Zabrus approaches very near to Harpalus in structure, but 
its convex form and the simple intermediate tarsi of the males, 
readily distinguish it from that genus : the obtuse maxillae, the 
shortness of the terminal joint of the external maxillary palpi, 
the simple tooth of the mentum, and the powerful anterior ti- 
biae are also essential characters. In Britain there are but two 
.species. 
1 . Z. gibbus Fob.*— Claim . Ent. Helv. 2. tab . 11 . f. a, b. — 
Sturm's Deut. Faun. tab. 98. — Tenebroides Panz. 
73. 8. — spinipes Scop. — gibbosus Marsh . 
Found in August and September, in corn-fields, sandy si- 
tuations, and at the roots of grass, in Norfolk, the Isle of Wight, 
Battersea Fields, &c. ; and a gentleman informs me that he 
took four specimens last August upon an umbellate plant at 
Heron Court, Hants. Its economy is very interesting ; and the 
following remarks upon the subject have been collected from 
German's Magazin, and Sturm's Deutschlands Fauna,- — in both 
of which are figures of the larvae, pupae, See. 
In May 1812 the larvae did great mischief to the sprouts and 
roots of the wheat in the canton of Seeburg in Halberstadt. 
The female beetles deposited numerous clusters of eggs in the 
earth, which in a short time produced larvae or grubs, that 
made their appearance upon the surface in the evening and 
night to feed upon the young stalks of the wheat, hiding them- 
selves in the day six inches deep ; when full-grown they were 
more than an inch long, at which period (the beginning of June) 
they descended by a curved cylindric passage sometimes to the 
depth of two feet, forming at the termination a smooth oval ca- 
vity to contain the pupa ; after three or four weeks the beetles 
made their appearance, when they became very destructive by 
climbing up the stalks and feeding upon the grain. The larvae 
are supposed to be long-lived ; and with them were found a 
considerable number of the grubs of Melolontha ruficornis 
Fab. : hence arises a question whether both sorts of the larvae 
were graminivorous : that the grubs of the latter insect feed 
upon vegetable substances there can be no doubt ; but should 
those of Zabrus do so, it will be a remarkable exception 
amongst the Carabidae, all of which are considered carnivo- 
rous ; it is a very strong and curious fact, however, that when 
the Zabri in their perfect state were confined in a box with 
some ears of corn, they fed upon the grain as long as the sup- 
ply lasted, after which they attacked one another. 
2. Z. obesus Eat., Nob. 
A pair of this rare insect, which has I believe never been 
either described or figured before, was taken near Plymouth 
by Dr. Leach the end of April, and presented by him to the 
British Museum. 
The plant is Geranium Pyrenaicum (Mountain Crane’s 
Bill). 
