and similar of dead leaves from under hedges, and shaking them

liandfuls will appear like little black

over paper, when the Agathidia

heads.

They will not stir for a long time, unless the sun be shining

powerfully on the paper.

The important family of the Histeridge now comes before us.

These are flatfish square-bodied Beetles, with a sort of steely

look about them, and as hard to the touch as if their elytra

were veritable pieces of plate armour. It is no easy task to

get a fine entomological pin through these creatures, the pin

either bending, or its point repeatedly slipping off the hard

and polished surface of the Beetle in a manner calculated to i injure the temper as well as the pin. I always used to keep i by me a rather fine needle fixed in a handle, and projecting about one-third of an inch, so that I could pierce the hard I elytra with the steel point, and then introduce the pin. This i needle was useful in setting many other hard-bodied Beetles, p especially some of the weevils.

These hard and glossy elytra are much shorter than the body, and abruptly truncated; but below them may be seen a beautiful and wide pair of wings packed away with wonderful neatness. The basal joint of the antennae is very long, and the club IS boldly marked, the three last joints being almost fused mto a globular and velvety knob. The generic name of Hister IS enved from a Latin word signifying an actor or a mimic, and IS given to these Beetles on account of their habit of Mimic B™^ ff Beetles IS often given to them by entomologists. handsomest sne^L of f Mimic Beetle £ fr The colour of this insect is black,

t on each elytron is a large C-shaped red mark reaching tte base nearly to the from apex. This mark is often divided fn the middle so as to produce the effect of four red spots on the back. A narrower line of the same colour mostly runs alon^ I exLT^T ’ to bf , logly vaiiable in the arrangement of its coloring.

fa7. .7 ^ PMcbes of cowdung beiu^ fflir^Tl" -iii^ -Mch these^nsectf 'vill eXf 1 remarkable, for they

udure almost any amount of rough handling without

giving the least signs of life, the legs being folded flatly under the body so that they are scarcely visible. Indeed, I scarcely know whether they or the Pill Beetles, which will presently be described, are the most obstinate in this respect.

The larvae of the Mimic Beetles are also to be found in cowdung, and are not in the least like their parents, being longbodied, cylindrical, whitish in colour, with two forked appendages at the tail. Some species prefer dead animals, and may be fo\md in the moles to which reference has ab'eady been made. About fourteen British species of Hister are known ; and the young entomologist will find that, ovsdng to variations of colour, he will often be rather perplexed to determine the exact species of some new capture.

M^ith great reluctance I am obliged to omit several genera, and must proceed at once to the next family, the Nitidulidae. The Beetles of this family have short clubbed antennae. The head is sunk in the thorax as far as the eyes, and the mandibles are notched at the tip ; the thorax is rather square, and

tarsi have five joints. The body is flattened. The Httle the which are found in such numbers in flowers, and have Beetles bodies, mostly belong to this family, to which such shining has been given on account of their the name of Mtidulidce glittering bodies. the Mtidulina, are known by the

The typical sub-family, which reach to the last joint of the length of the elytra, and the shape of the thorax, which does not cover the abdomen, base of the elytra. One of these insects, Nitidula {Omosita\ is shown at Fig. 9 on Plate IV., and is represented as depressa, up the stem of the central mushroom. crawling Beetle is oval, and, as may be inferred from

The body of this Its colour' is rusty-brown, and the its name, is much flattened. Upon the elytra are some faint surface is thickly punctured. a curved mark of paler hue than the oblong black streaks, and body. This is a very plentiful species, and may rest of the on the plate, under the bar be found in fungi, as represented

of trees, and even in old bones. _ these Beetles feed on various substances, chiefly

The larvae of matter. One of them, for example,

on decaying vegetable the bm'rows made by mi ow

Nitidula grisea, is found about

j' feeding caterpillars. It is a whitish grub, thick towards the

shoulder and tapering to the head and tail. The segno ents are

very distinctly marked, and the last segment is armed with two I hook-like appendages curving upwards. When it is about to : change to^ the pupal form, it descends the trunk of the tree, ) and hides itself in the moist earth about the roots ; and after it r has obtained its perfect form, it is

crevices of the generally to be found in the bark.

On Woodcut X. Fig. S, is shown another of these Beetles,

Meljffet/ies mens. This genus is known by the squared and

metallic body, the long elytra, and the third joint of the

antenu^ exactly as long as the fourth and fifth together. The “ illustration at

Fisb AIUIi^r'^h genus are very small, and are invariably inrariiblTto to te tl^f found in flowers, creeping from their places under the petals when hiding the flower is gathered or shaken^

of notehes in the tibia of the

ibis species is variable in first pair of legs “ colour being M,,.. 1,1 1 • , or dark green-blue, over which is 1 sort^of'^b seldom exceeds the twelfth of an iLh Tn good example of its genus. It is plentiful

pb-familiesf lengthened and the covering Ipsina,Tuch™ave the lb th l^®bd T' tarsus being very minute Our w““’ mz«pha;ls I r i ■ Fig I Tb ttluoh IS shown on Woodcut TT

1 preceding, Ca^tenuL’T™ tte t “ large tal j“t

®«ly to L found nnde°r Sf t fond of inhabiting g Old old bones bones, .and ° and are even are parasitic in ants’

nests. The name Rhizophagus signifies ‘root-eating,’ and there are about ten British species. Though they are for the most part vegetable-feeders, some at least of the species are known to be carnivorous, and have been detected in eating the larvse of other bark-feeding Beetles belonging to the genus Hylesinus.

U t

ferrufnneus. 2. Colydium elongatum. 3. Anommatns dnodecim-striatTA

1 nhi70T)haeus quadripustulato. 6. Dermestcs munn^ 4 Cry^toS JS. 6. Mycetophagus antenna. d. De> a Spha^, anemia. 6. Colydium, antenna. c. Anommato, e. Colydium, larva. /. Dermestes, larva. ?. Cryptophagus, antenna. mesto? 7i. Mycetophagus, pup^ antenna. ^ i. Dermestes, antenna.

species is smooth shining rust-red, some- i

The colour of this There is a pit on either i times deepening into reddish-black. head, the elytra are thickly punctured and striated, i side of the it is rust-red. This Beetle has been chosen i and beneath because it is the largest of the genus, sometimes exceeding I one-sixth of an inch in length. The rather peculiar antenna is shown at Fig. a of the same woodcut. of this genus

}' The family of the Colydiidse have the antennae nearly straight, II and not bowed as in the preceding family, and the tarsi are [i four-jointed. Most of them are found in wood, but they may [ he found among grass heaps, in sandy places, and other localities. ^ One of the most curious examples of this family is the insect I which is represented on Woodcut XI. Fig. 2, and called by the ■i name of Golydium elongatum. A glance at the figure will ■f show the appropriateness of this name, the whole body, and

especially the abdomen and elytra, being elongated in a most •; extraordinary manner, really looking as if the Beetle had been ^ drawn out like wire. The colour of this curious Beetle is i smooth shining-black, the elytra being reddish at the base, and ■f deepening into black at the apex, near which is an oval reddish

spot, varying in colour and size in different specimens. This } insect lives chiefly in the burrows of wood-eating Beetles, K especially those of Sinodendron or Hylesinus, and therefore s is so seldom seen that it is considered a valuable addition to I the cabinet. But, when one of its haunts is detected, a number J of the Beetles can generally be found. Mr. Ingall, for example, I took a quantity of these insects out of an old elm rail near { Sydenham. By some authors the generic name of N^BTnosoTifici I is prefixed to this Beetle. This is a very appropriate name, \ signifying ‘ thread-bodied.’ It is the only British species of [ its genus. f The larva of this Beetle is shown at Fig. g on the same if woodcut. Mr. Westwood went to visit the elm rails at Syden- ^ ham, and there succeeded in procuring many examples of ri larvse and perfect insects. He remarked that the perfect 18 insects were sluggish during the day, but that at night they ^ became more active, trying to bite each other if they met. }( The larvae, like many other creatures which inhabit b can run backwards as easily as they can burrows* forwards, and this a they do by means of a clasper on the end ®f the body. They e are sluggish except when excited, and then move about very ■r. much after the manner of the Eove Beetles, moving their « head from side to side, and opening I if in menace. their strong jaws as

Another member of this family is remarkable for being

without eyes. This is Anommatus duodecim-striatus, which

is shown on Woodcut XI. Fig. 3. It is the only British species of its genus. This tiny Beetle is about the fourteenth of an inch in length, and may be found in stores of flour and rice, especially the latter, from which fact some entomologists infer that it has been imported into England, and is not an indigenous British species. Its colour is warm-chestnut, and its body u is very smooth and shining, but deeply punctured, and the elytra are regularly striated. The generic title Anommatus signifies ‘eyeless,’ and is given to the insect in consequence of the entire absence of eyes, so that it really deserves the name of Blind Beetle. Perhaps the reader may remember that several other orders of insects afford examples of eyeless species, especially among the exotic ants.

The family of the Cryptophagidse will be represented by one example.

In all these little Beetles the antennae have eleven joints, and li are boldly clubbed at the end. The elytra are not truncated, ii and the coxae of the first and intermediate pair of legs are globular, while those of the hind pair are cylindrical. The name of Cryptophagidae is given to these Beetles because they feed mostly on cryptogamous plants, especially the fungi. Like the last family, the species are very much like each other, and require much care before they can be ascertained. In examining the details of all these minute Beetles, I have found a I compound microscope with a two or one-and-a-half-inch object-j glass better than an ordinary pocket lens, but a Coddington lens will answer nearly as well in experienced hands. i

One example of this family is Gryptophagus pilosus, which is shown on Woodcut XI. Fig. 4, and the form of the antenna

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