; tarsi 

 in some four-jointed, in others five. 



Genus ENGIS (Latr.). 



• Body long ovate, subconvex ; tarsi five-jointed, the fourth joint short ; maxillse bilobed ; 

 ' elub of the antennae short, broad, flattened, three-jointed ' (Westwood). 



Engis fasciata. ( Plate xxiii, fig. 2.) 



Thorax black : elytra brick-red, traversed by a broad black belt ; posterior extremity 

 black ; inner angles of the elytra black, terminating in a partial crossbar. The pro- 

 portion of black and red upon the elytra is nearly equal. 

 These insects inhabit fungi, or decaying wood under the bark of trees : they are not, 

 however, specially injurious to trees. 



Genus IPS (Herbst). 



The body is oblong and subdepressed ; tibia broad and serrated ; tarsi five-jointed ; lobe 

 of the maxilla broad. 



Ips fasciatus. ( Plate xxiii, fig- 4.) 



Body oblong, subdepressed ; thorax and head black ; elytra black, with two yellow an- 

 gular spots upon each ; legs short ; tibia broad, subserrated ; tarsi pilose. Length 

 two- tenths of an inch. 



Ips sanguinolenta. ( Plate xxiii, fig. 3.) 



Head and thorax black : elytra yellow, with a single round black spot near the middle ; 

 terminal extremity black ; outer and anterior angles black. Insect shining. 



