100 
COLEOPTERA. 
One of tlie most common kinds of Callidium found here 
is a flattish, rusty-black beetle, with some downy whitish 
spots across the middle of the wing-covers ; the thorax is 
nearly circular, is covered with fine whitish down, and has 
two elevated polished black points upon it; and the Aving- 
covers are very coarsely punctured. It measures from four 
tenths to three quarters of an inch in length. This insect is 
the Callidium hajulus (Plate II. Fig. 12) ; the second name, 
meaning a porter, was given to it by Linnaius, on account 
of the whitish patch which it bears on its back. It inhabits 
fir, spruce, and hemlock wood and lumber, and may often 
be seen on wooden buildings and fences in July and August. 
We are informed by Kirby and Spence, that the grubs 
sometimes greatly injure the wood-work of houses in Lon¬ 
don, piercing the rafters of the roofs in every direction, and, 
when arrived at maturity, even penetrating through sheets 
of lead which covered the place of their exit. One piece of 
lead, only eight inches long and four broad, contained twelve 
oval holes made by these insects, and fragments of the lead 
were found in their stomachs. As this insect is now com¬ 
mon in the maritime parts of the United States, it Avas 
probably first brought to this country by vessels from Eu¬ 
rope. 
The violet Callidium, Callidium violaceum^^ (Plate II. 
Fig. 11,) is of a Prussian blue or violet color ; the thorax is 
transversely oval, and downy, and sometimes has a greenish 
tinge; and the Aving-covers are rough Avith thick irregular 
punctures. Its length varies from four to six tenths of an 
inch. It may be found in great abundance on piles of pine 
wood, from the middle of May to the first of June ; and the 
larvae and pupae are often met with in splitting the Avood. 
They live mostly just under the bark, Avhere their broad and 
winding tracks may be traced by the hardened saAvdust with 
* Ceramhyx violaceus of Linnaeus. 
f 12 Our species is considered different from the European Callidium violaceum, 
under the name C. antennatum, Newman. — Lfx.] 
