110 
NATURAL HISTORY OF 
filled with Staphylinid ce, SpharidiidcE , and other 
minute beetles, which flit about in the sunshine with 
an ease and velocity which sufficiently indicate the 
perfect aptitude of their structure for such an exer- 
cise. 
In beetles, as well as in all other insects properly 
so called, there are six legs, each of which may be 
considered as composed of four principal pieces, 
viz. the coxa or haunch a , the thigh b, the tibia 
or shank c, and the tarsus or foot d , as represented 
in the following figure. 
The coxa may be regarded as 
the edges. In the jumping beetles ( Haltica ), and 
some other species (as in Sagra, Plate XXVII.), 
the hinder thighs are very much thickened. The ti- 
biae are generally shorter and more slender than the 
thighs, growing thicker at the lower extremity, and 
having a tendency to a triangular form. They are 
frequently beset with stiff bristles, and armed more 
or less with spines or spurs. The tarsus is the ter- 
minal portion of the foot, and consists of small joints 
varying in number from five to three. The shape of 
the joint which connects the leg 
with the thorax. It is frequent- 
ly furnished with an appendage 
called the trochanter. The thigh 
is the largest and most conspi- 
cuous portion of the leg ; it is 
usually somewhat flattened, and 
frequently spined or serrated on 
