ARTICULATA. 155 
plants. The families, according to Westwood, are: 1, Scaphidiide ; 2, Sil- 
phide (pl. 81, fig. 104); 8, Nitidulide ( fig. 102) ; 4, Engida ; 5, Pausside ; 
6, Mycetophagide; 7, Dermestide. Stephens places the Hrotylide here 
also, but with the exception of the tarsi, their affinities are with the Z7imera. 
In rare cases in the Dycetophagida, the tarsi are tetramerous and 
heteromerous. 
In the Silphide the body is depressed, the antenne clavate, with eleven 
articulations of which the terminal four or five form the head. The genus 
Necrophorus (pl. 81, figs. 105, 106) is remarkable for finding the carcases 
of small animals soon after death, burying them by working the earth from 
beneath them, and afterwards covering them. The female deposits her 
eggs in these buried carcases. 
The larve of the Dermestide destroy animal matter, especially dried 
skins. Dermestes lardarius is well known, from its attacks upon stores of 
beef and pork; and Anthrenus is very destructive to the various animal 
objects preserved in museums. In their perfect state, the Anthreni are 
found upon flowers. 
The Brachelytra (pl. 81, jigs. 4-6) form the third stirps of the sub-tribe 
Lypophaga, and are distinguished by the elongated form of the body and 
the shortness of the elytra (which seldom cover half the abdomen), and 
beneath which the wings are closely folded. The antennz are generally 
slightly thickened towards the apex, the mandibles are robust and seldom 
exserted, and the abdomem is flexible, and often raised over the back in 
running. They run and fly with great facility, and in their habits are 
allied both to the Carabide and to the other ypophaga. They live about 
dead animal and vegetable matter, or in damp localities, and some of them 
eat larvee and other living food. The habits of the adult and larvee are the 
same, and they do not differ much from each other, which indicates a low 
position in the living scale.. According to Westwood, this group should be 
considered a family under the name of Staphylinide, although it is usually 
divided into a number of so-called families. Most of the species are small, 
and require a good microscope and a good manipulation to study them 
properly. Westwood states the sub-families to be the six following: 1, 
Staphylinides ; 2, Stenides ; 3, Oxytelides ; 4, Omaliides ; 5, Tachyporides ; 
6, Pselaphides. In the last group there are only three articulations to the 
tarsi, one of which is so small as to have been at first overlooked, so that 
they were considered dimerous, and formed into a primary section named 
Dimera. They are from two to four millimetres long, and are found under 
stones, in meadows, and in ants’ nests. Dr. J. L. Le Conte has published 
an interesting memoir on the North American species. 
The Cordylocerata of Westwood constitute the third sub-tribe of the 
Pentamera, and include the stirpes Clavicornia and Lamellicornia. The 
stirps [elocera, the name of which is adopted from Duméril by Stephens, is 
named Clavicornia by Westwood, a term under which Latreille included 
the Weerophaga. 
The Clavicornia have the body short, sub-globular or sub-quadrate, 
the antennse clubbed, the basal articulation often forming half the entire 
359 
