270 
BRITISH BEETLES. 
less ; with wrinkled backs, hard heads, and powerful 
mandibles ; they feed in gangs ; and, although small, 
are so numerous, that the fate of a tree is sealed when 
once they obtain a lodgment. 
In the perfect insect, which is very elevated, stumpy, 
and cylindrical, with the head bent downwards and 
inwards, — the elytra are abruptly and obliquely trun- 
cate behind; and in some of the other species the 
abdomen has a flat horizontal tooth on its second 
segment beneath ; the peculiar slope of the abdomen 
is, perhaps, one of the best distinguishing characters 
of the genus. 
Xyloterus lineatus (Plate XIII., Pig. 1), an elegantly 
striped insect, with more pretensions to beauty than 
its allies, is found (rarely) in Scotland : I have seen 
it with its head and thorax protruding from its neat 
circular drill in the solid wood of felled pines; but it 
is oftener seen than taken, owing to its habit of back- 
ing quickly to an indefinite depth into its burrow, on 
the approach of the bark-knife. In this species the 
antennae have a rounded club, whilst in the other 
( domesticus ) the club is pointed ; in both, each of the 
eyes is widely divided, the fuuiculus is four-jointed, 
and the club solid. 
The minute Ilypothenemus eruditus (an insect Giles 
Gingerbread, who “ on learning fed ”) was discovered 
by Mr. Westwood burrowing in the cover of an old 
volume, from which strange locality it derives the 
attribute of erudition conveyed by its name. Both 
genus and species were then new to science ; and the 
beetle has never, I believe, been found since its 
original capture. 
The Tomici have emarginate eyes, five joints to the 
