SHORT-WINGED SCAVENGER-BEETLES. 
67 
by their very short wing-cases, which usually cover less thau half of the 
abdomen. The insects of some other families, as we have seen, have 
their elytra shortened or truncated at the end, but in these they always 
cover more than half of the abdomen, and usually leave only the tip 
exposed. The Staphylini have narrow, elongated and somewhat flat- 
tened bodies. The an ten me are rather short, sometimes of equal thick- 
ness throughout, but usually a little larger at the end, and composed of 
short, roundish or lenticular joints. The mandibles are long, sharp 
and sickle-shaped, and usually cross each other at the tip when at rest. 
The abdomen often terminates in two little finger-like bristly processes, 
between which is a third and shorter one. The anterior tarsi of the 
males are often dilated. They are also distinguished by the great 
length of the coxre or basal joints of their anterior legs. They usually 
turn up the end of their long flexible abdomen whilst running, and also 
use it in packing their wings under their short wing-covers. These in- 
sects are generally found on the ground, under stones and amongst 
rubbish. They usually subsist upon decomposing matter, both animal 
and vegetable, but mostly the latter. They constitute an extensive 
army of useful scavengers, second in number only to the Necropliaga or 
club-horned scavengers, of which we have just been treating. But some 
of the larger species are known to be eminently predaceous, especially 
in the larva state, voraciously seizing whatever insects come in their 
way, not even sparing their own species, and some of the small species 
found on flowers have been observed to have similarly carnivorous 
tastes. Indeed, their long, sharp, sickle-shaped mandibles, and the 
large protuberant eyes of a portion of them, would seem to indicate a 
more generally carnivorous habit than has generally been attributed to 
them. Others have been found in ants’ nests, and are supposed to be 
parasitic ; and a species of Aleochara is an internal parasite, having- 
been reared from the pupae of Anthomyia braesicw. (Am. Ent. 11, 370.) 
The larvae, with the exception of the absence of wings, bear a general 
resemblance to the perfect insects, both in structure and habits, and 
arc found in the same situations. 
The tribe is composed of two families, the long bodied species or 
Staphylinidse, and the minute short bodied species, which constitute the 
family of Pselapkidse. 
Family XXIII. STAPHYLINIDiE. 
The original meaning and application of the generic term Staphylinus 
are not now known with certainty, but it was applied by Linnaeus to 
the tribe of short-winged Coleoptera. The leading characters of this 
family have been given in treating of the tribe to which it belongs, and 
of which it constitutes much the larger part. We will here define the 
