494 
INSECTA. 
The second tribe, that of the Carabici, Latr., comprises the genus 
Carabus, Linn., — 
Which has the maxillae terminated simply in a point or hook, not articulated at its base. The head is 
generally narrower, or at least not broader, than the thorax ; the mandibles, except in a few instances, 
are destitute of or with very slight teeth ; the tonguelet is generally exposed, and the labial palpi are 
only distinctly three-jointed, ( the basal joint, which in Cicindela is detached, forming a fourth 
joint, being here entirely fixed, and forming a support to the palpus, and is accordingly not reckoned 
as a separate joint). Many species are destitute of wings, and have only elytra. They often emit 
a fetid odour, and discharge from the anus an acrid and caustic liquid. 
GeofFroy considered that the ancients designated these insects under the name of Buprestis, and 
which they regarded as a dangerous poison, especially to oxen. (See the genus Meloe). 
The Carabici conceal themselves in the earth, under stones, the bark of trees, &c., and are for the 
most part very active. Their larvae have the same habits. This tribe is very numerous, and of diffi- 
cult investigation. 
We form a first general division with those in which the exterior [maxillary] palpi are not terminated 
by a minute conical joint, the last joint forming, with the preceding joint, an oval or conoid mass, 
with a sharp point at its tip. 
Some of these have a deep notch on the inner edge of the anterior tibiae, separating the two acute 
spurs, which are ordinarily placed at the apex of the limb. These constitute several [five] sections.* 
1. The Truncatipennes, thus named from their elytra being almost invariably truncate at the 
posterior extremity. The head and thorax are narrower than the abdomen. Some have the ungues 
of the tarsi simple, or without teeth beneath. Of these the three following are destitute of wings. 
Anthia, Weber, Fab., with the tonguelet horny, oval, and nearly as long as the palpi ; the abdomen is oval, often 
convex, and the elytra are nearly entire, or scarcely truncate. These, as well as those of the next subgenus, have 
the body black, and with spots of white down. They inhabit the deserts and other sandy places of Asia and 
Africa. From an observation of De Latour, they eject from the anus, when disturbed, a caustic liquid. The 
species are generally of large size, and in the males of some the thorax is dilated more or less behind, and termi- 
nated by two lobes. 
Graphipterus, Latr. long confounded with the preceding, but differing in the tonguelet, entirely membranous 
except in the centre ; the abdomen is always flattened and orbicular. The species of this subgenus are exclusively 
African, and are much smaller than the preceding. 
Aptinus, Bonelli, has the last joint of the exterior palpi, and especially of the labial palpi, evidently dilated, and 
a tooth in the middle of the mentum. But that which more particularly distinguishes them, and also the Brachini, 
is, that their abdomen, which is oval and thickened, contains organs which secrete a caustic fluid, escaping with an 
explosion from the anus, and instantly evaporating, with a penetrating scent. ITiis fluid, when the animal is held 
between the fingers, produces upon the skin a spot similar to that made by nitric acid, and even, if the species be 
large, a painful burn. Dufour first made us acquainted with the organs by which it was secreted (in Annal. du 
Mtis. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xvii.). These insects are often found assembled in societies, especially in the spring, 
under stones. They make use of this defence to alarm their enemies, and they are able to repeat the explosion a 
considerable number of times. The larger species are found in the tropics and other hot countries, as far as the 
limits of the temperate zone. A. Batista, Dej. {Brachintis displosor, Dufour), inhabits Navarre and various parts 
of Spain and Portugal. 
Brachinus, Weber, Fabr., differs only from Aptinus in being provided with wings, and the middle of the emar- 
gination of the mentum not toothed. Brachinus crepitans, Fabr., is found common in the environs 
of Paris [as well as in various parts of England]. It is generally four lines long, fulvous-orange, 
with the elytra dark blue or greenish blue, and the antennae fulvous, the third and fourth joints 
being black. The breast, with the exception of the middle of the abdomen, is also fulvous. Other 
species are named, from their explosive powers, B. bombarda,B.exhatans,B.causticus,B. sclopeta,Bic. 
{Catascopus, Kirby, appears to us to belong to the section Simplicimani, from a recent investi- 
gation, rather than to this section.) 
Corsyra, Stev., is placed by Dejean between Brachinus and Catascopus. The claws are simple ; 
body flat, short, broad ; palpi filiform. 
The other Carabici of the same division have the ungues also simple, but the head is narrowed behind the eyes 
into a neck. In some the tarsi are nearly identical in the two sexes, subcylindrical or linear, the penultimate 
joint being alone deeply bilobed. 
Fig:. 53.-: 
hardier beetle 
[Mr. M'Leay and several more recent writers have cut up the of the primary group Carabiques, which is itself regarded, as a whole. 
Linnsean genus Carabus, or the family Carabidae, into several divisions, 
each of which they have regarded as equivalent in value to the family 
Cicindelidae. The views of Latreille, in regarding them as divisions 
of equal rank with the Cicindeletse, correspond with those of Linnaeus 
and Kirby.] 
