SOFT- WINGED PREDACEOUS-BEETLES. 
107 
row yellowish border, and suture. Mr. Riley lias shown that it is lumin- 
ous in the larva and pupa as well as the perfect state. It is common in 
the latitude of Southern Illinois; but farther north and east its place is 
to a great extent supplied by a very similar but much smaller species, 
the P. scintillams , Say. The P. angulatn , Say, is as large as the pyraUs , 
and is distinguished by its generally paler color, the wider yellow mar- 
gin of the elytra, and by the extreme margin of the thorax being clouded 
with black. Certain species which (like the P. pensylvanica, of DeCeer), 
have the head but partially covered by the thorax, were placed in a 
separate group by Dejean, to which the name Photuris was subsequently 
given by LeConte. The genus is retained by Lacordaire, but it is aban- 
doned by Dr. LeConte himself, iu his work on the Classification of the 
Coleoptera. 
The Lampyris plumosa, of Olivier, is the type of the remarkable genus 
Phengodes , Hoff. The antenme are beautifully plumose, and the elytra 
are abruptly narrowed to a point, and do not extend more than a third ' 
the length of the abdomen. It is half an inch long and of a brownish 
color. Six other species are known which inhabit South America. La- 
cordaire states that these insects possess luminous properties, but Le- 
conte questions this, as none of the ventral segments exhibit the usual 
sulphur-yellow color in the dried specimens. In the specimens in my 
collection, the ventral segments are black in the middle, and fulvous or 
tawny-yellow at the sides, with a narrowed portion at the base of each 
segment of a lighter yellow color, and this may possibly be the seat of 
the phosphoresence. 
Sub-family TELErHOREDES. 
In this sub-family the head is usually wholly uncovered by the thorax, 
and narrowed behind into a short neck. They are more active than the 
other Lampyridi®, and are often found upon flowers, or running over 
the surface of leaves in search for their prey, which seems to consist 
mostly of the soft larvae of other insects. 
A. Hoad partially covered by the thorax ; nmxilhe elongated and extensile ; elytra yellow with a large 
black spot or stripe Cuauliognathus, 9 sp. 
A A. Head wholly uncovered ; maxilbe normal ; elytra black, sometimes with a narrow yellow border. 
Ik Head with a distinct neck; size various Tkleimiouus, 7*2. 
B B. Head without visible nook; si/.o small Silis, 3. 
The genus Ghauliognathus, I lentz, is remarkable for the extensile 
maxillm, apparently analogous to the elongated maxillae and labium of 
bees, with which they lap the honey of flowers. Indeed, the perfect in- 
sects are usually found upon flowers, especially those of the golden rod, 
upon which they have been said to feed; in which case they form an 
exception to the carnivorous habits of the family in which they are 
placed. The beetles, however, are furnished with sharp curved mandi- 
bles like other Telepliorides, and the larvae are known to be pre-emi- 
