162 



INTRODUCTION. 



times visible ; legs slender, claws simple, penultimate joint of tarsi 

 with a thick brush of hairs beneath. 



So far as the characters of the perfect insect go there seems no 



real reason why this family should 

 be separated from the TenebrionidvE, 

 and, according to Leconte and Horn, 

 it is chiefly because of the difference 

 in the larva that it is retained as 

 distinct. Yet the only apparent 

 distinction in the larva consists in its 

 being somewhat broader and more 

 active, while the pupa of Lagriahirta 

 is very closely allied to that of several 

 of the TENEBitioNiD.il, except that the 

 lateral dilatations of the abdominal 

 segments are prolonged into sub- 

 clavate processes. The family con- 

 Fig. 71. -Lagria basalts. taing about 2()0 gpecieg o£ whic fc 



the greater part belong to the genera 

 Lagria and Statira; about half-a-dozen species of the former 

 have been recorded from the Indian region. They are chiefly 

 found on leaves of shrubs and the lower branches of trees, and 

 under bark, and occur only rarely on flowers. The larvrc of- 

 some, at any rate, of the species hibernate under dead leaves and 

 in refuse of dead wood at the foot of old trees. 



Family 74. OTIINIID.E. 



Antenna' inserted under the sides of the front, eleven-jointed, joints 

 9-11 forming a loose club; head large and flat ; anterior coxce 

 small, conical, and, contiguous, cavities closed behind; intermediate 

 and posterior coxce, slightly separated, the former rounded, the latter 

 transverse; apex of abdomen uncovered; abdomen with five visible 

 segments, cdl free ; legs slender ; form elongate, integument wealc. 



This family contains a single genus, which was formerly (when 

 one sex only was known) placed among the Clayicornia near 

 the Mtcetophagid.e. They are however heteromerous in both 

 sexes, and according to Leconte and Horn (Ciassif. Col. North 

 America, p. 392) "the margins of the ventral segments are semi- 

 membranous as in the more degraded Tenebrjonid.e and the 

 subsequent families." The antennae, moreover, have sensory 

 punctures similar to those observed in the Helopin.e. The 

 insects are found running on the leaves of trees, and are 

 probably predaceous. The genus is widely distributed, occurring 

 in Borneo, New Guinea, Ceylon, Japan, and North and Central 

 America, but no species has, as yet, been recorded from South 

 America. 



