ARTICULATA. 153 
large, the mandibles strong, pointed, curved, and toothed, and all the organs 
of manducation and locomotion well developed. They inhabit hot and 
sandy localities and dusty roads, running rapidly, and when disturbed, 
taking wing with great facility, and alighting again at a little distance. 
They are very ferocious, and prey upon other insects. Among the genera, 
Cicindela (pl. 81, figs. 26-29) is the most abundant and the best known. 
Between forty and fifty species of the United States are known, for 
descriptions of which, Say’s paper in the Trans. Am. Phil. Soc., vol. i., 1818 ; 
and that of Dr. J. L. Le Conte in the Annals of the N. Y. Lyceum of 
Nat. Hist., may be consulted. The name Cicindéla (accented on the third 
syllable) is sufficiently well known to prevent names like soldier bug, or 
Spanish fly, from being applied to them. 
Fam. 2. Carabide (pl. 81, jigs. 11-16). This family corresponds very 
nearly to the genus Carabus, as viewed by Linneus. It is allied to the 
preceding, but the terminal tooth of the maxille is hardly ever movable, the 
mandibles have in general the predaceous structure less developed, and the 
head is generally narrower than the prothorax. These Coleoptera are 
predaceous, feeding upon insects, but a few feed also upon vegetable food. 
They are numerous in genera, species, and individuals, and they abound in 
cold and temperate regions. Many of the species are less than an eighth 
of an inch in length. They inhabit fields, where they feed upon larve and 
insects, and they constitute a majority of those found under stones and 
rubbish. They are generally nocturnal, although some, including the 
subulipalpi, are diurnal, with habits much like those of the Cicindelidee. Many 
of the species have a fetid odor, and exude an acrid liquid when disturbed. 
The second stirps, Mydradephaga (Hydrocanthari, Latr.), have the 
posterior and middle feet flattened, and margined with a bristly fringe, 
adapting them for swimming, and the posterior pair is distant from the 
medial feet. The body is oval and depressed, sometimes subglobular, the 
head broad, and the mandibles robust. There is much less variation of 
form, and fewer genera and species among them than appear in the 
Geodephaga ; and the forms from different countries and climates present 
but little variety, even in color. Of the two families, the Dytecidw have 
Jong antenne and short anterior feet, whilst the Gyrinzdw have the antenne 
short and the anterior feet long. The former swim beneath the surface, 
coming up occasionally to breathe, and the latter swim in circles upon it. 
These insects swim with great facility, and prefer lakes, ponds, or standing 
water. Like the Geodephaga, they are predaceous, both in their larva and 
perfect state. They seldom leave the water except to find another locality, 
and then they prefer flying by night. 
Fam. 1. Dyticide. Dyticus (D. marginalis, pl. 81, fig. 17) includes 
certain large species which are destructive to young fish, larvee, and worms. 
They are very hardy, and may be sometimes seen in small pieces of water, » 
when the surrounding parts are covered with ice. In some of the members 
of this family the elytra are smooth in the male and sulcate in the female, 
and in some males the three basal articulations of the anterior tarsi are 
enlarged and furnished with little organs like suckers. 
357 
