EL.lTEItlDiE. 



153 



! " The EuonemiNvt; are chiefly remarkable for their larvae, which 

 are legless ; they have been supposed to be carnivorous, but this 

 is certainly not the case, as it is difficult to find any mouth-opening 

 at all in some of them. They probably 

 live on the juices of the decayed wood 

 in which they are found. The larva of 

 Eucnemis capucina possesses no rudiments 

 of legs and no ocelli, and the mouth, 

 palpi, and antennae are rudimentary and 

 scarcely traceable ; the head is armed on 

 its front margin with very hard saw-like 

 teeth with which it probably makes its 

 burrow in the soft wood in which it 

 lives. 



The Elaterin.e are, for the most part, 

 sombre-coloured insects, but some are 

 conspicuous for their brilliant red or 

 (more rarely) metallic coloration. The 

 most remarkable members of the group, 

 which have been known and commented 

 upon for centuries, are the so-called 

 " fire-flies " which belong to the genus 

 Pyrophorus. These are, apparently, con- 

 fined to tropical America and are not 

 found in the Old "World. 



The larvae of the Elaterin^ are well 

 known as destructive to vegetation and 

 especially corn crops. They are cylin- 

 drical and very tough-skinned, and thus 

 obtain the name of " wire-worms the 

 head is without ocelli, and the thoracic 

 and abdominal segments are of the same 

 breadth, the prothoracic segment being 

 the longest ; the last segment is variable, 

 being sinuate or dentate at the sides and 

 with the apex simple or split into den- 

 tate processes ; the legs are short but 

 distinct. 



Most of the larvae of the group bear a 

 strong family resemblance to one another ; 

 they are not, however, all vegetable 

 feeders, as many are found in decaying 

 wood, and some are carnivorous, and will 

 even feed on one another {e.g. the larva of AtJious rhombeus). 

 Some of the very large species, like Alaus, have large eye-like 



Fig. 66. — Alaus myops. 

 Larva X 3. (After 

 Schiodte.) 



* The Myriapod, Julus, is also called, by the British agriculturist, the 

 " wire-worm." 



