5 



may be punctures (punctate striate) ; or there may be rows of punctures 

 without any striae. The spaces between the striae are called interstices, and 

 these are often punctured, hairy, or raised into ridges. The angle where the 

 base joins the lateral margin is the shoulder or humeral angle ; the apex is 

 often produced or prolonged, or toothed ; or the elytra may be cut square off 

 before coming to a point, when they are said to be truncate. There is ofteD 

 a very short stria running close to the scutellum, called the scutellar stria ; 

 while often the only distinct stria which exists is the one next to the suture, 

 hence called the sntural stria. The portion of each elytron which lies between 

 the suture and the lateral margin is the due. 



The remainder of the body, called the abdomen, consists of a number 

 (five to eight) of rings, united by membrane which attaches the front border 

 of one ring to the hind border of the one in front of it. These rings, which are 

 to some extent capable of being " telescoped " within each other, consist each 

 of an upper — or dorsal — and a lower — or ventral — segment, and the last often 

 bears special appendages, especially among the Beachelytea. When the 

 elytra are just short enough to show the last or last two abdominal segments 

 these are called respectively the pygidium and pro-joygidium, and in some 

 groups, Hister, e.g., the amount of punctuation of these segments is of im- 

 portance in determining the species. While in the majority of beetles the 

 whole of the abdomen (with the exception occasionally of the last or last two 

 segments) is covered by the abdomen, in the group known as the Beach- 

 elytra the elytra are so short as to leave nearly the whole of the abdomen 

 uncovered. 



We next turn to the consideration of the habits of the beetle tribe, and 

 these are nearly as various as the species themselves. Everywhere we turn 

 we come across them, in town and country, crowded street, or shady lane. 

 If we are studiously inclined, and are accustomed to read while walking even 

 in the busy streets of a large city, we shall find beetle visitors, often very 

 minute in size, but sometimes of scarce species, whose habit will be to settle on 

 the book or newspaper we are reading. Jf we fix our attention on the cause- 

 way as we walk along we shall find, if the day be fine and the sun shining 

 (especially if the time of the year be spring), that numbers of beetles are 

 attracted by the whiteness of the pavement, and are sunning themselves there. 

 Such species usually belong to the genus Amara, or to the group of the 

 Brachelytra known as the Staphylinidce. As a contrast to those just men- 

 tioned, some species live only in damp dark cellars — goblins who fear the 

 light of day. Such are the meal-worm beetles {Tenelrio), the cellar beetles 

 (Blaps)> and the scarcer Sjohodrus leucophthalmus. Pristonychus terricola 

 (subcyaneus) has a predeliction for coal cellars, a habit which, on account of 



