As in the case with the Dyticidse, these insects are furnished

with large and powerful wings, which they can use freely ; and j by the aid of which they can leave one piece of water and go to : another at will, so that a newly-formed puddle is sometimes seen with several of these Beetles disporting themselves on the surface.

The life history of the Gryrinus is rather a curious one, and ^ is much the same with all the species. The eggs are deposited on a water-plant, and laid in regular rows. From them, in a week or a little more, the curious larvae are hatched. One of these larvae is shown on Plate III. Fig. 5. It is dirty-white . in colour, and has a large, flat, oval head, armed with powerful 1 jaws, and six rather long legs ; while from each side of the | eight last joints of the body proceeds a very slender fllament, | which is part of the respiratory system. The last segment has two pairs of these filaments, each of which is seen, on being viewed by the aid of the microscope, to contain an air-tube, which passes into the body and there joins the general system. When in the water its appearance is very much like that of a centipede, except that the respiratory filaments have no independent motion, like the legs of the centipede, but trail loosely in the water.

In due time the larva is full-fed, and it then, as do many other aquatic creatures, leaves the water and crawls up the stem of a water-plant, until it is several inches above the sur- | face. Having found a safe place, it spins for itself a small grey ■ cocoon, and there waits until it has assumed its perfect state, when it breaks through the walls of the cover, and again seeks the water. One of these cocoons is shown on Plate III. Fig. 6, attached to the leaf of the Common Arrowhead {Sagittaria sagittifolia).

Like the Dyticidae, almost all the Whirligig Beetles exude a whitish liquid of a very unpleasant odour, and are sure to do so when handled.

There are six English species of Gryrinus, some of which are others. The present species, which is the most • rarer than common, is about a quarter of an inch in length, and blue- _ black in colour, with a reddish mouth. The elytra ai-e greenish j at the margins, and become narrowed towards the apex. They are very slightly striated and punctured. H

A much rarer species is Gyrinus bicolor, which must be |

sought in salt marshes and similar localities. It is much

larger in proportion to its width than the preceding species,

so that it can at once be detected. The most remarkable, or

at least the most divergent, of the Whirligigs is the Haikt

Whirligig {Orectochilus villosus), which may at once be detected by the fact that the upper part of its body is black,

covered with short greyish down. The body is reddish-yellow

beneath, and the elytra are thickly and deeply punctated.

This insect is not so fond of society as the other species, : neither does it love the light of day, but hides itself in the ' banks of rivers and running waters during the daytime, and i seeks its prey by night. In consequence of this habit it is not ' often seen, and even in places where it is tolerably common is

sure to escape the observation of anyone who does not know I how and when to look for it. It is rather a local insect, and

Mr. F. W. Hope gives the Dart and rivulets on Dartmoor as a I favourite locality.

The popular name Whirhvig is often substituted for Whirli- I gig. The generic title Orectochilus is formed from two Grreek j words, signifying ‘ stretched-lip,’ and alludes to the structure ; of the labrum, or upper lip, which is lengthened by a pale- * coloured fringe on its edge.

CHAPTER V.

Bbachelytra.

The group of Beetles whicli comes next in order is equally conspicuous with the Hydradephaga, hut utterly unlike it or any of the groups which have been described. These Beetles are long-bodied, agile, and seem to play the same part among Coleoptera as the weasel tribe among the Mammalia, Most, though not all of them, are predatorial, and some of them, especially the larger species, are exceedingly fierce as well as voracious, and will fight any foe, no matter how much they may be overmatched.

The name Brachelytra is a very appropriate one, signifying short elytra. These insects have the elytra very short and squared, so short indeed that six or seven segments of the abdomen generally protrude beyond them. Although the elytra are so small, the wings are very large ; and, though they must necessarily be folded in a most comphcated manner before they can be packed under the elytra, these insects can take the air with more readiness than any other Beetles, except, perhaps, the Tiger Beetles, whose manner of flight has been described on page 16. In folding the wings under the elytra, the Beetle is obliged to act in a very curious manner, bending the tail over the back, and with the extremity of the arranging the wings under their sheaths. The earwig body forceps for a similar purpose, as we shall see when we uses its come to that insect. Fig. c. Woodcut No. VII., shows one of the large Brachelytra in the act of packing up its wings. In of their activity both on the wing and on foot, consequence insects have gained the popular name of Rove Beetles. these

All these Beetles have the habit of bending their bodies when alarmed, for which reason they have received upwards Cocktail Beetles. This act has, in the the popular name of

larger species, so menacing an aspect that many persons are

afraid to touch so formidable an insect. In reality, the smaller species are more to he di-eaded than the larger. I have already mentioned that the Brachelytra take easily to wing, when they may be mistaken for flies, so ample are their wings and so quick their movements. Many of them are very small — not thicker than an ordinary horsehair — and these are almost invariably the little black ‘ flies ’ that are in the habit of getting into the eye on fine summer evenings, and causing an amount of pain which seems quite disproportionate to the size of the insect. Of comse even a small fly woiild cause pain if it got into the eye; but when one of these Beetles finds itself imprisoned, it instinctively turns up its pointed tail, and thus causes a double amount of irritation. I believe that, ont of every ten ‘ flies ’ that get into the eye, seven are Brachelytra.

Although the larger Brachelytra need not be particularly dreaded, in spite of their fierce looks, it is as well not to handle them without necessity. Their bite, although sharp, is of no particular consequence ; but they possess a more formidable weapon than their jaws. At the end of the tail are two tubercles, which exude a secretion of the most odious character. Like that of the skunk, it has an odour, or rather a stench, peculiarly— and fortunately so— its own, and which cannot be described by any comparison. That of the common snake, when irritated, comes, perhaps, nearer it than any other ; but even that singularly unpleasant emanation is not so utterly disgusting as the effluvium of an angry Eove Beetle. ^ As each group of insects has certain characteristics by which Its members can be identified, I will here mention some of the chief characters which mark the Brachelytra. The observer should farst note the comparative sizes and shapes of the joints of the antennjB, palpi, and tarsi ; then, let him look for the spiracles or breathing holes, in the prothorax. Next in importance come the quantity and colour of any down that may be on the insect ; while the relative width of

mine the sex. the front tarsi will deter-

The flrst family is that of the Aleocharidm. In this family the spiracles on the sides F 2 of the pmthorax are plainly visibli^

the antennae are set ciose between and in front of tlie eyes, and the last joint of the maxillary palpi is very small and threadlike. The form of the maxillary palpus can he seen by reference to Woodcut No. VII. Fig. d. In this family the front tarsi of the males are not wider than those of the females, hut they can be detected by looking at the last segment but one

Falagria milcata. 2. Aleochara fusoipes. 3. Atemelcs emnrginatns. 4. O.xypoda luteipennis. 5. Homalota bruimea. a. Staphylimis, anterior tarsus of female, nndilated. 6. Staphylimis, anterior tarsus of male, dilated, c. Staphylinus, closing its wings with e.Ktremity of its taU. d. Falagria, maxillary palpus. e. Falagria, rignt mandible. /. Falagria, labial palpi. g. Falagria, antenna. | * i of the abdomen, and seeing whether it is tubercled, ridged, or \ has a thicker posterior margin. In such cases the insect is of ; the male sex.

This is in many respects a very remarkable group of insects, because in no less than eight of the genera included in it there are Beetles which are parasitic upon other insects, and which pass the whole of their lives in the nests of ants. There is

even one species that inhabits the nest of the sand martin. In the course of the following pages we shall come upon several of these curious Beetles.

Our first example of this family is Faldgvictj sulcata it is drawn on Woodcut No. VII. Fig. 1. There are four species of this genus, which is distinguished by the large head, which is very distinct from the thorax, the first joint of the tarsus long, and the bases of the elytra without wrinkles. The structure of the antenn® can be seen by reference to Fig. g in the same illustration ; the maxillary palpus is shown at d, the right mandible at e, and the labial palpi at /.

All the Beetles belonging to this genus are very small, and many of them may be captured with an ordinary butterfly-net, while on the wing. Some of the Brachelytra are so exceedingly minute that the best plan to procui-e them is the ‘ catch-emalive-oh’ principle. A few sheets of white paper should be brushed over with very pure gum-water and left to dry, when they will be useful at any time. When the entomologist wishes to capture these minute creatures, all he has to do is to choose a warm sunshiny day, damp one of these gummed sheets, and wave it about under trees imtil it is dry. On examining it, a number of tiny blackish specks will generally be seen, and most of these, when a lens is brought to bear on them, prove to be Brachelytra. The same paper can be used over and over again, the captured insects being removed with the point of a fine camel-hair pencil dipped in water. The species which we are now examining is shining brownish-black in colour. The thorax is rather heart-shaped, and along the centre runs a very deep furrow, reaching to the scutellum. The elytra are very wide, smooth, and slightly sunk at the base. The legs and base of the antenn® are brick-red. This specimen is a very curious one, and may be found in all parts of England, buried in fungi and decaying vegetable matter.

The typical gennsAleochara has the head deeply sunk into the thorax, which is convex and broad. The elytra are broader than they are long. The abdomen has a flattened margin along the sides, and the tarsi have five joints, the basal joint of the hinder tarsi being longest. The antenn® are short, stout, and the fovu’th and tenth joints are of equal length.

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