dAKABIt)^. 
A 
not being possible. (Anthia, Carahus). -On the ventral abdominal seg¬ 
ments are specialised set e used in rapid locomotion along the ground. 
The life-history is almost unknown in detail, but so far as is known 
elsewhere it is uniform throughout the group and the little known of the 
Indian species agrees generally. The larvae 
are slender active insects, the head large 
with long mandibles and six ocelli, the 
thorax and abdomen smooth and tapering, 
with a terminal pair of dorsal cerci, an 
anal tube and three pairs of thoracic legs. 
The terminal processes are fairly cha¬ 
racteristic ; the colours are black or dull 
and the carabid larva is an insect that can 
usually be readily recognised. They are 
in the main predaceous and constitute part 
of the surface fauna and are best found 
when caterpillars are abundant on a crop, when they gather there to 
feed. Elsewhere some are known to feed in the roots of the crops, and 
one is a pest, but no record of such vegetarian larvae exists for the Indian 
species, which are commonly predaceous. They suck out the juice of 
caterpillars and other insects, and though they must be extremely abun¬ 
dant, are very rarely found, except under these exceptional conditions. 
No details are available as to the length of the life-history. Pupation 
takes place in the soil. The eggs of one species (Anthia sexguttata ) are 
large oval bodies, white and soft, measuring nearly one-quarter of 
an inch in length. One is laid at a time and dissection shows that 
they develop successively and are produced singly ; apparently egg- 
laying is extended over a long period and the active imaginal life is 
probably long. The total number of eggs produced is probably 
small. Hibernation, so far as observed, takes place in the imago 
stage, the beetles burying themselves in the soil or otherwise taking 
shelter. Possibly it takes place in the other stages also. 
Carabidce are partly diurnal, partly nocturnal, the latter species 
sometimes coming to light. Most can produce a caustic mal-odorous 
liquid from glands opening above the anus; in a few this liquid is vola¬ 
tile, and on being set free goes off with a little report; the enemy being 
overcome by the odour and detonation, the beetle escapes rapidly. No 
Fig. 150.— Harpalus larva. 
(After Packard.) 
