SF, « 
WIRE-WORM. 
and sometimes the costal margin brown; they | ing, which are elongate-clavate, and truncated, 
are somewhat scabrose, with nine distinctly ; excepting the second, which is minute, and the 
punctured strie on each, the outer margin | terminal joint, which is subfusiform. The head 
slightly concave towards the base. The wings | is subquadrate. The eyes are very prominent. 
are ample; the under side more or less fuscous | The thorax is long and narrow, not much broader 
or castaneous. The pectoral spine is long and | than the head before, gradually and slightly in- 
narrow, but thick. The apex of the abdomen is | creasing in diameter to the base; the angles 
testaceous. The legs are moderately long, slender | short and truncated laterally; the sides nearly 
and pale ferruginous; the tarsi, with the terminal | straight, but slightly convex near the middle ; 
joint the slenderest, the basal joint elongated ;| and down the back is a faint channel, with a 
the claws minute. The total length is 3} lines, | slight fovea on each side near the base. The 
and the breadth #. This is an exceedingly vari- | pectoral spine is long and slender. The scutel is 
able species in outline and colour, some specimens | small, black, and punctured. The elytra are more 
being broader than others; and the antennz are | than twice as long as the thorax, and a little 
apparently stouter in the males. Some examples | broader, linear, the apex ovate, the costal mar- 
are entirely bright ochreous or chestnut, and| gin fuscous and very gently concave near the 
others are uniformly of a pitchy colour. It] base; they are slightly glossy, a little rugose, 
abounds, in June, July, and August, upon oaks | with nine distinctly punctured stria on each. 
and alders in woods, and is not infrequent in | The wings are ample. The underside is more or 
corn-fields ; but its peculiar habits or economy | less piceous, excepting the body, which is ochre- 
as @ species are altogether unknown. ous and very glossy, sometimes pitchy down the 
The pointed click-beetle, Adrastus acuminatus | centre, or having two fuscous spots on each seg- 
or Hlater acuminatus, is almost a miniature of the | ment. The legs are longish, slender, and of a 
preceding, and is about the same size as the Hlater | deep ochreous colour; the tarsi tapering, the 
limbatus of Linneus, but has a narrower and less ; basal joint elongated, the fourth minute. The 
convex thorax, and is generally marked with a | total length is 4} lines, and the breadth rather 
sort of shallow groove down the crown of the | more than one line. The female differs so con- 
head. It is elliptical, narrow, shining, testaceous, | siderably from the male in form that the name of 
and clothed with short ochreous pubescence. The | longicollis is not appropriate. The neck is much 
head and thorax are black and punctured ; the | broader and larger; the antenne are not so long, 
latter longer than broad, the anterior margin and | the third and following joints being obtrigonate. 
posterior angles acuminated and testaceous. The | The female varies also greatly in colour, some 
antenne are longer than the head and thorax, | specimens being entirely brown, others of an 
compressed, and castaneous,—the basal joint | ochreous-chestnut, &c. 
elongated and stout,—the second and third obo-| The eggs of the click-beetles are very minute, 
vate, the latter a little the shortest,—the fourth | of a yellowish-white colour, and nearly globose or 
and following somewhat obovate, truncate,—the | slightly oval. Whether they are laid in the soil 
terminal joint fusiform. The scutel is dark and | close to the root of a plant, or between the sheaths 
oval. The elytra are nearly thrice as long as the | or enveloping leaves near the base of the stem, 
thorax, punctured, testaceous, the suture often | has not been ascertained. The larva must at 
dusky, especially near the apex, with nine punc- | first be almost invisible to the naked eye; they 
tured striew on each; the underside piceous; the | grow very slowly, and become when full grown 
pectoral spine long and slender; the legs ochra- | about three-fourths of an inch, or in rare cases 
ceous. The total length is about 2 lines, and | eleven lines, in length; they have a wire-like 
breadth about 4. This species frequents corn- | form, a smooth surface, and extreme toughness, 
fields, meadows, hedges, and similar situations; |—and thence are called wire-worms; and they 
but whether its larve belong to the destructive | live five years in the proper state of larve, and 
wire-worms has not been ascertained. cast off their skin, probably at three successive 
The long-necked click-beetle, Athous longicollis | periods, as they increase in size. They perform 
or Elater longicollis, frequents corn-fields, hedges, | their moult by splitting the skin along the thorax, 
grassy grounds, and woody places from April till | and drawing themselves out at the aperture ; and 
August. The male is long and narrow, ochreous, | their exuvia has a brown colour, and retains the 
and clothed with very short pubescence of the | form of every part of the body, including eyes, 
same colour. The head and thorax are thickly | horns, feet, and perhaps also internal organs. 
and coarsely punctured, and of a dull black col- | The larve, immediately after the moult, are very 
our ; the anterior margin of the latter, the sides | tender and of a whitish colour; but as soon as 
and base, including the angles as well as the | they recover, they move about with the greatest 
clypeus, are more or less ferruginous in many ex- | facility; and in all their ordinary states, they 
amples; and this portion of the head is very con- | have a perfect adaptation of skin for free and 
cave, the margin thickened and slightly reflexed#@} agile diving into the soil, burrowing in the earth, 
The antenne ‘are more than half the length of | and gliding upward and onward in any direction | 
the body, slender, and compressed; the basal | they please—A wire-worm has a pale ochreous 
joint is clavate, and not stouter than the follow- | colour, becoming darker when dead, with a few 
