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THE STUDY OF INSECTS. 
The family MALACHUDiE (Mal-a-chi'i-dae) is composed 
chiefly of small or very small beetles, found on flowers, and 
on the ground near water. They vary greatly in form ; but 
bear a general resemblance in structure to the preceding 
family, from which they can be distinguished by the presence 
of only six ventral abdominal segments. Some members of 
the family are furnished with soft, orange-colored vesicles 
which they protrude from the sides of the body, and 
which are supposed to be scent organs for defence. 
One of our most common representatives is Collops 
quadrirnaculatus (Col'lops quad-ri-mac-u-la'tus), which F,G * 67 °* 
is yellowish orange, with the top of the head and four spots 
on the wing-covers bluish black (Fig. 670). 
Family CLERlDiE (Cler'i-das.) 
The Checkered Beetles . 
The family Cleridae includes a considerable number of 
species which are found on flowers and on the trunks of 
trees. Many of them are beautifully marked with strongly 
contrasting colors; this has suggested the common name 
checkered beetles for them. Frequently they are more or 
less ant-like in form, the prothorax being in these cases 
narrower than the wing-covers, and slightly narrower than 
the head. The abdomen has either five or six ventral seg¬ 
ments; the anterior coxae are conical, prominent, and con¬ 
tiguous, or very slightly separate ; the hind coxae are trans¬ 
verse, not prominent, and covered by the femora in repose; 
the legs are slender; and the tarsi are five-jointed. 
In the larval state these insects are usually carnivorous, 
living under bark and in the burrows of wood-boring insects, 
upon which they prey; some are found in the nests of bees; 
and still others feed on dead animal matter. 
Figure 671 represents one of our more common species, 
Trichodes nuttalli (Tri-cho'des nut-tal'li). 
