AiTOBIID.E (PTINID^). 



143 



Family 63. ANOBIID.E (PTINIDiE). 



Form very variable, often different in the sexes, globular or 

 cylindrical ; antennce nine- to eleven-jointed ; anterior and middle 

 coxce cylindrical or globose, small, the former slightly prominent : 

 posterior coxce transverse and someivhat variable, not prominent 

 abdomen with five visible ventral segments, of equal length ; elytra 

 covering the abdomen, ivith distinct and sometimes broad epipleurce ; 

 pronotum very short; tarsi five- jointed, with the first joint riot 

 reduced or obsolete (as in the BostrychidjE), sometimes even longer 

 than the second. 



Some authors regard the Ptinio.e and AxoBiiDiE as distinct 

 families, but at present they are best regarded as belonging to one 

 only. Our knowledge of the whole group is exceedingly limited, 

 and, as Sharp remarks, it is probable that we do not know more 

 than the fiftieth part of the existing species, most of which lead 

 lives that render them very difficult to find. Many of the species 

 are very destructive, not only to wood, in which the majority live, 

 but also to farinaceous substances and various kinds of dried 

 provisions, etc. Ftinus fur is injurious to Natural History collec- 

 tions : it is said also to feed on old woollen clothes and appears to 

 be almost omnivorous. Anobium striatum is the " Death Watch " 

 of many authors ; the clicking noise caused by the insect, which 

 has given rise to the superstitions connected with it, and which is 

 produced by other members ot the family, is really a sexual call, 

 and is produced by striking the jaws upon the wood on which the 

 insects are standing*. Some of the larger species of Axobiid^e 

 occasionally do great damage to buildings by honeycombing the 

 rafters, and old roofs are sometimes almost entirely destroyed by 

 themt; some of the smaller species are very destructive to 

 furniture. Anobium paniceum is the chief of the " biscuit- weevils'' 

 so notorious among sailors, although certain species of Calandra 

 are also offenders in attacking biscuits. 



The larvae are small fleshy grubs, with the body curved, and 

 resemble in miniature the larvae of the Lamellicorxia ; the 

 antennae are very short, and the legs short but well marked ; there 

 are no anal appendages or cerci. 



From the nature of their food and habits many of the species 

 have been very widely distributed, and a few are almost 

 cosmopolitan. Between 400 and 500 species are known, but very 

 few have been recorded as yet from India ; representatives of 

 Ftinus, Anobium, and Ptilinus have been found in Ceylon. 



* The question will be found discussed at length in my " Coleoptera of the 

 British Islands," iv, pp. 18(5-7. 



t I have had wood sent me from rafters of Arundel Church, Sussex, almost 

 completely destroyed by Xcstobium tessellatum. 



