13S 



INTEODUCTIOX. 



mentioned : — Dictyoptera, Omnia, Lampyris, Lamprophorus, Luciola, 

 Gantharis, Silis, Icthyurus, Malthinus, and Malthodes. Eugeusis, 

 Doclecatoma, and Pachy tarsus, which have been referred to the 

 Detlim, are peculiar to Ceylon and the Deccan. 



Family 60. MELYRIM. 



Closely allied to the Caxtharid^, under which it is included by 

 some authors, but distinguished by having only six visible ventral 

 segments of the abdomen ; antennae inserted laterally {except in 

 Malachius, in which they are inserted on the front), filiform or 

 serrate ; clypeus separated from the front by a distinct suture ; 

 intermediate coxce contiguous; tarsi five-jointed {anterior pair in 

 the male occasionally four-jointed), claws often furnished, with a 

 membranous appendage beneath. 



This family contains, as at present known, upwards of 1000 

 species, but it has been as yet very little worked and the numbers 

 will probably be very largely increased. Many of the earlier 

 genera have a soft integument, but others such as Vasytes, Zygia, 

 etc. are much harder. They are very variable, Malachius being 

 short and rather broad, while certain species of Doliclwsoma are 

 elongate and very narrow. Malachius, and the allied genera, of 

 which there are a considerable number, are remarkable for 

 having fleshy A-esicles at the sides of the pronotum and of the 

 abdomen, which are capable of extension and contraction. The 

 use of these is not quite obvious ; according to one theory they 

 are balancing organs (in flight), according to another they are 

 scare organs, while some believe that they emit an odour disagree- 

 able to their enemies ; the latter is probably the correct explana- 

 tion. The species are usually found in flowers, but some occur in 

 rotten wood ; they are probably, in most cases, carnivorous, but 

 this is not certain. 



Several larvas of Malachius, Axinotarsus, and Anihplinus, which 

 have been described and figured by Perris, so closely resemble one 

 another that it is difficult to distinguish them, except by size. 

 They are elongate and sublinear, slightly narrowed in front and 

 behind, with rather a long and narrow head, and with hairs and 

 single long setas at the sides of the abdominal segments and on the 

 head and last segment ; the legs are comparatively long ; the head 

 and last segment, which terminates in two chitinous and somewhat 

 hooked processes, are dark, and the ground-colour of the rest of 

 the body is pale or livid rose, with spots or patches on the front 

 parts ; in Hypebceus the processes of the last segment consist of 

 two straight blunt tubercles. The larva of Basytes has the anterior 

 segments rather narrower than the posterior. 



The most curious of the Melteid^e is the abnormally-shaped 

 Myrmecospectra nietneri, which occurs in Ceylon ; it is, however, a 



