21 



Genus VII. BYRRHUS. 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Antenna clavaXed; the club perfoliated. Palpi 

 equal and a little clavated. Maxilla and lip 

 bifid. 



General Observations. 



Linnaeus at first placed these insects with the 

 Dermestides, but afterwards separated them, 

 and formed a distinct genus under the name of 

 Byrrhus. Geoffroy had already established the 

 genus by the name of Cistela, a name which 

 Linnseus rejected, but which Fabricius has 

 since given to insects very different from these. 



The Byrrhi are oval insects, and some of 

 the species are convex, or subglobular,and have 

 the wing covered by a short pile or down; they 

 are met with in fields, road-sides, and other si- 

 milar places. Their wings, which are com- 

 pletely hid under the wing-cases, are rarely 

 used. When touched they draw their head 

 beneath the corselet, contract their antennas and 

 legs, and counterfeit death. 



