STAPHYLINIDiE. 



77 



certain Bledii, are really enemies, and not friends ; they appear 

 to attack the larvae or perfect insect in their small burrows, and 

 then occupy these themselves. 



The pupae of the family are not remarkable in shape, but are well 

 worthy of notice from the fact that some are coated with a sort of 

 exudation which glues the parts together and forms a hard coating, 

 thus "obtecting" the whole, as in the Lepicloptera ; the parts of 



Fig. 35.— Stenus bipunctatus. Larva X 10. (After Schiodte.) 



the insect, however, are always visible, but the fact is a very 

 interesting one as bearing upon the phylogeny of the Coleoptera. 



The habits of the Staphylinid^; are very varied and they are 

 found in all sorts of situations, the greater number of them in 

 dung-hills, decaying vegetable refuse, dead birds and animals, 

 moss, dead leaves, etc. They are, for the most part, carnivorous, 

 but some are vegetable-feeders, a large number being found in 

 fungi or at sap ; some are found in flowers, and many live under 

 bark or in decaying w 7 ood, these being often adapted to their 

 habitat by their flattened form ; others, again, inhabit burrows on 



