+=====================================================================+ ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, SEVENTH EDITION: A MACHINE-READABLE TEXT TRANSCRIPTION, v1.2, The Nineteenth-Century Knowledge Project, 2022. nckp@temple.edu, https://tu-plogan.github.io/ Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature. 7th ed., 21 vols. Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, 1830-1842. Image scans: Natl. Library of Scotland. License: This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA. This entry: 7th edition, volume 9, page 59 [7:9:59] +=====================================================================+ ENTOMOLOGY. Entomology (from έντομον, insect , and λ ογος, di s cou r se), is that branch of natural science which treats of the history and habits of the insect tribes. Its subjects are the most numerous and diversified of any of those topics which engage the attention of the student of nature; and as they exemplify in a most surprising and admirable manner, both by their structure and instincts, the wisdom of the author and creator of all things, and form a highly interesting department of human knowledge, we deem their elucidation deserving of a lengthened dissertation. The English term insect is no doubt derived from the Latin word insectum or intersectum, signifying cut into or intersected, in allusion to the obvious divisions of head, thorax, and abdomen, of which their general forms consist. The Greek word bears the same signification. CHAPTER I. DEFINITION OF INSECTS—THEIR ORDERS EXPLAINED—AND THEIR STUDY DEFENDED. In the article Animal Kingdom of this work (see vol. iii. p. 179), we have given a view of the primary divisions of the subjects of zoological science. The third primary division, that of the articulated animals, consists of four great classes:—!. Annelides, such as serpulae, nereids, leeches, earthworms, &c.; 2. Crustacea, such as crabs, lobsters, and shrimps; 3. Arachnides, such as spiders, scorpions, and mites; and 4. Insecta, or true insects, such as beetles, butterflies, and moths. The class Insecta of Linnaeus included not only those last named, but also Crustacea and Arachnides, and was thus almost co-extensιve with what we now regard as a primary division under the term Articulata. We have, however, already discussed those two branches as distinct classes, under their respective titles (see Arachnides and Crustacea), and we slιall not repeat the important characters by which they are distinguished from genuine insects. The term insect was anciently applied to a much more extended series of beings than are now included under that designation. It seems to have comprised whatever was destitute of an internal skeleton, and exhibited a body composed of articulated parts. In this sense it accords with its application in the writings of Aristotle and Pliny, with certain restrictions however, for these authors were in advance of their successors, in as far as they distinguished the Crustacea from insects. Swammerdam and Ray adopted the definition of the ancient authors, but erred in classing the Vermes or worms with insects, a combination which does not appear for certain to have entered into Aristotle’s views. Linnaeus wisely separated these two classes, but at the same time injudiciously joined the Crustacea with insects, placing them in his order Aptera, along with spiders and scolopendrae. Fabricius in that respect followed the same general plan, and included all those living creatures in the same class, notwithstanding the better example shown by Brisson, who had separated all the species possessed of more than six feet, that is, the Crustacea and Arachnides of Lamarck. Since the death of the great Swedish naturalist, our improved knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the invertebrated classes has thrown a clearer light upon the subject, and many modifications have taken place in the arrangement of the insect tribes. Insects, properly so called, may be defined as animals without vertebra:, six-footed, with a distinct head furnished with two antenna and a pair of composite immoveable eyes, and breathing through stigmatic openings which lead to interior tracheae. ^[1. The above definition excludes those many-footed species called Juli and Scolopendre, which, though still included by some modern writers among insects, were established as a distinct class by Dr Leach (Edinburgh Encyclopedia, vol. vnι.; and Linn. Tran,, vol. ιx.) under the title of Myriapoda, and were recognised as such by LatreiUe in his Familie, du Regne Animal, p. 322. Although we did not allude to this class in our exposition above referred to (art. Animal Kingdom), we think that the removal of the two genera lust named from the Insecta is advisable, as it leaves the latter in a state to be more clearly defined, as well as actually-composed of more natural constituent parts or, as MM. Audouιn and Milne Edwards have expressed it, plu, homogene. “En effet,” say these authors, tous les animaux qui la composent alors ont le corps divisé en trois parties distinctes, une tête, un thorax, et un abdomen; trois paires de pattes sont fixées au thorax; souvent deux ou quatre ailes sont suspendues à la même partie; la tête porte deux antenne, et deux yeux immobiles; la bouche est garnie d une sene d appendices modifiés pour broyer les ahmens solides, ou pour pomper ceux qui sont liquides; un système particulier de vaisseaux sert il la respiration, et porte le nom de trachée,; il existe un vaisseau dorsal qui n’est autre chose qu'un coeur rudimentaire; mais il n’y a point de véritable système circulatoire; les sexes sont distinctes; enfin, la plupart de ces êtres éprouvent, pendant les premiers temps de leur vie, des métamorphoses plus ou moins complètes; mais jamais ils n’acquièrent, après leur sortie de l’oeuf, de nouveaux segmens à leur corps." (Résumé d' Entomologie, p. 12.) All true insects, then, are hexapod, or s ix-footed ; and the few genera now or lately classed with them, but of which the amount of feet is greater than six, belong to the Myriapoda .-under which term the reader, m due time, will find the l r history and classification.] x As we shall have occasion to mention many terms which may not be familiar to the general reader, we deem it advisable, instead of taking his knowledge for granted, to commence with a brief enumeration and explanation of the various orders in Entomology, so that their names, when subsequently brought forward, may be associated with some definite idea. We shall consider all insects as included under eleven different orders, as follows. 1. Coleoptera (from Koλfoj, a sheath, and πτιaa, wings), including all those kinds commonly called beetles Their membranous wings, which are the true organs of flight, are protected by a superior and anterior pair of harder consistence, called elytra. They are all masticators, and are provided with mandibles and maxillae. Plates CCXXI-VII. 2. Orthoptera (from ogðof, straight, and ¢rr¶a, wings), including crickets, grasshoppers, locusts, &c. The upper wings are of the consistence of parchment, reticulated, and more or less incumbent. The mouth is provided with mandibles and maxillae. Plate CCXXVIII. 3. Hemiptera (from r>ρterα by Mr Kirby, from α!f, inconspicuous, because there is an appearance of something resembling elytra. ∙] Plate CCXXXIX. fig. 13, 13 a, 14, 14 a, 14 b. 10. Thysanoura (probably from S/αζ«, to dance, and oι^α, tail), ^[3. In allusion, we presume, to the springing propensities of the insects of this order, which leap bv means of a setiform process bent beneath the abdomen.] likewise an apterous order, including the Poduroe and other tribes. Plate CCXXXIX. fig. 7, 8, 12, and 12 a. 11. Parasita (so named from their parasitical or adhesive propensities, because they dwell on the bodies of other animals) contains the gcnus Pediculus of Linnaeus, and the Nirmi or bird-lice.^[4. Those who assume the occurrence of marked transformations as a basis for the grouping of the orders, will rank the first nine of the above as Metabοla, or insects undergoing metamorphosis, and the last two as Arnetabőla, or insects undergoing no metamorphosis.] Plate CCXXXIX. fig. 10, 11, and 11 a. The study of the structure and habits of this numerous and diversified class of beings has long been a favourite occupation with men of science in all the continental countries of Europe, and has assumed of late years in the southern parts of our own island a character of considerable and increasing importance. Works have been recently published in this country which need fear no comparison with the most finished examples of pictorial representation; and when we consider how sparingly the subject of Entomology has been hitherto patronized by the-public, we cannot sufficiently esteem the exertions of those who have thus devoted their time and talents to a pursuit which brings with it no other reward than the delight which every instructed mind necessarily drawş from the contemplation of a favourite subject. Entomology, in truth, still stands in a difficult and somewhat dubious position, and presents itself to many under a far less inviting aspect than its beautiful sister-science of Botany. In connection with the latter study, the very mass of mankind, even the profanum vulgus, however ignorant of the technical details, have many early formed, and therefore pleasing associations. Every country-house has its flower parterres, and numerous cottages their glowing borders,—botanic gardens have been formed in the vicinity of most of the larger cities, while nursery grounds are frequent in the neighbourhood even of provincial towns, —to say nothing of the “flower enamelled meads” which each sparkling spring and gorgeous summer calls into fleeting but constantly renewed existence. In addition to the more attainable nature of this popular pursuit, some bota nical knowledge is also regarded as a requisite branch of medical education; and although a tin box and a microscope do not constitute a man of science, still the subject derives advantage from that general though it may be superficial culture. But in Entomology every thing exists in a different order of relation. No “trivial fond regards” come in aid of the impaler of insects; and even the creatures themselves are too often regarded with such abhorrence, that one feels the more inclined to admire how those who endeavour to hand them down to an ungrateful posterity, should themselves be accused of cruelty. The time however is surely gone by when an apologetical defence of the study might be required, or in which the works of Omnipotence were regarded as important in proportion either to their magnitude or immediate subservience to the human race ;—and although we desire not to fall into an opposite error by maintaining the greater beauty and excellence of the more minutely elaborated designs of the Creator, we yet feel that they are fully more calculated to awaken our wonder and admiration. It would be easy to say that the richest and most elegant apparel which adorns the human race is the product of a caterpillar; that the blistering medicines so essential to the practice of the sanitory art are compounded from a beetle; that honey and wax, so valuable as articles of domestic economy, are derived from the glad labours of a hymenopterous fly; and that even that splendid and regal dye the “Tyrian purple” of ancient days, supposed to have been obtained from the Purpura patula, a shell-fish of the Mediterranean, is superseded by the tinctorial uses of the cochineal, a small and obscure insect, which nevertheless the skill of the chemist has rendered indispensable even to the garment of kings. But in truth far higher and more delightful results ensue from these researches, than can ever be named in the “cui bono” catalogue of a mere economist; for whatever tends to elevate the mind of youth above the grosser pleasures of sense, or even occasionally to disconnect our maturer years from the more turbulent occupations and harassing cares which life is heir to, assuredly carries along with it its own reward. We doubt not that a more sedulous and frequent attention to natural history would in active minds pre-occupy the place which is otherwise in after years too often devoted to more perilous courses. Even the pursuits of literature are often vague and objectless, and not unfrequently engender a sickly sentimentalism, or other morbid affection in nowise akin to genius. But the objects which attract the attention of the naturalist are not the melancholy creations of the human intellect, which present so often but a lurid brightness, or a dim eclipse, in which noble thoughts are obscured by the “darkening scales” of vice or folly. They are the work of Him w ho cannot err, and who has doubtless not only peopled the teeming earth and the translucent waters of the “great deep” with all their innumerable and varied wonders, for a wise and beneficent purpose, of which our instruction and amusement form at least ą portion, but has, by the implantation of that strong instinctive love of nature which all ingenuous minds possess, demonstrated his desire that we should ennoble our humanity by magnifying his manifold works, the “wondrous works of him that is perfect in knowledge.” While the beautiful simplicity and regular order observable in those phenomena which proceed under the superintendence of omnipotence, commonly called the operations [7:9:61] of nature, are well adapted to the comprehension of understandings laying no claim to the highest order, the more complex relations of the subject present a vast field for speculative or theoretical exercise,· sufficient to occupy the faculties of the most powerful minds. It is thus that, in its totality, the subject of natural history holds out to each capacity the allurement of an occupation suited to every gradation of intellectual power; for while in its mysterious interconnection with other branches of natural science, as well as in its own peculiar complexities, it cannot be effectively grasped by mere human understanding, its manifold minor features may be scanned with intelligence by whoever desires so to do. If indeed the value of a pursuit is to be estimated by the comparative ease with which it may be followed by persons of the most moderate fortunes, few can rank higher than Entomology. While the specimens sought for by the mineralogist and student of geology are frequently heavy and cumbrous, and not seldom extremely expensive, and while that sad representative of the beauties of the living Flora, called a Hortus Siccus, is but a frail and fleeting memorial of the “days of other years,” presenting, even after a tedious and troublesome process of preservation (by courtesy so called), no trace of their original brightness, the most exquisite examples of entomological beauty, if not too roughly handled at the period of their capture, remain, with the most ordinary attention, for a lifetime in their pristine state,—and what that state actually is, all may satisfy themselves in the course even of the most superficial examination,— For nature here Wantons as in her prime, and plays at will Her virgin fancies. Exceeding in amount of species all the other subjects of zoology,—unrivalled in the dazzling brilliancy of their colours, which combine the clearness and decision of tint possessed by flowers, with the exquisitely varied markings of the feathered race, and the metallic splendour of the mineral kingdom,—surpassed by no other work of creation in the wonderful structure of their parts, and certainly surpassing all in the adaptation of that structure to the perfect fulfilment of those natural though to us still mysterious instincts, which in every age have excited the admiration of mankind,—is it to be wondered at that the study of insects should occupy a prominent place in our pursuit of knowledge? Much more do we wonder that thousands of the best educated, and in other respects most enlightened minds, should still feel averse to a study which unfolds such a world of unseen wonders. The subject, too, is literally inexhaustible; and while some who love to methodize, and thereby to circumscribe, the subjects of human knowledge, or who err in their estimate of the perceptive powers of the human mind as applied to other matters of enquiry, may be deterred by the vague boundaries of such a field, a greater number, and with more propriety it is hoped, may be induced to enter it, from the very consideration of such a rich and unreaped harvest. While a fragment of inert matter, which chemical analysis determines to differ in its constituent proportions from other fragments previously examined, is once in a lustre dignified by the name of a new species, and the name of a Haiiy or a Dolomieu is bestowed on the unconscious mass,—and while, even in the richer domain of British botany, the student of that science, however much he may extend our knowledge of the localities of plants, labours with but a feeble chance of adding to the actual list even of indigenous species, and ha⅜ probably no chance at all of ever refreshing his eyes with the sight of a plant which nobody ever saw before,—it is far otherwise with the innumerable tribes of insect life. The “gilded summer flies” are numerous as leaves in Vallumbrosa. No recess of the forest so obscure but there the “winged messengers” are seen to sport and play; and each summer sunbeam falls not alone on the dewy herbage of the open glades, but lights up the gorgeous hues of those bright creatures which a mystical philosophy has ennobled as the types of the disencumbered human soul, and which even the sombre Dante has named angelical. Non v’accorgete voi, ehe noi siam vermi Nati a formar ľangelica farfalla. Every pool of water is pregnant with life; each lonely moor or old deserted quarry, which scarcely “feels in its barrenness one touch of spring,” is the chosen abode of thousands of living creatures, of small dimensions it is true, but of singular beauty both of form and structure, and often adorned with hues, Which make the rose’s blush of beauty pale, And dim the rich geranium’s scarlet blaze. Even the pastoral melancholy of the green mountains is enlivened by the occurrence of many interesting species. One of the most beautiful of European coleopterous insects {Carabus nitens) occurs among the peat hags, and other places where heath and turf abound, and where its sparkling coat of gold and green, tinged with a brighter lustre than that of rubies, is singularly contrasted with the blackness of the soil in which it seems imbedded. The desolate and cloud-piercing summits of the highest hills produce several species, which are the more highly prized from their scarcity, and the difficulties with which they are obtained.^[5. The foregoing brief “defence of insects” coincides with that which, since the above was written, has appeared in our EntomoìeÌŗia Edinensis.] Wc have alluded to the ease and economy w ith which the study of Entomology may be pursued, more especially when our attention is confined to the species of a district. Of course the collector of foreign insects labours under some disadvantage, from the more multifarious nature of his subjects, their larger size, higher price, and more scattered localities. But the home collector, especially of the Coleoptera, is more favourably situated.^[6. A glazed frame or drawer, lined with cork, and capable of containing many hundred species, may be made for a few shillings.] The total Entomology of most districts may be amply illustrated w ithin the bounds of a cabinet of a few feet square, and the most ordinary attention and regularity suffice for its preservation. Most districts produce species which are comparatively rare in other quarters, and thus by means of interchanges nume-. rous additions may be made from time to time: so that with a moderate share of assiduity and perseverance, a large collection may be amassed with little or no pecuniary outlay. In these and many other pleasant particulars, on which wc need not here dilate, Entomology possesses advantages over all the kindred branches of natural history. Wc shall now pass to a short exposition of some of the more characteristic features in the structure and functions of insects. CHAPTER II. THE EXTERNAL ANATOMY OF INSECTS. Our knowledge of the manners of these creatures presents us with few general results, and this is scarcely to be wondered[7:9:62] at, when we consider with how small a number we have any accurate acquaintance. It may even be doubted whether we are completely informed of the history of any one species within the entire range of Entomology. Of some we know the perfect state, but have never seen the larva; of others the larvae are well known, but the perfect insect remains in obscurity, so that when we consider the numerous changes which these creatures undergo, from their first hatching to their final metamorphosis, we need scarcely wonder that even the most familiar species present points in their history, which it is by no means easy to unravel. It is otherwise however with the classification of insects, which, depending mainly on an attentive examination of external characters, is so far independent alike of anatomical investigation and the study of manners, although these, when ascertained, form of course the truest test by which to appreciate the difference between a natural and an artificial system. The period is comparatively recent during which the internal structure ofinsects began to be regarded as a subject of interest. Their external characters were the first to attract attention; and as a communicable knowledge of these was necessary for all the practical purposes of classification, as well as to establish the means of mutual understanding among naturalists, it is well that that branch has been rendered so complete and satisfactory. In former times, whatever facts of interest might have been ascertained, were too often but of slight avail, in consequence of our vague knowledge of the species to which they applied. But the most ordinary attention on the part of the anatomist, to the systematic works of modern times, will now suffice to inform him of the place which his subject occupies in the scale of nature; and hence the importance, not seldom overlooked by the physiologist, of even the minutest external characters, when accurately ascertained and clearly described. It has indeed been stated as a truism, that whoever attempts to deduce the real affinities of the animal kingdom from a consideration of the external characters alone, will in most cases mislead both himself and others.^[7. Wilson's Illustrations of Zoology, vol. i. pref. p. 4.] But it must also be admitted, that comparative anatomists have too frequently an idea that nothing is or can be of importance which extends beyond the sphere of their own exertions. They forget that the general form and covering, and, in short, the whole of the external characters, however they may labour under the misfortune of being obvious to a common observer, are just as much a part of an animal’s organic constitution, as the nerves, viscera, muscles, blood-vessels, and bones, or whatever else is most mysterious and recondite; and that, in fact, without a precise knowledge of the former, the information conveyed by the latter would be uncertain, or of no avail. The chief advantage of the internal structure is, that it is less liable to variation from the influence ot local or accidental circumstances: its chief disadvantage results from the difficulty of its ascertainment, and the contrariety of opinion which exists among physiologists regarding the uses of the organs, even after their conformation has been ascertained. A mere knowledge of external character is perhaps nearly as usefid as an acquaintance, however intimate, with anatomical structure, when nothing is either known or sought for respecting the external appearance, as a necessary guide to the higher knowledge of animal instincts and modes of life, the uses of living creatures in the general economy of nature, their exquisite adaptation to the circumstances under which they are placed, their distribution over the earth’s surface, and other points of philosophical investigation. The mere anatomist may smile at the mere collector of shells and butterflies; and with just as much propriety may the mere naturalist or virtuoso smile in return at him who, knowing, or supposing that he knows, every convolution of a viscus, or ramification of an artery, is yet unable to recognise, amid the perplexιngly multiplied varieties which may be presented to him, the precise animal which has been the subject of so much anxious and careful investigation. But when anatomy and natural history go hand in hand, the obscure labyrinth of nature, so far as human capacity can penetrate, receives its noblest illumination. Notwithstanding the meritorious labours of Swammerdam, Malpighi, Reaumur, and Lyonnet, who were the first greatly to signalise themselves in the difficult field of insect anatomy; in spite of the more recent and scarcely less successfill exertions of Cuvier, Comparettι, Ramdohr, Treviranus, Gaede, Sprengel, Savigny, Marcel de Serres, Geoffroy St Hilaire, Carus, Meckel, Audouin, and Dufour (to make no mention of many others who yet deserve to be held in remembrance),—such is the immense extent and variety of this wonderful class of beings, that we fall infinitely short of possessing any thing like a general or completed knowledge of their structure. In this paucity of well-established facts under which we labour, it would indeed be unphilosophical to attempt the induction of general rules; and all that we shall here attempt shall be to record such observations as seem likely to bear substantially upon the subject, and to have formed an actual advance in our knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of insects. The study of the interior structure of these creatures does not at first sight hold out the promise of much that is either interesting or useful. The enormous distance which seems to separate all ιnvertebrated animals from man, and even from the lower mammiferous and other vertebrated tribes, has induced the belief that no practical results can ever spring from such a source. But the philosophical observer, who knows how important is frequently the connection between the greatest and the least of things, and how, like the thread of Ariadne, the tracing of a slender chain may lead to unforeseen conclusions of the highest value, will not despise the lights which a better knowledge even of insect anatomy may be one day destined to throw upon some of the many still obscure points in the physiology of man. The observations of Μ. Dufour and others have already shown us what an admirable simplicity presides in these despised tribes over the exercise of those most important functions, which in red-blooded animals require such a complicated organic structure as to be almost incomprehensible. But as we descend in the scale of nature, we see more clearly the distinction between what is necessary, or merely accessory or superfluous, and thus by degrees we may attain to a knowledge of the essential characters of things. Even in its more superficial bearings on natural history, the dissection of insects is necessary to ascertain several disputed points regarding the sexual distinctions of species, and to verify our views of the structure of the organs of the mouth, the antennae, tarsi, and other external parts, on which our establishment of tribes and genera mainly depends. When it is desired to dissect an insect, it ought to be placed on a piece of cork, immersed in pure water; and the various parts, as they float in the liquid, may be fixed in their most appropriate position by means of needles. With a view to prevent deception from any alteration in the relative position of the internal organs, it is desirable [7:9:63] to fix the insect in its natural horizontal posture, and to • commence the dissection from the dorsal region downwards. The following observations on the dissection of the minuter animals may be of service to the student. “The first thing that I have to observe is, that all dissections of small and soft objecte, e. g. worms, zoophytes, insecte, mollusca, &c. where it is desirable to obtain even tolerably accurate results, should be performed under water, by which the parte are kept floating and separated from each other, and consequently present themselves more distinctly. A very simple contrivance for investigations of this kind may be prepared in the following manner: A mass of tough wax (not too soft) is to be laid upon one or more porcelain saucers or capsules of different sizes, which are then to be put in a warm place until the wax melts so as to cover the surface evenly to the depth of a half or a third of an inch. If the object to be examined be laid upon this surface, it may be fixed by needles in any position that is wished; and, when covered with clear water, developed and dissected by means of suitable instruments. Of these, the best are very delicate forceps; pointed, well made, sharpcutting scissars; and small knives like cataract needles, some round, others with cutting edges, and fixed in slender wooden handles. For separating parte I have also employed small horn probes and fine brushes; whilst for examining them a good magnifying glass is frequently indispensable. If it is wished to preserve a preparation thus made, wax coloured at pleasure, as for the purpose of injections, is to be formed into little tablets about a quarter of an inch thick; one of them is then to be placed upon the saucer or capsule containing the preparation; the latter may then be transferred to it, arranged suitably upon it, fixed there by means of short needles, and both together placed in alcohol. Nor must I forget to mention, that the examination of very delicate organizations may frequently be conducted with greater facility and accuracy, if the object be previously allowed to remain some time in spirit, and thereby to become harder and contracted. This applies particularly to the dissection of nervous organs, and to the examination of very small embryos, of mollusca, and worms. There are various ways of destroying worms, insects, &c. for the purpose of dissecting, without injuring their organization. Mollusca, snails for example, as Swammerdam has remarked, are to be allowed to die in water, because by that means their body swells, and all the parts become more distinctly visible; they may afterw ards be kept in spirit (though not too long) for dissection. Worms, the larger zoophytes (for the smaller must be examined whilst alive), caterpillars, &c. are best destroyed by means of spirit; insects, on the contrary, by being dipped rapidly in boiling water, or in oil of turpentine.”^[8. Carus’s Introduction to Comparative Anatomy, translated by Gore, vol. ii. p. 389.] SECT. I. THE EXTERNAL COVERING OF INSECTS. Our knowledge of die structure and anatomy of this class may be said to be still in its infancy; for although many important facte have been legitimately generalized, we are still in ignorance of the formation of a thousand species for every one which has been examined. As the harder parts of insects, to which the muscles are attached, are superficial, the class has been described as bearing their ske-etons externally; and a transcendental anatomy has not scrupled to determine the exact analogy which each portion of their covering bears to the bony frame-work of the vertebrated tribes. This comparison has been instituted by Μ. Geoffroy St Hilaire, an eminent physiological naturalist of France, who maintains, with many of his countrymen, that all animals are vertebrated. The doctrine, whatever may be its other merits, is not entitled to the credit of novelty, as an English writer of the name of Willis had, so far back as the year 1692, published his opinion that the external envelope of the body of insects represented the internal articulated column of the vertebrated tribes. Μ. de Blainville, on the other hand, regards the corneous covering of insects rather as analogous to the skin or cutaneous system of the higher classes. The hardness of the calcareous or homy envelope of the greater number of insects is owing, in Latreille's opinion, to the consistence of the excretion interposed between the dermis and the epidermis, or what is termed in man the mucous tissue. This excretion also contains the brilliant and varied colours which add so greatly to the beauty of the class.^[9. Règne Animal, t. iv. p. 2.] According to Μ. Odιer, who has attentively examined the composition of the harder parts of insects, the substance of this envelope is of a peculiar nature. He has named it chitine. He observes that the phosphate of hme forms the great proportion of all the salts contained in the teguments of insects, while that ingredient is but trifling in the covering of the Crustacea, although the latter abounds in the carbonate, which is not found in the other class.^[10. Mem. de la Soc. d'Hist. Nat. t. 1. p. 29.] The facte stated by him militate against the analogies attempted to be established on the subject; and the observations of Μ. Straus go far to demonstrate that those teguments do not form a true skeleton, but really represent the skin of the vertebrated classes. When we use the word skeleton, then, in relation to insects, the reader will understand its application merely to the external covering. On analysing the elytra of the cockchafer, Μ. Odier ascertained the existence, l st , of albumen; 2d, of an extractive matter, soluble in water; 3d, of a brown-coloured animal substance, soluble in potass and insoluble in alcohol; 4 th, of a coloured oil, soluble in alcohol; 5 th, of three salts, viz. subcarbonate of potass, phosphate of lime, and phosphate of iron; 6 th, of a peculiar substance which constitutes a fourth part in weight of the elytron. Albumen is so generally distributed among the animal organs that its presence was to be expected. But the oil is deserving of further experimental observation. Robiquet found it of a green colour in cantharides; while, according to Odιer, it is brown in the cockchafer, and red in a species of crioceris. Now as each of these insects is itself of a corresponding hue, it is natural to suppose that the oil is the colouring matter. 1 he peculiar substance which forms so large a proportion of the elytra is named chitine by Μ. Odιer. If we plunge a coleopterous insect into a solution of potassium, and keep up a pretty high temperature, we shall observe that the so-called skeleton neither dissolves nor changes its form; it merely becomes discoloured during the operation, while all the viscera and interior muscles disappear; and whatever remains of the insect is chitine. This substance exists in the whole of the envelope, and is also found to occur in the more solid covering of the Crustacea. If however we compare the preceding results with those obtained by Μ. Chevreul in the course of his experiments on crustaceous animals, we shall perceive some remarkable distinctions in the constitution of their harder parts. The presence of subcarbonate of potass is a sinking character among insects. It does not occur in the class Crustacea. The phosphate of lime, a sparing ingredient among the latter, [7:9:64] forms a preponderating part of the salts in the envelope of insects, while the carbonate of lime is absent, although it forms the base of the carapace or covering of crabs and lobsters. It has been stated as a regulating law in animal chemistry, that the bones of the higher orders have more of the phosphate and less of the carbonate of lime in their composition, while the proportions were reversed among the inferior tribes. But the observations of Μ. Odier show the inadequacy of chemical character to serve as a basis on which to found our analogies of organization; for if strictly applied to insects, that class must be removed from the place which they now occupy in our system, and be combined with others of a higher nature, with which in truth they have no’connection. The harder and more solid parts of insects are certainly to thém what the internal skeleton is to the vertebrated tribes. They form the support and frame-wörk of the body. It is on this account that the term skeleton, though not Strictly applicable, has been used, both in ancient and modern times, to designate the corneous external system of these creatures. This comparatively solid system is itself formed by the union of many parts, which however have received no general name; so that, while in discussing the vertebrated tribes we merely say that their skeleton is formed of bone, all that we advance in regard to insects is, that it is eomposed of pieces. In the higher tribes each individual bone is well known by its own distinctive name; but the insect tribes in that respect have been but obscurely defined. Guided by the light of human anatomy, observers have sought to discover in insects all those parts to which they could apply previously established names; but analogies based upon mere appearance are incapable of great or useful extension; and insects would certainly have been better known had they been studied in the first place individually, and no farfetched comparisons instituted till after a more ample knowledge of actual organization. But instead of this, the best determined functions of the superior animals have been assumed as points of departure, and all the parts of insects which seemed to fulfil the same purposes have been deter-τninately regarded as analogous. Now it is quite admissible to say, that in insects, as among the vertebrated tribes, there is progression, vision, manducation, &c. because these are the attributes, more or less general, of all living beings; but it has not always been demonstrated that particular and more special functions are always performed by the same or apparently corresponding parts. Μ. Dufour, how- ’ ever, has announced the following results in relation to the ^articulated animals themselves: Isí, that the skeleton of the Crustacea and Arachnides (two important classes already described in this work) does not differ from that of insects except by the mode of growth of the rings of which it is composed; 2<7, that those two classes of animals ∙ and insects themselves do not differ among each other, but by the greater or less extent in the development of the parts of which they are composed. , ∙.∙ « í. The same may be asserted in regard to the disparities observable’between the different conditions of insects in the larva,- the chrysalis, and the perfect state. The various forms under which the same species is exhibited, and the singular and sometimes sudden transformations to which at is subjected, are'found to result, when analysed, from the growth of parts. > This has been demonstrated by the writings of Swammerdam and other modern writers on the anatomy of caterpillars, as well as by the beautiful and more recent observations of Savigny on the mouths of Lcpîdop- -tera in the-perfect state, compared with the same parts in their, earliest .condition.^[11. Mémoires sur les Animaux sans Vertèbres.] The observation < is particularly applicable to the solid parts of insects. In the larva each segment exists under a nearly uniform development, while in the perfect state several of these segments have acquired a prodigious increase. This is the cause of the vast difference in their exterior envelope at different periods of their existence. The nymph or chrysalis is in the intermediate condition, and is formed, like the larva, of simple rings, which, however, no longer exhibit an equal degree of uniformity. But the perfect insect is the final term of transformation. Considered in a general way, its covering does not essentially differ from that of the larva; but the three segments next the head have acquired a great increase of bulk, to enable them to support the appendages of legs and wings, which were merely rudimentary, or scarcely existent, in its first condition; and the distinction of head, thorax, and abdomen becoming strongly visible, the entire aspect of the insect has undergone a change. It is highly interesting to observe the influence which the decrease or development of one portion of structure exercises upon another; in other words, the constant and intimate relation of the proportion of parts. The maximum of increase in the metathorax is always in relation to the rudimentary state of the mesothorax, while, on the contrary, the development of the latter produces or accompanies the decrease of the former. Thus also the parts of the mouth, as demonstrated by Μ. Savigny, are sometimes free, and capable of varied movement, for the purposes of mastication; while in several tribes they are brought close together, lengthened, and as it were amalgamated in the form of trunk or sucker; and so the segments of the thorax, in the different orders, more or less disunited among themselves, support the wings, the balancers, the elytra, according to the various kinds. From these and similar considerations have been deduced the conclusion that the increase of one portion exercises over the neighbouring portions a peculiar influence, which explains whatever differences may be remarked in the individuals of each order, family, and genus. And this general consequence, which results from numerous observations, necessarily includes and accounts for that incoherent series of anomalies so puzzling to the superficial inquirer, but which are only regarded as such, because the labourers in the field of anatomy have but seldom taken into their consideration the totality of the articulated animals, and have more seldom still thought fit to occupy themselves in a careful comparative analysis of the parts which enter into the composition of • the external skeleton of these despised tribes. We shall here briefly consider the essential characters of the so-called skeleton among the articulated tribes. It is composed of segments, which are themselves formed by a determinate number of pieces; but their most obvious character is, that they are provided with a pair of feet, and with two openings to the respiratory organs. But along with such segments as present these parts, we may usually observe many others which are not so provided, or at least in which the feet are wanting; and they may either differ in their siże and proportions, or closely resemblé each other in those respects. In the latter case, the most simple form is exhibited; and if we ascertain the Composition of a single segment, and their amount, we have a knowledge of the entire animal. This simplicity of form, however, is -not often observable; for it more frequently happens that the same individual présents great disparity in the size and composition of its segřnėnts, and in the appendages with Which they are furnished. w; « - Thtí Scolopendrae (belonging to the class Myriapoda) ex-hĩbit[7:9:65], according to Μ. Dufour, one of the most simple forms of the articulated classes, in as far as they present the greatest uniformity of character in the parts of which they are composed. Even in them, however, we may observe, at the anterior portion, some pairs of feet, which are rudimentary, and crowded together towards the heħd; so that it would be possible to figûre an animal still more uniformly composed, by supposing that the fect thus thrown together had been developed uniformly with the appendages of the ensuing segments. We should then have had to recognise merely a head, and a certain number of rings, all of a like nature. But it might be possible still further to reduce and simplify the proposition, by regarding the head itself as an assemblage or union of segments, bearing appendages merely analogous to the feet. Thus, to realize the supposition of a skeleton uniformly constructed throughout all its parts, nothing more would be necessary than to give to the segments of the head a development equal to that of the others, and to restore to its appendages (the feet) their essential usage, that of locomotion, instead of the secondary usage to which they had been subjected. This view has been presented in order to exhibit what has been regarded as the fundamental plan of insect formation; for it is in truth the corresponding or unequal increase of the segments, the union or division of the pieces of which they are composed, the maximum of development in some, the rudimentary condition of others, that form the agreements or differences of character in the entire series of articulated animals.^[12. Ann. des Sciences Nat. t. i. p. 115.] If the development is uniform, or nearly so, in each segment, we have the condition of the Annelides, of worms, and of the larvae of insects. If, on the contrary, this equilibrium is destroyed, and the maximum of increase takes place in the first, second, and third segments ensuing the head, we have the form and character of a perfect insect ; if the change is still greater, we reach the Arachnides; if greater still, the decapodous Crustacea. The importance of studying the skeleton of insects is greater than even among the higher classes, because, being essential, it forms a genuine basis, and being at the same time external, it offers to the eye of the zoologist a ready mode of determination. While engaged in the consideration of the various organs of insects, a numerous list of disparities in structure might no doubt be collected, and the term anomaly, according to its frequent but by no means philosophical application, brought into constant use. That fatal word, however, has been too often substituted in place of an explicit interpretation of phenomena not in any way difficult of solution, certain general principles being kept in view. Of these, one of the most importance is, that all the differences exhibited by insects, and all the so-ealled anomalous organs which they present, are the result of a greater or less development of certain parts existing generally throughout the entire class.^[13. Hid. p. 102.] The contrariety of opinion among naturalists regarding the existence or proportion of certain parts of structure, has arisen partly from a discordance in the use of terms, and partly from the organs themselves not being submitted to a careful analytical investigation. It is thus, for example, that the names of sternum and scutellum, in place of being bestowed on portions of which the contours have been precisely determined, have only been applied when these portions happened to exhibit certain accidental and conventional characters. By this means we read in almost every page of classification, that one insect possesses a scutellum and that another does not; or that a particular genus is characterized by its existence, and another by its absence; while the fact is, that these partsexist in all insects, although the names in their usual application have been bestowed only upon peculiar and not very important variations in ↑hcform. SECT. II. THE EXTERNAL CHARACTERS OF THE PRINCIPAL SEGMENTS OF AN INSECT’S BODY, VIZ. THE HEAD, THORAX, AND ABDOMEN. The form of the external covering of insects, even of the same species, differs greatly according to the existing condition of the individual. The segments of which the bodies of larvae are composed are generally of a uniform size when compared with each other, and the singular phenomena presented by metamorphosis consist chiefly in the greater development assumed by certain segments than by others. The nymph (called chrysalis among the Lepidoptera) exhibits the intermediate or transitionary state. Its segments are unequally developed, and this inequality is greatly increased on the assumption of the final state, in which certain segments are prodigiously enlarged, while others suffer a corresponding diminution. In the imago, or complete condition, the three segments next the head undergo the most notable alteration; for, besides their increase of bulk, they become furnished with wings and articulated legs, which had previously existed in a very rudimentary condition. In that state also the relative proportions of the segments are so changed that the identity of several becomes difficult to recognise, and the most obvious divisions henceforth consist of head, thorax, and abdomen. These parts are severally characterized by peculiar attributes, the nature of which we shall now endeavour to explain. The head is by far the most complicated portion, and it is necessary that its structure should be well understood, as it furnishes the most important characters on which modern genera are founded or made known. The parts most deserving of attention are the mouth, antennoe, and eyes. The organs of the mouth present in their different combinations a great variety of form among the articulated classes. In relation to all such animals as are provided with a head, more particularly the vertebrated tribes, the term mouth is never of ambiguous application, but refers to those parts which are placed exteriorly at the entrance of the intestinal canal, and effect the process of mastication; but in regard to the acephalous or nearly headless tribes, sueh as annelides, worms, and the radiated animals, its application is less definite and precise. Among the great series of living beings included by Linnaeus in the class of insects, all of which are furnished with a head, the parts of the mouth are no longer doubtful. It has been remarked, however, that the sucker of the larvae. in the last family of the dipterous order being entirely interior when not in use i presents a singular approximation in that particular to the intestinal worms. It will be readily conceived that the mouth of insects must be adapted to the particular manners of life peculiar to each natural group, and must therefore vary in accordance with their instinctive habits. It was thus that even the earliest naturalists perceived and expressed the distinction between insects provided with teeth or cutting jaws, and those furnished with trunks or suckers. The use of the microscope in modern times, and the deep desire which prevailed towards the conclusion of the seventeenth and commencement of the eighteenth centuries, to illustrate the mysteries of animal organization, produced much more detailed and exact accounts of the parts of the mouth in insects than were previously possessed. The works of Leeuwenhoeck[7:9:66], Swammerdam, and Réaumur are mines of information; while Scopoh and Degeer still further generalized the observations of these illustrious naturalists. Scopoli, we believe, was the first to apply the knowledge of these parts in characterizing the genera of the hymenopterous and dipterous orders; but it is to a celebrated disciple of Linnaeus, John Christian Fabncius, that we owe the first general theory of the parts of manducation, and its application to entomology in general. The alimentary substances sought for by insects are either comparatively hard and solid, or of a more soft and fluid nature. Thence we find upon examination numerous tribes of insects provided with a mouth so constructed as to tear and masticate the substances on which it is designed to act; while many others are characterized by a tube-hke mouth, or one resembling a delicate tongue extended when m action, and spirally rolled upon itself when in repose. Hence the great primary distinctions among the orders of insects, and their recognised division into masticators (mandιbulata) and suckers (haustellata), the former living on solid substances, the latter on such as are fluid. Whatever may be the structure of the mouth in insects, it is to one or other of those types of form that each must be referred. We are indebted to the beautiful researches of Savigny (1814) for the first accurate analysis and elucidation of these parts, and of their relationship throughout the articulated tribes. Latreille, however, had previously instituted a slighter comparison between the mouths of the suctorial and mandibulated tribes, as Lamarck has admitted in his report on Savigny’s work. Savigny divides insects formerly so named into two groups, the hexapodes, or such as have six feet, and the apιropodes, or such as possess a greater number. The mouth of the latter forms two proper types distinct from those of the former; but it is with the polymorphous hexapodes, or such as undergo transformations, that is, insects properly so called, that we are now concerned. We shall first consider the parts of the mouth in the masticating tribes. They are essentially as follows: The labrum, the mandibles, the maxilla·, the palpi, the labium, and the mentum, the two latter, according to the views of different observers, sometimes passing under one and the same name. The reader may here consult Plate CCXX. fig. 1, a, b, c, d. ^[14. the labrum, surmounted by its broad nasus; ò the mandibulae; c the maxillae, with their jointed palpi; d the bifid labium, with its two palpi and broad basal portion or mentum.] The labrum or upper hp (fig. 1, a) is a flattened somewhat deflexed portion, consisting of a single piece,^[15. In the female of a small, bee of the genus ∕Ialictι,, it is said to be furnished with a slender appendage.] placed on the upper side of or above the mouth, and capable of moving upwards and downwards, or vertically. It is variable in form, but is usually somewhat square, often wider than long, and frequently notched or bifid. It is of a horny consistence, sometimes coriaceous, or even approaching to what may be named membranous in certain tribes, and is attached to the anterior portion of the head by a very short articulation. The mandibles or upper jaws (mandibula, fig. 1, bb) are two strong horny pieces, generally of a triangular form, more or less curved, convex externally, concave on their inner surfaces, and frequently toothed or serrated on their interior edge. They are placed on each side of the mouth by insertion on the sides of the head, immediately beneath the labrum or upper lip, which usually covers their base. They are each composed of a single piece of a hard consistence, and may be said to correspond to the jaws of the vertebrated tribes, the process of mastication being principally performed by them. They differ, however, m this respect, that their motion, instead of being vertical, is horizontal, or from within outwards, and vice versa. They vary greatly both in their actual size and relative dimensions, being small and slender in the glow-worm (Lampyris), and very large, projecting, and antler-like in the stag beetle {Lucanus cervus), the specieswhich we have selected for our engraved illustration. These internal surfaces are frequently parallel, but their dentations are not always the same in each, the projections of the one being however frequently so arranged as to enter the concavities of the other in order to admit of their closer union. But this is not seldom prevented by the curvature of the tips; and in several instances, where the mouth is wide, and the mandibles rather remote from each other at the base, the blades cross each other a little beyond the centre. The dentations of the mandibles, though sometimes called teeth, are merely projecting parts, although in the orthopterous tribes a coriaceous lamina seems in some respect to distinguish them from the body of the mandible to which they are attached, thus exhibiting an approach to that mode of fixture called gomphosis, in which one bone is fixed within another, as in the teeth of the higher tribes. The mandibles are more variable in their forms than the maxillae, and may occasionally be observed to differ (as in the genus Lucanus) even in the sexes of the same species. Immediately beneath the mandibles are situated the maxillae or under jaws (fig. 1, cc), which are likewise placed on each side of the mouth, and take their origin from the inferior and internal part of that cavity, near the origin of the under lip. Like that of the preceding parts, their action is horizontal, but their texture is less rigid, approaching to membranous, their colour usually paler, and their internal edges toothed, or finely fringed with hairs. The different portions of the maxillae have received different names, such as the cardo or hinge, the stipes or stalk, and the lobus or lobe (one or more) w hich forms the terminal portion. The last named is the most important portion, as it acts upon the food when preparing for deglutition, and when armed with teeth its substance is as hard as that of the mandibles. “This part,” says Mr Kirby, “is either simple, consisting only of one lobe, as you will find to be the case with the Hymenoptera, Dynastidoe, Nemognatha, and several other beetles; or it is compound, consisting of two lobes. In the former case, the lobe is sometimes very-long, as in the bee tribes, and at others very short, as in hister, &c. The bilobed maxillae present several different types of form. Nearest to those with one lobe are those whose lower lobe is attached longitudinally to the inner side of the stalk of the organ, above which it scarcely rises. Of this description is the maxilla in the common dung beetle {Geotrupes stercorarius), and rove beetle (Staphyliηus olens). Another kind of formation is where the lower lobe is only a little shorter than the upper; this occurs in a kind of chafer (Macraspιs tetradactyla, Macleay). A third is where the upper lobe covers the lower as a shield; as you will find in the Orthoptères order, and the Lιbellulιna, and almost in Meloe. A fourth form is where the upper lobe somewhat resembles the galeate maxilla just named, but consists of two joints. This exists in Staphylinuloe, &c. The last kind I shall notice is when the upper lobe not only consists of two joints, but is cylindrical, and assumes the aspect of a feeler or palpus. This is the common character of almost all the predaceous beetles (Entornophagι, Latr.)."^[16. Introduc. to Entom. vol. iv. p. 442.] This lobe, which has been usually regarded as an [7:9:67] additional palpus or feeler, is strictly analogous, in Mr Kirby’s opinion, to the upper lobe in other insects, and he thinks it ought rather to be called a palpiform lobe than a palpus. When there are two lobes, the upper one is most commonly the longer; but in many species of the tribe last alluded to, the lower equals or even exceeds the upper in length.^[17. Introduc. to Entom. vol. iv. p. 442.] Most of the predaceous beetles have the inner lobe of the maxillae armed with a terminal claw, which, among the Ci-cmdehdae, is articulated and moveable, but hxed in the other carabideous kinds. The maxillae are chiefly serviceable in holding the food, and preventing its falling from the mouth during the action of the mandibles, although in certain cases they no doubt also act their part in comminution. They are more fixed in their forms than the mandibles, and are of more essential service to the naturalist for the purposes of classification. Fabricius, indeed, has deduced the principal diagnostic of ten out of the thirteen orders (or classes, as he terms them), of which his system is composed, from these important parts. We shall now briefly notice certain appendages of the maxillae, the existence of which forms another distinction between them and the mandibles or upper jaws, which are never so provided. Towards the middle of the outer edge of the maxillae are attached two slender articulated filiform processes, known under the name of palpi (see the figure above referred to); the longer pair being the external, the others the internal palpi. Both are called maxillary, to distinguish them from the labial palpi, afterwards mentioned. According to the view expressed by Mr Kirby in the preceding quotation, the reader will perceive that each maxilla may be regarded as properly possessing only one palpus, although in certain tribes the upper lobe being jointed and palpiform, has occasioned its being regarded as one of these organs. The palpi are distinctly articulated, or composed of several jointed parts, and are capable of rapid and extended motion. They derive their name from a Greek word, which signifies to feel, and are supposed to constitute one of the principal organs of touch. Their uses, however in the insect economy have been variously interpreted. Bonsdorf regarded them as the organs of smell; while Knock, agreeing in that opinion so far as regards the maxillary palpi, conceives that those of the labium exercise the faculty of taste. Cuvier and Kirby favour touch as their true function, and this view is confirmed by the constant use which numerous species make of these organs while walking, by applying them perpetually to the surface of whatever objects they pass over. That they perform that function is rendered extremely probable by their structure, which is beautifully adapted, by its peculiar pliancy, to the examination of the substances with which they come in contact. They are in some respects analogous to the articulated extremities which form the principal seat of the sense of touch in vertebrated animals. It has also been noticed that several aquatic beetles, while swimming, bend back their antennae, and stretch forward their palpi, as if to explore their way through the ambiguous and weedy waters. As accessory to the maxillae, they are no doubt also employed in the selection of the most suitable alimentary portions of whatever substances have been previously seized upon by the more powerful parts of the mouth. In many insects there is only a single palpus to each of the maxillae. As the mouth is covered above by the labrum, or upper lip, so it is closed below by the under lip, or labium (fig. 1, d ). The latter differs in its structure from the labrum, being more complex than that organ, and composed as it were of two portions joined together. It varies in its form, is usually notched in front, and frequently furnished with a triangular tooth in the centre, which is sometimes bifid. Mr Kirby defines the labium as a moveable organ, often biarticulate, which, terminating the surface anteriorly, covers the mouth from beneath, and is situate between the maxillae. It includes the mentum and labial palpi. The more uncovered portion of the labium, or that which projects from the basal portion, is now named languette or ligula by Latreille, in consonance with the nomenclature of Fabricius. The mentum, or chin, is the lower joint of the labium when the latter is jointed; in other cases its base. Some contrariety of opinion seems to exist in the nomenclature of these parts. Mr Macleay bestows the name of mentum on the middle piece of the lower apparatus of the mouth. Its anterior portion, to which the palpi are so frequently attached, he calls the labium, while the basal part of the mentum is designated the stipes. In this view the labium of Macleay corresponds to the ligula, or rather tongue, of Kirby, while the mentum of the latter is analogous to the stipes of the former; for it appears that the term mentum is only applied by the author of the Introduction to Entomology to the lower division of the labium, when that organ (as in Hydrous pιceus) appears to consist of two joints or pieces. When there is no apparent division, or the only separation consists in a transverse elevated line (as in some lamellicorn beetles), or an obtuse angle formed by the meeting of the two parts, then the entire piece (the mentum merging in it) is regarded by Mr Kirby as the labium. Among the greater proportion of masticating insects there is placed anteriorly at each side of the ligula a small supporting piece or article, which takes its rise a little above the pharynx, and is terminated by a projecting appendage. These parts were named paraglossoe by liliger; and Μ. Latreille regards them as the true representatives of the tongue of the higher tribes. The labial palpi (Fig. 1, d), are inserted on each side of the ligula, and are usually longer than the internal and shorter than the external maxillary palpi. These palpi have never more than four articulations, in which they also differ from the external maxillary, which range from four to six. They are called labial palpi, because in many cases they derive their origm from the labium strictly so called; but in reference to Mr Kirby’s nomenclature of the parts, they might with equal propriety be denominated lingual palpi, since they not unfrequently emerge from what that excellent observer considers as the tongue. Among the predaceous Coleoptera, indeed, their source seems common to both these parts, as their base on its upper side is attached to the labium, on its under to the hgula or tongue. In some insects, such as the Orthoptera and dragon-flies, the membranous portion with which the anterior or internal face of the ligula is furnished, is thick and dilated near the centre, in the form of a little tongue, and is often divided near the middle by a groove. This portion, in the opinion of Latreille, probably occupies the place of the paraglossa; for these latter, in the instances referred to, are wanting, or not to be recognised. These are the principal parts of the mouth among the masticating insects. At the anterior root of the ligula, and a little lower than the middle of the interior space which intervenes between the mandibles, is placed the pharynx. In many Hymnenoptera this orifice of the oesophagus opens and shuts by means of an appendage, previously noticed by Reaumur in humble bees, and taken by Latreille for the labrum, in his observations on the structure of wasps. Savigny has since paid particular attention [7:9:68] to it, and has named it the epipharynx or epiglossa. La-treilie conceives it would be more simple to call it the sublabrum, because ,it is inserted beneath the anterior and superior margin of the head, immediately after the origin of the labrum. It, is. formed of∣ two. flattened portions, entirely or in great pärt membranous, applied the one upon the other, and of a triangular form. The upper portion is the most advanced. .This epipharynx, instead of being peculiar, as some have supposed, to tlje Hymenoptera, may be safely regarded aS existing.in the other masticating insects, particularly the Coleoptera, among which it· seems represented under a mödified form of structure by the membrane which clothes the corresponding portion of the head., i i ∙ . , > Although the hymenopterous tribes differ from the other mandibulatech orders, by the prolongation of the maxillae and,labium, and the valvular aspect of the formër, yet the parts of the møuth do not present any essential distinction. A remarkable characteristic of these orders, however, consists, as Savigny informs us, in the absence of the mentum properly so called. They also exhibit this disagreement from the other masticators, in as far as their maxillae embracing! longitudinally the. sides of the labium, these parts unite, together só as to form a tubular body or trunk (promuscis), serving for suction. As their aliments consist of softîsh śubstances, or of neçtaroüs juices, which, passing between 1 the maxillae and the labium, by means of the successive pressureιm) ; but that peculiarity is nothing mörë than an extension of the anterior portion of the head; and the organs: tì£ manducation, placed at its extremity, though of diminished size, in no way differ in structure from those of the other groups of their respective orders. We may add, that the labium or lower lip in the hymenopterous tribes is generally .moveable at its base, as may be observed in the corresponding tribes of the suctorial insects. In the suctorial or haustellated orders, properly so called, the organs of the mouth appear at first sight to differ entirely from those above described. The parts which are regarded aš analogous to the maxillae, and frequently even those which represent the mandibles, are fixed and immoveable, either entirely so, or towards their base, and (in regard to the maxillae) as far as the origin of the palpi.’ When the terminal portion is moveable, it is long, narrow, linear, sometimes in the form of a thread or bristle, sometimes resembling a dart or lancet, and fitted for piercing. The pharynx is the central point: around which these portions arrange themselves after the tubιflar form. Sometimes the lower lip, united with the inferior portion of the maxillae, and fixed like it, closes the cavity of the mouth, and the maxillae then constitute a kind of spiral tongue. In other Cases it iŝ~greatly prolonged, and assumes the form of an, arţiçuļated tube, or of an elbowed trunk, usually terminated by two lips susceptible of dilatation. In either of the latter'states it serves as a sheath to certain portions of a scaly structure and piercing nature, in the form of a bristle or lanċet, arid representing the other parts’of the mouth. . Spmetįmes this, sheath (as in Pulex) is bivalvular, but it more frequently consists of a single piece laterally folded so as to form a tube open on the upper surface. In this longitudinal canal or gutter, the preceding parts are lodged, and compose by their general union the sucker, or haustellum. In some instances the palpi have disappeared, in others only two are visible. When there are four of these parts, two of them, the maxillary, are extremely small, or almost imperceptible. Sometimes, as among the pupiparous Dipt era, the lower lip is either nonexistent or rudimentary, and the palpi become the sheath of the sucker. Though we make frequent use of the latter terra, it may be remembered that its application is not strictly correct, as it is not by suction, or the production of a vacuum, that the alimentary juices mount towards the pharynx, but rather by the continuous pressure of the parts upon each other. Of all the suctorial or haustellated tribes the Lepidoptera are those which differ least from the type of the mandibulated orders in the structure of the mouth,—on which account they have been made to follow in a supposed natural sequence the hymenopterous insects.^[18. See Plate CCXX. Fig· ð exhibits the structure of the mouth in Ραρlliο Mαehαοη ; a the head viewed in front, exhibitinσ∙ the round eyes, one turn of the spiral proboscis, with the pilose labial palpi on each side; b shows the· tubular spiral maxillae (which by ţheir union form the pιobαscis),,with the vestiges of palpi at their base; the circular apertures on each'side at the bottom of the ngui¢ indicate the insertion of tlïe labial palpi; c represents the deft labium and the two palpi, the left one being deprived of its scales to ’ show the articulations: d is the minute labrum, with, the mandibles on each side of it, ciliated on their.internal edge. Fig. 8 exhibits the mouth of another lepidopterous insect, the Lyndĩa cunnaruni of Savignv; a the eyes, scaly spiral proboscis, and the four palpi; b one of the maxillae, with its palpus; c the labium and palpus; d the labruní and mandibulae. J .⅛ 1 ∣ ∙] Their mouth seems to consist of a labrum and of two extremely small mandibles; of a trunk spirally rolled, improperly regarded as a tongue, and presenting interiorly and throughout its entire length three canals, of which, however, the central alone serves for the influx of the alimentary juices, and formed of two linear or filiform bodies, surrounding the pharynx at their origin immediately beneath the labrum. They represent, under peculiar forms and proportions, the terminal parts of the maxillae, united, hollowed into deep gutters on their internal side, and bearing each a palpus, usually very small and tuberculiform. There is also a labium or lower lip, of a nearly triangular form, immoveable, united, as formerly mentioned, to the inferior part of the maxillae, which supports the filiform or trunk-like portion, and bearing two triarticulate palpi, covered with scales or hairs, and placed on each side of the trunk, for which they form a kind of sheath. The intermediate canal of the trunk is produced, according to the detailed description given by Réaumur, by the union of the gutters of the internal face of the filiform or extended portions. The sucker of the hemipterous tribes received from Fabricius the name of rostrum, a term translated beak (bed) by Olivier and other entomologists of France. A blade more or less linear, coriaceous, divided into three or four articulations, rolled up at the edges so as to form a conical or cylindrical tube, always directed inferiorly while inactive, and presenting along the centre of its upper or anterior surface a kind of canal produced by the opening left between the rolled-up margins,—a sucker composed of four slender, capillary, corneous, flexible, and elastic threads, disposed in pairs, but combined together, with the two inferior portions united in onc at a short distance from their origin,—a small piece in the form of a triangular ligula, usually toothed at the extremity, rather coriaceous or almost membranous than of a scaly texture, and covering from behind or from the sides of the tubular body the base of the sucker, and inclosed along with it in the groove of the general sheath,—another piece of the same consistence with the preceding, Corresponding by its insertion, and the position which it occupies, to the labrum or upper lip, covering from above the base of the sucker, most frequently itself [7:9:69] likewise inclosed in the sheath, and of a more or less elongated triangular form,—these are the parts which enter into the composition of the beak-like mouth or rostrum of the hemipterous tribes.^[19. See Plate CCXX. Fig. 4 represents the mouth of Cimex nigricornis ; a is the articulated abιum, with the eyes at each side, and the first joint of each of the antennae; this is the sheath for the other organs, and exhibits the groove on its oral surface; b is the sucker viewed from above, covered at the base for one third of its length by the tubulated labrum, and exhibiting at the extremity the straight united tip of the maxillae, and the recurved ends of the mandibulae; c is a view of the same parts separated, with the labrum removed to exhibit the expanded roots of the mandibulae and maxillae, the small opening of the pharynx, and the pointed lm. gua before it and between the maxillae. Fig. 6 represents the mouth of another hemipterous insect, the Nepa Neptunia of Savιgny, the labrum and palate being removed. The mandibulae appear at the external sides, their summits with reflected spiculae, and their roots near the pharynx flask-shaped. The tongue (in the interior of the figure) is trifid at the apex, underneath which the maxilae arise, and exceed the mandibulae in length. The labium, or central anterior portion, exhibits the groove for the reception of the other parts, and the oval raised marks towards the narrow end are the (supposed) vestiges of palpi.] The single superior portion which Latreille regards as the analogue of the labrum, appears to cover, at least among the Cicadae, the base of another more elongated and pointed portion, which has been viewed as corresponding to the epipharynx.^[20. Diction. Classique d'Histoire Naturelle, t. ii. p. 434.] The other single and opposing portion, protecting from behind the origin of the sucker, and placed immediately behind the pharynx, represents, according to Savigny, the tongue or hypopharynx. The two superior filaments of the sucker, or those which are exterior, replace, or rather represent, the mandibles, while the two others may be regarded as maxillae. Finally, the tubular sheath assimilates to the labium or lower hp, even in regard to its articulations. Sometimes the sheath is bifid, as in Thrips ; sometimes it is divided into two plates, as in Pulex. The first of these genera is stated by Latreille to be the only one in which he has discovered palpi. He thinks that the parts taken for such by Savigny in Nepa Neptunia (see Plate CCXX. fig. 6, as described in die preceding note), are more probably the rudiments of an articulation of the sheath. Germar indeed admits four palpi as characteristic of a new hemipterous genus of the family of Cicadanae, named Cobax ; but Kirby, who about the same period published an account of another generic group under the title of Otiocerus, and which offers analogous parts, does not regard these as palpi, but as simple appendages accompanying the antennae.^[21. Linn. Trans. vol. xiii. p. 12.] In the dipterous order, such as gnats and common flies, the mouth exhibite a great resemblance to that of the preceding tribes.^[22. See Plate CCXX. fig. 7 , where we represent the parts of the mouth of Tabanus Italien. At a the mouth is shown as if opened, or the labrum and the mandibulae and lingua separated, to expose the pharynx; b is one of the mandibulae viewed laterally; c is one of the maxillae with the articulated palpus, the last joint of which is greatly enlarged; and d exhibits the labium, with its fleshy lips.] The union of the different parts forms what is usually in that order called the trunk or proboscis. We can here also distinguish the component parts of sheath and sucker. The former in dipterous insects is divisible into three principal portions; 1st, the support, distinguished from the following by an angular elbow, and frequently by a small geniculated article; 2dly, the stalk; 3dly, the summit, formed by two lips, sometimes membranous, large, vesicular, dilatable, striated, exhibiting through the microscope a great number of tracheal ramifications; sometimes coriaceous, and either small and slightly distinct from the stalk, or slender, elongated, and forming a more obvious article, almost as long as die preceding division (as in genus Myσpa). The support is remarkable in this, that it results from the prolongation of the cutaneous membrane of the anterior and superior portion of the head, or the epistoma, united with the parts representing the labrum, to die mandibles, the maxillae, and the inferior portion of die labium, as far as the mentum inclusive. This character particularly distinguishes the present tribes from those of the hemipterous order. In other respects the sheath may be said to be constructed on the same plan. The centre of the superior face of the stalk also presents a groove or gutter for the reception of the sucker. The number of pieces in the sucker varies according to an arithmetical progression of three terms, of which die difference is always two—2, 4, 6; but in all cases there are always two portions which are not paired, the one superior, representing the labrum; the other inferior, placed behind the pharynx, and the analogue of the tongue or hypopharynx. Among the Diptera, as well as in the suctorial tribe (Pulex), the latter portion is always scaly and piercing, and contributes, in common with the others, to the purposes of nutrition. It is otherwise with the Hemiptera, and this distinction forms a new character of separation between that order and the insects now under consideration. The parts representing the maxillae always exist, and are frequently accompanied each by a palpus; but these maxillae are soldered to the support, and are indistinct, except where their apical portion becomes moveable and elongated, and presents the form of a seta or homy lancet. This always takes place when the sucker consists of from four to six pieces. In the latter case two of them represent the mandibles; in the other, or where the sucker is composed of only four setae, these are wanting, or merely rudimentary. Sometimes also the labrum, almost always vaulted and large, seems to offer the vestiges of another piece, which, under a fuller development, might no doubt be regarded as the epipharynx. Sometimes the support is very short, and in this case the pieces of the sucker leave the cavity of the mouth, and the maxillary palpi are inserted on the sides. The Hippoboscae, or pupiparous Diptera, differ from all the rest in the absence of the sheath; for the palpi, under the form of two coriaceous elongated blades, perform its functions, and advancing in a parallel direction, cover and protect the sucker. In accordance with the observations of Latreille, as well as with those of Savigny, Leclerc de Laval, and Professor Nitzsch, regarding the structure of the mouth in such of the hexapod insects as undergo no metamorphosis (hexapodes homotenes), the general plan of organization seems in these to be the same as among the polymorphous orders. In Pediculus, properly so called, the only known suctorial species of that division, the trunk (rostellum) consists of a small inarticulate tube, inclosing a sucker, and withdrawing itself at pleasure within a muzzle-shaped advancement of the anterior portion of the head. But the organization of these parasitical species requires a renewed and more careful examination. The genus Ricinus, although furnished with mandibles, maxillae, and an inferior hp, has these parte greatly concentrated, after the manner of the Suctoria; and the labrum seems to perform the office of a cupping glass, a character unique and unexampled in this class of animals, and one which, in combination with certain other features, indicates a peculiar type^[23. Dictum. Classique d' Hist. Nat. t. ii. p. 436.] These are the principal modifications exhibited in the [7:9:70] structure of the mouth by hexapod or true insects. In the opinion of Marcel de Serres, the parts named palpi (the antennulae of some authors) enjoy, at least in the Orthoptera, a peculiar property, that of being the organ of the sense of smell. Lamarck again looks upon the palpi as exercising the faculty of taβte. Latreille regards these opinions as ill-founded, so far as concerns a great number of insects, such as those in which the palpi are non-existent, undeveloped, or extremely minute; but he views them in a more favourable light in reference to certain other species. Thus, among the Coleoptera of the sub-family of Xylotrogi, tlιe maxillary palpi of the males are lacinated or pectinated like some antennae. In many other kinds the last article of the palpi is greatly dilated, and terminated by a pulpy substance. We have not hitherto attended to the singular order Strepsιptera of kιrby (Rhιpιptera, Lat.), the characters of which were first given in the Linnaan Transactions. If we regard the insects of this order as possessed of genuine mandibles, we must of course include them among the masticating tribes; but as in many of the preceding orders, in which the parts of the mouth are feebly developed, the mandibles are observed to have become obliterated, there is reason to suspect that the parts regarded as such in Strepsιptera are rather maxillary, in which case the structure would approach that of the lepidopterous kinds. We have entered into the preceding details in consequence of the great importance which is now attached to the study of the parts of manducation. Latreille indeed seems to be of opinion, that whenever it is possible to characterize genera by more obvious organs, the minuter parts should not be had recourse to; and he deems the principles of the Fabncιan system liable to abuse, especially when Claιrvιlles example is departed from of employing only the mandibles and palpi. But the truth is, that the use of the compound microscope is scarcely ever required in these examinations; and it cannot be denied that a knowledge of such essential parts is indispensable in the formation of natural generic groups. The general physiognomy is frequently deceptive, and we can rectify our views only by recurring to influential organs. Thus the Sphex spirifer, and some analogous species which differ from their congeners in the mode of providing for their young, and which therefore form a good natural group, are also distinguished by an alteration in the structure of the mouth, but could scarcely be separated from the primitive genus by characters drawn from any other parts. Besides the parts of the mouth, the head of insects presents some other component portions which have received particular names. What Mr Kirby calls the nose is that upper and anterior portion to which the labrum is attached, and which corresponds to the clypeus of Fabricius. (See Plate CCXX. fig. 1, a, upper portion.) The latter term was originally applied metaphorically to the expanded or shield-like covering of the head of the Scarabaeidae, and the expression was not inapt; but when it came to be used as a general term in relation to the structure of all other kinds, it lost its propriety of application. Hence the term nasus or nose has been substituted, as well as that of epistoma, which signifies the part above the mouth. Between the nose and the labrum we find in many species the nostril piece or rhιnanum of Kirby. It is very obvious in a New Holland beetle, Anaplognaihus vιrιd l aneus. The postιιasus may be seen under the form of a triangular piece, below the antennae and above the nose, and separated from the latter and from the front by a deeply impressed line. It is very distinct in that splendid Chinese beetle the Sagra purpurea. The frons or front of insects is the middle part of the face, bounded laterally by the eyes, anteriorly by the nose or after-nose and the cheeks, and posteriorly by the vertex. The vertex is the crown of the head, and is bounded laterally by the hinder part of the eyes and the temples, and posteriorly by the occiput, when that part exists. It is the ordinary region of the stemma-tιc eyes, although these peculiar organs are sometimes found to occur likewise upon the frons. The occiput, or hind head, is that part which either forms an angle posteriorly with the vertex, or slopes downwards from it. It is bounded laterally by the temples, and posteriorly by the orifice of the head, or by the neck itself. The cheeks. gena, according to Kirby, usually surround the anterior part of the eyes, lying between them and the mandibles, or their representatives. The temples, tempora, form a continuation of the cheeks to the posterior limit of the head, forming its sides and posterior angles.`^[24. Introduc. to Ent. vol. iv. p. 489.] The subfacies of an insect is the lower surface or under side of the head, and is composed, 1st, of the lor a, a corneous angular machine, upon the intermediate angle of which the mentum sits, and on the lateral ones the cardines or hinges of the maxillae; it is by means of this piece that tlιe parts of the mouth (as in Hymenoptera) are pushed forward or retracted; 2rf, of the jugulum or throat, which is that part of the subface which lies between the temples. The collum, or neck, is that narrow portion of a pedunculate head by which it is connected with the thorax.^[25. Ibid. p. 366.] The next appendages of the head to which we have to direct the reader’s attention are the antenna. These are moveable articulated organs, never exceeding two in number in genuine insects, although their form, and the amount of articulated portions, are extremely various. Their primary use in the animal economy has not yet been ascertained; at least a great diversity of opinion is maintained on the subject. In numerous tribes they seem to exercise a faculty analogous to that of touch, being employed in exploring the depth of crevices, and in ascertaining by contact the nature of any opposing obstacle; while, on the other hand, their extreme shortness in most Diptera, and in many of the neuropterous and hemipterous tribes, does not accord with that usage. Although of considerable importance in our systematic arrangement of insects, the development of the antennae does not seem subjected to any general or conformable rules, and is therefore of less value than that of several other parts of structure. For example, we frequently find a considerable difference to exist in the form of the antennae among species in other respects intimately allied; and even between the sexes of the same species a great disparity in size and structure is observable. Where a difference exists, those of the male are generally more developed than those of the female. The antennae of insects are usually composed of small cylindrical articulations, containing nervous threads, muscles, tracheae, and cellular tissue. Various terms are in use to express their form, consistence, and mode of insertion. They are regular when the articulations follow a gradual and progressive order in the modifications which they undergo; irregular, when their forms alter suddenly; cylindrical when rounded and of equal diameter throughout their length; filiform, when the cylindrical shape is finely attenuated, like a thread or hair; setaceous, when lengthened, and diminishing insensibly from the base to the point; subulated or awl-shaped, when slender, but short, cylindrical at the base, and terminated by a stiff and sharpened point; moniliform, when each article is rounded like a bead, and of nearly equal thickness; prismatic, when ap-preaching[7:9:71] the form of a geometric prism; ensiform, when broad at the base, and terminated by an angular point; fusiform, when shaped like a spindle; serrated, when each article is terminated laterally by a sharp tooth directed forwards; pectinated, when these projections are straight, lengthened, and placed above each other, like the teeth of a comb; ramose or branched, when several appendages project from the main body of the antennae—they are regarded as simple when not in any way so adorned; perfoliated, when the articles are flattened from the summit to the base, and appearing as if strung on a thread through the centre (it is usually the terminal portion of the antennae that is so characterized); imbricated, when tlιe articles are threaded as above mentioned, and concave at their summit, so that each covers the base of that which follows; clavated or club-shaped, when thick or swollen towards the summit. The club is solid when its parts are not separated by any apparent space; perfoliated, when composed of threaded articulations; lamellated or foliated, when the parts of the club are connected laterally, and admit of being opened and closed like the leaves of a book; securiform or hatchet-shaped, when the last articulation assumes the form of a compressed triangle, free at the base, but articulated by the apex. Antennae are also said to be uncinated or hooked when the extremity suddenly bends itself towards the base; bifid, when divided into two; obtuse, when terminated by a round or blunted articulation; truncated, when apparently deprived of a portion; plumose, when thickly branched on either side, like a feather. Many other terms are in use to express the modifications of these important organs, most of which, however, are of a sufficiently familiar derivation to explain themselves. The antennae of the coleopterous order usually consist of ten or eleven distinct articulations. The latter number is the most frequent, although several genera present much fewer joints, as for example Paussus, in which there are only two. Others again have many more, such as a species of Prionus, of which the antennae of the female have nineteen joints, of the male twenty. In some orthopterous kinds these articulations amount to a hundred and fifty. The antennae are inserted on the front of the head, anterior to and rather beneath the region of the eyes. Their particular position varies, but they are always either in the space between the eyes, or that below them. As their various forms, as characteristic of particular groups of species, will be afterwards described in the systematic part of the present treatise, we shall not here enter into further details of structure. The uses of these singular organs are variously viewed by naturalists, and there seems even yet to be more hypothetical reasoning on the subject than precise induction from facts. Some regard them as the seat of smell, others of hearing, a greater number as the organs of the sense of touch. The indurated nature of the outer covering in most insects would certainly lead us, a priori, to expect a special provision for the reception of the last-named sense. It is, however, extremely difficult, in the present state of our knowledge, to come to any general conclusion oh the subject. We shall state the prevailing opinions when we come to treat of the senses of insects; and under that head we shall likewise explain the structure of the eyes. The thorax forms the second principal portion of an insect’s body. It is itself divisible into three parts, and its component segments vary greatly in their relative proportions in the different tribes; the division which is merely rudimentary in one particular group, being sometimes highly developed in another. These parts are named the prothorax, the mesothorax, and the metathorax. The prothorax (from ff jo, before, and to i αξ, thorax·) is the antenor segment, and corresponds to the corselet or collar of Μ. Latreille; the second segment is named mesothorax (from μιβος, middle) ; and the third is known as the metathorax (from μοτ a , after.) Each segment may likewise be distinguished in reference to its inferior, its lateral, and its superior portions; and the whole united constitute the thorax, commonly so called. But although the general name of thorax is applied to the parts just named, yet the posterior two, that is, the mesothorax and the metathorax, are the most dependent on each other, and are always intimately united; while the prothorax, as exemplified in the Coleoptera, is often comparatively free and distinguishable. It is this last-mentioned segment which bears the anterior pair of feet, and it considerably exceeds the others in extent. In the coleopterous order, indeed, it is the only part that is visible on the upper surface, the other segments, with the exception of the scutellum, being connected beneatlι it and the elytra. The mesothorax and metathorax unite strictly with the base of the abdomen, and serve as the points of attachment to the other pairs of feet. Of the mesothorax or central portion, the most obvious characters consist in its serving as a support to the second pair of feet, and to the elytra or first pair of wings. Its form, size, and consistence are extremely various. Slightly developed in the Coleoptera and Orthoptera, it is larger in the Hemiptera, the Neuroptera, and more especially in the Hymenoptera, the Lepidoptera, and the Diptera. Its excessive increase is always associated with a condition more or less rudimentary of the other segments. Thus, in the three orders last named, the prothorax and metathorax are very restricted; while, on the contrary, they are large in the Coleoptera, among which it is observable that the mesothorax is always compressed and narrow. The metathorax serves as the point of attachment to the third pair of feet, and to the second or membranous pair of wings. We have said that each segment may be described in relation to its inferior, its lateral, and its superior parts. A piece named the sternum constitutes the whole of what is called the inferior portion. This is not, as too often supposed, an occasional projection, merely characteristic of certain tribes. It occurs in all insects, and forms a distinct character, though more or less defined and perspicuous, according to the genus. It may be regarded as generally composed of three distinct pieces, resembling in this respect the human sternum, which anatomists describe as consisting originally of three bones. Each of these pieces, according to Mr Kirby, is appropriated to a pair of legs, and each of them has been called the sternum ; thus, in Elater the prosternunt, in the Cetoniadae the mesosternum, and in Hydrophilus the metasternum, have alike been distinguished by the name. Each of the ordinary lateral portions of the thorax is formed of two principal pieces, which, in combination with the sternum, is by some named the pectus or breast. The anterior piece rests upon the sternum, and is hence called epιsternum (from tsr!, upon). 1 he posterior lateral portion, called the epimera, is connected with the preceding; it also adheres to the superior portion, and rests in certain cases on the sternum; but it bears a constant relation to the haunches of the segment to which it belongs, and to these it articulates by means of a little piece afterwards mentioned by the name of trochantim. It derives its name from ιw∕, and ^o i , thigh. Lastly, there exists on these same lateral parts a third piece, in general slightly developed, and sometimes imperceptible. It bears relation to the wing and episternum, always supports itself on the latter, is sometimes prolonged inferiorly along its anterior margin, or, becoming free, passes in advance of the wing, or even places itself above it. It bears the name of paraptera, from wαjα, near to, and wr⅛ov, icing. Three other portions of some importance may likewise be considered as belonging to the general pectus. [7:9:72] Isř, Above the sternum, on its internal face, that is, within the body of the insect, there exists a piece sometimes remarkable for its size. It is placed on the median line, and generally takes its rise from the posterior extremity of the sternum. It assumes various secondary forms, and is generally divided into two branches. Cuvier named it the Y-formed portion, on account of his having observed it assume the shape of that letter. It is called entothorax by Μ. Audouin, from f ∣∣ rος, within, because it is always placed in the interior of that organ. It occurs in each segment of the thorax, and seems to be in some measure a dependent on the sternum. Its uses are supposed to be the protection of the nervous system, and its isolation in many cases from the digestive apparatus and the dorsal vessel. The entothorax exists not only in the thorax, but in the head, in which case it is named entocephalus ; it has even been noticed in the first ring of the abdomen in the genus Cicada, and the portion named triangle écailleux by Réaumur may safely be regarded as its analogue. In this last condition it is denominated entogaster. 2d, On the anterior edge of the epistcrnum, sometimes of the sternum, and even on the superior part of the body, a stigmatic opening is observable, surrounded by a small piece, of which the texture is frequently corneous. This is the peritrema, so called from ¶ig, round about, and τοημa, a hole. It is not always perceptible, both on account of its being sometimes too closely connected with the neighbouring pieces, and because the stigmatic opening is itself sometimes obliterated. But when visible, it is necessary that it should be distinguished, as its position is of importance, and becomes a useful auxiliary in the comparison of parts and in the determination of analogies. 3d, Lastly, it has been already stated in relation to the epimera, that it is connected with the rotule by means of a small articulation, of which the existence was first made known by Μ. Audouin. This is not an essential part of the thorax; but as it accompanies the epimera, and is associated with the parts of the leg, all of which have received particular denominations, its first describer has thought proper to bestow upon it a name. He calls it trochαηtin, in distinction to trochanter, or that portion of the leg which is associated with the rotule and the thigh. The trochantin is sometimes concealed in the interior of the thorax, and is sometimes visible externally, according as the rotule is itself more or less prolonged in its internal portion. The ascertainment of this piece, according to Μ. Audouin, admits of a direct comparison between the limbs of insects and those of the Crustacea. Hitherto there were only five parts in the former (the tarsi being regarded as one), while there were six in the latter. But the trochantin completes the number six likewise among the insect tribes. We have now detailed the structure of the chest or pectus of insects; so that whoever desires to view one of these creatures anatomically, should, after dividing the thorax into three segments, seek to ascertain, on the inferior and middle portion of each, the existence of a sternum, and on the flank or lateral portion, an episternum, a paraptcra, and epimera. He will also study the structure of the entothorax, of the peritrema, and of the trochantin. Sometimes, however, the union of one or more of these parts with another is so intimate that they cannot be isolated or distinguished; but when we elsewhere, in such numerous cases, perceive that the pectus is formed of a certain number of elementary parts, it is more rational to believe that in all instances these same elements are made use of, than to suppose the frequent requirement of new. We shall next discuss the superior portion of the thorax of insects. In the coleopterous tribes the prothorax, as before mentioned, constitutes the principal portion, and its upper part may be called the thoracic shield. The only other part sufficiently distinguished prior to the time of Μ., Audouin, was the scutellum or escutcheon. It is highly developed in the Scutellerae, and rudimentary in most of the Hymenoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera, and some other orders. Its apparent position between the wings has occasioned its being regarded too exclusively as a kind of point d ’ appui in flight. It is usually of a triangular form in the Coleoptera, and projects backwards from the mesothorax, with its point interposed between the elytra and the wings. The scutellum was adopted by Geoffroy as the basis of his arrangement of the genus Scaraboeus. It is, however, by no means a well-chosen characteristic of the greater divisions in entomology; for the accurate distinction is not, as is usually supposed, whether the scutellum does or does not exist in a lamellicorn insect, but whether it is or is not apparent.^[26. Iloroe Eìitomologiccc, part i. p. 9.] It occurs very obviously among many of the coleopterous tribes, but is most conspicuously developed in that genus of the hemipterous order called Scιιtellera, of which Cimex lineatus may serve as an example. Naturalists have erred in regarding this portion as characteristic of the mesothorax alone. It is often greatly developed in the posterior segment. Numerous and varied researches have led Μ. Audouin to conclude that this superior portion of the thorax is composed of four principal pieces, frequently isolated, sometimes intimately united, usually distinct. He has deduced the following nomenclature from their relative position in regard to each other. The anterior portion is named the praescutum ; it is sometimes very large, and is usually concealed in whole or in part in the interior of the thorax. The second piece is called the scutum ; it is an important element, often strongly developed, and always articulates with the wings when these exist. To the next piece the original term scutellum is applied; it consists of the projecting angular point, generally so denominated by entomologists. The fourth and last piece is called the postscutellum ; it is almost always entirely concealed within the thorax, sometimes united to the internal face of the scutellum, and confounded with it, sometimes free, and not adhering to the other portions, except by its lateral extremities. These are the parts which constitute the superior portion of the thorax, and to which the general term tergum may bc applied. Thus we may speak of the tergum of the prothorax, of the mesothorax, or of the metathorax; but when the word tergum alone is used, we are then understood to signify the union of the superior parts, that is, the entire space comprised between the head and the first segment of the abdomen. We comc now to the abdomen itself, an important portion in the animal economy. Anatomists iň general appear to have advanced from the study of the human frame to that of animals, or at least to have applied to the parts of the latter the same terms which they had previously bestowed upon the former. In so doing, however, they have been guided rather by the analogy of form than of function, and hence the vague nature of many terms, as applied to the inferior orders, and which, however correct in their original signification, become either obscure, or altogether inapplicable in regard to other classes. The abdomen, among insects, is that part of the body which is attached to the posterior extremity of the thorax, composed of five or six rings or segments, unprovided with locomotive organs, and always containing within it a portion of the digestive canal. If, as many suppose, its existence depends upon that of the thorax, then the entire class °f Annelides or red-blooded worms may be said to be deprived of it, as the thorax itself does not exist in that class. [7:9:73] The term body is then made use of to designate generally the whole of the animal. Although the abdomen cannot well exist without the thorax, the converse does not appear to hold good, for the latter in many species seems to constitute the whole body. Many of the Ñyriapoda, such as Iulus and Scolopendra, are examples of this; for they are composed of a series of segments, all furnished with feet except the last, which has therefore by some been regarded as the abdomen. But among genuine insects, that is, the hexapod or six-footcd kinds, the abdomen is obviously developed, and, especially among the winged tribes, is very distinguishable from the thorax. Among the apterous species the distinction is less perceptible; and the same may be said of most insects in the larva state. Among the hymenopterous kinds, such as wasps, bees, &c. it appears as if it were pediculated or attached to the posterior part of the thorax by means of a slender stalk; but minuter and more accurate observation demonstrates that this neck-like restriction actually takes place on the second segment of the abdomen, the first of which is much more spacious, but so closely attached to the thorax by its anterior edges as to become undistinguishable. In the coleopterous order the abdomen is usually convex, and of a harder consistence beneath, where it is exposed; but it is soft, and either flattish or concave above, where it is covered by the folded wings and elytra. On both sides of its segments there is a small roundish opening called the stigma, which serves for the introduction of air for the purposes of respiration, and of which we shall treat in detail when we come to the consideration of that function. It has been noted that if an insect is naturally more habituated to walking than flying, the breast or lower portion of the thorax is expanded, and is furnished λvith more powerful muscles than the back; whereas, if flight is the more frequent mode of locomotion, an increase is observable in the dorsal muscles. The locomotive organs are of course the wings and legs, on which we shall now bestow a brief consideration. SECT. III.—ORGANS OF LOCOMOTION IN INSECTS. 1. The Wings. These organs exist, effectively, in insects only in the perfect state; for the larvae do not offer externally any trace of them, and when apparent in the nymph or intermediate condition, they are merely rudimentary. No insect has more than four wings, many have only a single pair, and others are entirely destitute of these parts. When four in number they may be regarded as anterior or superior, and as posterior or inferior ; and we likewise talk of the first or of the second pair of wings. The coleopterous order presents some peculiarities in relation to these organs. The anterior pair (in all cases, as already mentioned, united to the mesothorax) consist of a hard or horny substance similar to the envelope of the thorax, and are called elytra. When closed, their junction usually forms a straight central line called the suture, which is rather apparent than real in certain species in which the inferior wings are wanting, and the elytra form a single undivided piece. They are convex above and concave below, are fixed to the mesothorax, and cover and protect the genuine wings, which are of a much more delicate structure. These latter derive their origin from the mçtathorax, and are the ι actual organs of flight. They are membranous and transparent, and when unemployed are transversely folded beneath their horny covering. We shall here describe the structure of wings, and explain the terms made use of to express the principal modifications which they undergo in their various degrees of development in the different orders. The wing of an insect consists of two thin flexible membranous transparent plates or leaves, the one superimposed upon the other, and variously intersected by darker lines of a horny consistence, usually known by the name of nervures. These nervures, which at first sight appear like superficial threads, of which the larger follow the longitudinal direction of the wing, are interposed between its membranes, and present two faces, of which the upper, frequently rounded and very horny, adheres closely to the corresponding leaf, and the under, of less firm consistence, and of a flatter form, may by skilful dissection be removed from that portion of the wing by which itis covered. In the opinion of Μ. Audouin, these threads are in fact so many tubes, which diminish in diameter as they approach the summit of the wing, and each of which contains, throughout its entire extent, a spirally rolled vessel, by some regarded as a genuine trachea. These tracheae receive air from the interior of the body, and their formation, according to Swammerdam, whose views have more recently been confirmed and adopted by Jurine and Chabrier, is to strengthen the wing by distending it during the action of flight. They are said to experience no sensible dilatation during their progress, whereas the corneous tubes which contain them present in that respect some curious modifications,—for they sometimes spread out suddenly, in such a way as to exhibit, for a short space, a comparatively broad diameter. The colouring matter being then disseminated over a wider surface, assumes so pale an aspect that the nervure which leads into one,of those little expansions appears as it were interrupted. Hence the name of bulles chair, or air-bubbles, bestowed upon the latter by the French entomologists. They occur most frequently in the cubital nervures of many Hymenoptera, and their chief use is supposed to be to facilitate the formation of certain foldings of the wing during the periods of repose. The largest of the nervures arise from the base of the wing, that is, from the point of its insertion in the thorax. A most skilful observer, the late Μ. Jurine of Geneva, has described the wings of hymenopterous insects with great accuracy, in a memoir to which we shall make more special allusion when we come to treat of that particular order.^[27. See Observations stir les Aites des Hyménoptères, in the twenty-fourth volume of the Mem. de ÌCicadímie dęsĄSc'iCĵtcxs de Turin. tonsuit also, by the same author, Nouvelle Methode đe classer les Hyménoptères et les Diptères. Geneve, 18O7∙] The general character in respect to form and aspect of the wings of insects has received a great variety of names. They are sometimes equal, that is, all four of similar size; or unequal, when one pair prevails over the other; lanceolate, when they become narrow, both at the base and apex; falcated, when curved like a scythe or reaping-hook; linear, when narrow, with nearly parallel edges; clαvαted or club-shaped, when linear in their general extent, but perceptibly enlarged towards their extremity; rounded, when they approach a more circular form; oblong, when more lengthen-, ened than broad, and describing an elongated ellipse, obtuse at both ends; rhomboidal, when they are longer from the posterior angle, to the summit than from that angle to the base,; deltoid, when they assume-the triangular form of the, Greek letter delta; exserted, when the. inferior wings pass beyond the elytra; covered, when entirely protected by those organs; plaited, when, longitudinally, r . ∙ ∙. : , ' 1 I f ∙. me >1)∙∣! h ’ Λm .->··.; !>i ∙∙ i . ∙ ∙ i J < ∙H. ∙ ∙ u ∙*.>∙ ’ ο· Ί ;··.···’·· [7:9:74] folded, after the manner of a fan; replicated, when, after being plaited as just mentioned, they are again folded transversely upon themselves; incumbent, when the posterior margin of one covers that of the other; extended, when, in a state of repose, they are stretched on either side, leaving the abdomen visible; erect, when, in a state of repose, they are raised pcrpendieularly to the surface of the body; deflexed, when the summits and outer margins form as it were a kind of inelined plane from the base and inner margins. These are the principal variations as to form and attitude, or position. The following terms are of frequent use in entomology, when the surface or superficial structure of the wings is sought to be described. They are striated, when certain raised lines are perceptible, forming slight parallel and longitudinal furrows; reticulated, when these lines are disposed like laee or network; veined, when distinct longitudinal nervures are observable, ramifying into more delieate branches; squamous or scaly, when covered with minute powdery particles, which, when examined with a glass, are found to bc small seales imbricated or imposed on each other like slates or tiles on a house top; farinose, when sprinkled more irregularly with fine particles resembling flour, and easily removeable by the finger; pilose or hairy, when the surface is more or less covered by minute hairs; naked, when there is no covering of either hairs or scales. Other characters are deduced from the markings of the wings in regard to tint and colour. They are concolorous, when similar or unvaried in their hue; vitreous or windowed, when, opake over their general surface, certain translucent spots are here and there observable; ocellated, when they present circular spots of different colours, resembling an eye; pupillated, when the eye-likc spot has a coloured point in its centre; Jdsciated, when there are broad coloured lines or bands,—and these are distinguished as transverse, longitudinal, oblique, lanceo-lated, &c. according to their prevailing direction and characteristic form. The margins or edges of the wings have likewise received a considerable variety of designations, according to the peculiar characters whieh they exhibit. They are crenated, when they present an alternation of slight incisions and obtuse projections; dentated or toothed, when these incisions are deeper and narrower, and the projections sharper and more defined; fimbriated, when the marginal processes are lengthened, pointed, and close; cloven, when the incisions are few and deep; digitated, when the parts cut into assume the aspect of a hand; emarginate, when the ineision is slight, and secms merely to have seooped out a small portion of the wing; caudated or tailed, when the posterior margin presents a more lengthened appendage; ciliated, when the wings are bordered by close-set hairs resembling eye-lashes. The points of the wings are obtuse, when terminated by a rounded outline; truncated, when they appear as if cut; acute, when ending in a point; acuminated, when that point is sharp and prolonged. These details, we doubt not, like all the other technicalities of a complex branch of science, must seem irksome to the general reader. Nevertheless, as they frequently form important and sometimes indispensable elements of knowledge, we must continue their enumeration. The wings, in fact, have furnished the characters from which the names and definitions of the orders in entomology have been derived, and a knowledge of their forms and functions is required during almost every step of our progress. A transcendental anatomy has no doubt thrown its ambiguous light ficus a non lucendd) upon these and other portions of animal economy; and the wings, whieh in former times were thought sufficiently defined when merely named as the organs of flight, are now regarded by some as legs, and by others as lungs. We still see, however, that they earry the ercaturcs through the air, and we shall therefore rest satisfied by viewing them in accordance with our accustomed associations. Among the more remarkable of the modifications experienced by the upper wings, is that corneous condition in which they are known under the name of elytra. These are particularly eharaeteristic of the coleopterous order, and derive their name from sλuτgov, a sheath or covering, because they protect the membranaceous wings. They are attached by thcir base, by means of several small pieces, to the mesothorax. The opposite extremities are called the points or summits, and the margins are known as anterior or external, posterior, and interior,—the last named, when the parts are elosed, and meeting over the baek, forming what is called the dorsal suture. As to their proportions, they are elongated, when they exceed the abdomen; abbreviated, when shorter than that organ; and various other terms of obvious application are made use of to express their different degrees. The elytra differ in their consistence, being sometimes almost membranous, or scarcely firmer than the under wings; or they are coriaceous, or of the texture of leather; semi-coriaceous, when, as among many Hcmiptera, the elytra are composed of two parts of different texture; pergameneous, or like parchment; flexible, when, yielding to a slight impression, they yet return again immediately to thcir original shape; or soft, when they yield to the same impression, but retain the alteration of form for a longer time. As to form, many of the terms already enumerated in relation to the w ings in general, apply equally to the elytra. They are also gibbous, when greatly rounded or hemispherical; dilated, when more flatly expanded; attenuated, when they diminish in breadth from the base to the apex. The surface of these parts presents many characters of great importance in the discrimination of species, and even in the formation of sections or subdivisions of genera. They are said to be chagrined, when covered by minute raised spots; punctated, when these spots are distinct and hollowed ; tuberculated, when the elevations are distinct and irregular; scabrous, when the elevations are distant and unequal; verrucose or warty, when they are large, cicatrised, and resembling warts; striated, when marked with regular longitudinal lines; striato-punctate, when in each stria there are depressed points; punctato-striate, when the striae are themselves formed by a consecutive series of these impressed points; sulcated or furrowed, when the impressed lines are deep and broad; ribbed, when between the furrows there are raised lines; rugose, when the raised lines are irregular, and divided in all directions; reticulated, when these lines are disposed with greater regularity, in a kind of network; creηated, when the lines are rather regularly undulated; glabrous, when the elytra are smooth, or destitute of raised points or other irregularities of surface; tomentose or cottony, when covered by a whitish down; pilose, when hairy, —also villous ; fasciculated, when the hairs are eollceted here and there in little tufts; muricated, when the hairs are long, raised, and almost prickly; spinous, when the projecting parts are hard and sharp like spines; squamous or scaly, when covered by little scaly plates. The elytra are said to be margined when their edges are raised, or otherwise distinguished from the general and more central surface; sinuated, when there are sloping notches on their outline; serrated, when furnished with little sharp projections like the teeth of a saw; dentated, when these arc sharp and more distant. They are likewise said to be mucronated when the apex is provided with a sharpish point; bideηtated, when there are a couple of distinct projections; obtuse, when the summits are blunt or [7:9:75] rounded; truncated, when they seem as if a portion had been severed. We have already mentioned, that in many of the hemipterous order the anterior wings are semi∙elytrous, that is, comparatively solid in one part of their extent, and membranous in the other. In fact, the order derives its name from that character, as already mentioned in our introductory definitions. In the orthopterous order the anterior wings, though much more membranaceous than those of beetles, yet approach the nature of elytra, and serve as a protection to the under pair, which are more delicate. Among neuropterous insects both pairs of wings are alike in their general character of texture and reticulation, and the same may be said of the hymenopterous order. Those of the Lepidoptera are also similar to each other in their substance and covering. With a few exceptions, in which the wings are clear or diaphanous, in the last-named gorgeous group they are thickly coated with minute scales of various colours, which when removed exhibit the membranous structure of the parts. They present several other peculiarities, which we shall notice when we treat of the generalities of the greater divisions of which the order is composed. The wings, regarded throughout the entire series of hexapod insects, are thus extremely varied in their form, consistence, development, and efficiency. The distinctions, both of form and texture, show themselves, as it were, by gradation, and present no striking disparity among species otherwise nearly allied. But the uses, and degrees of development, of these organs, vary greatly not only among species of the same genus, but even between the sexes of the same species; for while the males of several kinds are efficiently winged, the females are entirely apterous. When the anterior wings, as in the Coleoptera, are elytrous (if we may use the expression), they scarcely serve for the purposes of flight. In the neuropterous and hymenopterous orders both pairs are equally efficient, while in the dipterous or two-winged tribes the inferior wings have disappeared. In some cases, as among the female ants, the wings fall off immediately after the sexual union. The development of the wings always bears a relation to that of the superior arc of the thorax by which they are supported. It has been already noted, that if an insect is more habituated to walking than flying, the breast or lower portion of the thorax is extended, and is furnished with more powerful muscles than the back; whereas if flight is the means of locomotion, an increase of power is observable in the dorsal muscles. One of the laws laid down by Μ. Straus Dnrckheim as regulating organic structure is the following :—that when one organ governs another, or several others, these follow the march of the dominating organ; and that when the latter disap]>ears, those which were subordinate to it immediately assume their primitive form. This law may be exemplified by the influence of the wings upon the thorax. In proportion as the two pairs of wings change in form and size, the two segments of the thorax which support them follow the same progression, and become more and more united to each other; but no sooner do the wings disappear in the Aphaniptera (Pulex), than the two segments of the thorax regain their primitive form, and separating from one another, present the same appearance as in Lepisma. The wings being first introduced amongst the Coleoptera, and the thorax of these as yet differing but little from that of the Thysanura, it can easily return to the form it possessed previously to its undergoing any modification, f It thence follows, that in such species as are deprived of wings, the thorax returns more or less to its primitive form. This is particularly remarkable in the females of many species of Lampyris, w hich possess neither wings nor elytra; and this return is moreover occasioned in the Coleoptera without wings by another cause, which acts in this case on that part of the body; it is the diminution of the solidity of the integuments in those parts which are covered by the elytra. In the other order of insects, according to the views of the last-named author, the two segments which bear the wings having already experienced a very "considerable change of form, it would require a very powerful cause to bring them back to their primitive form; for this reason the return does not take place in Cimcx cellularius, the For-micoe, &c. amongst which the imperfection (if it may be so called) is only specific. In the Aphaniptera, on the contrary, which we may in some respects consider as wingless Diptcra, the transformation of the thorax takes ∣>lace in consequence of a complete absence of the wings, brought about by the degradation which these organs have éxpe-rienced in passing through the whole of the class Insecta∙ i Μ. Straus Dnrckheim, in the introduction to his carefully elaborated work,^[28. Ccηιsiderαtlοηs Générales sur Γ Anatomie Comparée des Animaux articulés, auxquelles on a joint l'Anatomie descriptive du Hanneton, 1 vol. 4to, avec planches, Paris, 1828. An abstract of the doctrines of this work will be found in the Entomological Magazine, vol. i.] has also endeavoured to explain the laws which regulate the different changes of structure in passing from one group to another. The most general law in the organization of animals which he has recognised is, that all the systems of organs are subjected to a constant variation of form, and even of function, while passing from one family to another. The first more special or particular law which he evolves from the subdivision of the former is the following: That the organs at one extremity of the scale always exercise a very evident function; whilst at the other extremity they are constantly rudimentary and without function, and at last entirely disappear. Hc here distinguishes two kinds of cases. In the first, the organs present themselves at the head of the scale developed to the highest degree of which they are susceptible, and decrease insensibly, until they arrive at the other extremity of the scale. Thus, for example, the posterior w ings of insects are “introduced suddenly” into the organization of that class at the highest point bf perfection in the Coleoptera, where they alone serve for flight. In the Orthoptera and Hemiptera they already begin to divide their function with the elytra, and go on diminishing gradually until they exišt merely as rudiments in the Dιptera, where they are represented by the halteres.^[29. The name of Halteres, poisers or balancers, is bestowed on a pair of slender moveable appendages found on the hinder part of the thorax 111 dipterous or two-winged insects. They are usually regarded as the rudiments of the second or posterior pair of wings,.— halteres rudimenta alarum posticarum,” as Fabricius has expressed it in his Entomologia Philosophica. This opinion, however, is believed by others, and we think with reason, to be founded rather on the position which these organs bear in relation to the anterior wmgs, than on their connection with the metathorax and its different parts. Tatreille, a great authority in such matters, maintains that the balancers do not correspond to or represent the second pair of wings, but are rather vesicular appendages connected with two posterior tracheae of the thorax, and analogous in some measure to the processes which accompany the respiratory organs of the Aphro dites, or those of the aquatic larvae of Ephemerae and the genus Gyrinus. He founds his opinion chiefly on this, that the inferior wings always take their origin from the lateral and anterior summits of the third thoracic segment, at a very short distance from the superior wings, and always in advance of the two posterior stigmata of the thorax, whilst the balancers are inserted lower down at the internal extremity of these air-conduits, or close by them. (See Latreille’s observations in the 7th and 8th volume of the Mémoires du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle.)] Finally, they entirely disappear in the Aphaniptera. In the second instances, the organs do not appear at the head of the scale in their most perfect state of development, and only acquire it by degrees. Such is the case with the elytra, or first pair of wings, which follow a course exactly contrary to that of the inferior wings. They only appear at first as organs slightly accessory to flight, in which state they remain nearly throughout the whole Coleoptera. In the Orthoptera and Hemiptera they begin already to take a very active part in [7:9:76] flight, but still preserve their primitive use. In the Neuroptera, particularly the Libelluhna, they attain the development of the inferior wings, from which they differ but very slightly. From this point they continue to surpass them, until in the Diptera they become the sole organs of flight, and of course have there attained their highest degree of perfection. Arrived at this culminating point, they suddenly diminish in Hippobosca, and entirely disappear in Pulex. We shall next devote a few lines to those portions of the wings called ailerons by the French naturalists, known also under the name of winglets or alulae. ^[30. We have maile use of the term winp-scale in the systematic exposition afterwards given of the order Diptera. Meigen uses the German word schuppchen (squama) in his Zweiflügeligen Insecte«.] They are chiefly characteristic of the dipterous tribes, and may be regarded as appendages of the anterior wings, the sole pair in that particular order. Their attachment to the scutellum and the postscutellum of the mesothorax is sufficient evidence that they are not the rudiments of a posterior pair; for these, if they existed, would derive their origin from the metathorax. They usually consist of two concavo-convex pieces, intermediate as it were between the wing and the poisers, and folded the one upon the other, like the parts of a bivalve shell when the insect is at rest, but stretched or extended during flight. Their special uses are not yet known. The poisers or balancers (Λα/ter«) have been sufficiently described in the preceding note. Audoum regards them as the rudiments of the second pair of wings, of which the extreme tenuity in the Dιptera accords in his opinion with the evanescence of the metathorax.^[31. Dict. Class. d'Hist. Nat. t. ii. p. 141.] Their use, like that of the last-named organs, seems not to have been satisfactorily determined. Dr Derham and others have thought that, like the pole of a rope-dancer, they keep the body steady in flight; while some connect them with the noises produced by insects, and maintain that they act upon the membrane of the winglet, as a drumstick acts upon its proper organ, thus producing sound. Shelter’s opinion is probably more correct, that they are connected with the function of respiration.^[32. Wiedeman’s Archiv. ii. 210.] But the various sentiments on the subject are as yet conjectural. 2. The Legs. Having now endeavoured to explain the structure of the wings or organs of flight, we shall next request the reader’s attention to those other organs of motion, the legs of insects. With the exception of the Myπapoda (Centipedes, &c.), which, with Latreille and Dr Leach, we shall form, as already noted, a separate class, the number of legs in insects is precisely six. They are composed of the following parts: ls⅛ The coxa or haunch, which is the first joint, or that which plays in the socket (see Plate CCXX. fig. 2, a); 2d, the trochanter or second joint, to the side of which the thigh is attached, and by means of which it inosculates with the coxa (Ibid, b) ; 3⅛ the femur or thigh, which is long, and usually compressed (c); 4√Λ, the tibia or shank, generally the longest joint of the leg, and frequently notched on its edges, and terminated by spur-hke appendages (th, Nerves arise from a principal branch which, after proceeding immediately from the brain ţ (or upper ganglion), is either encompassed by a little cir- 1 cular trachea, or traverses the fibres of the abductor muscle of the mandibles. This branch soon augments in volume, and forms a kind of cone more or less extended, of which the base is towards the transparent cornea. Numerous nérves proceed from that base, mingle with the tracheae of the choroid, traverse both that membrane and its pigment, penetrate the lining of the cornea, and finally terminate each on a facette of the transparent cornea, so that the nervous filaments are thus immediately in contact with the light, which reaches them after having traversed only tlιe last-named organ. This disposition of the nervous threads, which thus constitute as many small retinae as there are facettes in the cornea of the eye, is very distinguishable in Libellula, Truxalis, and Gryllus. The eyes of insects, then, contain no humours properly so called,— neither vitreous nor crystalline,—and vision is consequently much more simple with them than with the vertebrated tribes, in which the nerves are placed deeper in the eye, and do not receive the rays of light till these have passed through media of different densities. The simple or stemmatic eyes of insects are usually three in number, and are placed on the crown of the head, between the genuine organs of sight, from which their structure differs. In spite of their extreme minuteness, Marcel de Serres has succeeded in detecting the following component parts. ∙1sr, A transparent cornea, formed by an external membrane, hard, convex externally, and smooth, that is, exhibiting no appearance of facettes. 2r∕, Of a variously-coloured matter, which lines the internal faee of the cornea, but which is perhaps not essentially distinct from the varnish of the choroid. It varies in colour, being almost always black in Hymenoptera, usually whitish in Orthoptera, and, in many caterpillars, yellow, red, or green. 3d, A kind of choroid, rather thick, more extended on the surface than the cornea itself, sometimes of a black colour, more frequently red, and occasionally of a peculiar whitish hue. ⅛th, Tracheae, which do not derive their origin from a circular air vessel, and do not, as it were, constitute the choroid, but appear to be distributed over its surface. 5th, Nerves proceeding either directly from the brain or upper ganglion, or from another more considerable nerve or common trunk, according as these simple eyes are separate from each other, as in perfect insects, or closely approached, as among larvae. In their passage towards the eyes they are attached to the neighbouring parts by tracheae or air vesicles, and do not appear to present any swelling; they pass between the motive muscles of the different parts of the head, traverse the choroid and its varnish, and expand upon the internal face of the cornea, where they are surrounded by the layer of pigment belonging to that membrane. Thus, on examining the simple or stemmatic eyes of insects, and proceeding írom the circumference to the centre, we meet with a transparent cornea,—a pigment, which lines its inner face,—∙ the termination of the optic nerves,—the pigment of the choroid, when distinct from that of the cornea,—and the choroid itself, which frequently rests upon a large trachea. The principal character of these simple eyes consists in this, that each is a single organ, whereas the composite eyes, as the name implies, are formed by the union of many. 1he one kind is most characteristic of the larva state, the other of the perfect insect; but several orders, even in the last-mentioned condition, possess both organs. [7:9:81] Thus, with few exceptions, the Orthoptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, and Diptera, possess both simple and compound eyes. Dr Carus however states that the stemmata do not exist either in beetles or butterflies; a most erroneous opinion in regard to the latter, in which tlιey exist universally, although not always detected; and incorrect as to the former, in several of which they have been distinctly seen. They are visible in Gravenhorsťs genus Omalium, or at least in some of the species;^[46. Magazin der Entomologie, iv. 410.] and Mr Kirby found them very conspicuous in A. Cαraboides, and other Anthophagi. They are wanting in Strepsiptera, Dcrm-aptera, and Aptera. Although neither Linnaeus nor Fabricius, those great masters in the science, gave any explanation of the uses of the stemmata, there can be no doubt that Swammerdam and Réaumur were correct in regarding them as genuine eyes.^[47. See Biblia Naturae, i. 214; and Mémoires, iv. 245.] The French writer supposes that the compound organs have the power of magnifying, and are used for surveying more distant objects, while the simple ones possess little of that power, and are employed on objects close at hand. Blumenbach is also of opinion that the polyhedral eyes are for viewing distant objects, and the simple ones for such as are near.^[48. Veryl. Anatomie, p. 425.] This is in some measure confirmed by the fact, that while most insects in the perfect state have large compound eyes, caterpillars and other larvae have usually small myopic ones. On the other hand, the Mole cricket (Grfilοtalpa), a truly subterranean species, is furnished with both kinds. Réaumur’s experiments on the visual organs of bees are extremely important in relation to our present subject. He smeared the compound eyes with paint, when the insects, instead of directing their flight towards the hive, ascended in the air till they were lost to sight. He then treated the stemmatic cyes in the same manner, and placing his patients near their hive, they winged their way on all sides among the surrounding flowers, but neither ascended into the air, nor flew’ far from home. From thcsc experiments it has been supposed that the compound eyes are for horizontal sight, and the stemmatic for vertical.^[49. Introduction to Entomology, iii. 505.] Spix imagines that what we call simple eyes in insects are in fact olfactory organs.^[50. Ceρlιalogenesis, p. 57∙] Nothing can be adduced in support of a theory so fantastical. We shall conclude this branch of our subject by observing that some insects are supposed to be entirely destitute of eyes. This is the case, according to Rudolphi,^[51. Physiologic, ii. 154.] with the coleopterous genus Claviger, in which there are certainly no apparent eyes; and Marcel de Scrres observes, “un assez grand nombre de larves à metamorphose complète n’ont point d’yeux du tout.”^[52. Mem. sur les Yeux composes et les Yeux lisses] sect. II.—THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM IN INSECTS. Though insects respire air, they do not receive it, like the majority of vertebrated animals, through nostrils or other orifices in the head, but by means of numerous small openings along the sides of the body, and which lead not to lungs, but to a system of air vessels ramified ad infinitum through every part of the body. The respiratory organs of this class are composed of stigmata, tracheae, and bronchiae. The first, called also spiracles or breathing pores, consist of small perforations of various forms, placed along the lateral portions of the body, and generally incased externally in a small corneous ring, though sometimes pierced in the membrane which separates the dorsal from the ventral surface. These stigmatic openings occur both on the thorax and abdomen, and lead inwards to the tracheae. Their number varies according to the species, and even in the same species according to the temporary condition of the individual. They are wanting on the second and third segments of the body ot the larva; and as it is from these segments that the wings are developed, Μ. de Blainville has been induced, probably by that circumstance, to regard the organs of flight as reversed and expanded tracheae. The existence, however, of stigmatic openings on the thorax of the perfect insect simultaneously with the wings, militates against this theory; for if these parts were convertible, would they not be likewise each exclusive of the other? Parallel with the sides of the body of most insects, and extending its whole length, run two cylindrical tubes, which communicate with the spiracles, and give issue, at points opposite to those organs, to other tubes, the ramifications of which are distributed over all the membranes, penetrate the muscles, and pervade even the legs and wings. They also envelope the dorsal vessel and digestive organs, and demonstrate that the ultimate aim of respiration is assimilation, or the increase and reproduction of organic molecules, by the decomposition of food. The first of these tubes are called the tracheae, the latter the bronchiae. This structure, however, cannot be regarded as universal, as in many of the lamellicorn beetles the bronchiae spring directly from the spiracles, the interior mouth of which is lined by a membrane from which they proceed.^[53. Introd, to Ent. vol. iv. p. 61.] But a volume would scarcely suffice to describe the beautifully varied features of the respiratory system in insects. Among those tribes especially which pass their early stages under water, the changes in form and position in these organs cannot be sufficiently admired. Several common species of gnat, the larvae of which abound during the summer season in all our ponds and marshes, will afford a familiar illustration. When one of these is examined, a singular tunnel-shaped organ, terminating in a radiated point like a star, will be perceived, forming an angle with the penultimate segment of the body. In the interior of this organ is a tube, which conveys the air to the tracheae, and communicates with the atmosphere by means of several perforations in the centre of the star. The diverging rays of the star suspend the animal at the surface of the water, with its head downwards, till it wishes to descend. It has no sooner assumed the pupa state, than the respiratory tail disappears, and the insect (still an inhabitant of the water) then breathes through two projecting horns, each resembling a little cornucopia, which proceed from the upper part of the trunk. Ere long the skin of the pupa bursts asunder, and the perfect gnat, or winged insect, makes its appearance, with neither caudal nor thoracic appendages, but breathing by means of numerous lateral pores (the stigmata above mentioned), after the usual manner. The rat-tailed worm in this respect is still more extraordinary. In the larva state it breathes through a tail formcd of retractile tubes, like a telescope, and capable of being extended many times the length of the body. This also terminates in a star-like process, which, when viewed in a strong light, forms a perceptible dimple on the surface of the water; and as the body of the insect lies in the mud below, the tail is contracted or extended according to the varying depth of its stagnant habitation. On assuming the pupa state, in which it is no longer an aquatic animal, the respiratory tail is cast off, and its function performed by four horns, which spring from the upper part of the thorax. It afterwards becomes one of those bee-like flies so remarkable for the rapid vibratory movement of their [7:9:82] wings, by which, during calm sunshine, they are often seen suspended in the air like hawks, without any perceptible motion. In this last stage respiration is carried on by spiracles or breathing-pores. sect . ∏ 1 THE DORSAL vessel, OR SUPPOSED CIRCULATING SYSTEM, OF INSECTS. W τ e shall next endeavour to explain the construction and physiological uses of the organ known by the name of dorsal vessel. . The primary use of the heart of animals is the elaboration of the nutritive fluid by which the general system is strengthened and sustained; its secondary use is to effect the circulation of that fluid, a process by which important changes are produced in its nature or attributes. The dorsal vessel, which corresponds to the heart in insects, certainly effects the primary purpose; its performance of the secondary one is, as we shall see, a matter of greater dubiety. When an insect is dissected with due precaution from its inferior surface, and we remove the nervous system, which first presents itself, and then the intestines and other viscera, we shall observe running along the back, a peculiar vessel, of which the most obvious powers are those of contraction and dilatation. It is of a cylindrical form, narrowed at either end, and extends from the head to the anal extremity. This constitutes the heart, frequently so called, of the class of insects. A closer examination shows that it is composed of two membranes, one internal and muscular, the other external and cellular, and pervaded by a close interlacement of tracheae or air-vessels. When opened, its interior presents a transparent coagulable liquid, which dries rapidly, and then exhibits the aspect of gum, of a colour seldom deeply defined, but sometimes greenish, orange yellow, or sombre brown. Masses of fat frequently surround this vessel, and partake of the tint by which it is pervaded. If, as Marcel de Serres has noted, the dorsal vessel (for so this organ is often named) were a genuine heart, or centre of a circulating system, it would be necessarily open at one or other of its extremities, and would present vascular ramifications in certain points of its extent. But, according to the minute and laborious investigations of the last-named author, no such openings arc observable. The same view was taken by Swammerdam; and Lyonnet, so unrivalled in his examination of the structure of insects, was foiled in his attempts to demonstrate -the ramifications of the dorsal vessel. Comparctti no doubt took another view of the subject; and if the assurance of his readers was equal to his own, less suspicion would exist of the possibility of his having mistaken biliary for sanguineous vessels. Anatomists, however, are greatly divided in opinion regarding the essential nature of this organ. It has been dissected and injected by Mareel de Serres in a variety of species; but in none could he discover its divisions or ramifications. Even when he removed it entirely from the insect, no drop of the liquid which it contained was observed to escape, which he thinks it must have done on the cutting away of open vessels during dissection, had - these existed. The beating of this dorsal vessel was not explicable, otherwise than by the contraction of its tissue, or the movement of the fluid which it contained; and such movement was not itself conceivable except in the case of circulation, which the alleged closure and non-division of the organ forbade us to suppose. Its contractions also appeared irregular, and scarcely ever isochronic; that is, the same number of pulsations, if they may be so called, did not take place in an equal time. They varied singularly in different species. Thirty-six per minute were counted in the caterpillar of the Pavonia Major, eighty-two at least in grasshoppers, and a hundred and forty in one of the ground bees. While endeavouring to discover the cause of these contractions, Marcel de Serres came to the conclusion that they bore a relation, 1≠ to the quantity of adipose tissue by which they were surrounded; 2√Zy, to the energy of the muscular fibres which were inserted on the vessel, and were the means of fixing it to the rings of the abdomen; 3√Zy, to the number of tracheae or air conduits by which it was supplied. He was not of opinion that the nerves exercised any strongly marked influence on these contractions, although we know that special nerves arc directed to the dorsal vessel. The fact, however, which he deemed the most clearly established, was the influential action of the muscles. When any of these were removed, the pulsations became less frequent,—on a farther removal they still diminished; and when the muscles were almost all withdrawn, the pulsations ceased. The appropriate function of this disputed organ, according to the last-named author, is the secretion of fat. Baron Cuvier also denies to it the character of a genuine heart. Meckel and Herold, on the other hand, regard the dorsal vessel as a heart, and they conceive that the use of its movement is to agitate the fluid contained in the cavity of the insect’s body; but they do not admit the existence of posterior or anterior openings for the reception or rejection of that fluid. It is long since Lyonnet informed us that it contained a gummy matter of an orange colour; and some recent observations have led Latreille to admit the existence of certain very minute accessory vessels. In addition, however, to the fact that this circulation must be extremely partial, insects would still greatly differ in that respect from the Crustacea, inasmuch as the blood does not return to the heart. Herold is of opinion that the triangular muscles of the dorsal vessel serve for its dilatation, while the systole movements are effected by the muscular fibres, which form the proper tunic. Straus is also of opinion that the dorsal vessel is the true heart in the class of inseets, and that it serves, as in the higher animals, as the motive organ of the blood, which, however, instead of being contained in vessels, permeates in the general cavity of the body. According to his views, it terminates anteriorly by a single unramified artery, which conveys the blood to the head, where it pours it out, and from whence it returns again to the abdomen, to re-enter the dorsal vessel. He thus limits the circulating system of insects to a single artery without branches (there are not any veins); and he combats the sentiments of Herold regarding the muscular nature of the wings of the heart, which, he maintains, are only simple fibrous ligaments, by which it is maintained in its proper place. The heart itself, that is, the abdominal portion of the vessel, he describes as divided interiorly into eight successive chambers (as in the common cockchafer, Melolonthα vulgaris), separated from each other by two convergent valvules, which permit the transmission of the blood or circulating fluid from behind forwards, and from one chamber to another, up to the artery which conducts it to the head, but prevent its retrograde motion. Towards the lateral and anterior portion of each chamber arc two transverse fissures, which communicate with tlιe abdominal cavity, and through which the blood contained in the latter enters the heart. Each of these apertures is provided internally with a little semicircular valve, which presses on it during the systole of the organ. When the posterior chamber dilates, the fluid contained in the abdominal cavity penetrates into it by the transverse fissures, called auriculo-veηtriculaires by Μ. Straus. When the chamber contracts, the blood, unable to return into the abdominal cavity, forces the ŵZer-ventricular valve, and passes into the second chamber, which dilates to receive it, [7:9:83] along with an additional quantity which enters by the true • auriculo-ventricular openings. The second chamber then contracts in a similar manner, and forces the fluid into the third, which at the same time also receives a supply from the lateral openings; and thus the blood is forced from one chamber to another by successive contractions, till it reaches the artery. These are said to constitute the movements so distinctly perceptible through the dorsal skin of many caterpillars. Mr Bowerbank has recently published some observations on the circulation of the blood in insects.^[54. Entomological Magazine, No. III. p∙ 239.] The instance detailed was that of the larva of an Ephemera {E. marginata). In fixing the insect for examination (under water), especial care must be taken not to compress the body, which impedes or interrupts the circulation of the lateral vessels, and that of the tail, legs, and antennae. When the larva is fixed, with its dorsal aspect towards the observer, a truly beautiful sight is said to present itself. The blood, abounding in flattened oat-shaped particles, will be seen circulating in every part of the body, not in a continuous stream, but at regular points, in accordance with the pulsations of the great dorsal vessel. The latter, which is of great comparative magnitude, extends nearly the whole length of the body, and is furnished at regular intervals with double valves, nearly equal in amount to the segments of the body. Both above and below each of these sets of valves there is a pair of irregular-looking appendages, which are probably nervous ganglions, auxiliary to the motions of the vessel, but so extremely translucent as to be scarcely definable in their form, even through the medium of the highest power which we can apply. The action of the valves is singularly interesting. While in their greatest state of collapse, the point of the lower valve is seen closely compressed within the upper one. At the commencement of the expansion of the artery, the blood is seen flowing in from the lateral aperture, and at the same time the stream in the artery commences its ascent. When it has nearly attained its greatest state of expansion, the sides of the lower valve are forced upwards by the increased flow of the blood from the section below the valve, the lateral openings are closed, and the main current of the blood is projected through the two valves. The structure of the upper valve appears to consist of a duplication inwards and upwards of the inner coat of the artery; that of the under, of a contraction and projection of the like parts of a portion of the artery beneath, so as to come within the grasp of the lower part of the valve above it. The exterior portion or continuation of the artery is perceptible in the form of an exceedingly fine and transparent membrane. The so-called blood does not appear to be confined within any specific vessels prior to its entering the lateral openings just mentioned, because, as soon as they expand, the particles are seen converging towards them. The whole of the fluid received throughout the course of the dorsal vessel is conveyed to the extremity of the anterior part of the body, where the vessel makes a curve inwards, and is lost to view. To all appearance the main current of the blood is now discharged into the cavity of the body, as it is seen pursuing its course downwards in a wide-spreading stream on each side, and beneath the dorsal vessel. As it descends, portions are again absorbed by the valves of the large vessel, while at the same time smaller vessels pass down each side of the body, and convey another portion of blood to the lower extremity. These lesser vessels have perceptible boundaries, and are certainly not portions of the great abdominal cavity. They communicate at each junction of the segments of the body with that cavity, as a part of the fluid they convey is discharged at those points, to supply the place of what is absorbed by the valves of the dorsal vessel, into the lower end of which they empty their contents. In the caudal extremity the ascending and descending vessels are seen, like vein and artery, to accompany each other, and at the same moment that the fluid passes up the one with the usual pulsatory motion, it descends the other. There is, however, no perceptible pulsation of these minuter vessels themselves, and the motion of their fluids therefore results from the action of the great dorsal heart. “Next to the larvae of the Ephemera marginata,” Mr Bowerbank observes, ii the larvae of Agrion afford the best view of the blood and its circulation. In all the species of these larvae I have yet examined, I have found it as nearly similar as possible in appearance to that which we observe in the Ephemera, and in some instances it has afforded even more satisfactory results. The head of this larva is much more transparent than that of the larva of the Ephemera; we therefore have a better view of the circulation of the blood in the head of this insect than can possibly be obtained in the other. In this object the blood is seen rushing like a beautiful intermittent fountain towards the mouth, and dividing right and left into two jets, a portion of each of which flows within a given boundary past the back of the eye, whilst the remainder winds its way through other channels, deep in the side of the head, and returns again into the body. The antennae of this insect also afford another beautiful instance of the circulation being carried forward within well-defined vessels. They are each composed of six joints, up four of which the blood is seen to take its course; and turning round the extremity of the fourth joint, it returns by a distinct vessel into the head. In the leg, likewise, the circulating fluid and its vessels are clearly and distinctly to be traced, even to the very extremity of the tarsus, where, as in the antennae, the particles of the blood are seen to descend on the one side of the leg, and, turning the extreme point, to return up the contrary side to the one by which they come down. I regret much that I have not yet had an opportunity of examining the Ephemera in its perfect state; but in two species of Culex, one of which was first observed and brought to me by my friend Mr Tulley, I have seen the great dorsal vessel performing its functions in a manner similar in every respect to its appearance in the larvae of Ephemera, Agrion, &c. &c.; but, from the body of the fly being more opaque than that of the larvae, and nearly covered with its striated scales, neither the valves nor the particles of the blood could be detected. On another occasion, after having carefully cleared the wings of Phlogophora meticulosa of their coloured scales, both Mr Samouelle and myself clearly saw a fluid pass down the side of one of the principal ribs of the wing. We may therefore, I think, fairly conclude, that the circulation is carried forward in the perfect insect as well as in the larva, although, perhaps, not with so much vigour as when young and growing.”^[55. Ibid. p. 242.] The writer whose observations we have just quoted, inclines to the opinion that a much greater portion of the circulation than we can clearly define is carried on within special vessels, as the blood may be frequently seen flowing in curved and other lines, as if confined within very narrow limits. These streams, however, are generally so deeply seated amidst the muscles and intestines as totally to prevent their boundaries from being clearly seen. The blood itself is in fact a perfectly colourless and transparent fluid, rendered visible only by its containing a number of oat-shaped particles; and even the great dorsal vessel cannot[7:9:84] be seen distinctly but by means of a glass of great power, and, under the most favourable circumstances, exhibits defined limits with certainty only when in motion. A singular coincidence is observable between the flattened particles of the blood of insects, and the circular double concave plates in that of man, namely, that the former, in common with the latter, assume a globular form immediately on coming into contact with water.^[56. Entomological'Magazine, p. 244.] The reader will be able to judge, from the preceding notices, of the diversified opinions still entertained regarding the circulation of the blood in insects. We shall conclude with a short account of Dr Carus’s observations, which many consider as the first of a satisfactory and conclusive nature on the subject. Mr Spence, the accomplished coadjutor of Mr Kirby, having had the advantage, at a pretty recent period, of witnessing some of the most striking facts on which the Dresden physician rests his views, transmitted an account of them to an English periodical. “The first insect,” he observes, “to which Dr Carus directed my attention was the larva of Ephemera vulgata (or an allied species), in which, near to the branchiae, and parallel with each side of the body, was very distinctly visible a constant current, towards the tail, of oblong globules, swimming in a transparent fluid, propelled with a regular pulsating motion; and in cutting the body of the larva across, near the tail, these globules were most plainly seen pushed out of the divided vessels in a distinct mass, which increased at each pulsation. I cannot express the pleasure which it gave me to see thus clearly this ocular demonstration of one of the most important physiological discoveries of modern times; and my gratification was heightened by the next object which Dr Carus placed before his microscope, viz. a specimen of Semblis viridis, in which precisely the same phenomena, but if possible more clearly, were seen in the nervures of the wings, and in the antennae, in both which the constant current of globules was most apparent; and in the former, the sudden turning of these globules at the apex of the wing, out of the exterior nervure, into a central one, with which it joins and forms an acute angle, was equally curious and striking. On cutting off the end of the antennae, precisely the same emission of globules (which soon assume a greenish tint) took place as in the former case, forming a mass which was increased with a sudden gush at each pulsation.”^[57. ropterous¶nsecU Oeeľnsh/^l 1^27^’ V 'F1' r¶’ $T a ^° t ^ e θ erman memoir by Dr Carus on the circulation of the larvae of neu- tomy appendix to voľ.¾ ⅞ 392 ‘ ¶ ħ C °' 1SU t Mr G ° re ’ S traπslati on of Carus’s Introduction to Comparative Ana- ’ n ∙ ∙ p∙ ∙] The chief point to be attended to in the manipulation of these microscopic experiments, is to place the specimens on the slip of glass, in a drop of pretty thick gum water, which confines their too agile movements, without affecting the transparency of the medium. SECT. IV OF THE ADIPOSE TISSUE OF INSECTS. Insects are abundantly supplied with an adipose substance or fatty matter, which may be mentioned in this place with the more propriety, as many consider it a secretion from the dorsal vessel. It is spread over the viscera and in the splanchnic cavities; and although its aspect varies, it seems to consist essentially of membranous woofs, in some cases divided in shreds, in others spread over the intestines and against the sides of the abdomen, and containing pouches filled with a homogeneous pulpy matter, sometimes in an oily condition, and offering all the characters of grease. Much more of it is observable among larvae than in perfect insects, and this observation leads us to a knowledge of its use. It is particularly plentiful just before an insect is about to undergo its metamorphosis; and as it almost entirely disappears on the completion of those signal changes, we naturally conclude that it has served in the production or development of the newly acquired organs. This is rendered the more probable when we consider that, during the intermediate or nympha state, the insect abstains from food, and is therefore necessarily dependent on some internal reservoir. It is analogous, in fact, to the store of fat which is known to pervade the system of hybernating animals before they consign themselves to their winter sleep. In regard to the nutrition of insects, our opinions must be in a measure regulated by the sentiments which we may adopt as to the functional uses of the dorsal vessel. We need scarcely observe, that in all the higher animals, and in most of the invertebrated tribes, nutrition is effected through the medium of the blood, which, propelled by the heart, circulates through, the entire system, and reaches every organ, after having been submitted to the action of the air in lungs or gills. Cuvier thinks it is carried on among insects by imbibition. The alimentary canal elaborates a fluid which transudes through its coats, and flows into the cavity of the body. There the various organs, such as the muscles, the nerves, and many secreting vessels, absorb from that fluid nutriment, whatever molecules are best adapted to their purposes. Those who look upon the dorsal vessel as a true heart, which dispenses a circulating fluid to the remotest ramifications of the wings and tarsi, will place less confidence in this particular view. However, it is certain that the secreting vessels are characterized by a structure entirely appropriate to the functions which we have just assigned them, their surface being obviously furnished with numerous pores or small absorbent mouths. SECT. V THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM OF INSECTS. The digestive system in insects naturally forms the next subject of consideration. The earliest, most general, and perhaps the only indispensable function of animal life, is that of nutrition. But its materials are so different, and their modes of reception so various, that the exercise of this function by no means necessitates the existence of a mouth, a stomach, or an alimentary canal; for an increase of parts may be effected even through the medium of imponderable or elastic fluids, and by imperceptible and superficial pores.^[58. Vol. iii.f tJj s wor J fj p. ļß3.] The digestive organs of insects are however in general rather complicated, and a great variety of parts are brought into action. The more external portions, or those of the mouth, have been already described. We shall therefore at present confine our observations to the different portions of the intestinal canal, and the biliary and salivary vessels. It is natural to suppose that, in a class so extensive and varied as that with which we are now engaged, a corresponding diversity must exist in the form, development, and number of the parts which constitute the intestinal canal. It is always, however, so far tubular, and open at either end; but in some it is straight and of the length of the body; in others it is bent and longer than the body; while in many it is tortuous, or twisted on itself in numerous convolutions, and consequently of great extent. In general, its ength corresponds in a certain measure with the nature [7:9:85] of the aliments; such insects as feed on vegetable matters having a longer, and such as feed on animal substances a shorter canal. In some it is of equal diameter throughout; in others the breadth of special portions varies; and there are many dilatations and restrictions, known by various names. It even differs greatly in the same species, according as the individual exists in the larva or imago state. The texture of the intestinal canal in insects is not the same in all parts of its extent; but on a careful examination it is found to exhibit throughout three tunics, more or less distinctly marked. Of these, the first is external, with a membranous aspect; the second is of course intermediate and muscular, with its fibres diversely directed; the third is internal and mucous. In its more complicated state it exhibits the following parts: 1s⅛ a pharynx ; 2d, an oesophagus ; 3d, a crop ; ⅛th, a gizzard ; 5th, a chylific ventricle; 6th, intestines, which may be considered in subdivision as the small intestines, the great intestine or caecum, and the rectum. The following may be regarded as the usual process of transmission. The mouth, having seized and chewed the food, transmits it to the pharynx, into which salivary vessels sometimes open. It then passes into the oesophagus (of which the muscular nature occasionally produces by its action a peculiar impression), and is next transmitted to the crop, which converts it into a homogeneous pulp. This is introduced into the gizzard, of which the sides, being armed with teeth, complete its trituration. In the form of a kind of paste it is now received by the chylific ventricle, where it undergoes the action of the bile, is converted into chyle, and thus supplies the nutritive fluid, which, passing through the coats of the ventricle, spreads over the splanchnic cavity, and pervades the whole of the organs. The residue is received by the small intestine, then by the great intestine, in which it remains for some time, and finally by the rectum. The pharynx, which is sometimes rather difficult to distinguish as a distinct feature, is placed at the bottom of the mouth, and may be regarded as an anterior dilatation of the oesophagus. Two pieces, very apparent in certain Hymenoptera, called the epipharynx and the hypopharynx, seem to restrict and protect its entrance. The oesophagus is a conduit varying in length, which traverses the prothorax, and sometimes extends beyond it; but it is occasionally so short as scarcely to pass beyond the region of the head. Its structure is musculo-membranous, and it opens into the crop, or, if that part is wanting, into the gizzard, or, if the latter is also absent, into the chylific ventricle. It is around the origin of the oesophagus that the nervous system, as formerly described, constitutes a ring, by sending forth two branches which unite on the inferior face of the body. The crop, which is by some called the stomach, is essentially nothing more than a dilatation of the oesophagus. It is often difficult to detect, is sometimes entirely wanting, and may be observed to vary greatly even in two individuals of the same species. Exteriorly it does not differ much from the gizzard, but its interior never presents those corneous pieces which in the latter serve the purposes of trituration. Its position bears some analogy to that of the crop of birds, from which circumstance it has probably derived its name. Its texture is simply membranous, or slightly muscular when its development is considerable, and in that case it is not rare to observe certain folds or fleshy columns and deeper lines, which give it something of a ribbed appearance. These folds, prolonged in the interior, frequently constitute a kind of valve. It is in this crop that bees contain their honey prior to their disgorging it, and it likewise serves as the reservoir of that black and often fetid fluid which many insects allow to flow from their mouths when they are seized. The form of the crop differs in the various species; and even in individuals of the same species, according to its state of repletion or vacuity, it assumes an ovoid, rounded, or pear-shaped appearance. In some orders of insects it is greatly developed, and very muscular; and in certain cases, instead of lying in the same direction with the intestinal canal, it forms with it an angle more or less acute, thus constituting a lateral pouch varying in extent and form. The gizzard follows the crop. Its existence is not constant, and its essential character consists in its singular internal structure, which is furnished with moveable portions of a horny texture, provided with ridges or bristles pointed in all directions, in the form of combs or brushes. The principal portions are more or less numerous, and form by their union a kind of valvule at the orifice of the chylific ventricle, into which they permit nothing to enter but what has been previously reduced to a state of tenuity. This very singular triturating machine, as we may call it, exists among both the herbivorous and carnivorous kinds. It recalls to mind the aspect of the stomach among the crustaceous tribes. Externally it greatly resembles the crop, and indeed can scarcely be distinguished from it otherwise than by its internal structure. The chylific ventricle, which corresponds to the part named duodenum by Marcel de Serres, and stomach by Ramdhor, is a very constant organ among insects, although its form and character are extremely various. It is here that the pulpy food, mixed with specially elaborated fluids, is converted into chyle. One of its most constant characters is the insertion on a kind of circular pad more or less developed, of at least one extremity of the biliary vessels. Its texture is soft and delicate, and capable of varying its capacity by extension. Its form is generally cylindrical, although it sometimes undergoes dilatations and restrictions in its course. In some rare instances, detailed by Μ. Dufour, it is bilobed or bifurcated at its commencement, the preceding part of the alimentary canal being inserted in the angle of the furcation. It presents several other occasional and very curious characters, but it is in general straight, and but rarely exhibits a limited number of convolutions. It is not garnished interiorly w ith triturating organs, either muscular or corneous; but it is furnished with a valvule at the point of union with the intestine. One of its most curious characters consists in its being sometimes villous on the surface, that is, covered by a quantity of little tubes, named villosities by Cuvier, and papillae by Dufour. These are a species of tubes or purses, somewhat resembling the fingers of a glove, and opening into the ventricle. Their functional uses are differently construed by physiologists. Cuvier inclines to think that they draw from the abdominal cavity a gastric fluid, which they pour into the ventricle to aid digestion. Marcel de Serres partakes of the same opinion, and regards these papillae as the superior hepatic vessels. Dufour, however, does not consider them as analogous to the biliary vessels, but as culs-de-sac, which receive the alimentary fluid, and, after its conversion into chyle, transmit it to the abdominal cavity. That able anatomist has recognised in their interior a brownish matter, quite analogous to what is contained in the ventricle itself. They do not differ greatly as to form, but a great variation occurs in regard to number and disposition. Sometimes they exist in great numbers throughout the whole extent of the ventricle, sometimes they are fewer in number, and confined to a limited portion. Insects belonging to the orthopterous order have but few of these papillae, but they are greatly developed, and inserted on the anterior part. In other instances the papillae are entirely absent; and the ventricle is then smooth, or occasionally exhibits depressed lines, which divide it transversely into so many little bands. The presence of [7:9:86] these papillae cannot be regarded as a constant character in any group, for we find them absent or present in different insects of the same family, without any known or assignable cause. They occur indiscriminately among carnivorous and herbivorous species; but it is among the coleopterous tribes that they show themselves most frequently, and under the most characteristic forms. The intestines constitute an extended portion of the canal. They receive the alimentary matters after they have been digested in the chylific ventricle, and extract by their action whatever nutriment remains. Their absorbent powers, however, as alimentary organs, are probably confined chiefly to their upper portion. They consist of a small intestine, a great intestine, and a rectum. The small intestine of course proceeds from the ventricle, and is in general narrow, with an equal diameter throughout, although it is sometimes swollen or pursed in the course of its extent. It is of various length, and makes numerous circumvolutions in the interior of the abdomen, after which it borders with the great intestine. The latter, called also the caecum, consists of a swelling or enlargement, usually ovoid and smooth, but not unfrequently also covered by plaits and little muscular rib-like bands, more or less projecting. It is dilatable, and in some cases is swollen beyond measure, especially among certain aquatic tribes, such as the Dytisci. In these, as detected by the skilful eye of Μ. Dufour, the caecum is no longer placed in the direction of the intestinal canal, but is thrown to one side, and furnished with a vermicular appendix, spirally twisted. It becomes inflated with air at the will of the insect, and thus seems to act the part of a swimming bladder. Other modifications of this organ have likewise been observed, into the detail of which we shall not here enter. The rectum is a muscular tube, in general of no great extent. We shall next devote a few lines to the l>iliary vessels. That peculiar fluid called bile seems equally indispensable to the digestion of insects as to that of the higher animals, but the organ which secretes it is very different. In the former class it has no longer the appearance of a gland, but consists of more or less numerous vessels, of variable length, fixed for the most part by a single extremity, but not unfrequently by both ends, to the intestinal canal, and floating as it were in the abdominal cavity. These vessels are often rolled on themselves, and interlaced by numerous tracheae and slender nervous filaments. They are never wanting in insects, and they exist equally in the larva state as in the perfect condition. They are delicate tubes, composed of a thin and pellucid membrane, on which certain transverse foldings produce a somewhat varicose appearance. They contain a liquid, sometimes limpid and colourless, but usually varying from yellow to brown. It is bitter, and exhibits all the characteristics of bile. The vessels themselves vary in amount from two, four, six, to an almost countless number. Their mode of insertion exhibits some remarkable variations, which however may be reduced to two great divisions: 1st, where the insertion takes place upon the ventricle alone; 2d, where it takes place upon the caecum likewise. The first of these divisions offers two classes; sometimes the vessels are inserted only by one extremity, while the other is free or floating; sometimes they are fixed by both ends, and form so many arches. In the latter case they are few in number, and each arch may be regarded either as a vessel strongly curved towards the two points of insertion, or may be looked upon as composed of two vessels exactly anastomosed at their extrçmities. A coleopterous insect belonging to the genus ĴDoriacia, described by Μ. Dufour, was observed to possess a ventricle provided at once with arched vessels and with such as were free at their extremity. Such a combination connects, as it were, the characters which principally distinguish the first great division.. The second great division above alluded to never presents us with any vessels that are free or unattached at one extremity. They form a complete arch from the ventricle to the caecum, and scarcely present any particular character, except that their number is always restricted. The insertions on the ventricle are always more distinct than those on the caecum; the latter being rarely isolated, but usually uniting into a smaller number of common branches, and sometimes into one. The salivary vessels consist of floating tubes, which open about the pharynx, and furnish a liquid to assist in deglutition. They are sometimes wanting or imperceptible, and are more general, as well as more highly developed, among the suctorial than the masticating tribes. The receptacles which supply the silk used by spinning caterpillars, are by many regarded as analogous to salivary glands, as are likewise the organs which furnish the venomous fluid in the mouths of Scolopendrae.^[59. verv amifle^nd^wfV? en ^ cr J u JV t ) lese subjects, will find in Messrs Kirby and Spence’s Introduction to Entomology, not only a formed Sriteí a w , X Ĵistructure and functions of the various organs of insects, but also such references t'o the best inarticle Insectes ’in thf> Dirt r∕∏<, ∙ xrr ∙^ urt ^θ r study and reflection. See also Entomologiα Edinensis (Introduction); the Sciences Nat. " assit i uc ts 0tre - λ a turelle, t. vin.; and Μ. Dufour’s papers on Insect Anatomy, in the Annales des] CHAPTER IV. THE METAMORPHOSES OF INSECTS. As frequent reference is made, in the course of this treatise, to the metamorphoses of insects, we shall here endeavour to explain in what these essentially consist. “Were a naturalist,” observe Messrs Kirby and Spence, “to announce to the world the discovery of an animal, which for the first five years of its life existed in the form of a serpent; w hich then penetrating into the earth, and weaving a shroud of pure silk of the finest texture, contracted itself within this covering into a body w ithout external mouth or limbs, and resembling more than any thing else an Egyptian mummy; and which, lastly, after remaining in this state without food and without motion for three years longer, should at the end of that period burst its silken casements, struggle through its earthy covering, and start into day a winged bird,—what think you would be the sensation excited by this strange piece of intelligence ?” Yet the difference which exists between the sometimes repulsive aspect of a creeping caterpillar, and the consummate beauty of the gorgeous butterfly to which it gives existence, is as remarkable as any supposable change from one form of animal life to another. Although the ancients appear to have been aware that many insects, such as butterflies, bees, and beetles, proceeded from eggs, and underwent those changes which w¢ name metamorphosis; yet, very shortly before the time ol Redi, Swammerdam, Malpighi, and Leeuwenhoeck, to whoιr we ow e so much of our present knowledge, Mouffet, w hc has been called the father of entomology, mistook the aquatic larvae of Libellulae for creatures entirely distinct fron the perfect insects, and named them Water Locusts! The error was excusable, and has no doubt often been repeatec in corresponding cases; for how many are ignorant, ever at the present day, that the slender red-coloured wriggling worm, which is so often seen in collections of rain water [7:9:87] is the larva state of a clear-winged and elegantly formed fly, furnished with feathered antennae and long slender limbs, the Chironomus plumosus ? How entirely dissimilar is the hairy caterpillar, which we frequently observe crossing our foot-path in country lanes, from the richly attired tiger-moth which it eventually becomes? Many examples of a similar nature will probably occur even to the least instructed reader. The word metamorphosis seems to have passed originally from a mythological meaning to a term in natural science. We had deemed it an ancient phrase, till we were informed by Mr Kirby that μtτaμοξ<ροω, and its derivative μiτaμoξ<ρωyex, 29.] and Réaumur those of Bomhyx dispar, even in the caterpillar, seven or eight days prior to its change into the pupa state.^[62. Mémoires, i. 359.] According, however, to the more recent doctrines promulgated by Dr Herold, the successive skins of the caterpillar, the case of the pupa, and the members of the perfect insect (except the sexual distinctions, which he perceived even in the newly excluded larvae), do not preexist as germs, but are formed successively from the rete mucosum, which itself is formed anew upon every change of skin, from what he denominates the blood, or the chyle after it has passed through the pores of the intestinal canal into the general cavity of the body, where being oxygenated by the air-vessels, it performs the nutritive functions of blood.^[63. EntιeicJclungsgesehiclιte der Schmetterlinge.] These proceedings, as usual, are attributed to a vis formatrix, a term of most convenient application where the mysterious workings of nature are but dimly seen or vaguely understood. But whatever may be the mode or principle of development, we know that insects exist in the four following states,—the egg, the larva, the pupa, and the imago or perfect condition. The first stage of life, properly so called, is that of larva, in which existence is usually more prolonged than in any other, and in which the insect does nothing but eat voraciously, and increase rapidly, with intervals of repose occasioned by repletion. In this state it is entirely sterile. In the course, and towards the termination, of the larva state, that peculiar internal secretion the caul, epiploon, or fatty matter, formerly mentioned, is observed to increase, and the insect then assumes the pupa state, which is usually one of inaction and apparent torpidity. Ere long the skin of the pupa bursts asunder, or the wings and members become sufficiently developed for active exercise, and the insect assumes the perfect state, as exemplified in bees, beetles, and butterflies, all of which proceed from a wormlike larva. In this condition they are usually less voracious, their principal object and occupation being the preservation or continuance of their kind. All insects, however, do not pass through these transformations. Most of the apterous kinds issue from the egg in a form very similar to that which they maintain throughout their after lives; from which circumstance Linnaeus and others have bestowed the name of complete pupae on their intermediate state, when such is recognisable. Even those that are subjected to the signal changes above de-scrjbed, differ considerably in the nature and degree of metamorphosis to which they are subjected. Many of the winged kinds experience no other change than the accession of the organs of flight. Their larvae resemble the perfect insect, with the exception of the want of wings. Their pupae, known as semi-complete, merely differ from the larvae by exhibiting the rudiments of those organs the eventual development of which produces the completion of the perfect insect. Such are the grasshopper and locust tribes, in which the pupae continue to exercise their locomotive powers and ordinary vital functions. Those insects which undergo a more entire metamorphosis are changed from larvae into motionless and inert pupae, and this mode of transformation presents different gradations. The pupae, or nymphs as they are often called, of the Coleoptera and several other orders, exhibit their external members in close approximation to the body, butjfree or uncovered by any general envelope; we name them incomplete. But among the Lepidoptera, such as butterflies and moths, an elastic but firm and sufficiently solid skin or integument is moulded over the entire body and its various members, and only shows the form and outline of the latter visibly impressed upon its surface. These were called pupae obtectae by Linnaeus. Dipterous flies, again, are covered in the pupa state by small simple cases, or egg-like shells, usually regarded as the skin of the larva, through which the form and proportions of the parts are in no way discernible. These were termed pupae coarctatae by the great Swedish naturalist. When, however, we make use of the term metamor phosis, in relation to the different states of insects, another meaning is apt to result from the application of the words complete, semi-complete, and other adjective phrases,—for the less complete the pupa, the more complete the metamorphosis. Some contusion, we think, has arisen from this circumstance,—at least we have ourselves been occasionally puzzled by the contrariety of opinion expressed upon the subject even by the “master spirits” of entomology. Thus, Latreιlle observes, “Les Coléoptères subissent une metamorphose complete,"^[64. Regne Λnimal, t. iv. p. 354.] while Mr Kirby has it “Metamorphosis incomplete," ^[65. Introduction to Entomology, vol. iv. p. 369.] and the same form of expression is used by Mr Macleay.^[66. Horae Ent. p. 440. The confusion above referred to may perhaps have arisen from certain adjective phrases having been at times apphed indifferently, either to the state of pupa or the phenomena of transformation, which in most cases causes a contradiction in terms. In Orthoptera, of which the pupa is semi-complete, the metamorphosis may bear the same designation; but in the other orders the double application of any of the adjective terms leads to inaccurate ideas. Thus, in Coleoptera, the pupoe are s emi-comρlctc ; but there is surely a total transformation, that is, a complete metamorphosis, when we compare together the larva and the perfect insect. So also in Lepidoptera, the pupa is obtected; in Diptera, coarctate; and consequently the-metamorphosis must be complete in both. Now Mr Kirby makes use of the phrase “metamorphosis obtected” in regard to the former, and “metamorphosis coarctate” in relation to the latter,—terms which we have been in the practice of applying to the pupa state of these orders, but not to the general transformations. The same admirable author, in defining apterous insects, states the metamorphosis to he complete. We would rather say that they undergo no metamorphosis at all,—for which very reason, each particular state, or rather period, of the insect, is itself complete from youth to age. The less complete the pupa, the more complete the metamorphosis, and vice versa.] However this may be, our entire range of natural knowledge presents us with nothing comparable in singularity or beauty with the phenomena of metamorphosis. No wonder that the mystical sages of Egypt, and the refined philosophers of Greece, were so entranced or delighted with what they saw and fancied, as to found upon these changes many of the fondest fables which now pervade our classical literature. “Psyche,’ says Dr Nares, “means in Greek the human soul; and it means also a butterfly, of which apparently strange double sense the undoubted reason is, that a butterfly was a very ancient symbol of the soul. From the prevalence of this symbol, and the consequent coincidence of the names, it happened that the Greek sculptors frequently represented Psyche as subject to Cupid in the shape of a butterfly; and that even when she appears in their works under the human form, we find her decorated with the light and filmy wings of that gay insect.”^[67. Essays, i. 101.] Swammerdam himself, although his observations tended to prove that the analogy between the metamorphosis of a butterfly and the resurrection of the body, or second life of the human soul, was not so close as had been imagined, is yet of opinion that the process is so remarkable as to paint and exemplify that resurrection before our eyes.^[68. Hill’s Translation of the Biblia Natura, i. 187.] “To see, indeed, a caterpillar crawling upon the earth, sustained by the most ordinary kinds of food, which, when it has existed a few weeks or months under this humble form, its appointed work being finished, passes into an intermediate state of seeming death, when it is wound up in a kind of shroud and incased in a coffin, and is most commonly buried under the earth (though sometimes its sepulchre is in the water, and at others in various substances in the air); and, after this creature and others of its tribe have remained their destined time in this deathlike state, to behold earth, air, and water, give up their several prisoners; to survey them, when, called by the warmth of the solar beam, they burst from their sepulchres, cast off their cerements, from this state of torpid inactivity come forth as a bride out of her chamber,—to survey them, I say, arrayed in their nuptial glory, prepared to enjoy a new and more exalted condition of life, in which all their powers are developed, and they are arrived at the perfection of their nature; when, no longer confined to the earth, they can traverse the fields of air, their food is the nectar of flowers, and love begins his blissful reign ;—who that witnesses this interesting scene can help seeing in it a lively representation of man in his threefold state of existence, and more especially of that happy day, when, at the call of the great sun of righteousness, al) that are in their graves shall come forth, the sea shall give up her dead, and death being swallowed up of life, the nations of the blessed shall live and love to the ages of eternity? “But although the analogy between the different stateβ of insects and those of the body of man is only general, yet it is much more complete with respect to his soul. He first appears in this frail body—a child of earth, a crawling worm, his soul being in a course of training and preparation for a more perfect and glorious existence. When it has finished this course it casts off this vile body, and goes into a hidden state of being in Hades, where it rests from its works, and is prepared for its final consummation. The time for this being arrived, it comes forth clothed with a glorious body, not like its former though germinating from it, for though ‘ it was sown an animal body, it shall be raised a spiritual body,’ endowed with augmented powers, faculties, and privileges, commensurate to its new and happy state. And here the parallel holds perfectly between the insect and the man. The butterfly, the representative of the soul, is prepared in the larva for its future state of glory; and if it be not destroyed by the ichneumons and other enemies to which it is exposed, symbolical of the vices that destroy the spiritual life of the soul, it will come to its state of repose in the pupa, which is its Hades; and at length, when it assumes the imago, break forth with new powers and beauty to its final glory and the reign of love.”^[69. Introduc. to Ent. vol. i. p. 75.] Swammerdam, to whom we owe the earliest philosophical examination of the subject, divides the phenomena of metamorphosis into four classes. In the first, in which the changes are the least varied or remarkable, he includes apterous insects commonly so called, most of which we now name Myτiapoda, and the metamorphosis of which consists in gaining additional segments and pairs of feet; also Arachnides and Crustacea, which are for the most part characterized by simple renewals of their envelope. In the second class he places such insects as are bom with six feet, but have their wings concealed or inclosed m a sheath during a rudimentary period, such as Orthoptera, Hemiptera, and many Neuroptera. In the third class are included those insects which exhibit three distinct conditions; they compose two subdivisions. The first comprises those insects of which the second state, called nymph or semi-nymph, exhibits either the appearance of feet and wings, or the reality of these organs. They are not reduced to that state of utter lethargy or apparent death which some present, and they include the remainder of the Neuroptera, the Hymenoptera, and the Coleoptera. The other subdivision contains the Lepidoptera, of which the larv¢e, commonly called caterpillars, are subject to several preparatory changes of their coat, and are finally converted into chrysalids, through the coriaceous skin of which the interior parts are perceptible, but which externally exhibit neither wings nor legs, nor any other members. [7:9:89] Finally, in the fourth class are included all those insects which on their exclusion from the egg exist as vermiform apodal larvae, are provided at most with six feet, and are converted into nymphs without a change of envelope, so that their skin merely hardens over the intermediate stace of the insect, which ere long issues winged. Such are the dipterous tribes. These views and combinations have been somewhat modified in later years, by Réaumur, Linnaeus, Fabricius, Huber, Dutrochet, Savigny, Marcel de Serres, Latreille, and others who have devoted themselves to the investigation of metamorphoses. Those phenomena have consequently been classed as incomplete or partial by which the aspect of the insect is merely modified, and as complete or total by which it is entirely changed. In all, the interior changes may be said to command the exterior, that is, the latter are consequent on the former. In numerous species, not less than three of the principal organic systems, viz. the nervous, the nutritive, and the respiratory, undergo important modifications, and we may easily conceive how strongly the instinctive habits of the individual must be thereby affected. The alterations in the nervous system especially, are singular in their nature and effects. The number of ganglia of the spinal cord is usually greater in the larva than the perfect insect, although the great single ganglion of the rhinoceros-beetle (Oryctes ηαsicomis), in its early state, compared with the four ganglia of its subsequent condition, offers an exception to the general rule. But in the larva of the stag-bcetlc (Lucanus cervus) we observe eight ganglia, besides a recurrent nervc, while the perfect insect possesses only four; and among caterpillars in general the same restriction takes place in the number of their ganglionic knots as they attain the perfect state. Among beings in which the parts representing the brain and other organs of sensation of the higher tribes undergo so many variations even in the same individual, we may well suppose that whatever ideas they are capable of conceiving at one period of their existence, may differ essentially from those with which they arc impressed at another. We shall not here involve ourselves in the discussion of the difficult and dissimilar theories of instinct, nor enter into any exposition of the mechanical, the intellectual, or the supernatural character of that surprising manifestation, which, uríder whatever aspect it may be viewed, whether as differing in kind or only in degree from reason, cannot be otherwise regarded than as a most beautiful illustration of divine benevolence. But we may ask, by what peculiar memory or mode of recollection does the brilliant butterfly, which seeks its sustenance in the nectarous juices of flowers, rifling their sweets with its tubular proboscis, — by what means does it remember that its progeny, while in the larva state, must be sustained by a far different diet, and that they exercise their jaws on cabbage-lcaves, and other vegetation of the coarser kind ř Μ. Virey, who denies all intellect to insects, and views their various actions as resulting mechanically from the peculiar disposition or character of their nervous system, has endeavoured to illustrate the subject by the following parallel. He compares an insect to one of those portable organs, of which the cylinder has different airs noted on its surface, and which performs one or another tune in proportion as the cylinder is made to recede or advance. So likewise the nervous system, or series of ganglia along the double medullary cord, of the creatures now under consideration, being differently constituted in the larva and the perfect insect, ought to produce different actions in the two cases, though respectively appropriate to the nature of each. Art in the one instance, and nature in the other, has impressed certain dispositions, or notes of action, fixed in a determinate series, equally in the musical organ, and the ganglionic system of caterpillars. Hence the one gives utterance to a certain air, while the other acts according to a certain sequence of operations. Pull out a notch of the barrel organ, and you have another tune; await the transformation of the caterpillar to a butterfly, and you have (with a change in the notching of its nervous system) another scries of instinctive operations. In both, the relations of cause and effect are the same, and each is merely the mechanical playing of an instrument!^[70. Nοηυ. Did. d'Hist. Nat. xvi. 313.] Now, to prove this position, as has been elsewhere remarked, Μ. Virey ought at least to have shown, that whenever a change takes place in the instincts of insects in their different states of larva and ima-ago, a corresponding change also takes place in the structure of the nervous cord.^[71. Iηtrοd. to Ent. iv. 27∙] But this is by no means the case. In three entire orders, namely, Orthoptera, Hcmiptera, and Neuroptera, the structure of that cord remains unchanged, and yet we know that thousands of the species which compose these orders acquire instinctive habits in their perfect state, altogether dissimilar to those by which they w ere characterized in their earlier condition. Even were it otherwise, our query would still require to be answered, by what mechanical impulsion is the completed butterfly, a gay and gorgeous honey-sucker, induced to play a tune (we speak in harmony with Μ. Virey’s views) so completely in accordance, not with its ow n refined tastes, but with the future welfare of the crawling caterpillars of which it is the parent? Why does it deposit its eggs, not on the odorous blossoms and bright consummate flowers in which it takes so much delight, and amid the varied petals of which it rejoices to expand to the sunshine its own still more brilliant wings, but on the rank leaves of the cabbage and cauliflower, or the dingy foliage of the nettle? These questions, and many others of a similar nature, are perhaps more easily proponed than answered. When we consider, indeed, how frequently inaccurate is our knowledge even of our own individual feelings, and how much more incompetent wc are to judge of what passes in the minds of others of our own species, need we wonder that the sentient principles of the lower animals should, in relation to human intelligence, be still shrouded in dim eclipse, if not in total darkness.. It is far more probable, however, that the alterations in the nervous cord have no necessary connection with the changes of instinct, but are more closely concerned with those other not less remarkable mutations in the organs of sense and motion, which occur betw∙cen the larva and imago states of several orders. “In a common caterpillar, the form of the body, the legs, the eyes, and other organs of the senses, all strikingly differ from those of the imago; whereas, with the exception of the acquisition of new wings, a perfect locust differs little from its larva; so that we may reasonably expect a corresponding change, such as we find it in the structure of the nervous cord of the lepidopterous insect, not called for in that of the neuropterous (orthopterous ?) species, in which accordingly it does not take place.”^[72. Ibid. vol. iv. p. 28.] Metamorphosis frequently induces no less remarkable changes in the system of nutrition of insects, followed of course by corresponding alterations in their instinctive appetites and modes of life. In such as undergo an incomplete metamorphosis, the parts of the mouth, and the form of the alimentary canal, experience no essential alteration; but among those tribes in which the change of external aspect is complete in each successive stage, these import- [7:9:90] ant parts assume another character, and admirably illustrate the multitude of means employed by nature to vary her innumerable products, even although the general laws by which these are regulated, and from which, under the great and never-slumbering eye of Omnipotence, theymore immediately result, are themselves so few in number. The shorter the alimentary canal becomes, the more carnivorous are the tendencies of the individual. This finally exemplifies the great physiological truth previously deduced from the difference between the structure of the alimentary system in herbivorous and carnivorous animals of the higher classes,—between the short canal of the bloodthirsty tiger, and the lengthened convolutions of the gentler ruminating tribes. Here, however, the disparity exists, not as among animals of entirely différent attributes, but in the same individual at different periods of its existence. The young of many aquatic beetles of the family of Helophoridoe are carnivorous in thcir larva state, and become herbivorous on assuming their final transformation. A like singularity is manifested by many dipterous flies, which, born and bred amid the putrid moisture of animal remains, no sooner become winged insects, than they seek a purer diet in the nectarous juices of fruits and flowers.^[73. Eηtοmοlοgiα Edlηcηsis, p. 207∙] Analogous changes take place even in those species which do not entirely alter the nature of their diet. A voracious caterpillar, which, by means of its robust maxillae, rapidly gnaws and consumes a quantity of the most coriaceous leaves, to the amount sometimes of triple its own weight in a single day, and presents the beau-ideal of an eating machine, has its intestine greatly dilated, and pursed like a colon. The larvae both of wasps and bees have a stomach so vast, that it occupies almost the entire of their interior, although in the perfect state of each it becomes greatly restricted. Thus in the bee that great laboratory consists of little more than two unequal honey pouches; and among butterflies, of which the trunk or sucker corresponds to the previous jaws, the stomach is much less than in caterpillars. This, we may observe, reverses the rule which applies to the great ruminating animals among the vertebrated tribes, where we find a single stomach in the foetus state, and which in the adult is multiplied to four. It is the opinion of some naturalists that larvae in general, having larger intestines, tend more towards a herbivorous diet than perfect insects, in which these organs are shorter, and which are consequently supposed to assume a more carnivorous habit ;—“so rare, is it,” observes Μ. Bory St Vincent, “to perceive the manners of living creatures not tcnding to mutual destruction as their powers are developed.” An enlightened mind, however, naturally delights in the perception and extrication of general rules; and these, we fear, are not seldom fancied without being either perceived or deduced. In opposition to the presumed law, we have already mentioned the Helophoridoe, which reverse the rule; and to these we could add many more. The glowworm in its larva state is greedy of animal jiιices, and feeds chiefly on minute testacea, while, in its completed state, it is entirely herbivorous. A large aquatic beetle, the Hydrous piceus, is so ferocious and blood-thirsty in the form of larva, as to bear in France the name of ver-assassin ; but in its after condition, through the medium of metamorphosis, the intestine becomes elongated, and the disposition of the insect is softened and subdued, so that it then prefers a vegetable to an animal diet. In fact the great aim and object of an insect in the perfect condition is rather the continuance of its kind than the sustenance of itself; although, as the one process cannot be well accom-plisħed without the other, it no doubt, even in its most high and palmy state, casts, like its betters, an occasional eye on the “flesh-pots of Egypt. The changes in the respiratory system of insects produced by metamorphosis, are not less extraordinary than those to which we have just alluded. But as we have already mentioned some of the more remarkable of these in our observations on the organs of respiration, we shall not further dilate upon that portion of the subject. Metamorphosis in insects has been described as the maximum state of a general law of nature, by which the whole organization of the animal being is gradually developed and made fit for reproduction. Without the study of this phenomenon, we cannot acquire a knowledge of the most important circumstances in the lives of such animals as are guided entirely by instinct; and just as an acquaintance with the whole life of an insect necessarily induces a truer knowledge of its actual nature, than a mere description of one of its forms,—so, in the same proportion, it has been said, ought metamorphosis to outweigh every other principle of arrangement. When we trace the natural history of a dragon-fly {Libellula) from the time that the egg is first dropped into the bosom of the uncertain waters, till, on some bright sunny morning in “the leafy month of June,” the gauzy-winged insect in the perfect state is seen to rise from its moist abode, and, hawking for flies, to hover like a bird of prey along the placid shores of some familiar pool, we can scarcely conceive a clear idea of the truth, except by supposing one animal to have been so inclosed within another, that the imago is in a great measure distinct from the repulsive larva, and is only opened to our view by its desiccation or death. Hence, as Mr Macleay observes, a system unconnected with metamorphosis may be regarded as taking no more notice of half the number of true insects than if they did not exist, “It is the defect both of the artificial system in Entomology, and of the sexual system in Botany, that they become useless, except when the objects of the respective sciences are before us in one particular state, which is often the most transitory of their life. Unless this condition be fulfilled, such systems lose their sole and peculiar merit of being dictionaries by which natural objects may be named. There are thousands of organized beings, to the history and knowledge of which the disciple of Linnaeus and Fabricius has no clue whatever, although perhaps they are in that state of their existence which most directly affects the interests of man. Plants not in flower, and insects not in their declared state, constitute an ocean of difficulties, in which the most skilled in the Linnaean nomenclature will founder, unless he have other beacons than such momentary considerations as are afforded by the number of stamina, or the form of the antennae.”^[74. IIυr. Ent. p. 449.] We shall conclude our observations on the singular subject of metamorphosis, by another quotation from the last-named author, which, with what has been already stated, will, it is hoped, suffice to instruct the reader regarding what we consider the most extraordinary phenomena observable within the range of the animal kingdom. “It was perfectly in unison with the innate propensity of the human mind towards the marvellous, that the change of a caterpillar into a butterfly, when first noticed, should have been considered by the ancients as a true transformation, irreconcilable with the ordinary course of nature. Even on the mystery being in a great degree cleared up by the discoveries of Libavius, Redi, Malpighi, and Swammerdam,. the phenomenon continued to be termed metamorphosis; and perhaps it is even still a little owing to such circumstances that a natural process, neglected in other [7:9:91] branches of zoology, has always excited so much curiosity among entomologists. Metamorphosis, however, has been taken of late in a very general point of view, and rendered synonymous with that species of organic decomposition which, by means of continual shedding of the external envelopes, or even of the various integuments which may compose those envelopes, occasions that extraordinary characteristic of a living body, namely, that it never remains in a constant state, or identically the same, but is continually assimilating new particles of matter, as it throws off the old. And since no metamorphosis can take place except in consequence of these integuments being shed, perhaps it may not be altogether improper to survey the subject in this light. What I mean is, that we ought to regard the metamorphosis or change of form which certain animals undergo at various periods of their life, as an attendant upon, if not a variety of, the ecdysis, or moulting, to which all organized beings are subject. There is, however, a great distinction to be made between the ecdysis of the Vertebrata and Annulosa, for in the former we observe little more than that the animal has quitted a sheath in which it was inclosed; whereas in the latter the change is nothing else than if the skeleton were shed; for this name is surely deserved by those hard and solid parts which in so many cases afford support to the muscles. It is clear that such a process must occasion a crisis in the life of an annulose animal, incomparably more decisive in its effects than whąt can be produced among the Vertebrata, by merely being set free from an integument. All the marvellous, however, of ecdysis, was with the earlier naturalists comprehended in the change of form; and consequently the shedding of the envelope only excited attention where it regarded a few of the Annulosa. Hence it was a great discovery of Linnaeus, that every annulose animal ought to be considered as subject to metamorphosis. It may indeed have led to his more artificial notion of every externally articulated being having a nympha state; but even this helped Fabricius to give, although with a faulty nomenclature, a much more convenient division of metamorphosis than he could otherwise have devised. “Ecdysis, by which term is signified generally every change in the identity of the envelope of a living body, may either be complete or incomplete. If it be incomplete, or, which is the same, if the integuments scale off piece by piece, we have that mode of change which is peculiar to the most perfect of the Vertebrata, and to the least perfect of the Annulosa. “Complete ecdysis is the shedding of the whole external envelope at once, of which we have examples among the vcrtebrated as well as annulose animals. It is of three sorts; first, where the external envelope is shed without producing any essential change of form, except in as much as may relate to the increased size. In those larvae of insects which become inactive in their pupa state, such a process may always be distinguished from the true metamorphosis; but in apterous Hexapods having active nymphae, they are necessarily confounded. It is also visible in reptiles and spiders, where such appendages of the trunk as have been lost may be reproduced by continued moulting. When the various envelopes are all cast as it were in one mould, it is to be expected that the proper form of the animal should, re-appear as these continue to be thrown off. The return therefore of a spider or crab, after having lost a limb, to its original form, may be in some measure understood as depending on the manner in which such animals shed their envelope; but that the limbs thus shot forth should be furnished with muscles and nerves, is, I conceive, what cannot be accounted for, except by referring to that polype nature of the cellular substance, which is perhaps, in the opinion of some persons, the foundation of all ecdysis. If perfect hexapod insects cannot reproduce their members, this inability may probably proceed from a cause which appears to have produced the same effect among Mammalia and birds, to wit, that these animals in their perfect and final form are all subject, if to any, at least to a very imperfect ecdysis. “The second sort of complete ecdysis is that where the under envelope has been cast in a somewhat different mould from the upper, so that in the course of the moulting certain new parts become gradually developed without the general form being in any material degree altered. This is observable in every annulose class, as well as in Humboldt’s Axotl among the Vertebrata, and is the first species of change which merits the name of metamorphosis. It includes the Metamorphosis inchoata and Metamorphosis dimidiata of Latreille, and is the same with the Metamorphose partielle of Lamarck. “The third sort of complete ecdysis is that wherein, by some two or three moultings, generally the last which the animal has to undergo, the form is entirely changed, as well as the number of appendageβ more or lęss increased. This is clearly a true metamorphosis, and includes the other two sorts of complete ecdysis; for we have here combined a total casting of the integuments, a development of additional appendages, such as feet or wings, and finally an entire change of form. Such a combination may be witnessed, among the Vertebrata, in frogs, and, among the Anηulosa, in certain hexapod insects. Hencc, in confining ourselves to plain and open ecdysis, there will be no great error in stating that the most imperfect takes place in the highest Vertebrata and the lowest Annulosa ; while the most complete ecdysis is that which is seen to prevail in the highest Annulosa and some of the lowest Vertebrata. “In strict accuracy, however, it appears that we ought to acknowledge the existence of complete ecdysis throughout the circle of Vertebrata. Nay, some physiologists have attributed insect metamorphosis itself to a shedding of an envelope analogous to that which contains the foetus of the more perfect Vertebrata. As every embryo, whether animal or vegetable, is enclosed in a tunic more or less solid, which is its chorion, so, proceeding with the analogy, they conceive that there must be some condition for every animal, similar to the state of the foetus of the more perfect animals when surrounded by the amnios; and this state in batrachian reptiles and hexapod insects they hold to be the larva. The only danger of this reasoning is, that while we find the birth of an animal to be attended with complete ecdysis, we may be apt to imagine that every complete ecdysis betokens a true birth. " It would, however, be truly absurd to consider the casting of their shell by Crustacea, or the periodical moulting of the serpent, in this light; yet no one can doubt the fact of both these being cases of complete ecdysis, only differing from that of Lepidoptera, because in the former animals the external envelope is always of the same form as that of which it is to take the place. The truth perhaps is, that we ought only to allow two states to every animal, a perfect and an imperfect state. Then, by the reflection that no animal out of the circle of Aerita can ever arrive at its perfect state except by means of metamorphosis, and that when perfect it can never again be subject to this change of form, though it may still moult or shed its external envelope, we may be able, if not to comprehend the cause, at least to know the effect, of some of the most puzzling phenomena in nature. The true criterion of animal as well as vegetable perfection is the ability to continue the species; hence some of the Vertebrata, as well as Annulosa, gaining this faculty before they have arrived at their proper type of form, metamorphosis ceases, and they preserve the shape of larvae. [7:9:92] “But if a complete ecdysis may sometimes create a total change in the external appearance of the animal, the fact, however astonishing, is nothing in comparison of the internal metamorphosis which accompanies it, and of which as yet no philosopher has been able to give any satisfactory explanation. The generalization indeed by which we have reduced the moulting of a bird’s feathers and the metamorphosis of a butterfly to one principle, may appear to be strained beyond its proper limits; yet if we contemplate the regular gradation from one to the other, how truly, for instance, the inactive pupa of a beetle corresponds with the agile nympha of a Gryllus, how this ecdysis in an apterous Gryllus corresponds with the sloughing of a spider, and this again with the annual renovation of the serpent, we must be sensible that, however dissimilar the extremes may be, all these changes are modifications of one principle. But what particularly deserves remark is, that these extremes should often be visible in neighbouring groups; nay, in the same order; that, in short, metamorphosis should differ so much in degree even where the animals are near in affinity. An orthopterous insect may preserve the same form and habits from the instant it quits the egg up to the period of its death, the only qualities obtained by ecdysis being an augmentation of size and an aptitude to continue the species. But if we turn to the order of Coleoptera, which is contiguous in affinity, it is truly wonderful that, by metamorphosis, not only the form, but the nervous and digestive systems, may be altered, and the organs connected with these primary functions may all be of a construction different from that which they originally possessed.”^[75. J7or. Ent- p. 441.] The reader has now been made acquainted in a general way (and as precisely as the limits of our present article may admit) with the most characteristic features in the structure of the insect tribes, from which he may form some opinion of their real nature. Their relative position in the magnificent range of created things is a subject deserving of a deeper and more extended examination than we can here bestow upon it; but as we are unwilling to leave such an interesting matter of philösophical consideration entirely unregarded, we shall here enter into it in the only way compatible with our prescribed limits. CHAPTER V. OF THE RELATIVE P0SITI0N OF THE CLASS OF INSECTS IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. A great diversity of opinion has existed from the earliest ages regarding the natural affinities of the different kinds and classes of animated beings to each other, and a consequent contrariety has prevailed in our systems oí classification, which are of course indications of the relation of groups, unless where, for mere convenience, a professedly artificial basis or arrangement, deduced from one or two obvious though unimportant characters, may have been adopted. The majority of naturalists, both ancient and modern, have proceeded upon the idea that all natural objects were concatenated, or formed a continuous chain or linear series, and that whatever hiatus might seem to exist arose either from some great convulsion which had swallowed or swept away the desired links, or from these links bein<> still to be discovered in one or other of those regions of the earth’s surface which still remain to be explored. Hence the dictum of Linnaeus—natura saltus non facit, “When the Almighty Creator,” says Mr Kirby, “willed to brin° f into existence this mundane system, he formed it according to a preconcerted plan, with all its parts beautifully linked together and mutually corresponding. All things were ordered in measure, and number, and weight. ^[76. Wisdom xi. 20] There was nothing deficient, nothing superfluous; but the whole, in the strictest sense, ‘ was very good,’^[77. .] and calculated in the highest degree to answer the purpose of its Great Author.” ^[78. Introduc. to Ent. iv. 356.] Observation and analogy alike combine to prove that there is a regular approximation to each other in the works of God, and that they are related to each other in a variety of ways both naturally and analogically; but it need not be supposed that, in the magnificent plan of the creation, there is no disparity in the relative position of the most nearly related kinds, and no greater interval in one place than another. There is in truth a great variation in the combinations of living beings, though no violent break or sudden interval; in other words, “some continuous species or groups have more characters in common than others.” But in considering the various groups of living creatures, we must ever bear in mind our own ignorance of their actual amount, and the thousands of unknown forms which in all the pride of life may be daily unfolding their exquisite forms and gorgeous colours amid those far deserts where man has never trod, and which for that very reason he regards as solitudes, though assuredly teeming with all the inexplicable wonders of creation. Let not therefore a hiatus be confounded with a sαltus, the former being merely one of the many blanks in the superficial map of knowledge drawn by man, the latter an absent link in that resplendent chain, to us too often “dark with excessive light,” which in one way or other connects together in divinest harmony the beautiful works of the Creator. That the series of beings, however, was not only continuous, but undeviating, and ascended in a direct line from the lowest to the highest, was maintained, among many others, by the excellent and ingenious Bonnet, and has generally prevailed till very recent times. Now the principle which mainly characterizes the views so mildly advocated by Mr Macleay, and entertained, we believe, about the same period, although without communication, by Agardh, Fries, and other continental naturalists, is this,—that although the natural arrangement of objects is indeed in a continuous series, that series in its progression forms various convolutions, each of which may be represented by a circle or series returning into itself. He maintains that absolute divisions do not exist in nature, and that a single plan pervades the universe, a plan founded on the principle of series of affinities returning into themselves, and forming circles; hence there is no such thing among natural objects as a simple progression of species.^[79. The latter sentiment appears to have been àfso entertained hv τ ι 4 lntroduc ∙ t0 Enł - iv ∙ 356 ∙ sects, he observes, “Les Drvptes ont aussi đes nnnnrt« n M,. 1 <'? treı e ιn ^∖ s ^ ater years. Writing of certain coleopterous in-biques grandipalpes. Plusieurs sections de cette famille son t lθ^ c ^ rus, θ t paraissent lier les Cicindelètes avec la section des Cara-part te, autresLil l e s d'inseetes s ≡ s k ten“”aĩ „ £Ä «““» * ∞"∞≈∙,∙∞ <«· Ł. plu- dans la nature. (Note to Règne Animal, t. iv. p. 373.) ’ des troncs ramifies. En un mot, des stries continues n'existent pas] If it were true that the descending scale, as so long supposed, in the perfection of organization, was regular from man to the infusorial tribes, then the lowest of one form of life would naturally lead to the highest of the next ensuing, and the most simply organized of the vertebrated classes would connect most nearly with the most complex of the invertebrated kinds. But this, as we shall afterwards see, is not the case. Although naturalists, if we may judge from their sys-terns[7:9:93] of classification, are accustomed to consider the insect tribes as inferior in the great range of organization to the molluscous animals which inhabit shells, there can be no doubt that they are superior in many of their vital functions. Their powers of locomotion, whether as winged, aquatic, or terrestrial creatures, are finely developed, and their perceptive faculties are much more acute. The symmetrical perfection of their forms, and the articulation of the limbs, in the insect class, seem also in some measure to connect them with the vertebrated tribes. Indeed, even of the latter, many seem far inferior to insects, not only, as Mr Macleay has observed, in the possession of those faculties by which wc are accustomed to estimate the rank of the Vertebrata among themselves, but also in the complication of their general structure. These and other considerations afford powerful arguments in favour of the circular system; for it appears necessary, first, that certain affinities of the Mollusca to the Vertebrata, and which are obvious in the Cephalopoda or cuttle-fish, should not be disturbed by any intervening division; and, secondly, that the annulose animals themselves, such as insects, Crustacea, and Arachnides, should not be far separated from GastrobrancJrus and other genera of cyclostomous fishes; above all, that they should not be made subordinate in rank to such simply organized creatures as compose the greatest part of the Mollusca. “Nov/ these conditions will all be fulfilled if the chain of nature be viewed as returning into itself; whereas they will be completely violated if we account it to be a regular line or ladder, commencing with the Infusoria, and terminating in man; or indeed if we adopt any opinion that has hitherto been advanced on the subject by naturalists.”^[80. Horoe Entomologie u rΛl le i m .] One great principle of creation being to combine vaιiety in the means with uniformity in the effect, we find that among molluscous animals the circulation of the blood varies in its manner ad infinitum·, and has thus led to the most artificial arrangements. Yet few animals in existence have the organs of circulation more complicated than some of the Cephalopoda. Among the annulose animals, also, in which the nature of the nervous system is so uniformly accordant, circulation varies from an extremely perfect to an evanescent state. A mode of nutrition and respiration takes place so entirely different from that exhibited by the vertebrated and molluscous tribes, that they never can be regarded as modifications of the same system. As, then, the general plan of construction of these animals is so different, Mr Macleay regards it as necessary to suppose that the new and dissimilar system of respiration is that which more peculiarly characterizes the annulose group, or, in the author’s words, “is that to which the structure of the animals forming the group tends.” And what makes this supposition the more probable is, that the Annelides, or red-blooded worms, which, of all the articulated tribes, are placed by Cuvier the nearest to the vertebrated classes, are nevertheless imperfectly organized, and of as dull perceptions as any of the annulose division. This could hardly be the case were the Annulosa to be considered with propriety as modifications of the vertebrated structure, while, on the other hand, those annulose classes which respire by tracheae, and coincide in nothing with a vertebrated animal, are, nevertheless, the most active and industrious of their group, although their activity and industry are of a nature entirely different from what is observable among the vertebrated tribes. Now it is difficult, if not impossible, to account for all this, unless we regard every vertebrated creature to have been constructed by the great Creator with reference to one type, and everyannulose with reference to another; and as the former is more imperfect in proportion as it approaches the annulose structure, so the latter also becomes more imperfect in proportion as it obtains a distinct system of circulation and other characteristics of the vertebrated tribes. It thus follows that the animals which connect them ought to be extremely imperfect in their organization; and this conclusion is well supported by the sluggish Annelides, in which organs of sense are barely perceptible, and organs of motion by no means so perfect as among the larvae of insects.^[90.] Μ. Straus also maintains the opinion that it is the less perfect species of any one great group which approach most closely to the group which precedes or follows them, and that it hence results, that in any division, the species which offer the most elevated organization may be more perfect than such as are placed at the lower confines of a higher division. He admits that a more natural passage exists from the Vertebrata to the Annu]osa, than from the former to the Mollusca; but this connection he considers is by the lowest in the scale of organization of each of these, groups. As soon as the Vertebrata reach the most simple form compatible with their mode of organic life,the great Author of nature commences from that point a new group, that named Annulos α , by successively introducing a new series of organs altogether different from those he has abandoned, and by considerably modifying those he has retained. The genus Ammo-caetes (and perhaps also that of Myxine) form this point among the Vertebrata, while Gordius wA Hirudo compose the corresponding link among the annulose tribes. On either side these animals find their place at the lowest point of the descending scale, formed by each of these two series; and, compared with each other, the two genera of fishes just named, and the abranchial Annelides, present some remarkable resemblances in the few organs which they possess. The opinion that insects and other annulose animals are more nearly connected with the Vertebrata than are the Mollusca, is regarded as true by Μ. Straus Durckheim, both in regard to the modes of organization according to which these three divisions are formed, and in relation to the degree in which their faculties are developed. The Vertebrata, he observes, are characterized by an articulated body, of which the two lateral,halves are symmetrical, and are sustained by an internal skeleton, the central portion of which is composed of a series of parts, to which the other osseous parts are attached. In the Annulosa the symmetry of the two sides of the body is still greater than in the Vertebrata; the body is likewise articulated, and formed by a series of central parts, to which the others are attached, although they have no internal skeleton. The nervous system in both consists principally of a spinal marrow, from which arise most of the nerves of the body; but there is this difference in the Vertebrata,—the spinal marrow is dorsal, whereas it is ventral among the annulose tribes. The muscular system is also as fully developed in the one as in the other, and offers nearly the same distinct forms. The Mollusca, on the contrary, exhibit characters totally at variance with those now mentioned; for, on the one hand, their body no longer exhibits a perfect parity of parts, nor is it in any degree articulated; on the other, the nervous system is not longitudinal, nor its situation constant, while its mass is greatly decreased. The muscular system is also in general much less perfect, and, considered in detail, the muscles are less distinct, and only form, throughout the greater part of the body, a mass of fibres so interlaced as to be incapable of separation, thus conducting us to Entozoa, of which the body is only a continuous parenchyma without distinct muscles. According to the author last named, the character which eminently distinguishes the Mollusca from the two other divisions is, that in these the organs of animal, in the Mollusca those of vegetable life, are the most predominant; from whence it follows that the latter are totally devoid of industry, and of that higher mode of perception approaching to intelligence, which insects possess in a degree surpassing all other invertebrated tribes. Having entered into the preceding investigation with the view of illustrating the true position of the annulose division in relation to the other sub-kingdoms of animal life, we shall now, in more direct reference to the proper subjects of our present dissertation, that is, the hexapod or six-footed insects, exhibit, by means of the following diagram, the views entertained by Mr Macleay regarding the natural affinities observable among the annulose tribes themselves. The reader will perceive that the circles of Mandibulatα and Haustellata, with those portions of Arne-tabola named Thysaηura and Anaplura, constitute the true Insecta, such as we have defined them at the commencement of this article. [7:9:97] Our next subject of consideration is onc which has not previously formed a part of any of our encyclopaedias of knowledge. CHAPTER VI. THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF INSECTS. This topic has indeed been much less attended to as a matter of philosophical investigation than it deserves. When we take an extended view of the general distribution of animals and plants, we find that they are usually disposed over the earth’s surface in bands or parallel zones, corresponding in a great measure with the peculiarities of temperature and climate which are appropriate to the nature of each. When the temperature of a particular latitude becomes colder, as on mountains or highly elevated plains,—or warmer, as on plains by the sea shore, or in low lying sheltered valleys,—we find, in the former case, that the species approximate in their nature and characters to those of a more northern, in the latter to those of a more southern parallel. Of course the zones of vegetable and of animal life do not correspond at all strictly with the latitudinal lines of our geographical system. Humboldt has indeed shown, that within 15° or 20° from the equator, the mean annual temperature is nearly the same in all longitudes of equal elevation, or is at least but slightly varied by local circumstances. In other words, the isothermal lines are more regularly parallel with those of the equator. But in temperate and northern countries the same uniformity of temperature in each portion of the same parallel is not observable; all western coasts, and districts of continents and of considerable islands, being of a higher temperature than those of the same latitudes along the eastern shores. The mean temperature of the North Cape, under the seventy-first degree of north latitude, does not exceed, indeed corresponds with, that of Labrador, which is 14° further south; and that of the west of Ireland, in the fifty-fourth degree, agrees with the forty-third parallel in the United States. In relation to zoological geography, 'indeed, there are several other minor circumstances which tend to change or counterbalance the more usual results, and consequently to derange such calculations as might very reasonably be formed upon a knowledge of latitudinal and longitudinal position, and of the height of a country above the level of the sea. The nature of the soil and surface, the different degrees of dryness and humidity, and the consequent character of the climate and vegetation, the comparative extent of land and water, the extent and continuity of forests, marshes, and sandy deserts, the direction of mountain ranges, and the form and position of lakes ;—these and several other circumstances must be taken into consideration, and will be found materially to affect the distribution of animal life over the surface of the earth. It does not appear that the climates of insects, or those peculiarities of temperature and other physical attributes under which certain groups or species appear to predominate, have been as yet studied in connection with our imperfect knowledge of isothermal lines. Humboldt, indeed, has remarked, that the geographical stations of the gnats and some other insects of South America did not appear to depend solely on the heat of the climate, the excess of humidity, or the thickness of the forests, but on local and unappreciable circumstances.^[91. Personal Narrative, vol. v. p. 88.] It is evident, however, that the characteristic stations of insects are mainly dependent on the degree of temperature, so influential on the development and distribution of all the other varied forms of animal life. An increase of caloric seldom fails to produce a corresponding increase and alteration in the number and character of entomological forms; and when we travel from the hyperborean regions towards the sunny south, we find that the tiny multitudes accumulate in all the warmer portions of the temperate zone, till they swarm between the tropics. Otho Fabricius resided six years in Greenland, and during that period he collected only sixty-three species of the insect class, properly so called. In the still higher latitude of Winter Harbour, where Sir Edward Parry sojourned, only six species were collected from the beginning of September till the August following. Mr Kirby has stated that in Greenland every order of insect has its representatives, except Orthoptera and Hemiptera; but in Melville Island, besides these deficiencies, neither coleopterous nor neuropterous species exist, or at least were observable; and even the mosquito, that shrill tyrant of the Lapland plains, appeared to have ceased from troubling along those hyperborean shores. The most northern locality of any insect yet ascertained is that of the Aphis borealis, taken in latitude 82° 26' 44", about one hundred miles from the nearest known land.^[92. This species was found in the boat during the last day of Sir E. Parry’s attempt to reach the north pole over the ice. There was no vestige of vegetation around the adventurous party’; and we think it more probable that the forlorn insect had been carried, nolens volens, from a somewhat more southern quarter.] It is probable, however, that the distribution of many northern species is still unknown. It was formerly supposed that in Iceland there were none, and that even in Norway there were very few, their absence from those countries being attributed to excess of cold. This opinion, however, was contradicted by Horrebow, so far as Iceland was concerned; and Olafsen and Povalsen, during their sojourn there, collected 200 different species in one small valley. It must indeed be borne in mind, that insects can escape the extreme of cold, not only, as Mr Macleay observes, by passing certain periods in the pupa or torpid state, but also by being while in that condition usually buried in the earth, where they are greatly protected from the rigours of the winter season. “What they chiefly require[7:9:98] is the presence of heat during some period of their existence; and the greater, within certain limits, is the heat, the more active will be their vital principle. On the American continent the extremes of heat and cold in the course of the year are, as is well known, incompaιa-bly greater than in places of the same latitude in Europe. We may therefore readily eoneeive how particular families of insects will inhabit a wider range of latitude in the former country than in the latter. W e see also how insects may swarm ijι the very coldest climates, such as Lapland and Spitzbergen, where the short summer ean boast of extraordinary rises in the thermometer; because the energy of the vital principle in such animals is, within certain limits, proportionate to the degree of warmth to which they may be subjected, and escapes in a manner the severe action of cold.”^[93. Hor. Εnt. p. 45.] It is on these principles that Mr Macleay accounts for what certainly at first seems an extraordinary circumstance in the geography of insects; namely, that their tropical structure extends much farther north in America than in Europe; that is, in a manner directly the reverse of that which has been noted by botanists to occur in the vegetable kingdom. For example, the Chamcerops humilis, a species of palm, occurs along the southern shore of France, in latitude 44°; while on the eastern coasts of North America the hardiest of the family, C. palmetto, does not advance beyond the 34°. But if we examine Copris carnifex, Cetoηia nitida, Putela 6 punctata, and other coleopterous insects from the neighbourhood of New York, and compare them with species of the same families from Brazil, we shall find their difference of structure infinitely less than that which would result from a comparison of the entomological productions of the environs of Madrid with those of the banks of the Congo.^[94. Ibid.] A slight consideration of the subject suffices to show that certain differences in the relative intensities of summer and of winter must exercise a strongly modifying power on the influence, of mean annual temperature, even in countries where that temperature is one and the same. “Several fruits, as the olive and grape, as well as the different kinds of corn and other annuals, depend more on the heat of summer than of the whole year; while others, impatient of cold, and not requiring great heat, have their range more influenced by the temperature of winter. Now, it is almost an universal rule, that of two places whose mean temperature is the same, that nearest the sea, and more particularly a western sea, has a temperate summer and a milder winter. Hence the inland situation is better adapted to the growth of corn and fruits, the maritime one to the preservation of tender plants. In Europe, the northern boundary of the vine and olive rises as we go eastward, though in so doing we encounter a lower mean annual temperature. The Arbutus Unedο, Sibthorpia Europ occur P lelltifull y] It is interesting, however, to observe the analogy which exists between the insects, more especially the Coleoptera of Scotland and of Sweden. Several of the rarest, species lately discovered in the northern quarters of the island, such as Clivina Arctica, Harpalus micropterus, Elαphrus Laponicus, Pyrrhus aeneus, Salpiηgusfoveolatus, and others, are better known in the Scandinavian peninsula than elsewhere, and are indeed characteristic of the north-western division of the continent of Europe. From these and similar observations, those who have viewed the science of entomology with a philosophic eye have endeavoured, in common with geographers, to divide the surface of the earth into different climatic regions. But while the latter have assumed as a basis the progressive differences in the longest continuance of the natural day, the former proceed upon a knowledge of the mean temperature of countries. Fabricius, in his Philosophia Entomologica, divides climate in general into eight subclimates, or restricted stations, viz. the Indian, the Southern, the Mediterranean, the Northern, the Eastern, the Western, and the Alpine. But it is easy, as Μ. Latreille has remarked, to perceive, by the enumeration of the particular countries which arc referred to each of these divisions, that the divisions themselves arc by no means established on a fixed foundation; and that the suppression of several would be necessary were the principle on which they are established followed out with rigour. The subclimate which he names Mediterranean comprises the countries adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea, with Media and Armenia. The Northern extends from Paris to Lapland. 1he Eastern consists of the north of Asia, of Siberia, and of the cold or mountainous portion of Syria. The ĩĩ estern contains Canada, the United States, Japan, and ιina. From these it will be seen that this arrangement is in many respects extremely arbitrary; for several of the above-named districts, although placed under separate climates, have a mean temperature identically the same. Moreover, many countries in which the mean temperature is the same, are characterized and distinguished [7:9:101] by a great disparity in the nature of their animal produc- tions. Μ. Latreille has taken another view of this interesting subject, more in conformity with the dictum of' Linnaeus, regarding the characters of genera, the spirit of which may be also here applied. “Let the insects point out the climate, and not the climate the insects.” He takes into consideration all those genera which seem to be appropriated exclusively to certain determinate spaces on the surface of our earth. It is true that the groundwork of this method is much more restricted than that from which Humboldt and other writers on botanical geography have deduced their observations on the distribution of plants; for our knowledge of the precise localities of foreign insects is by no means ample.^[102. The second edition of Comte Dejean’s Catalogue de Coléoptères now exhibits a very interesting picture of the distribution of that order. We shall refer to it more particularly when we come to treat of the coleopterous tribes.] The great French entomologist rather upbraids the majority of scientific travellers with their negligence in these particulars; for it is not the locality alone, but the physical character of the climate, the mineralogical qualities of the soil, the vicinity of wood and water, and the height above the level of the sea, which ought to be noted in connection with the occurrence of particular species. We have already noticed the fondness of Papilio Cleopatra and other insects for a calcareous soil. The Pimelia bicaudata, so common in the neighbourhood of Marseilles, scarcely ever occurs at a distance from the sea. If the interior parts of Barbary, Syria, and Egypt, present us with species of the same genus, this entomological relation no doubt results from the soil of these countries being impregnated with saline particles, and abounding in plants of the genus Salsola. The insects which occur in the countries which border the Mediterranean, the Black, and the Caspian Seas, exhibit many analogies. The following propositions result from Μ. Latreille’s researches in Entomology. lsζ The totality or a great proportion of the insects which’ occur in countries of which the qualities of the soil and temperature are analogous, are nevertheless of different species, if these countries, though placed under the same parallel, are widely distant from each other. All the insects brought from the most eastern parts of Asia, for example China, are distinct from those of Europe and of Africa, whatever may be the latitude, elevation, or mean temperature of these Asiatic countries. 2<7, The generality of insects still differ specifically in countries agreeing in the characters of their soil and temperature, but separated, independently of mere latitudinal difference, by great natural barriers, such as chains of lofty mountains, vast sandy deserts, or the waters of an intervening ocean. Thus the species of New Holland or of America are easily recognised among those of the various countries of the ancient world; and even the insects of Grenada and Peru, though at no great distance from those of Guiana, are in a great measure different, owing no doubt to the interposition of the vast chain of the Cordilleras. When we pass from Piedmont into France by the Col de Tende, wc perceive a marked difference of species, even in that short journey. These rules, however, like most others, however general, are subject to several individual exceptions. Several species of insect are distributed over such a vast extent of territory as entitles them to be regarded as genuine cosmopolites. Thus the painted lady-butterfly (Vanessa Cardui) is found over great portions of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, and is as] familiarly known in the central islands of the vast Pacific Ocean, as in the flower-gardens of England.^[103. Edinburgh Review, vol. liii. p. 339.] That beautiful sphinx-moth (»S'. nerio), well known near Genoa, and so remarkable for the richness of its green, a rare colour among lepidopterous species, although it seldom occurs farther north than France, is found in the Mauritius, and probably in many intermediate countries. The deaths’ head moth (Sphynx Atropos), which occurs occasionally in most parts of Scotland, is well known in India and the Isle of France. We have already mentioned the great extent of territory occupied by several aquatic beetles; and these and other examples which might be adduced remind us of M. Latreille’s next proposition. 3d, Many genera of insects, and particularly such as feed on vegetables, are spread over numerous points of the principal divisions of our globe. 4Z∕i, Other genera are exclusively proper to a certain extent of country, whether of the ancient continents or the new. According to Latreille, no species of the genera Anthia, Graphipterus, Erodius, Pimelia, Scaurus, Cossyphus, Mylabris, Erachycerus, Nemoptera, Apis, or Anthophora, occur in America; and many genera of the family Scarabeidae are likewise there unknown. But the western world, on the other hand, produces several genera which we do not meet with elsewhere,—such as Agra, Galerita, Nilio, Tetraonyx, Rutela, Doryphora, Alurnus, Erotylus, Cupes, Corydalis, Labidus, Peliciηus, Centris, Euglossa, Heliconia, Erycina, Castnia, &c. Our bees are there replaced by AIelipona and Trigona. We have already mentioned several genera peculiar to Africa. Colliuris is characteristic of the East Indies; Lamprimα, Helceus, Paropsis (Notoclea of Marsham), and Panops, are confined to New Holland. ĩ>th, Many species in their natal countries effect particular localities. Several alpine butterflies are never observed at any considerable distance from the region of perpetual snow, while other species prefer the warmer air of low-lying sheltered meads at no great height above the level of the sea. toth, Both the ancient continent and the new may be divided into zones, successively extending in the direction of the meridians, and the breadth of which is measurable by a portion of a circle parallel to the equator. The species proper to one of these zones disappear gradually, and give place in the same manner to those of the zone following; so that from space to space the dominating species, or even the totality, have undergone a change.^[104. IntrodtíCtion à la Geographie Generale des Arachnides et des Insectes, ou des Climats propres a ccs Animaux. This memoir was read to the Academy of Sciences in 1815, and forms part of the 3d volume of the Mémoires du Museum d'IIist. Nat. It was afterwards republished, with corrections and additions, along with some other essays, in a separate volume, entitled Mémoires sur divers Sujets de ľ Histoire Naturelle des Insectes, &c. Paris, 1819.] Latreille compares these changes to that series of horizons which the traveller discovers in proportion as he removes from his first point of departure. Sweden presents us with many insects peculiar to that country, some of which are confined to its more northern provinces, such as Lapland. But its southern portions, •for example Scania, produce, though still in limited numbers, many German insects. France, as far as the 45th or 44th degree, supplies the entomologist with many of the species which occur in the last-named countries; but the Rhine and its eastern mountains form a kind of frontier line, which many others do not appear to pass. The first of the species characteristic of the warmer regions of [7:9:102] Western Europe show themselves towards the inferior course of the Seine, in pretty close accordance with the point where the vine is vigorous in the open air, inde- i pendent of any succour derived from merely local circumstances. Ateuclιus flagellatus, Mylabτis clιicorii, Mantis religiosa, Cicada hcematodes, Ascalaphus italiens, and others, announce this change,—which becomes still more obvious at Fontainebleau and the environs of Orleans, where, in addition to the above-named species, we may perceive Phasma Possii, Mantis pagana, and Sphinx celerio- But these are but the forerunners of such as are native to southern countries properly so called. The culture of the olive, the spontaneous growth of the Arbutus, the pomegranate, and of lavender, are botanical symptoms which cherish in the mind of an instructed entomologist the hopes of a rich increase. This change is very obvious in France, when, journeying from Paris to Marseilles, we reach the territory of Montélimart. The eastern provinces of Spain, those sunny regions where the orange and the palm-tree are luxuriant without the aid of man, produce more abundantly the rarer southern insects of France, intermingled with species hitherto unperceived in Europe. Our knowledge of the insects of the south-east of Europe is by no means ample. Latreille informs us that the Papilio Chrysippus of Linnaeus, common in Egypt and the East Indies, makes its first appearance as a European species in the kingdom of Naples. The greater proportion, however, of the Egyptian species are entirely unknown in Europe, although they pertain, in numerous instances, to the same natural families as our own. The southern parts of that land of pyramids produce many magnificent species of Copris, such as C. Midas, Bucephalus, Antenor, Gigas, and other insects peculiar to warm countries, and seldom found at any great distance from the equinoctial line of the old continent. Similar successions of species take place from east to west, and reciprocally. Most of the insects which ocçur in Normandy and Brittany likewise inhabit the southern parts of England. The northerly departments of France, situated on the banks of the Rhine, have in many respects a community of species with the neighbouring provinces of Germany; while, again, several species of the Levant, such as Cantharis orientalis, Mylabris crassicornis, a beautiful variety of Meloloηtha occidentalis brought home by Olivier, and certain diurnal Lepidoptera, appear to have journeyed far westward from their ancestral homes, and fixed their abode in the Austrian territory. The collections formed by Olivier in Asia Minor, Syria, and Persia, prove that the insects of those countries, though nearly related to those of the south of Europe, are not specifically the same; and a likejuđgment, with some exceptions, may be entertained of the species of Southern Russia and the Crimea. The entomological productions of the coast of Coromandel, of Bengal, of the south of China, and even of Thibet, possess many characters in common; but they are entirely distinct from those of Europe. In the regions just named we discover no species of the genera Graphipterus, Ahis, Scaurus, Pimelia, Sepidium, or Erodia, for of these nature appears to have granted the exclusive possession to the south-western regions of the ancient continent, Although Fabricius assigns the East Indies as the native country of certain species of Brachgcerus, Latreille has been unable to identify any from such locality. The genus Aηthia is said to occur in Bengal, but not farther eastward. The great Asiatic division of our globe, when considered in its entomological and other zoological relations., may indeed be partitioned into several different departments.^[105. Edinburgh Cabinet Library, vol. viii. p. 1.] The Siberian or most northern portion, in consequence ofl the severity of its winter season, possesses, even in its southern districts, many attributes of the arctic regions; while its inland valleys, and the upper basins of its numer. ous and far-flowing rivers, are enriched, during a brilliant though short-lived summer, with many of the more gorgeous forms of insect life. Another vast and imperfectly known region of Asia is bounded to the north by Siberia, and to the south by those highly elevated table-lands which terminate among the Himalaya Mountains. This division still presents several features which prove its assimilation in some respects to the characters which distinguish animal life in Europe; for although it is undoubtedly characterized by numerous peculiar forms of existence, yet many of its genera and species are either the genuine types of groups which occur in countries with which we are familiar, or pertain to groups which are themselves well exemplified by European insects. But we now speak rather in relation to the higher animals than the insect tribes; for, in truth, of the Entomology of Central Asia we have as yet a most inadequate idea. Among the Himalaya Mountains, and other southern portions of this division, we begin to discover many genera of birds which occur in the lower lands of Hindustan and the peninsular projection of Malacca; and if the entomological kingdom is at all regulated by corresponding rules, we may infer that some of the southern insects also make their way up those stupendous valleys. The same circumstance» indeed occurs, we mean the like transition of species, in all the great geographical sections of the groups of animal life. “Each extensive division is characterized by several peculiar forms, and yet at the same time nourishes many species which are common alike to it and to other regions; and it is only under some peculiar circumstances of local situation, that either the zoological or botanical products undergo a sudden change in character and condition. As the adventurous and observant traveller advances on his journey, a few species are continually perceived to decrease in number, and then to disappear, while their places are supplied by others, which, at first but thinly scattered, gradually acquire an accession of numbers, till they too have reached their full amount or centre of dominion; but the change being only partial from place to place, the difference is no more suddenly perceptible than that in the horizon by which the traveller is surrounded, and a portion of which in his onward progress becomes insensibly, from the circumference, the very centre of the field of vision.”^[106. Ibid. p. 2.] But no sooner do we enter upon the zoology of India Proper, than the European forms of animal life almost entirely disappear, and are succeeded by others of a richer and more varied character of form and aspect, some of which, however, extend to the parallel latitudes of the African continent. The Asiatic Islands again present us with another picture, and this latter change may be said to commence at the southern extremity of the Isthmus of Malacca. Java and Sumatra, in Mr Swainson’s opinion, will probably be found to be the metropolis or central region of this range, which still produces several of the forms of Northern India; while in New Guinea and New Ireland, the Asiatic forms properly so called begin to disappear, and are replaced by many singular and interesting species, which exhibit the commencement of what may be termed the Australian kingdom. Papilio bolina occurs both in Java and Ne"’ Holland. Madagascar, as might be supposed, exhibits in its natural[7:9:103] families a resemblance to Africa. Nevertheless the species are distinct, and many of them present no analogy whatever to those of the continent. The Isles of France and Bourbon likewise manifest traces of the same family resemblance; but, on a general view, they show a closer connection with the East Indian species. Their ascertained number is, however, extremely limited.^[107. See an interesting memoir (which we did not receive till the present pages were in types, and which we consequently have not had time to analyse) entitled “Sur les Lépidoptères de Madagascar, Bourbon, et Maurice,” by Dr Boisđuval, in the Nouvelles Annales du Muséum, t. ii. p. 149. .] Although the Entomology of New Holland may be said, like that of all other vast tracts of country, to exhibit a special type, it is yet composed, in some of its principal portions, of species analogous to those of the Moluccas and the south-east of India. This great fifth continent, as it has been called, is, however, less rich in insects than many other foreign countries, its soil being drier, and not so well wooded. The genus Mylabris, so abundant in the south of Europe, in Africa, and Asia, does not appear to pass beyond Timor. In that respect, then, New Holland agrees with America, as well as in the possession of Pαssαlus, a genus of which the species have been more particularly noted as inhabitants of the new world. Several generic groups of the latter region present a closer resemblance to those of the east of Asia, than to such as are characteristic of the ancient world. The insects of New Zealand, of New Caledonia, and the circumjacent islcs, show an obvious relation to those of New Holland; and the same may be said of such as occur in the archipelagos of the Great Southern Ocean. These islands, composed in great measure of aggregations of polypiferous rocks, form a chain which unites them in a westerly direction to the preceding regions, and from which many of their natural productions may have been received in the long course of ages. This natural communication could not have taken place with the ncw world, and thus many of these islands, although rather American than otherwise, according to their geographical position, may be regarded as Asiatic in regard to their animal and vegetable products. The new world has also been observed to present progressive changes in the succession of its species, in connection with every considerable difference in the latitude and longitude. M. Bose collected in Carolina many species which were unknown in Pennsylvania, and were still more foreign to New York; and the researches of Abbot in illustration of the Lepidoptera of Georgia demonstrate the existence in that province of certain species which have their central station in the Antilles. The banks of the far-stretching Missouri, about twenty degrees to the west of Philadelphia, produce many peculiar species. The Entomology of the Antilles presents a strong contrast to that of the United States. Trinidad, under the tenth degree of north latitude, presents us with truly equatorial species, such as the splendid butterflies called Teucer and Menelaus, which do not occur in St Domingo. Brazil, so gorgeous in its insect tribes, possesses species in common with Cayenne, but it also produces many others peculiar to itself. Latreille differs from Mr Macleay in his opinion regarding the comparative extension, in a northerly direction, of the southern species in the new and old world. He states that the southern species of the western hemisphere do not attain to so high a latitude as they do on the ancient continents. Here, he thinks, they begin to appear between the forty-eighth and forty-ninth degrees of north latitude; there, not until we gain the forty-third degree.^[108. Mémoires, p. 182.] In relation to this subject Mr Kirby has remarked, that although the winters in Canada, within the same parallel as France, are longer and more severe than those even of Great Britain or of Germany, yet the summers are intensely hot; so that though tropical species do not range so high, those of a tropical structure, in conformity with Mr Macleay's views, may be found in a higher latitude in the new world than in Europe.^[109. Introd. to Entomology, vol. iv. p. 492.] When we take into consideration certain peculiarities in the physical constitution of America,—its well watered surface, its lofty mountains, its majestic forests, and humid atmosphere,— we shall easily understand how many genera of the ancient continent, dwelling by preference in dry, warm, and sandy situations, for example Anthia, Pimelia, Erodius, and Brachycerus, should not occur in the comparatively rich, moist, and shaded soils of the new world. Thus also the carnivorous Coleoptera in America are proportionally of smaller amount than in the old continent, although no Quarter of the globe is more productive of large and splendid species among the phytophagous or vegetable-eating tribes of insects. However, the south of China and the Moluccas still maintain a certain superiority in the production of such splendid examples of the lepidopterous order as Papilio Priamus and Bombyx Atlas, of which the dimensions surpass those of the American species. A fact noted by Latreille is worthy of remembrance, viz. that Europe, Africa, and Western Asia, arc extremely unproductive of the genus Phasma, or the spectre insect, and that such of the species as do occur are extremely small, while tlιc Moluccas and South America produce many of remarkable size, Ί ne atmospheric humidity of the new world, its narrow and elongated form, the nature of its soil, and the vast extent of ocean by which it is environed, arc sufficient reasons for the disagreement observable between its productions and those of corresponding latitudes in our own hemisphere. The new world, in fact, bears in many respects the same relation to the old that Britain does to a great portion of Europe.^[110. Mémoires, p. 184.] We have already alluded to the classification of climáte given by Fabricius, and to certain circumstances which have been supposed to render the adoption of that classification unadvisable. Latreille has viewed the same subject under a better aspect. He considers the northern extremities of Greenland and of Spitzbergen, under the eighty-first degree of northern latitude, as the points where vegetation terminates. But to obviate all difficulty, and with a view to establish a duodecimal division, which is not only convenient in itself, but also in frequent accordance with the actual observation of geographical groups, he raises this supposed limit of vegetation three degrees higher, that is, to the eighty-fourth degree. If we then divide into successive spaces of twelve degrees, a meridian commencing from the western parts or Spitzbergen, or those nearest to Greenland, we shall have a suite of latitudes corresponding successively to the limits of the countries already alluded to in relation to their zoological productions. He continues these sections duodeeimally or by twelve degrees, beyond the equator, and towards the antarctic pole, and stops about the sixtieth degree of southern latitude, under the parallel of Sandwich Land, regarded in that direction as the ne plus ultra of geographical discovery. It appears that a difference in latitude of twelve degrees always produces a very sensible change in the mass of insect species; and that if that space is doubled, the alteration is almost total; as, for example, between the [7:9:104] north of Sweden and the north of Spain. An analogous change takes place in relation to the longitude, but more slowly, and after a traverse of a greater distance; since the mean temperature, but for causes of a particular and local nature, is not widely different under the same parallel. In proportion as we approach the pole, the extent occupied by particular races embraces a greater number of geographical divisions. The insects of America, even those of its northern provinces, at least as far as Canada, may be said to differ specifically from those of Europe; but the species of Greenland may rather be regarded as European. The last-named country, so far as the entomological geography of the ancient continent is concerned, is assumed by Latreille as the point of departure for his first meridian. In any view it may be regarded as intermediate between the two hemispheres. The Canaries, the Cape de Verd Islands, and Madeira, are African, judging from their entomological productions. The meridian above named will thus follow a middle line between these islands and the most eastern cape of South America, that of St Roque, near Rio Grande, in Brazil. It will pass by the western isles, or archipelago of the Azores, and by the island of Ascension, and will abut to the westward of Sandwich Land. Its longitude will be thirty-four degrees to the west of the meridian of Paris. According to Latreille’s observations on the insects collected by Olivier in Persia, their general relationship to those of the south of Europe and the north of Africa, and the essential differences which they present when compared with the entomological productions of the East Indies, it may be inferred that the most signal changes in the species take place in a southerly direction towards the frontier lines of Persia and Hindustan, and in a northerly direction at a short distance from the eastern slopes of the Uralian Mountains and Lake Aral, a little beyond the sixtieth meridian east of Paris. We may fix this limit approximately at sixty-two degrees, somewhat to the west of the Obi, and of Balk and Candahar, for the sake of affording the means of continuing a duodecimal division; for if we add 62 to 34, the difference between the first meridian and that of Paris, we have the number 96, a quantity susceptible of being divided, without fractions, into eight parts, each equal to the thirtieth portion of the circle. We thus separate the ancient continent into two great bands, of which one is western and the other eastern; and if we assign to the latter the same extent in longitude as the former, that is, ninety-six degrees, it will terminate 158 degrees of eastern longitude from the meridian of Paris. Departing from Kamtchatka, it will pass by the Carolinas, and from thence between New Holland and New Zealand. If augmented by one fourth, or by twenty-four degrees, this eastern band would be bounded by the 182d meridian east of Paris, and passing at a short distance from East Cape, over Behring’s Straits, would stretch beyond the Friendly Islands, and form, without any material error in relation to our entomological views, a line of demarcation between Asia and America. The remaining 144 degrees complete the equatorial circle, and compose the extent in longitude of that great zone proper to the insects of America. It may also be divided, and under the same denominations of eastern and western, into two equal portions, each of seventy-two degrees. Thus the entire circle of the equator may be regarded as divisible into four arcs, of which the values are, 72, 72, 96, and 120, or in the proportion of six thirtieths, eight thirtieths, and ten thirtieths. I he extent in longitude of the ancient continent will comprise 216 degrees, and that of the new 144. The lesser zones or climates are denominated arctic or antarctic by Μ. Latreille, according to their position on this or the other side of the equator. The climate included between the 84th and 72d degrees of north latitude is named the polar climate. Then follow as far as the equator, and always in divisions of twelve degrees, the following climates, viz. the sub-polar, the superior, the intermediate, the super-tropical, the tropical, and the equatorial; and as each hemisphere is partitioned into two great divisions, the climates of each are distinguished by the name of western and eastern. The antarctic climates consist of only three in number, as we know little of what exists amid those chilly regions beyond the 60th degree of south latitude, and thus in that direction both the polar and sub-polar climates may be suppressed. We shall illustrate these views by a few applications to the northern and western kingdoms of Europe, the best known portions of the old world. The polar climate presents us with the insects of the greater part of Greenland, and with those of Iceland and of Spitzbergen. In the sub-polar climate we shall find those of Norway, of the north of Sweden, and of Russia in Europe. These two of course contain the insects of the coldest climates of the earth. We may regard as belonging to the superior climate the species of Great Britain, of the south of Sweden, of the north of France as far as the inferior course of the Loire, of Prussia, of Germany Proper, and of the south of Russia as far as the Crimea exclusive. The intermediate climate, at equal distances from those of the equator and the pole, will comprehend all the species of the south of Europe, and of a portion of the west σf Asia. Those of the north of Africa, and as far as the equator, may be classed under the climates called super-tropical, tropical, and equatorial. These western climates may be divided into two equal parts, each consisting of forty-eight degrees, by a meridian which, passing fourteen degrees to the east of Paris, in the vicinity of Vienna, would leave to the east the most southern part of Italy, Turkey in Europe, Egypt, &c. Now it has been already remarked, that many of the insects of the environs of Vienna are also known to occur in the Levant, and that those of the kingdom of Naples, of Egypt, and of the south-east of Europe, appear to differ in many respects from the southern and western species of that division of the globe. We can here, then, effect the formation of sub-climates. If we divide the eastern portion, of which the extent in longitude is 120 degrees, into four equal sections of thirty degrees, by meridians, we shall have sub-climates, of which the boundaries seem very accordant with nature. Thus the first would comprehend Hindustan, Thibet, Little Bucharia, &c. while the second would detach almost all the Philippine Islands, China Proper, and the regions of the north as far as a short way beyond the river Lena. Corea, Japan, and the countries of the Manchous and Tongouses, &c. would form the third subdivision. The fourth would present Kamtchatka, and the other countries which terminate the north-east of~Asia. America may likewise be subdivided after a similar manner. It must, however, be borne in mind that nature, in her distribution of the localities proper to the various races of animals, often swerves from her more regular and accustomed courses, and that the lines of habitation form numerous curves and sinuosities, not unfrequently crossed or interrupted by others of a somewhat different nature. We must, therefore, in considering such views as the preceding, make abstraction of particular modifications which alter or derange our theoretical views. Latreille’s is but an unfinished sketch of a highly interesting geographical map of Entomology, in which he has endeavoured, as well as he could, to mark out various boundaries, and to divide them according to certain principles in harmony with his [7:9:105] actual observations, so far as these have been hitherto carried. The geographical distribution of living beings presents a wide field for speculation, although the modes by which that distribution has been effected will probably in many cases remain for ever concealed from human knowledge. Their gradual extension by natural means, from a single centre of creation, scarcely falls within the sphere of credibility; and thus the creation of various groups of species over different points of the earth’s surface, and in accordance with the climate and physical character of different countries,—or the removal and dispersion, by supernatural agency, of the greater proportion of existing species from an original centre,—seem the two points, one or other of which remains to be illustrated by whoever is curious in such bewildering speculations. “A glance at the innumerable and far-spread legions which compose the busy world of insect life renders the subject still more complex and confounding. A discovery ship, under the guidance of brave men, surmounts with difficulty the terrors of the ocean; and, after being months on the trackless main, and some thousand miles from any of the great continents of the earth, she arrives at last and accidentally at some hitherto unknown island of small dimensions, a mere speck in the vast world of waters by which it is surrounded. She probably finds the ‘ Lord of the Creation’ there unknown; but though untrod by human footsteps, how busy is that lonely spot with all the other forms of active life I Even man himself is represented not unaptly by the sagacious and imitative monkeys, which eagerly employ so many vain expedients to drive from their shores what they no doubt regard as merely a stronger species of their race. ‘ Birds of gayest plume’ stand fearlessly before the unsympathizing naturalist; and at every step of the botanical collector the most gorgeous butterflies are wafted from the blossoms of unknown flowers, and beautify the ‘ living air’ with their many splendid hues. Yet how frail are such gaudy wings, and how vainly would they now serve as the means of transport from that solitary spot, where all the present generations have had their birth! In what manner, then, did they become its denizens, or by what means were they transported to a point almost imperceptible in comparison with the immeasurable extent of the circumjacent ocean?”^[111. Edinburgh Review, vol. liii. p. 334.] In the opinion of Humboldt, the causes of the distribution of species, whether in the vegetable or in the animal kingdom, are among the number of mysteries to which natural science cannot attain. This science, or at least that branch of it which takes cognizance of zoological geography, is not ocćupied in the investigation of the origin of beings, but of the laws in accordance with which they are now distributed over the surface of the earth. It enters into the examination of things as they are, the co-ex-istencc of vegetable and animal forms in each latitude, at different heights, and at different degrees of temperature; it studies the relations under which particular organizations are more vigorously developed, multiplied, or modified; but it approaches not problems the solution of which is impossible, since they touch the origin or first existence of the germs of life. “We may add,” says that enlightened naturalist, “that the attempts which have been made to explain the distribution of various species over the globe, by the sole influence of climate, date at a period when physical geography was still in its infancy; when, recurring incessantly to pretended contrasts between the two worlds, it was imagined that the whole of Africa and of America resembled the deserts of Egypt and the marshes of Cayenne. At present, when men judge of the state of things, not from one type arbitrarily chosen, but from positive knowledge, it is ascertained that the two continents, in their immense extent, contain countries that are altogether analogous, and that there are regions of America as barren and burning as the interior of Africa.”^[112. Personal Narrative, vol. v. p. 180.] It is indeed true that the migration and distribution of organized bodies can no more be solved as a problem in physical science than the mystery of their original creation; and that “the task of the philosopher is fulfilled when he has indicated the laws in accordance with which nature has distributed the forms of animal and vegetable life.”^[113. Ibid. vol. iii. p. 49ß.] In regard to those exquisite tribes which form the more immediate subjects of our present observations, it is known that the increasing intensity and continuance of heat exert a powerful influence on the size, structure, and external adornment of the species. The nearer, in general, that we advance towards equinoctial countries, the more remarkable do we find these creatures, for their largeness of dimension, their singularity of form, and their depth as well as splendour of colour. An accurate knowledge of the distribution of insects is of the highest interest to the geologist and geographer as well as to the entomologist, and may be the means of determining, in doubtful or disputed cases, the natural and what may be called the original limits of countries; as, for example, in the case of islands situated at nearly equal distances between two distant continents. But we cannot here pursue the subject under a more extended form.^[114. In addition to the works already mentioned, the reader may consult an excellent Essai sur les Coléoptères de la Guyane Irançaise, par Μ. Th. Lacordaire, in the Nouv. Annales du Muséum, t. ii. p. 35; and Thoughts on the Geographical Distribution of Insects, in the 6th No. of the Entomological Magazine.] Having thus cursorily considered the geographical dis tribution of insects, we may now devote a brief space to their local distribution, or favourite haunts, according to their kind, in any given district. The surface of a country, it has been observed, consists either of mountains, hills, and valleys, or of plains. In either case it may be bare and exposed, or diversified by forests, groves, or copses; and it may also be dry and sandy, or rich and well watered by lakes and rivers. Such parts as are uncovered are greatly varied by the hand both of art and nature, and present heaths or grassy downs, marshes, meadows, or tillage land, each of which is characterized by a difference of soil as well as of vegetable surface. In each the careful entomologist will discover peculiar kinds of insects. “As mountains and hills have usually their own Flora, the insects appropriated to alpine plants can only be met with where their pabulum is found. Here also those northern insects that are impatient of a warm climate will take their station if they migrate to the southward. The predacious beetles likewise sometimes frequent a mountainous district. Carabus glαbratus was first taken by Professor Hooker on Ingleborough; and probably, if the Welsh and Scotch mountains were duly investigated by an entomologist, many novelties would reward his toils. The valleys and plains, especially those of a sunny exposition, abound in insects. When the heat of the atmosphere indisposes you for motion, you will find it no unprofitable or unpleasant employment, lying on the grass, to search for minute beetles, which you will there find coursing about amongst the tufts and roots of the herbage. Thus you may procure many of the Pselaphidoe, which you would not otherwise meet with. Even when the grass is grown up, insects are fond of alighting upon [7:9:106] its spikes, and thence drop or run to the ground. Should circumstances ever carry you abroad to the steppes or grassy plains of Tartary, or to Hungary, you will find there two or three species of the singular genus Lethrus, which burrows in the soil. Every hole is inhabited by a male and female ;—from it they issue to attack the plants or vines; and having cut out the heart of a plant, go backwards like a crab with the prize to their burrow. At the time of pairing, sometimes violent battles, encouraged by the female, take place between the male and a stranger of that sex desirous of admission, which cease only with the death or flight of the stranger. The vicinity and borders of woods generally abound in insects of every order, and, if you proceed as hereafter directed, will furnish you with numerous prizes, especially of Lepidoptera. Here alone you can meet with the purple emperor butterfly (Apatura Iris)·, and if properly equipped you may readily secure him.”^[115. Introduc, to Εnt. iv. 499.] The aquatic beetles of the genera Dytiscus, Colym-l l etes, &c. of course occur in the water. During the evening twilight, however, they frequently leave their moist abodes, and wing their way over the adjacent country. When surprised, after their nocturnal adventures, by the rising sun, they will plunge intowhatever water is nearest at hand, and thus rain barrels and washing tubs are sometimes not looked into in vain. Chance often throws into the hands of an entomologist what he has long sedulously sought for without success; and an open window and a lighted candle will sometimes procure what a traverse through the forest, worthy of a North American Indian, would not have obtained. By collecting aquatic plants, duckweed, and “the green mantle of the stagnant pool,” and afterwards examining these productions at leisure in a basin of water, many valuable insects of the minuter kinds may be procured. Although the Gyrinus Viola aquatica is said to inhabit salt water, that element may be regarded as decidedly adverse to insect life. Brackish water, however, produces several peculiar species, such as Hy-droena marina, and the large-eyed Cimicidae. According to Latreillc, the genus Pimelia occurs only in soils impregnated with saline particles, or where the genus Salsola abounds. Heaths, though in a general view unproductive of insect life, yield some very beautiful species, such as Carabus nitens and αη∙ensis, and Cicindela sylvatica. In regard to soils, such as are light, according to Mr Kirby, are most prolific in insects. Warm sandy banks are frequented by Cicindela campestris, Opatrum sabulosum, Helops quis-quilius, &c.; and chalk is extremely attractive. The Licini, Papilio Cleopatra, several species of Dasytes, and Lamiae, seem to delight in the latter substance. Many others are found in chalk-pits, which Mr Kirby does not think should be regarded actually as chalk insects; but rather that they simply fall into the pits, and then become more discernible in consequence of the stronger contrast of colour. By watching in one of these pits during a warm day, vast numbers of insects may be taken. Of all soils clay offers the fewest inducements to the entomologist.^[116. 304] Old trees, felled timber, and planks which have lain long upon the ground, should be carefully examined by the collector, as on the under sides of the latter, as well as beneath stones, many species seek repose and shelter. Thorn and other fences, whether dead or living, are very productive; and gates,posts, and wooden rails, ought in nowise to be neglected. Although the sea itself, according to the authority last quoted, produces no true insects, yet many and varied tribes are known to haunt its shores. On the sand hills of the Norfolk coast Mr Kirby found Aegialia globosa and Cicindela hybrida. Rynchcemιs horridus likewise inhabits thistles growing near the sea. Fuci and other marine rejectamenta, which border the margins of friths and estuaries, produce peculiar species of Cercyon, some Aphodii, and many Staphylinidae. That singular insect Oxytelus tricornis has been captured in a situation like that now indicated. The inundations of rivers in spring, summer, and autumn, sweep innumerable insects from their hiding places; and when the waters begin to subside, the examination of the floating grasses, broken twigs, and various debris which line the indented shores, will afford an ample field for the investigations of the entomologist. To him indeed the most barren scene, whether of dreary moor or desolate mountain, can never be devoid of interest,—for the more untrodden the path the stronger and more rational are his hopes of becoming possessed of some of those treasures which are everywhere scattered over the wilderness of nature,— hitherto unperceived perhaps by human eye, but nevertheless performing an essential part in the great and solemn mystery of creation. The geological relations of insects do not appear to have attracted the notice of naturalists,—we mean their more direct connection with rocks, independent of that intermediate relationship which results from the dependence of particular plants on certain soils, and the known alliance of many tribes of insects with peculiar forms of vegetable life. Mr Wailes always found the larvae of Enicο-ceri on rough slimy stones, and he found it as great a waste of time to look for them on a smooth limestone, as to turn up a fragment of basaltic rock (whinstone) in search of geodephagous insects. The repugnance of beetles to basalt he had previously noticed. The subjacent rock of the wild district of Teesdale is almost exclusively composed of the basalt of the great whin-sill, the formation of which is regarded as a knotty point by geologists. Of course the loose and superficial stones of the country are its fragments, and among these scarcely a beetle is to be found, except a few which are superlatively common elsewhere, though inter rariores in the district referred to. “So far,” says Mr Wailes, “as my observations, whether confined to single stones, or extended over a whole district, go, any place having limestone, particularly the magnesian, for its subjacent stratum, will afford abundance of the Geodephaga, as well as most other Coleoptera, whilst they will be found very thinly scattered over a basaltic region. It is strange to notice the almost uniform absence of these insects on turning up a whin which has accidentally found its way into a heap of other stones, though every one of the latter may have one or more tenants under it. Must we-not look to the comparative dryness of the limestone and humidity of the whin for an explanation? We can readily account for the great predominance ot the land testacea on a limestone district; but lime docs not enter into the composition of beetles.”^[117. Eπc^cloρκd⅛. icαi ^ it,sααnt ' lil ∙7 , * or a correct chemical analysis of the constitution of insects see page 63 of this volume of the] Insects may also be viewed in relation to their seasons of appearance, or the most appropriate periods for the collection of the different kinds. Such as gather honey and the pollen of plants are among the first to proclaim the approach of spring; and their appearance maybe dated from the blossoming of certain trees and flowers of common occurrence. Other plants, likewise accompanied [7:9:107] by peculiar insects, blossom later; and thus we may trace a mutual relationship between the two kingdoms throughout the sparkling spring, the leafy summer, and the melancholy autumn,—till relentless winter sets his seal upon insect life, and either renders it entirely torpid, or sheds occasionally a feeble ray on some forlorn company of gnats, whose dances, now no lçnger “choral,” exhibit but a sad representative of that more genial season when the u ∙ living air” was filled with their not unjoyful murmurs. With these and a few other exceptions, the earliest insect season commences with the flowering of the sallow (Salix capreα of Linnaeus, Saugh of the Scottish schoolboy), which is accompanied by the golden flowers of the crocus, and the beautiful green of the expanding gooseberries. “Then is your time,” says Mr Kirby, “to collect many species of wild bees and Dipterα, not afterwards to be met with; and various other insects now begin to emerge from the pupa. Another and later season is marked by the general blossoming of the buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus), accompanied by the marsh-marygold (Caltha palustris'), and ladies’ smock (Cardamine pratensis), when you may hunt the pastures, meadows, and marshes with success, and take some insects that do not show themselves later. The coprophagous insects are now abundant. Amongst others, Aphodius testudina-τius, a perfectly vernal species, is now only to be taken, and usually flying. A third insect season indicated by Flora, and a very prolific one, commences with the blossoming of the hawthorn, when you must desert the meads for the inclosures. At this time all nature begins to put on her gayest attire, and all her insect tribes are now on the alert, and fill the air. They are almost universally attracted by the sweet and lovely blossoms of the plant just named; so that, by examining them, you may entrap some of every order, and many that during the year will appear no more. Even many of the saprophagous insects will sip nectar from the flowers. The umbelliferous plants proclaim the fourth season of insects, particularly the wild carrot and parsnip. You will scarcely ever fail to find, if the weather is genial, hymenopterous and dipterous insects of various genera, especially such as have a short tongue, engaged in collecting the honey from those plants. Here you may take some of the rarer Chrysidoe, Crabronidae, Cereerides, &c. and occasionally even Coleοp-teτa. The last insect season may be dated from the general flowering of the thistle tribe. When these are in blossom is the best time of all to collect the humble-bees (Bombas'), the leaf-cutter bees (Megachile), and many other Apiariae, Lat. which alone, by their long tongues, can imbibe the honey and collect the pollen of these flowers. The male humble-bees frequent them to the last, and often seem as if they were intoxicated with their sweets.”^[118. Introduc, to Ent∙ vol. iv. p. 508.] The preceding chapters contain whatever we have to say of a general nature regarding the Class of insects. We shall now proceed to the particular history of those primary divisions called Orders, the name and nature of each of which have been already briefly expounded at the commencement of this article. Order I.—COLEOPTERA.^[119. The derivation or etymology of the different orders has already been given in our introductory observations,—see pages 59 and 60 of this volume. Our present order corresponds to the Eleutherata of Fabricius.] Coleopterous insects have usually four wings, the two superior of which, called elytra, resemble horizontal, somewhat convex scales, which meet in a straight line along their inner margins, where they form what is called the dorsal suture. The inferior wings, which are the true organs of flight, are membranaceous, transparent, transversely folded, and covered and protected by the elytra or wing-cases. They are all masticating insects, provided with mandibles and maxillae. Of all the insect tribes these are the most numerous, the best known, and the most generally interesting. Their singular and varied forms, their brilliant colouring, the great size of many species, and that solid consistence which renders their collection and preservation comparatively easy, have long secured for them the devoted attention of the entomologist. Some advantages also result to their study and classification from the clearly defined and articulate forms of their external organs. The name and principal characters of the order were bestowed and defined by Aristotle, and have been adopted by almost all succeeding writers on the subject. Other characters have no doubt been added to his ancient definition of wings in a sheath, — such as the transverse folding of these organs, and the straightness of the suture by which the elytra are united; and several exceptions to the supposed universal attributes of the order have been discovered,— such as the female glow-worm, which has neither wings nor sheaths, and the genus Meloe, and many Carabi, which, though furnished with sheaths or elytra, are entirely destitute of true or membranaceous wings. So also, in the genera Buprestis, Molorchus, and others, we may discover exceptions to the transverse folding of the last-named organs; and the exact fitting or junction of the elytra, forming the dorsal suture, ceases to hold in the genus Meloe, — so that none of these characters can be regarded as universal; but as they are very generally prevalent, and a few exceptions do not invalidate a rule, it is advisable that they should be retained for the purposes of definition. Coleopterous insects, like others, are composed of three principal portions, head, thorax, and abdomen. The head varies greatly both in size and form, according to the different tribes. In the great section of the Geodephaga, or ground-beetles, it is usually of a somewhat triangular form; in many of the short elytra’d tribes (Brαchelytra it is orbicular; while among the weevils (Curculionides) it is prolonged into a pointed rostrum or beak. The hinder part is frequently contracted into a short neck, and is inserted into a cavity of the thorax, in which it moves as in a socket. The head bears two antennoe, of which the form and structure differ not only in the different genera, but even in the sexcs of the same species. They usually, however, consist of ten or eleven distinct articulations, the latter number being the more frequent. They are inserted in the front of the head, anterior to, and rather beneath, the region of the. eyes. Their various forms, as characteristic of particular groups, will be afterwards described. The eyes of Coleoptera, in the perfect state, are two in number, and composite. In certain Staphylinidae, two small yellowish points have been observed, which some naturalists have regarded as analogous to the simple or stemmatic eyes; but the sentiments of Latreille are adverse to that opinion. The actual eyes are either entire, notched, or even occasionally so completely intersected by a little corneous stalk, as to exhibit (as in the genus Gyrinus) the appearance of a pair on either side. The mouth consists of a labrum, two mandibles, two maxillae, each furnished with one or two articulated palpi, and a [7:9:108] dabium composed of two parts, the mentum and ligula, and accompanied by a pair of palpi. The mandibles are usually of a corneous consistence, but they are membranaceous and of small size, in such as take little apparent nourishment, or feed on the juices of flowers, or on excrementitial or putrescent animal fluids. The maxillae are of a softer texture than the mandibles. When there are a pair of palpi on each maxilla, the exterior ones never consist of more than four joints; those of the labium have usually three articulations. The thorax of the Coleoptera, like that of other hexapod insects, is likewise divisible into three principal portions, each of which is characterized by a particular degree of development. The mesothorax is very narrow, whilst the corselet or prothorax, and the metathorax, exhibit a considerable bulk. This is an important feature in the structure of the skeleton or tegument of the coleopterous order. The prothorax is always free in its movements, while the two other portions are united together, and nearly immoveable. The component parts or the mesothorax are in fact rudimentary, and those of the scutellum are soldered together. But the elements of the latter portion, that is, the praescutum, the scutum, the scutellum, commonly so called, and the postscutellum, still exist, and their joinings are quite perceptible in certain genera. The prothorax supports only the first pair of legs, while the mesothorax bears the second pair and the elytra. The second pair of wings and the third pair of legs are attached to the metathorax. The elytra and wings take their origin from the lateral and superior margins of that portion of the body to which they are attached. The elytra are usually of a very firm or almost crustaceous consistence, opake, and without reticulations. The true wings are large, veined, and concealed beneath the elytra. The latter always exist (with the exception of the females of a few species), but many species are apterous, so far as concerns the existence of the membranaceous wings. In general the elytra equal the body in length, but they are sometimes, as among the Staphylinidae, much shorter. They are usually free, and extended during the act of flight; but among several carabideous insects they seem united by the dorsal suture, and are consequently incapable of extension. In these instances the true wings are wanting. The abdomen of the Coleoptera is sessile, that is, attached to the metathorax by its largest transverse diameter. Its inferior or ventral part is less extended longitudinally than the superior, and this restriction is chiefly owing to the development of the sternum of the metathorax, which is prolonged backwards, and thus, as it were, usurps the place of the abdomen. This may be very distinctly observed in the genus Copris, in which the segments of the abdomen seem crowded together. In some species the first segment appears divided into two parts by the sternum, which projects along their line of union. Inferiorly, the abdomen is always of a firm or horny consistence; but the upper part is generally soft, being covered by the elytra and wings. When these are wanting or abbreviated, the abdomen is equally hard above as below, as in the genus Meloe, and the Staphylinidae, 0 r brachelytrous tribes. The legs vary in their structure and development. The anterior pair, orthose of the prothorax, are frequently more strongly formed in the male than in the female; and in the former sex the tarsi are often broader than ip the latter. The legs are usually described as composed of five pieces, the haunch, the trochanter, the thigh, the ' tibia, and the tarsus. M. Auđouin has shown the existence of a sixth portion, moveable, constantly concealed within the interior of the body, and serving to articulate the haunch with the epimera. We have already mentioned it under the name of trochantiη. The internal structure of the Coleoptera has recently been illustrated by several ingenious observers, such as Ramdhor, Audouin, and Dufour. The apparatus for the purposes of nutrition in coleopterous insects may be summed up as follows:^[120. Nat. t vin. p. 2Q^ wm6 ^ es Ç^aaicières anatomiļucs propres aux Coléoptères en general et azιx Caralåļues en particulier. Ann. des Sciences] Is/, Organs of manducation; 2<7, salivary glands; 3íZ, a digestive tube; ∖ th, biliary vessels. The entire order Coleoptera is composed of masticating species, which are consequently provided with instruments of a more or less resistant nature, adapted for seizing, cutting, and triturating the food previous to its being swallowed. For this purpose the mouth is furnished with a pair of corneous mandibles, sometimes simply incisive, sometimes dentated or toothed. Their motion is transverse and horizontal. There is also a pair of maxillae, usually of a more membranaceous consistence than the mandibles, an upper lip or labrum, an under lip or labium, and from four to six palpi. The salivary glands, which in orthopterous and hemipterous insects present all the characters common to such organs, are rudimentary in size, and few in number, among the coleopterous tribes. They contain a colourless saliva, and their existence hitherto has been ascertained chiefly in genera of the families of Melasoma, Taxicorηes, Stenelytra, Trache-lides, Ehincophora, and Aphidiphaga. The digestive tube possesses an extent which varies singularly in relation to the habits of life of each particular tribe. In a few it scarcely exceeds the length of the body; while in others, and these are the greater number, it greatly surpasses that extent. The oesophagus is generally short; the crop more or less obvious; the gizzard is in some families garnished interiorly with triturating pieces; the chylific ventricle is of variable size, and either smooth or beset by papillae; the small intestine likewise varies in length; the large intestine consists most frequently of a dilatable caecum; the rectum is sometimes greatly elongated in the female sex. The texture of the digestive tube is musculo-membranous, and is composed of three tunics of varying thickness. The biliary or hepatic vessels are always inserted at the posterior extremity of the chylific ventricle. They are of great extent, extremely slender, singularly folded, and of a cellular-membranous texture. Their number and the mode of their connection vary in the different tribes and genera, but they are always of an equal number, or in pairs. There are never less than a single pair,.nor more than three. Sometimes their insertion is limited to the chylific ventricle, in which case they are either free and floating by one extremity, or they form an arch variously twisted, ot which the two extremities are implanted on the same circle. Sometimes the insertion is double, and obtains at one end on the chylific ventricle, and at the other on the caecum. The bile contained in these vessels varies from a deep violet and brown colour, to yellow and white. It is sometimes even diaphanous. 1 he generative system among the Coleoptera is thus described by Μ. Dufour. “Les Coléoptères ont, ainsi que les autres insectes, deux sexes séparés, et l’acte de la reproduction est un véritable accouplement. L’organe générateur mâle se compose, 1°. de deux testicules formés, soit par les replis agglomérés d’un seul vaisseau sper-matique[7:9:109], soit par un ou plusieurs sachets, soit enfin par des utricules dont le nombre, la configuration, et la grandeur varient suivant les familles; 2°. de deux canaux déférens variables pour leur longeur, quelquefois reployés en épide-dyme; 3°. de vésicules séminales plus ou moins nombreuses, et de formes diverses suivant les genres de Coléoptères; 4°. d'un conduit éjaculateur tantôt fort long, tantôt très-court; 5°. d’une verge retractile renfermée dans une armure copulatrice dont la conformation se modifie à l’infini. On distingue dans l’organe générateur femelle de tous les Coléoptères, 6°. deux ovaires dont chacun se compose d’un calice plus ou moins marqué, et d’un nombre variable suivant les genres, de gaines ovigères uniloculaires ou multiloculaires, terminées le plus souvent par une pièce charnue où se fixe un ligament suspenseur; 7°. un glande sébacée d’une structure diversement compliquée, insérée à l’origine de l’oviducte, et destinée à furnir une humeur propre à lubrefier ou à enduire les oeufs à l’époque de la ponte; 8°. un oviducte plus ou moins long qui se continue en un vagin; 9°. enfin, dans quelques cas rares un appareil sécréteur particulier propre à former une enveloppe commune ou une coque aux oeufs.”^[121. Ann. deι Sciences Nat. t. viii∙ p∙ 38.] Besides the ordinary secreting organs, certain coleopterous species are provided with a kind of excrementary secreting apparatus, which is binary, and common to both sexes. Its function is the formation of an acrid humour, liquid or gaseous, which the insect expels as a means of defence when menaced or attacked. The respiratory organs of the Coleoptera consist in stigmata placed along the lateral portions-of the body, and of tracheae, sometimes tubular, sometimes utricular, which disseminate the air through all parts of the system. The nervous system is composed of a brain or upper ganglion,—of ganglia placed in the median line, variable in their number, and communicating with each other and with the brain by means of a double cord,—and of nerves, properly so called, which emanate from the ganglia. The abdominal cavity of these insects always encloses a splanchnic adipose tissue, of which the abundance and colour vary according to the genera, and which appears to be connected with the purposes of nutrition.^[122. P' i ^∙ P∙ ^θ∙] In addition to the usual differences, the sexes frequently present external distinctive characters in the antennae and other parts. The male is supposed to perish soon after the sexual union, and the female does not long survive the deposition of her eggs. These eggs, which of course vary in size, form, colour, and consistence, are deposited in various localities, and among very different substances, in accordance with the instincts and economy of the species, and the habits of the larvae about to be produced. These larvae are also very dissimilar to each other in this varied order; but they may be generally described as soft bodied, with the exception of the head and the upper portion of the three first segments of the body, which are of a firmer or more scaly consistence. They are furnished with six feet; and the eyes, which in the perfect state are composite, are in this early condition small granuliform bodies, sometimes amounting to six on each side. The parts of the mouth bear a relation, both to their immediate mode of lifi⅛ 9 and their future development in the perfect insect. The mandibles are very strong and corneous in such species as feed on ligneous substances; they are coriaceous in such as feed on leaves, and almost membranaceous in those which prefer carcasses, or other matters in a state of putrescence. The antennae of these larvae are usually very short, cylindrical or conical, and composed of a small number of articulations. Coleopterous insects enjoy a considerable length of life, at least in the larva state. The period of endurance, however, of that early condition, is extremely various in the different genera of this most numerous order. Indeed, even among individuals of the same species, the continuance of the different stages of growth varies in accordance with the temperature of particular seasons, or the more or less abundant supply of food. Many species pass the winter in a listless state, abstaining almost entirely from eating, and consequently, even after the lapse of several months, present scarcely any apparent increase of their dimensions. No sooner, however, are they awakened from their temporary trance by the enlivening beams of the returning sun, than they greedily attack their favourite food, and their growth is almost instantaneous. It has been remarked that the larvae which feed on leaves, such as those of Crioceris, Altica, and Chrysomela, remain but a brief period in the larva state; while the subterranean and root-devouring species, on the contrary, not unfrequently continue for two or three years in their dark abodes. Attentive observation has also ascertained that those Coleoptera which pass the winter in the egg state are the shortest lived in the form of larvae ;—they are hatched, nourished, developed, reproduce, and perish, all in the course of the summer first ensuing,—while such as pass the winter in the larva state, or that of nymph, are the longest lived in both of those conditions. It is chiefly in the form of larva that the Coleoptera produce such injury to agriculture, and other branches of rural industry. The ravages of species belonging to the genera Bruchus, Curculio, Calandra, Melolontha, Crioceris, Altica, Anthrenus, Dermestes, and numerous others, are unfortunately better known than any counteracting remedies of easy application. The larvae of the coleopterous tribes usually change their skins three times, and many of those which live in the earth construct a kind of cocoon, in which they undergo their transformations. These are of the kind formerly mentioned under the name of complete metamorphoses. Linnaeus, Geoffroy, Fabricius, Olivier, Latreille, and others, have established many divisions, more or less natural, in the coleopterous order. The number of the articulations of the tarsi varies from three to five, and their amount in eaeh limb has been assumed as the basis of the great sectional divisions of the coleopterous order, so generally adopted by the continental naturalists. As these divisions pervade all foreign works of importance on the Coleoptera, we shall here explain their nature. Geoffroy having observed that all the species of a genus or of a family were characterized by the same number of articulations of the tarsi, and that the differences presented by these parts always bore a relation to other differences in the general organization, he conceived the idea of grounding his primary divisions on their particular structure. Many extensive families of coleopterous insects are distinguished by five articulations to the tarsi; that is, by five joints on each foot. (See Plate CCXX. fig. 2 e.) All of these fall under the first general section called Pentamera, from wnrα, five, and μwος, part or article. Another extensive division is characterized by five articulations to the tarsi of the two anterior pair of feet, while the posterior or third pair possesses only four articulations. All the species so formed belong to the section Tleterornera, so called from ιτsξος, different, the tarsi being dissimilar to each other. Numerous Coleoptera exhibit the tarsi composed throughout of four articulations. These [7:9:110] are ranged under the general section Tetramera, from rcτgα, four. Lastly, many species have no more . than three, and some no more than two joints, to the tarsi, and these belong respectively to the sections Trimera and Dimera. It has even been supposed that an insect exists, the tarsi of which are furnished with only a single joint; and for its reception the section iïlonomera (from μοvος, alone) has been established. Later and more considerate observation, however, has led to the belief that both of the last-named sections are resolvable among the trimerous species, and that the supposed absence of the second and third joints arises from their extreme minute- θ“Nihil notatu dignius videtur,” observes Mr Fischer, “constanti tarsorum insectorum imprimis coleopterorum formatione, quae, quidquid etiam naturae scrutatores, quidam contra eam in medium protulerint, methodum ordines insectorum in sectiones vel series minores dirimendi offert tutissimam.”^[123. Genera Insectorum, Praef. p. 5.] The extreme simplicity, and consequent ease of application, of the sectional rules deduced from the structure of the tarsi, has probably induced the continental naturalists to adopt them more readily than they would have done had they foreseen the occasional contradictions to which they lead. The fact cannot be disguised that the system is in many instances artificial,— for several insects differ in the number of their tarsi, which are yet nearly allied by their general structure and attributes,—while it would be easy to show that the mere agreement in the number of those parts by no means carries along with it a corresponding relationship in the form of the other more important organs.^[124. P ĴĴ ’ ^l aιr z v iH e > “P 0ur pallier les frequentes anomalies qui se rencontrent, de dire que tel insecte a cinq Ú XS 7t° π ∙ en . decouvre 3,y e q≡tre∙ H đevroit en effet en avoir cinq d’après la règle qu’on a établie. Cepen-Ücles aux tareeťiuʼnn ne ne. ľrépHpT S ?” θ,Τ sont ∖ πc P euvent me convaincre, et je ne puis me détérminer a supposé plus d’ar-clair nositif et -tnifnrmp « ' · en découvrir, en y mettant toute l’attention possible. Le nombre des articles doit être Íònm Aθ ch * r t acter e . est vaĽ1 l laılt · Au reste ’ Jθθ disconviendrai pas que sans être rigoureusement des Articles des tarses.” {Enłomolĩg ⅛S⅛, p.Vo.)™ ŋŋ genr θ s 8eroient ordonne ' s selon lc nombre] The truth is, that the articulations of the tarsi differ in some instances even in the sexes of the same species, as may be seen in Cryptophagus fumatus and C. ραllens ; and the consequence, as Mr Maclcay has pointed out, of forming the primary divisions in accordance with their amount, has been, that many genera are separated, and thrown to a great distance from the place which nature has assigned them.^[125. Iloroe Entomologicoe, part i. ρ. G. ’] While, therefore, the British naturalists have availed themselves of whatever aid these sectional divisions have legitimately afforded, they do not trammel themselves by a uniform adherence to the system, independent of its accordance with nature.^[126. „ . . . r ,,. . τ . j oo] We have already endeavoured, in the preceding introduction, to illustrate the geographical distribution of insects in general. We shall here add a few observations more especially applicable to the coleopterous tribes. The coleopterous insects of Europe in general, according to Μ. Latreille, bear a strong affinity to those of Western Asia and Northern Africa. These traits of resemblance become more obvious, when, the qualities of the soil and the temperature being analogous, we approach towards the northern tropic. It is under the forty-fourth degree of north latitude that we begin to perceive certain species of carnivorous Coleoptera, of the Lamellicornes, of the heteromerous section, and of the Curculionides, characteristic of the warmer regions of the earth. There also may be observed species of a larger size, and of an ιspect more imposing, than characterize their congeners C of the north. The dominion of the Carαbi, properly so ' called, so notable over all the northern and temperate countries of Europe, and in the more western regions of Asia, ceases towards the thirty-fifth degree of north latitude. These predaceous insects are succeeded by the genera Aηthia and Graphipterus. Viewed in relation to entomological characters, Europe may be said to extend further eastward than it does in accordance with our actual political divisions, as the insects of the Levant, and even of Persia, exhibit a very European aspect. Austria and Hungary, from their central situation and other local circumstances, are numerically richer in species than the western countries of Europe. These latter, however, possess, in consequence probably of their littoral position, and the influence of the oceanic waters, several peculiar species, which, though unknown in the East, nevertheless extend their localities in a lengthened line from north to south. However gorgeous may be the productions of tropical regions, the European continent presents to the entomologist a rich and varied assemblage both of carnivorous and herbivorous Coleoptera. Many of these it possesses in common with other countries, while of some it has to boast a more exclusive possession. The great tribe of the Carnivora, and especially the Carabi or larger predaceous beetles—the Staphylinidce or brachelytrous kinds—the Clavicornes — the genera Aphodius, Meloe, Cal-lidiιιm, Leptura, Chrysomela, ^[127. See ≡ h °≡ th ≡ t ““ - ’“7] Lixus, &c.—are there proportionally more numerous than in any other quarter of the world. Latreille has observed that the herbivorous Coleoptera seem to prevail in South America. Many species of the northern countries of the new world greatly resemble those of the northern and temperate parts of Europe, while others are identical. Of these some may be regarded as naturally distributed alike over Scandinavia, Greenland, the adjacent islands, and North America,—while the greater proportion, which are xylophagous or timber-eating insects, have very probably been transported by artificial means, that is, in cargoes of wood, and in the timbers of our vessels. Notwithstanding many examples which might be adduced to illustrate a certain agreement which exists between the species of Europe and North America, the more general as well as precise truth is, that the entomology of North America is connected by a stronger affinity with that of the southern division of the new world than with that of our own continent and islands. We cannot, for instance, exhibit a single example of that division of Cetonia of which the thorax presents a posterior lobe, nor of Galerita, Tetraonyx, or Pαrandra, genera which are distributed throughout the whole of America. One strong feature of conformity has indeed been observed, that North America and Europe both possess many carnivorous Coleoptera entirely unknown in the equatorial regions either of the old world or the new.^[128. introduction à la Géographie générale des Arachnides et des Insectes, ou des climats propres à ces Animaux. Par Latreille.] The coleopterous order is extremely numerous in species. Comte Dejean’s collection, probably the most extensive hitherto made, is said to contain above twenty [7:9:111] •thousand different kinds; and Mr Stephens’ Nomenclature of British Insects (second edition) presents us with the names of 3614 indigenous Coleoptera. In relation to the economical uses of the order, we may observe that coleopterous insects are scarcely if at all applied in the arts. Those employed in medicine are chiefly the Cantharis vesicatoria, commonly called the Spanish Fly, and the Mylabris Cichorii, which in China and the Levant is likewise used as a blistering application. The Romans are supposed to have made use of certain coleopterous larvae for dietetical purposes; and some of the South American tribes are known to devour with delight the fattened larvae of the Curculio palmarum. We shall conclude these introductory observations by a few remarks On the collecting and preserving of Coleopterous Insects. This is a very simple matter to those who are zealous in the cause. By far the best method is for the collector to provide himself with a few stout phials half filled with whisky, or any other ardent spirit which he may happen to prefer. When the insects are caught, which they can only be in any considerable number or variety by a sedulous search under stones, and in the other localities afterwards indicated in our notices of the different genera, they may be popped into the phial, where in most instances they die almost instantaneously. This is not only the most humane process, but it is also the best mode of preserving their more delicate portions uninjured. It likewise puts an end to all contention among themselves, which is by no means the effect of the ordinary method of collecting in small boxes,—for in the latter case the larger and more voracious invariably devour the smaller or least assuming; and thus many captures, regarded with pleasure in the morning, are found to have disappeared in the afternoon. If time and opportunity are wanting for the immediate purpose of setting the specimens, that is, placing them in their most appropriate positions, they may be allowed to remain in the phials for days or weeks without being injured, although in that case greater care is afterwards necessary, especially with the smaller specimens, in consequence of a certain softness in the articulations, induced by maceration in the spirits. When an entomologist (in search of Coleoptera) is employed in what we may call the home circuit, he requires during his excursions nothing more than a couple of glass phials, as we must suppose him possessed of all other appliances within his dwelling. But during a more distant and prolonged journey, he must provide himself with a few small boxes made either of wood or tin (the last is lighter and thinner, and therefore more commodious), lined with cork at top and bottom, and deep enough to contain an upper and an under range of pins. In these the insects caught during the day may be transfixed in the course of the evening, so that the phials may be left empty for the captures of the ensuing morn. Notes ought to be taken of the places of capture, and the insects should be so arranged in the boxes that, by means of numerals or other marks, any individual may be afterwards recognised in relation to its own particular locality. - The setting of an insect consists merely in placing its limbs and antennae in a natural position, and fixing them in the same for a time by means of pins, on a small board on which there is a layer of cork. (See Plate CCXX. figs. 10 and 12.) They stiffen in a few days, and may then be transferred to their proper places in the cabinet. If not set when either moist or recent, they may be softened by being placed for a night in any small vessel containing a layer of wet sand, and covered with a damp cloth to prevent evaporation. The same process, continued for a somewhat longer time, is equally efficient in regard to foreign species. Each specimen, if not stuck, should, previous to setting, be transfixed by passing a pin through the elytra and abdomen, at right angles with the plane of its position,—enough of the pin being made to project beyond the feet as will suffice to fix its point firmly in the cork. When mould appears upon coleopterous specimens, they ought to be exposed for some hours at the distance of two or three feet from a brisk fire, and then delicately brushed with a hair pencil. When mites or aćari make their appearance among them, they ought either to be exposed for a few minutes to a high temperature, which kills the living parasites without injuring the dead insects, or each specimen ought to be carefully washed by means of a hair pencil dipped in spirit of turpentine. A piece of sponge constantly saturated with that fluid, or a supply of camphor, should be kept in each drawer. With a view to maintain a collection in good order, it is very advisable that all specimens obtained from correspondents by purchase or exchange should, previous to their being placed in the cabinet, be submitted to the ordeal of a bath cither in spirit of turpentine or camphorated spirit of wine. If mites or acari are once introduced into a cabinet of considerable extent, their eradication is extremely troublesome. As many collectors are careless of their duplicate specimens, and as it is of course with these that they supply their friends, much injury is frequently inflicted by the introduction even of a single insect in bad condition into a cabinet previously in a proper state.^[129. Eηtοmοlοgiα Edinensis, Introduction, p. 57∙ ... , „ il c ... „ ∙ „c οat ,] We must now proceed to a more detailed exposition of the coleopterous tribes. They are grouped together under four great sections, according to the number of joints in the tarsi. PENTAMERA. All the Tarsi composed of Five Joints. ^[130. “λVe have already stated our opinion of the artificial combinations which occasionally result from the use o ns pi ∙.1 τ tional division, and in our Entοmοlοgia Edinensis we have, with our coadjutor, the Rev. James Duncan, followed another niòde ot arrangement. Rut in presenting a general view of the subject, and one in which numerous foreign genera are me u e , w τ∖tι∙f>illo greater clearness will result from an adherence to the system of the continental entomologists. M e therefore now o ow ι .] FAMILY I CARNIVORA, Cuv. ADEPHAGA,^[131. So named from aS∏φaγef, voracious.] Clairv. The first primary division of the coleopterous order contains a numerous and varied assemblage, all of which, however, agree in being, as the name imports, of a voracious disposition. Each maxilla is furnished with two palpi, so that there are six in all, including those of the labium. In the larva state, these insects are elongated, cylindrical, composed of twelve rings or segments, exclusive of the head, which is large, of a scaly texture, and provided with two strong mandibles curved at their extremities. The mouth is also furnished with a pair of maxillae divided into two branches, one of which is formed by a palpus. The ligula bears two palpi, which are shorter than those of the maxillae. The head is moreover provided with a pair of short conical antennae, and six small simple [7:9:112] eyes on each side.^[132. So says Latreille. Some authors state the number of these eyes as only three on each side.] The first segment of the body is co- ‘vered by a squamous shield,—the others are soft. The first three segments are each furnished with a pair of legs, of which the extremity is curved forwards. Of course many modifications occur in the form and aspect of adephagous larvae. For example, those of the Cicindelae have the upper portion oĩ the head hollowed out in the centre, while the inferior portion is bulged. Two of the eyes on each side are much larger than the others, and the shield of the first segment oí the body is also large, and of a semicircular shape. The eighth segment bears two small hooked processes in its upper surface. Among the generality, however, of these larvae, the head is weaker and more regular, and the eyes are of equal size. The shield is square, and does not project over the sides; the eighth segment wants the processes; but the terminal segment is furnished with two conical appendages, besides a membranous tube formed by the prolongation of the anal portion of the body. Ί hese appendages are toothed and horny in the larvae of Calasoma and Carabus. In Harpalus and Licinus they are more elongated, fleshy, and articulated. In these and other genera, the form of the mandibles in the larvae approaches that of the same species in the perfect state. The adephagous Coleoptera have always a first stomach, which is short and fleshy,—a second, which is more elongated, and shaggy on the surface, by reason of the numerous small vessels with which it is furnished,—and a short and slender intestine. The hepatic vessels, four in number, are inserted near the pylorus. These insects may be regarded as terrestrial (Geodephaga) and aquatic (Hy-grodephαga), according to their mode of life. The genera of the former subdivision of the order dwell and take their food upon the surface of the earth. They are hence known under the name of ground-beetles. The feet of these terrestrial species are formed for tolerably rapid motion, and the two posterior pair are inserted at equal distances. The mandibles are obvious and discovered, the terminal portion of the maxillae is straight inferiorly, and curved only at its extremity. The body is generally oblong,—the eyes projecting. The tracheae are tubular or elastic, and the intestine is terminated by an expanded cloaca, provided with two small sacs which produce an acrid humour.^[133. Règne Animal, tom. iv. p. 358. An abstract of the anatomical characters of the insects of this division, by Μ. Dufour, wfll be found in the Annales des Sciences Nat. tom. viii. p. 36.] Tribe 1st, Cicindeletae, Lat. This tribe corresponds to the genus Cicindela of Linnaeus. Its genera are distinguished by a hook or nail, which is articulated by its base to the tip of the maxillae. All the species have a strong head, with large eyes, projecting toothed mandibles, and a short ligula concealed behind the mentum. The labial palpi are composed of four distinct articulations, and, in common with the maxillary palpi, are generally shaggy, or somewhat clothed. The precedence is usually assigned to these insects in our systematic arrangements, from motives probably similar to those which have induced ornithologists to place the accipitrine order at the head of the .class of birds. The greater proportion of the species are exotic. Genus Manticora, ^[134. Merrizuga is the name of a fabulous animal mentioned by Aristotle, Aelian, and Pliny.] Fab. Tarsi alike in both sexes, and composed of cylindrical articulations. Mandibles large and arched. Head very large. Eyes small, and not greatly projecting. Back of the thorax forming a kind of semicircular lobe, prolonged as far aś the posterior mar- , gin. Abdomen pediculated, almost entirely enveloped by 1 the elytra, which are nearly heart-shaped, soldered, and laterally carinateđ. Μ. maxillosa, Fab. (Plate CCXXI. fig. 1.) Entirely black, and covered with scattered hairs. The mandibles have four interior teeth, of which the third is the least. The antennae are slender and filiform, their third articulation angular and elongated. The thorax appears as if divided into two by a transverse groove near the anterior margin, which is prolonged laterally, and beneath, as far as the origin of the fore-legs. There is no scutellum visible. The legs are large, and covered with stiff hairs. This formidable-looking insect, which measures more than an inch and a half in length, presents the aspect of a large spider. It inhabits sandy soil in the southern parts of Africa, and is the only known species of the genus, unless the Μ. pallida of Fab. referred by Mr Macleay to his genus Platychiles, ^[135. Annulosa Javanua, vol. i. p. 9.] is still to be regarded as a Manticora. Genus Megacephala, ^[136. From filyas, great, and χs^ , head.] Lat. The first three joints of the anterior tarsi of the males dilated, short, almost in the form of a reversed triangle, more strongly ciliated inwards than externally. Labial palpi longer than the maxillary, —their first articulation elongated, projecting beyond the mentum, the second very short, the third very long and cylindrical, the last securiform. Labrum short and transversal, leaving the mandibles exposed. This genus was constituted by Latreille by the removal of certain species of Cicindelae of Fabricius. It occurs both in Africa and America. Those from the former country are apterous, from the latter winged. W’e know littlfe more of their habits than that they are extremely active. We are acquainted with fifteen species, none of which occur in Europe. Μ. megalocephala, Lat. Of a bronzed black colour; the mouth, antennae, and feet pale yellow. Elytra with rows of hollow spots. From Senegal. In the genus Oxycheila of Dejean (Species Gén. t. ĩ. p. 15) the labrum is very large, with a projecting point, and covers the mandibles. It is formed from the Cicindela tristis of Fab., and is named from οξυς, pointed, and χslλος, lip. Genus Cicindela, Lin. (Plate CCXXI. figs. 2 and 5.) The first three joints of the anterior tarsi of the males dilated, elongated, nearly cylindrical, and more strongly ciliated inwards than externally. Labial palpi not surpassing the length of the maxillary; their first two joints very short, the first not passing beyond the extremity of the mentum, the third cylindrical, the last slightly enlarged at its extremity. The name by which our present genus is distinguished is used by Pliny as synonymous with Lampyris, to designate a kind of luminous insect, a frequenter of corn fields.^[137. Plin. viii. c. 26.] It likewise appears to have been applied by ancient writers to various destructive insects which it would now be difficult to identify, although they are no doubt known to naturalists. In modern times it was originally bestowed by Μ. Geoffroy on the species at present classed under the genera Malachius and Telephorus, and was afterwards transferred by Linnaeus to the insects above defined, as well as to other species not now included in Cicindela. Their larvae inhabit holes in the earth, the entrance to which, while the occupant lies in ambuscade, is closed by the upper portion of its head. They are exceedingly [7:9:113] voracious, and seize with their maxillae whatever insect prey approaches within their tyrannous grasp. The bodies of these larvae are long, cylindrical, whitish, and furnished with six scaly feet. When approached by human footsteps, or otherwise threatened by danger, -they rapidly descend into their subterranean retreats. When two of these larvae happen to form their domiciles in the immediate neighbourhood of each other, the stronger devours the weaker, with a view to obviate any interference with his own pursuits. They seal up the entrance to their dwellings when about to change their skins or assume the state of nymph. The perfect insects are extremely beautiful, of light and active forms, exceedingly swift in their motions, and adorned by brilliant metallic colours. The prevailing hues are different shades of golden green, spotted with white or pale yellow. They frequent dry and sandy soils, where they seem to enjoy the prevalence of bright sunshine. The species are extensively distributed over all the regions of the earth. Their organs of locomotion, and those more immediately subservient to the preservation and nutrition of the individual, are very fully developed, and present in the most perfect form all the attributes which distinguish the entomophagous or insect-eating Coleoptera. They were named by Linnaeus the tigers of the insect tribes. “Though decorated with brilliant colours, they prey upon the whole insect race; their formidable jaws, which cross each other, are armed with fearful fangs, showing to what use they are applicable; and the extreme velocity with which they can either run or fly renders hopeless any attempt to elude their pursuit. Their larvae are also equally tremendous with the imago, having six eyes, three on each side, seated on a lateral elevation of the head, which look like those of spiders; and, besides their threatening jaws, armed with a strong internal tooth, being furnished with a pair of spines resembling somewhat the sting of a scorpion, which stand erect upon the back of the abdomen, and give them a most ferocious aspect.”^[138. Iηtrοd. to Entomology, vol. ii. p. 2G3.] It is this last apparatus which, according to Clairville, serves the purpose of an anchor in retaining these larvae at any desired height in their sandy cells. Dejean’s catalogue (2d edition) contains 201 species of the genus Cicindela as now restricted. C. campestris. Green, with five whitish spots on the margin of each elytron, and another in the centre. The spots on the elytra vary in shape and disposition, and some of them are occasionally obliterated. The female has two fuscous spots towards the base of the elytra, and is distinguished, in addition to the more slender tarsi, by having the abdomen divided into six segments; that of the opposite sex consisting of seven, with the penultimate one more or less emarginate. This sexual distinction, first observed by Gyllenhal, exists in most genera of the tribe. This beautiful insect frequents dry sandy places exposed to the sun, most commonly in the neighbourhood of heaths, and is distributed more or less abundantly over all parts of Britain. We have traced it through most of thei Highlands of Scotland, as far as the south of Sutherland, and we doubt not that it extends to the most northern extremity of the island. It is an inhabitant of most European countries, ranging from the shores of the Mediterranean to Siberia. This is the most abundant of the British species, and the only one yet found in Scotland. The supposed species C. Maroccana, Fab. which occurs in Spain and along the coast of Barbary, is now regarded as one of its varieties. Besides the preceding, five or six other species are described as British. C. germanica, an English insect, common in France and Germany, differs in its habits from the rest of the genus. M r hen we attempt to seize it, it does not fly off like the others (although it is winged), but endeavours to escape by running rapidly among the herbage by which it may be surrounded. The genus Euprosopus of Latreille and Dejean, of which the tarsi are equally ciliated on both sides, was established on Cicindela quadrinotata of Fab. The species are said to dwell on trees. In the genus Therates, Lat. the tarsi are nearly alike in both sexes. The internal maxillary palpi are very.small, indistinct, and apparently uniarticulate. The species are confined to the eastern parts of Asia, such as Java, the isles of Sunda, and those to the north of New Holland. C. labiata of Fab. belongs to the genus last named, which is synonymous with Eurychiles of Bonelli.^[139. Mem. della R. Acad. di Torino, xxiii. part 1st, p. 248.] C. Aptera of Olivier forms the genus Tricon-dyla of Latreille. Genus Colliuris, Lat. Fourth articulation of all the tarsi prolonged obliquely inwards in both sexes. Body narrow and elongated. Thorax almost cylindrical, narrowed anteriorly. Antennae short, thickening more or less towards the extremity. Last article of the labial palpi dilated. The title of Colliuris was bestowed originally by Degeer, upon an insect belonging to the genus Casĩionia of Lat. It was established according to its present character by Fabricius under the name of Collyris, which has been altered as above by the majority of authors. These insects appear to be all provided with wings. All the species yet met with have been found in the most southern countries of Asia, and in the islands lying north of New Holland. C. longicollis, Dej. Blue, sometimes tinged with violet. Thighs and hind tarsi ferruginous red. Elytra deeply punctured. This species was taken in Java by the excellent Westermann of Copenhagen, who presented it to Comte Dejean as the true C. longicollis of Lat. The insect so named by Latreille (Gem Crust, et Insect, i. p. 174) is the C. emargiηata of the Species General, t. i. p. 165. We shall conclude our sketch of this tribe by presenting a synoptical view of its most recent constitution, according to the system of Dejean. [7:9:114] [table] Tribe 2ð, Carabici, Lat. This important tribe corresponds to the old and unrestricted genus Carabus of Linnaeus. The maxillae are terminated simply by a point or hook, whieh is not articulated, as in the preceding genera. The head does not exeeed the breadth of the thorax, and is more frequently somewhat narrower. The mandibles, with few exceptions, are but sparingly toothed. The ligula is usually projecting, and the labial palpi exhibit only three free articulations.^[140. J” t I≡ gθ n V a Ciyindela the radical joint is free, on which account the palpi are said to consist of four articulations; but among the Carabici it is adherent and forming only a support to the others, is not itself regarded as an articulation.] Many species are apterous, that is, have no membranous wings beneath the elytra. Their odour is often fetid, and their bodies exude an acrid fluid. The habits and economy both of the larvae and perfect insects are exceedingly various. Some conceal themselves under the earth, others beneath stones, or the bark of trees. They are active in their movements, and are very generally distributed, being, however, more characteristic of temperate than equatorial regions. M. Geoffroy bestowed the generic name of Buprestis upon carabiđeous insects, on account of the injury which he supposed them capable of inflicting on cattle; and it is possible that the caustic ιumour with which many of them are imbued might be produetive of bad effects in the event of their being swallowed along with better and more accustomed pasture. To whatever species this evil tendency was attributed, the ancients appear to have regarded its other characters with admiration, for the physicians of olden times held it as equal in virtue to Cantharides. Linnaeus, however, transferred the name of Buprestis to the genus Cucujus of Geoffroy, although none of the latter genus in any way corresponded to the BoυirgηΛαj is bestowed by Aristotle on a fish.] Weber, Fab. Terminal joint of the palpi almost cylindrical, or slightly enlarged at the extremity. Antennae filiform. Labrum rounded, advanced, and almost entirely covering the mandibles. No tooth in the centre of the emargination of the mentum. Anterior tarsi slightly dilated in the males. Body thick, more or less elongated. Thorax more or less heart-shaped. Elytra convex, not much truncated, or nearly round at their extremity. The insects of this genus are of considerable size. Their usual colours are black spotted with white. They inhabit the African deserts, and are not altogether unknown in those parts of Asia which extend from the Red Sea to Bengal. According to Leschenhault de Latour, they emit a caustic fluid when handled. In the males of some species the thorax is dilated and bilobed posteriorly. Both sexes are destitute of wings. Dejean’s Catalogue contains seventeen species, all of which, except one, are African. A. maxillosa, Lat. Black and smooth. Mandibles very long. Thorax bilobed posteriorly. This is a large insect from the Cape of Good Hope. It measures nearly two inches in length. A. decernguttata, Dej. (Plate CCXXI. fig. 8.) Usually black above, the eyes brownish, a small white spot on eaeh side of the anterior portion of the thorax. The elytra have each four deep grooves, with another in the centre common to both. These grooves are garnished with an ash-coloured or brownish down, which sometimes entirely disappears, and then eaeh groove exhibits two rows of small excavated spots, with a longitudinal and slightly elevated line in the centre. Each elytron has also five spots formed of whitish down,—the first near the base of the exterior margin; the second a little in advance of the middle, in the second groove; the third and fourth rather behind the middle, and on the same line, in the first and third grooves; the fifth near the exterior margin, at the extremity between the second and third grooves. The under parts of the body and feet are of a more shining black. The thighs are sometimes reddish brown. This species is extremely common at the Cape of Good Hope. It is subject to great variation in its markings, and has been described under various names in its different conditions. According to Dejean, the Anthiα quadri-guttαta, Fab. which we have figured in this work (Plate CCXXI. fig. 3), is nothing more than a variety of the above, with three of the spots effaced from each elytron. Genus Graphipterus, ^[143. The name probably refers to what may be construed into an occasional resemblance of written characters upon the wings,— yξα∣p∣⅛ and] Lat. Last article of the palpi cylindrical. Antennae filiform, much shorter than the body. Labrum projecting, rounded, and nearly covering the mandibles. No tooth in the centre of the emargination of the mentum. Anterior tarsi not sensibly dilated in the males. Body large and flattened. Thorax heart-shaped. Elytra plane, broad, of a slightly elongated oval, more or less suborbicular. We owe to Latreille the dismemberment of these insects from the Anthiae, with which they were combined by Fabricius. However, they are equally apterous, inhabit the same parts of the world, and exhibit analogous colours. Although several insects of the north of Africa have been discovered in Italy and the south of Spain, the warmer countries of Europe have as yet been sought in vain for any species of either of the genera just named. G. multiguttαtus, Dej. (Plate CCXXI. fig. 7.) Dull black above, of a brighter black below. Thorax margined with white. The elytra with a sinuous margin of white, and eight spots on each of the same colour. This species was brought by Olivier from Egypt, and given to his friends and correspondents under the above name, although it certainly does not agree with the description of the insect so named by the author in his Entomologie and the Encyclopédie Méthodique. Genus Aptinus, Bonelli. Terminal article of the palpi rather larger than the preceding, and slightly enlarged towards the extremity. Antennae filiform. Labrum short, and leaving the mandibles exposed. No tooth, or a very small one in the centre of the emargination of the mentum. The first three articles of the anterior tarsi sensibly dilated in the males. Thorax heart-shaped. Elytra oval, increasing in breadth towards their extremity.. This genus greatly resembles Erachinus, with which it was combined by Fabrieius, and with which it is still frequently confounded.^[144. All the foreign species of the above genus in the Comte Dejean’s printed Catalogue (1st edition) are Brachinì.] All the species belong to Africa (chiefly the Cape district) and the southern parts of Europe. Like the Brachini, they occur in groups under stones, and affect mountainous situations. They are similarly characterized by their power of emitting a penetrating vapour. The larger species inhabit tropical climates. The A. balista, Dej. measures from five to eight lines in length. It is black, with a fulvous throat and truncated elytra. It occurs in Navarre, and various parts of Spain and Portugal. A smaller species, of a deep black, with sulcated elytra, the antennae and palpi fulvous, the feet russet yellow, was discovered by Dejean among the eastern Pyrenees. It is extremely common under stones on the mountains in the vicinity of Pratz de Mollo, and is named A. pyrenaeus. Genus Brachinus, ^[145. Probably from I shorten, in allusion to the truncated form of the elytra.] Weber, Fab. This genus scarcely differs from the preceding. It is, however, characterized by the possession of wings, the anterior tarsi are not usually dilated in the males, the truncation of the elytra is rather square than oblique, and these parts are usually more parallel, or less enlarged at their extremities, than among the Aptini. [7:9:116] Tlιe Brachini, as far as yet known, have no representative in Scotland. But as the southern parts of the kingdom produce five species, we are not without hope that some of these may ere long be discovered on the northern side of the Tweed. It is, however, evidently a southern genus, for of the nineteen species of the first division of Dejean, only one, the B. Hispanus of Kollar, is found in Europe. It was taken at the southern extremity of Spain, by an Austrian naturalist, who happened to disembark in the bay of Algesiras in the course of his voyage to Brazil. Of the twenty-one species which constitute the second division of the genus, eight occur in Europe; and of these five are English.^[146. The Catalogue des Col. 2d ed. contains seventy-seven in all.] The character by which the generality of these insects are so remarkably distinguished is, that the abdomen contains peculiar organs which secrete a caustic liquor of an extremely penetrating odour. When this is propelled by the insect on any threatened danger, it produces a detonating sound, and evaporates. M. Dumeril has remarked, that when this reservoir is opened by dissection, the liquid effervesces, and evaporates instantaneously. Paper imbued with a blue vegetable dye is changed by its action, first into a reddish hue, and then into yellow. When tlie vesicle which contains it is placed upon the tongue, and compressed, a peculiar and rather agreeable savour is felt in the mouth. A sharp pain, however, soon follows on the spot affected, where a yellow colour becomes perceptible, similar to that produced by a drop of nitric acid. Leon Dufour has made us acquainted with the apparatus employed in the production of this fluid.^[147. ς ,"' sll J^ ļf Brachme Tirailleur, Ann. du Λlιιs. I. χvli. p. 70, and Ann. des Sciences Nat. t. vi. p. 320.] It is stated by Rowlander that the Brachinĩ are capable of producing eighteen or twenty discharges at a time. Mr Stephens has invariably found them ready to discharge their ammunition at all times, especially when roughly handled; and Mr Cooper informed him that a specimen he met with at Cobham in the spring, performed the operation no less than thirteen times in rapid succession·^[148. Stephens· lll..straMns, vol. I. p. 33.] B. JurvnPi, Dej. (Plate CCXXI. fig. 6.) Testaceous. The elytra black, grooved, with the lateral margins and a central spot testaceous. From Senegal. Genus Casnonia, Lat. Terminal article of the palpi of an oval form, almost pointed at the end. Antennae much shorter than the body, their articulations of nearly equal length,—the first being shorter than the head. Tarsi filiform; the last article at most bifid. Thorax in the form of an elongated neck, cylindrical, and very narrow anteriorly. Head nearly lozenge-shaped, prolonged and narrowed posteriorly. The Casnoniae are insects of singular forms, reminding the observer of the aspect of Rαphidia and Apoderus. They composed the original genus Colliuris of Degeer; Linnaeus placed them among his Attelabi, while Fabricius and Herbst ranged them in the genus Odocaηtha. Latreille formed the genus in which we now place them. It is synonymous with Ophionea of Klug.^[149. 2⅛,⅛ te Λ ra ei i ⅛,,≈ S e eei,ncn.] Most of the species come from America. C. cyanocephala occurs in Bengal. Genus Odocantha, Fab. Characters nearly the same as the preceding. Thorax elongate oval, nearly cylindrical. Head oval, narrowed behind, but not posteriorly prolonged. 0. melanura i Fab. Greenish blue, the base of the antennae, chest, and feet testaceous. The elytra testaceous, with a spot of blackish blue at the extremities. The ends of the thighs black. . 1 Dejean retains only two species in this genus, as above defined, viz. the one just described, which is the sole British species, and 0. Dorsalis. The former insect occurs in the temperate and colder countries of Europe, in moist and marshy places; the latter is from North America. W’e pass over the genus Zuphium, of which one species, Z. olens, is remarkable for occurring in France, Spain, Italy, the southern provinces of Russia, and the East Indies,—the genus Polistichus, of which P. fasciolαtus is found in Britain,—the genus Helluo of Bonelli, of which all the species are foreign to Europe,—the genus Drypta, which has representatives in Africa, New Holland, and the East Indies, and of which D. emargiηata is British (for a representation of D. ruficollis, see Plate CCXXI. fig. 9) j —the genera Galerita, Ctemodactyla, Agra, Cyrnin∙ dis, Lat. (Tarns, Clairville, of which T. basalis, Gyll. occurs in the south of Scotland), and Calleidα. Genus Demetrias, Bon. Hooks of the tarsi dentateđ beneath. Terminal article of the palpi cylindrical. The first three articles of the tarsi almost triangular, the last strongly bilobed. Body elongated. Head oval, slightly narrowed posteriorly. These little insects, as far as we know, are all European. They are frequent in spring, on briars and hedges. We have four British species, one of which, D. obscurus, we owe to the recent researches of Mr Newman. Genus Dromius, ^[150. ⅛m S l , fu .s, a rnnnsr.] Bon. Resembles the preceding; but the articles of the tarsi are entire, and nearly cylindrical. The species are apterous. The Dromii formed part of the genus Lebia of Latreille, till their separation by Bonelli. They are almost all European, and are commonly found under stones, and beneath the bark of trees. Britain produces about twenty species. Genus Lebia. Hooks of the tarsi dentated beneath. Terminal article of the palpi nearly cylindrical and oval, and truncated at the end, but never securiform. Antennae filiform. Articles of the tarsi nearly triangular or heart-shaped, the penultimate bifid or bilobed. Body short and flat. Thorax short, transversal, broader than the head, prolonged posteriorly in the middle. Elytra broad, and nearly square. This genus, which is comparatively numerous in European species, and is likewise known in America, and more sparingly in Africa, has been divided by Bonelli into two. The type of the first division (genus Lanιprias) is Leb. chloτocephala, a beautiful little insect, of a brilliant bluish green, with the base of the antennae, legs, breast, and thorax red, the tarsi black. It occurs occasionally near Edinburgh, and has been taken as far north as Lairig, in Sutherland. The type of Lebia proper is L. crux minor, and this second division is characterized by the penultimate joint of the tarsi being bilobed, while in the first it is said to be simple. However, as far as we are able to perceive from an inspection of our north-country specimens, there is a bilobation in that part also in Lam~ prias. But other distinctive characters will be found detailed in the works of Messrs Curtis and Stephens, both of whom follow Bonelli in regarding the two divisions as distinct genera. Dejean’s Catalogue contains sixty-four species. [7:9:117] [table] [7:9:118] [table] [7:9:119] Section 2d, Bipartiti, Lat. Scaritides, Dej. Almost all the genera of this group (seventeen in number in the system of Dejean) were constituent portions of the old genus Scarites of Fabricius and Olivier. They possess several characters in common. The exterior palpi are not subulate or awl-shaped at their extremity. The elytra are not terminated by a truncation, but are either entire or slightly sinuated. The abdomen is separated from the thorax by an obvious intermediate neckshaped portion.^[151. The foreign genus Ozoena, in which the peduncle is scarcely perceptible, may be regarded as an exception to the last-named character.] The first article of the antennae is always the largest. The anterior legs are often broad and palmateđ, and strongly notched interiorly. The anterior tarsi present no marked disparity in the sexes, and are unprovided with brushes beneath; but simply ciliated.^[152. Species Général, t. i. p. 355.] In the Coléoptères d'Europe of MM. Latreille and Dejean, the Scaritides seem to be regarded as not carnivorous. But in opposition to this opinion, so contrary to analogy, we have the authority, as Mr Macleay has noted, of two accurate observers, MM. Olivier and Lefebre de Cerisy. The latter, who resides at Toulon, possesses peculiar facilities for acquiring a knowledge of their natural habits. He states them to be nocturnal insects of prey, which, during the day, lurk motionless in holes of the earth, and sally out at night to attack Melolonthidae and other insects.^[153. Annulοsa Jaνanica, No. i p. 24.] The insects included in this division are rather strongly distinguished from the conterminous groups. As they are destined to live chiefly beneath the surface of the earth, their structure is more peculiarly adapted than that of the other Coleoptera to a subterranean mode of life. The body is narrow, the anterior thighs thickened, the tibiae dilated, and furnished with strong spines, presenting a broad surface, well fitted to remove the soil ;— the head and thorax are strong, and the latter is attached to the abdomen by a short peduncle or footstalk. In the last-mentioned particular they differ from most other pentamerous beetles, which usually have the thorax closely applied to the abdomen, and the hinder angles rectangular or even salient, which necessarily prevents any considerable degree of lateral motion. But in insects which excavate holes scarcely exceeding their body in width, some provision is necessary to enable them to turn their anterior portion in different directions, otherwise their progress would be nearly in a straight line. This object, which is analogous to that which is provided for in moles and other burrowing quadrupeds, by the flexibility of the vertebral column, is attained by the interposition of a narrow cylindrical piece between the abdomen and thorax, on which the latter moves as on a pivot, its hinder angles being rounded off that its motions may be performed with greater facility. The form of the antennae is likewise in beautiful accordance with the habits of the insects. They arc composed of nearly globular articulations attached to each other by a slender filament, bearing some resemblance to a series of beads rather loosely strung. By a structure of this kind, they are rendered greatly more pliant and flexile than in the other Pentamera (the joints oř the antennae in which are generally conical), and therefore present no obstacle to the insect’s progress through a resisting medium.^[154. Εntοrnοlοgia Εdinensis, p. 77·] These insects are usually of a uniform black colour. The larva of Ditomus bucephalus, the only one that has been attended to, presents, according to Latreille, the same form and habits of life as those of Cicindelae. They are more particularly characteristic of torrid countries, although Great Britain and the rest of Europe produce several genera. Genus Enceladus, Bon. Scarites, Oliv. Mentum inarticulate, soldered, covering almost all the under part of the head, strongly notched, with a bifid tooth in the centre. Terminal article of the labial palpi distinctly securiform. Antennae filiform; the first article a little longer than the others. The species of this genus differ from most of their section in having their anterior tibiae unemarginatc, which allies them to the Simplicimaηes of Dejean, or Grandipαl-pi of Lat. The example figured, E. gigas (sec Plate CCXXI. fig. 4), is a large insect of which the locality seems doubtful. Latreille believed it to come from Madagascar and equinoctial Africa, while Dejean regards it as South American. Genus Acanthoscelis, Lat. Scarites, Fab. Mentum articulated, almost plane, strongly trilobed. Labrum very short, tridentated. Mandibles large, advanced, strongly toothed interiorly. Terminal article of the labial palpi almost cylindrical. Antennae moniliform; the first article very large; the others much less, but enlarging insensibly towards the extremity. Body short and convex. Thorax convex, transverse, almost square. Elytra short, and very convex. Anterior tibiae strongly palmated; posterior short, broad, arched, and spinous. Trochanters almost as large as the posterior thighs. This genus is formed upon Scarites ruficornis of Fab. (Plate CCXXI. fig. 17), an insect above eight lines in length, black, with the palpi and antennae ferruginous. It is native to the Cape of Good Hope. Genus Scarites, ^[155. From I run swiftly.] Fab. Mentum articulated, concave, strongly trilobcd. Labrum, mandibles, and terminal article of the palpi as in the preceding genus. Body rather elongated, cylindrical, or slightly flattened. Thorax convex, almost crescent-shaped, notched anteriorly, rounded posteriorly, and frequently somewhat prolonged in the middle. Anterior tibiae strongly palmated, posterior simple. Trochanters much shorter than the posterior thighs. The insects of our present genus are of considerable size, of a black colour, usually shining, and are characteristic of sandy countries near the sea coast, or of districts impregnated with saline particles. They occur in the warmer countries of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. Dejean enumerates fifty-eight species. Three are said to occur in Britain, /S'. Bechwithu of Stephens, S. subterraneus, and N. laevigatus, Fab. The two latter are, however, doubtful natives. The second is in fact an American insect (see Plate CCXXI. fig, 10),—the third is frequent in the south of France, and along the Mediterranean shores. Genus Clivina, ^[156. clivina is tlιe name of an au ≡ urιal bιrd mentl0ned by Pliny.] Lat. Scarites, Fab. Mentum articulate, concave, and trilobed. Labium slightly advanced, and cut almost square. Mandibles slightly projecting, not toothed interiorly. Terminal article of the labial palpi almost cylindrical. Antennae moniliform; the first article as long as the two succeeding united. Body more or less elongated. Thorax square or globular. Anterior tibiae almost always palmateđ. [7:9:120] These small insects are usually found under stones, by the banks of rivers, and elsewhere. They are common all over Europe, more especially in its southern parts. They also occur in Africa, America, and the East Indies. We have two British species, C. fossor, Gyllenhal, which is brownish black, with the mouth, antennae, and legs rufous, the elytra punctate striate, of the same colour as the thorax,—and C. collaris of Herbst, of which the head and thorax are brownish black, and the elytra chesnut colour. Dejean regards the one as a variety of the other. They are described as distinct by English entomologists. We lately found a rare and interesting species, C. arctica, on the mountain range on the north side of the valley of Clova, in Forfarshire. It is known to occur, though rarely, in Lapland, the north of Sweden, Finland, and sometimes as far to the east as the environs of St Petersburg. It forms the genus Leiochiton of Curtis,^[157. British Entomology, vol. viii. p. 34G. Of the genus Climnα, including Dischiτius, &c. Dejean’s Catalogue enumerates forty-four species.] so named from λΐ/o¢, smooth, and γιτοv, a covering, the upper surface and other parts being remarkable for glossiness. The genus T)yschirius, Bonelli (named from δυς, two, and γ⅛ai, a division of the foot or leg), which some au thors do not admit as distinct from Clwina, contains those species of which the thorax is globular, and the anterior tibiae palmated only at the extremity, and simple exteriorly. Sixteen species are found in Britain.^[158. We take our indications of the amount of indigenous species from Mr Stephens’ Nomenclature of British Insects. Second edition. 1833.] Genus Ditomus, Bon. Mentum articulated, concave, and trilobed. Labrum slightly notched. Labial palpi slightly elongated, the terminal article almost cylindrical. Antennae filiform, the articles elongated and nearly filiform. Thorax cordiform or crescent-shaped. Anterior tibiae not palmated. This genus was established by Bonelli on the Scαurus sulcatus, and certain Cαral>i of Fabricius, which Rossi and Olivier had placed in Scarites. The species are of middle size, dark or blackish in their colouring, and frequently deeply punctured. They inhabit the southern parts of Europe, the north of Africa, and the west of Asia. We have figured D. violaceus on the plate last referred to, fig. 16. D.fulvipes of Lat. a common insect in the south of France, and occurring, though rarely, as far north as Paris, has some claims to be regarded as a British species. We are acquainted with eighteen species in all. [7:9:121] [table] [7:9:122] [table] remarkabNsahent^btu^e or°tnιr∣∩a^priant 1 1) entu m is always, according to Latreille, in this as well as in the two following genera, des (oreillettes). ’ θ en , an is accompanied by two distinct membranous paraglossae in the form of auri- Section 3d, Quadrimani, Lat. Harpalici, Bon. In this division Latreille includes those groups of Carabici which, resembling the preceding in the pointed termination of the elytra, have the four anterior tarsi dilated in the males; the first three or four articulations are in the form of a reversed heart or triangle, and are nearly all terminated by acute angles; their under part is usually furnished (excepting the Aphonι) with two ranges of papillae or scales, with an intermediate linear space. The body is always winged, generally oval and arched, or convex above, with the thorax broader than long, or at most nearly isometrical, square, or trapezoidal. The head is never suddenly contracted posteriorly. The antennae are of equal thickness throughout, or are slightly and insensibly enlarged towards the extremity. The mandibles are never remarkably strong. The external palpi are terminated by an oval or fusiform joint of greater length than that which precedes it. The tooth of the notch or emargination of the mentum is always entire,—in some wanting.^[159.] The legs are robust, the tibiae spiny, and the hooks of the tarsi simple. The intermediate tarsi, even in the females, are short, and, with the exception of the dilatation, are formed nearly like the anterior. The species prefer warm and sandy situations exposed to the sun. Genus Harpalus, Lat. Dej. (Plate CCXXI. fig. 11.) The first four articles of the four anterior tarsi strongly dilated in the males, broader than long, and very decidedly triangular, or cordiform. Terminal article of the palpi somewhat elongated, slightly oval, or almost cylindrical and truncated at the extremity. Antennae filiform. Labrum in the form of a transverse square. Mandibles slightly advanced, arcuated, and not very sharp. A simple tooth, more or less developed, in the middle of the emargination of the mentum. Body oblong, more or less elongated. Head more or less rounded, narrowed posteriorly. Thorax more or less square, cordiform, or trapezoidal. Elytra more or less elongated, and almost parallel. The genus Harpalus of Latreille, as conceived in his Genera Crustaceorum et Insectorum, comprised all those insects which Dejean has united in the tribes Harpaliens and Peroniens, and the genera Callistus, Codes, Chlaenius, Epomis, and Dinodes, of the Patellimanes of the latter author. Bonelli, in his Observations Entomologiques, reduced the genus to the insects which now constitute the tribe Harpaliens of Dejean, itself consisting of twenty-eight genera. The Harpalidae of the British writers include, besides our present genus, many genera of the sections afterwards mentioned under the names of Simplicimani and Pateĩlirnani. The genus Harpalus, even as now restricted and above defined, is very extensive, and probably contains nearly one half of the species of the section. The larva? of these insects, as far as we are acquainted with them, dwell beneath the ground. Their form is conico-cylindrical; their head large, armed with strong mandibles, resembling those of the perfect insect; the posterior part of their body exhibits a membranous tube, terminated by a prolongation of the anal region, and two fleshy articulated appendages. Their metamorphoses are likewise subterranean. The Harpali are distributed over all the earth. They are, however, obviously more abundant in the temperate and even boreal regions of the northern hemisphere, than in equinoctial or southern countries. Comte Dejean’s collection contains 179 species, while Mr Stephens enumerates (including the doubtful kinds) 58 species as indigenous to Britain, besides 15 Ophoηi, which Dejean combines with Harpalus. We may name as one of the most abundant of the genus H. ruĵicornis, of a pitchy-black’colour, the antennae and legs rufous, the elytra pubescent striated, the interstices punctured. This insect is spread over all Europe. We took it at Cape Wrath. It occurs in Siberia. Μ. Gou-dot brought it from Northern Africa. H. oeneus is distinguished by various shades of green above, with a brassy or coppery lustre; the under side black; external margin of the elytra punctulated, the antennae and legs rufous. This species is extremely variable. It is generally of a rich bronzed green; the males highly polished, the females more obscure, sometimes brownish black. Mr Kirby once took a specimen of this insect, which he immersed in hot water, and was surprised to observe what he at first supposed an intestine thrust itself forth; on a nearer inspection he found it was an intestinal worm, thicker than a horse-hair, and of a brown colour.^[160.] This group (the Quadrimani), in the system of Dejean (where it is named Harpaliens), includes many minor genera not recognised in the īíègne Animal, and contains the genera Tetragonoderus and Pelecium, which in Latreille’s arrangement belong to other sections. As we cannot enter into a detailed exposition of the characters of those genera, we shall here exhibit Dejean’s latest views by means of a synoptical table. as occ j ur r n t e h ar Edinbmŵ iľourì^ZXÏ fĨI ⅛ th θ wor ⅛ of Messrs Stephens and Curtis. We have described such neaι Edinburgh in our Entornologia Łdmenm. lhe characters of the foreign kinds are detailed in Dejean’s Sperìa Général. [7:9:123] [table] [7:9:124] Section 4th, Simplicimani. This section resembles the preceding so far as regards the termination of the elytra;^[161. 'tvhÍĴ fnr⅛n th ! re ∙ are < excep L 10n f t0 ∕ he r 11 le f-“Plusieurs Carabiques simplicimanes,” says Latreille, “ont l’extrémité de leurs p.'399.) t t uée au bout, et se dls tmguant a peine, sous ce rapport, des Troncatipennes.” (Note to Règne Animal, t. iv.] but the two anterior tarsi only are dilated in the males, without however forming a square or orbicular pallet; sometimes the first three articles are obviously broader, and the succeeding one is in that case always much less than its antecedent; sometimes the latter and the two preceding ones are larger, almost equal, and in the form of a reversed or triangular heart. The joints of the four following tarsi are more slender and elongated, almost cylindrical, or in the form oí a lengthened and reversed cone. The Simplicimani of Latreille consist of genera belonging to the tribe Carabiques Feroniens of Dejean, with the addition of Tetragonoderus∙> Dejean (Harpalici), Catascopus, Kirby (Truncatipennes), and a few others. Genus Zabrus, Clairville. The first three articles of the anterior tarsi dilated in the males, broader than long, strongly cordiform. Terminal article of the palpi almost cylindrical, and truncated at the extremity. Antennae filiform, and but slightly lengthened. Labrum of a square form, broader than long, slightly notched anteriorly. Mandibles little advanced, rather strongly arcuated, almost obtuse. A simple tooth in the middle of the emargination of the mentum. Body thick and convex. Thorax transverse, square, trapezoidal, or rounded on the sides. Elytra convex, rarely elongated, frequently very short, almost parallel, and rounded at the extremity. These insects are usually found under stones, or marching about the fields, occasionally on the stalks of grass or other herbage. We are acquainted with about twenty species, of which not more than two are British. The majority of the others occur in the southern parts of Europe. There is one from Teneriffe. Genus Feronia, Lat. Dej. The first three articles of the anterior tarsi dilated in the males, broader than long, and strongly triangular or cordiform. Terminal article of the palpi more or less elongated, cylindrical, or slightly securiform. Antennae filiform, more or less lengthened. Labrum square, broader than long, sometimes almost transversal, quadrate anteriorly, or slightly notched. Mandibles more or less advanced, and more or less arcuated and pointed. A bifid tooth in the middle of the emargination of the mentum. Thorax more or less cordiform, rounded, square, or trapezoidal, never transverse. Elytra more or less elongated, oval, or parallel. Intermediate tibiae always straight. A great variety of opinion is maintained by entomologists regarding the distribution of the component parts of this extensive genus. Bonelli, in the synoptical table annexed to the first part of his Observations Eηtomolo~ giques (in 1809), published the generic characters of Pla~ tysma, Poecilus, Abax, Molops, Percus, Melanius, and Pterostichus. At an after period MM. Megerle and Ziegler established Argutor, Steropus, Cophosus, and Omaseus, the latter genus, it is believed, corresponding {,o Melanius of Bonelli. All these were admitted provisionally into the first edition of I omte Dejean’s Catalogue, published in 1821. In the third volume, however, of the Species General of that great collector, he observes as follows: “Ma collection depuis cette époque s’etant considérablement augmentée, je me suis trouvé souvent tres-embarassé pour placer dans ces différents genres les espèces qui je recevais, surtout les exotiques, et quelquefois plusieurs d’entre elles me paraissaient intermédiaires entre deux genres, et appartenir autant à l’un qu’à l’autre. Plus je recevais d’insectes, plus je me trouvais embarassé, et lorsque je voulus classer definitivement toutes mes espèces dans chaque genre, et établir les caractères de chacun de ces genres, après plusieurs essais infructueux, je finis par être convaincu que cela était réellement impossible.” Dejean then thought of following the example of Sturm, who reduces (in his Deutschlands Fauna) all the genera above named to those of Abax, Molops, Pterostichus, and Platysma·, but after a deliberate re-examination, even these did not appear sufficiently marked; and he finally determined to combine them all in one under the name of Feronia, a term previously used in a comprehensive sense by Latreille in the first edition of the Pegne Animal. The genus Feronia, then, of Dejean is one of the most extensive in the coleopterous order, containing above 230 species. It is subdivided by the last-named author into ten sections, corresponding to the same number of genera as established by Bonelli, Megerle, Ziegler, and Sturm. According to Latreille’s views, the genus is divisible into three groups as follows: Isí, The species, generally winged, of which the body, more or less oval, is a little convex or arcuated above, with the antennae more filiform, the head proportionally narrower, and the mandibles somewhat less projecting. In their habits these insects approach the genera Harpalus and Zabrus. Such are the Amaxoe, of which the thorax is transverse (and which Dejean admits as a distinct genus); the Pcecili, where it is almost as long as broad, and where the rather short antennae have the third article compressed and angular; and the Argutoτes, which resemble the Paecili, but have proportionally shorter antennae, with the third joint not angular. 2√, The species usually furnished with wings, but of which the body is straight, plane, or horizontal above, with the head nearly as wide as the body. Such is the genus Platysma of Bonelli, to which Latreille unites Ornα-seus of Ziegler and Dejean, and Catadromus of Macleay. 3d, This division contains Feroniae, analogous to those of the preceding one in their general characters, but distinguished by the want of wings.^[162. For a further exposition of Latreille’s views, see Règne Animal, torn. iv. p. 395.] We shall conclude by observing that our English entomologists have adopted all those minor genera, in so far as they are applicable to the British species, and have even proposed several others of still more limited application. We regret that our necessarily narrow limits prevent our entering into minute details.^[163. 'or the arrangement of the indigenous species, see Mr Stephens’ Nomenclature of British Insects, 2d edition.] We shall merely indicate a few of the species. F. madida is shining black, the elytra ovate, rather convex, subpunctate-striate, with a puncture on the third interstice a little behind the middle. This is the F. concinna of Sturm and Dejean. A variety occurs with the thighs and sometimes the tibiae rufous; it constitutes the F. madida of the latter author. They are not distinct. Both varieties are in this country among the most common of coleopterous insects, occurring beneath stones, at the roots of trees, &c. both on low grounds and on mountains. They seem less common in Germany than in any other country in Europe. F. ηi-gritα is also of frequent occurrence in all parts of Britain. It is of a shining black, the thorax subquadrate, narrowed behind, the elytra with obsoletely punctured striae, and three impressed dots on the disk. F. orinonιum is likewise[7:9:125] shining black, often faintly tinged with brassy; elytra striated, with more than four impressed dots on the disk of each. By the comparison of an extensive series of •specimens of this insect which we have collected in various parts of Scotland, we are satisfied that F. ( Om asciis') Bnlwerii of Stephens is not specifically distinct. A species frequent under stones in woods and fields, and the last which we shall here mention, is F. melanaria. It is black, apterous, moderately convex, the thorax with a bi-striated fovea in each of its posterior angles, the elytra with striae nearly impunctate. Genus Broscus, Panzer. Cephalotes, Bon. First three articles of the anterior tarsi dilated in the males, broader than long, and decidedly cordiform. Terminal article of the labial palpi elongated and slightly securiform. Antennae filiform, and but slightly lengthened. Labrum of a square form, broader than long, almost transverse. Mandibles slightly arcuated, and rather sharp. A simple tooth in the middle of the emargination of the mentum. Thorax cordiform, convex, and much contracted posteriorly. Elytra rather long, slightly oval, or parallel. This genus was established by Bonelli on the Carabus cephalotes of Fabricius, and was also distinguished about the same period by Panzer under the name of Broscιιs. We adopt the latter term as more familiar to the English collectors. Of the five species with which we are acquainted, two belong to Europe, one to the north of Africa, one to Mount Sinai, and the fifth to Asia Minor. They are all of considerable size, and bear a resemblance to the genus Stempus of Megerle. The only British species is B. cephalotes, which is of an elongated form, black, with the head thinly punctured, and the elytra very finely punctate-striate. It occurs in ţsandy places over many parts of Britain; and in the vicinity of Edinburgh is plentiful under stones, and marine rejectamenta, on the shore between Portobello and Musselburgh. We found it as far north as Keoldale, near Cape Wrath. The attitude this insect assumes when disturbed is rather peculiar. The two anterior pair of legs are brought close together, and extended straight outwards at right angles with the under surface of the body. The hind legs are bent upwards, and project in a similar way from the opposite surface. The antennae are drawn close to the sides of the thorax, and the mandibles extended to their utmost stretch, while a considerable degree of rigidity is imparted to the whole. It takes this posture most readily in cold weather; at other times, when more active, it prefers seeking safety by flight, or by burrowing in the sand.^[164. Εntοrn,οlοgia Εdinensis, p. 82.] “The habit of these insects,” it is elsewhere observed, “is very curious. They are found only in the sand on the sea shore, and live in dens about three inches deep and half an inch wide, which are made in a diagonal position in the sand, where it is mixed with decomposed stalks of Elymus arenarius. They appear to rove during the day occasionally; but upon any alarm they run swiftly to their dens, projecting from the mouths of which their heads may be seen watching for prey. On holding another beetle to the hole, the one within would immediately seize hold of it with its jaws, and continue so tightly fixed as to suffer itself to be drawn out without quitting its hold. They appear to be very ferocious insects; and, from the number of elytra and other parts strewed about the sand, I it may be supposed that they prey on each other.’^[165. Entomological Magazine, No. 1, p∙ 92.] The latter observation, we may remark, applies to many insects; although the human race (certainly in that respect the most noted) have been supposed to present the only instances of identical species waging war upon each other. Even tiger fell and sullen bear, Their likeness and their lineage spare. Man only mars kind nature’s plan, And turns the fierce pursuit on man.^[166. Iiokcby, canto iii∙] The natural position of the genus Broscus seems to be that assigned it by Mr Curtis, between the Scaritides and the species which in the Eniomologia Ediηcn s is is placed at the head of the genus Feronia, viz. F. madida (Steτo-pus madidus, Meger.). In common with the former, Broscus possesses an elongated form, rather short stout legs, and a pedunculated thorax, which adapt it to a subterraneous mode of life. In the latter the thorax is also pedunculated, and the legs thick and strong, while the more rigid structure of the antennae, admitting less easily of being applied to the sides of the thorax to facilitate progression in a cylindrical hole, together with the general configuration of most of the other parts, assimilate it more decidedly to the other Feroniae, to which its habits perfectly correspond. Genus Mormolyce, Hagenbach.^[167. ^p τm, >ly ce Novum Coleopter or um Genus, Nuremberg, 1825.] Exterior palpi very short; the terminal article cylindrical, and almost rounded at the extremity. Antennae setaceous, almost as long as the body; the third article as long as the two following. Labrum almost square, notched anteriorly. Mandibles short, arcuated, rather sharp, and toothed interiorly. A simple tooth in the middle of the emargination of the mentum. Body remarkably depressed. Head narrow, elongated, much prolonged posteriorly. Thorax almost lozenge-shaped. Elytra flat, thin, greatly dilated, much wider and longer than the abdomen. The aspect of this genus is one of the most remarkable with which we are acquainted. We place it among the Simplieimani (Feroηieηs) in accordance with the example of Latreille and Dejean, the latter of whom observes, “J’ai placé cet insecte près des Sphodrus, mais ce n’est qui provisiorement, car j’ignore de quelle maniéré les tarses sont dilatés dans les males, et même s’ils ne sont pas semblables dans les deux sexes.” In regard to its locality he further observes, “D’après Μ. Hagenbach, elle se trouve dans la partie occidentale de Java; d’autres personnes croient qu’elle vient de la Cochin-Chine.”^[168. Species General, t. v. part 2, p. 714∙] Our recent acquisition of an extensive series of specimens of the only known species enables us to determine both of those doubtful points. The tarsi are alike in both sexes, and our collection was brought from Java. ∙ The insect above alluded to {Mormolyce phyllodes, Plate CCXXI. fig. 13^[169. 1he parts of the mouth are represented on the same plate, fig. 12, a, b, c, d.]) measures nearly three inches in length and an inch and a half across the dilated portion of the elytra. It is entirely of a blackish-brown colour, somewhat paler on the edges of the abdomen. It is furnished with wings, and the elytra have the appearance of being reticulated. The figure just referred to will convey an accurate idea of its form. We have supplied the principal collections of Europe with this rare and singular insect, of which, says Dejean, to whom wc had the pleasure to transmit a pair, “il est presque impossible de se faire la moindre idée par la description.” Fie also terms it “un insecte extraordinaire, qui parait appartenir au premier aspect à la famille des -Mantis, mais qui est cependant un Coléoptère, et même un veritable Carabique, ainsi qu’il est facile de s’en convaincre par ses caractères generiques.” Passing over the genus Sphodrus, of which S. leucoph-thαlmus is the only British species, we come to Genus Calathus, Bon. First three articles of the [7:9:126] anterior tarsi dilated in the males. Hooks or the tarsi toothed beneath. Terminal article of the palpi elongated, almost cylindrical, and truncated at the extremity. Antennae rather elongated, filiform, and slightly compressed. Labrum of a square form, broader than long, very slightly notched anteriorly. Mandibles not much advanced, slightly arcuated, and rather sharp. A bifid tooth in the middle of the emargination of the mentum. Thorax trapezoidal, or almost square, little, if at all, contracted posteriorly. Elytra rather elongated, slightly oval, little contracted anteriorly, and rounded at the extremity. This genus, as Mr Stephens observes, presents a peculiar outline from the shape of the head, trapeziform thorax, and elliptic elytra, by which it is readily distinguished from the neighbouring genera. The species usually reside among short herbage on banks, and are frequently observed upon quick-hedges.^[170. ĩllus. of Brit. Ent. vol. i. p. 98.] They are generally of a black or brown colour, rarely metallic. They are extremely active in their movements. The only species we shall here notice is the C. microcephalus of Dejean,^[171. Speciet Général, t. iii. p, 78.] which we discovered in the summer of 1832 in the highlands of Forfarshire, Perthshire, and Aberdeenshire. It forms an addition to our British species, and is distinguishable from the others by the following characters :—Shining black; antennae, palpi, legs, and margin of the thorax testaceous; the thorax rather long, somewhat narrowed behind, with the hinder angles obtuse; elytra not much elongate, with slender impunctate striae, the second and third from the suture with two impressed points. In size it nearly agrees with the very common C ’. melanocephalus. On the continent it occurs in Sweden, France, Switzerland, and Germany, chiefly in woods and on mountains. Here follows the synoptical table of the preceding section, according to the system of Dejean, and including many genera of which we cannot give the detailed characters. [table] [7:9:127] [table] [7:9:128] Section 5th, Patellimani, Lat. This section is chiefly distinguished from the preceding by the mode in which the two anterior tarsi are dilated in the males; the first joints (usually the first three, then the fourth, in others only the first two) sometimes square, sometimes partly of that form, and the others heart-shaped or reversed triangular, but always rounded at their extremity, and not terminated, as in the preceding sections, by acute angles,—form an orbicular pallet or lengthened square, of which the under surface is usually furnished with brushes or close set papillae, without any intermediate (vacancy. The legs are generally long and slender. The thorax is frequently narrower throughout its whole extent than the abdomen. The species frequent, for the most part, moist places on the banks of rivers. In the Règne Animal this (section is composed of the Patellimq,ηi of Dejean, of a portion of his Feroniens (Gen. Dolichus, Platynus, Agonum, Anchomenus, Patrobus'), and of the genus Pelicium of Kirby, referred to the Uarpaliens in the Species General. It is subdivided by Latreille into two principal groups. a. Head insensibly contracted behind. Genus Agonum, Bon. First three articles of the anterior tarsi dilated in the males, longer than broad, and slightly triangular or cordiform. Terminal article of the palpi lengthened, cylindrical, more or less oval, and truncated at the extremity. Antennae filiform, rather elongated. Labrum slightly convex, of a square form, broader than long, almost transversal. Mandibles not much advanced, slightly arcuated, rather sharp. A simple tooth in the middle of the emargination of the mentum. Thorax more or less rounded, without obvious posterior angles. Elytra oval, more or less elongated. Of this genus A. sexpunctatum is a beautiful species, of which the head and thorax are golden green, the elytra copper-red, finely striated, and impressed with six large punctures. There is only one recorded instance of its being taken in Scotland,—on the banks of the water of Leith, a little to the west of Edinburgh.^[172. Ent. Ed. p. 99.] Several other species are, however, common in Scotland. There are about thirty kinds in Britain; and l)ejean s collection contains fifty-six. The genus Anchomenus is nearly allied to the preceding, but the labrum is plane, the thorax more or less cordiform, with obvious posterior angles. The body is not so flat. We are acquainted with above forty kinds, of which not more than five inhabit Britain. We consider Platynus aηgusticollis as belonging to this genus. In the genus Chlaenius of Bonelli, the tooth of the enιargination of the mentum is bifid, the external maxillary palpi are terminated by an almost cylindrical article, slightly restricted at the base, that of the labial being in the form of a reversed and lengthened cone. There are 115 species of this extensive genus, of which about eight are as yet recognised as British. They are ornamental insects, being frequently adorned with green, and burnished with a metallic lustre. They are spread over almost all the earth,—Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. They seem, however, rare in the southern division of the new world, and, as far as we know, have not yet been found in New Holland.^[173. j le sect i ona I division of this genus, see Dejean’s Species Général, t. ii. p. 297.] Carabzιs saρonarizιs of Olivier,^[174. Coléoptères, t. iii. p. 35, Pl. 3. fig. 26.] which is used in Africa instead of soap, belongs to the genus Chlaenius. It was brought from Senegal by Μ. Geoffroy, fils. In the genus Licinus the first two articles of the anterior tarsi are dilated in the males. The terminal article of the palpi is broad and securiform, and there is no tooth in the middle of the emargination of the mentum. The species are confined to Europe and the north of Africa. In the genus Badister the first three articles of anterior tarsi are dilated in the males, and the terminal article of the palpi is oval. The species are confined to Europe. b. Head suddenly contracted behind the eyes. This division of the Patellimani contains the genera Pelicium of Kirby and Cynthia of Lat., both from South America, and three other genera, viz. Panagaeus (see Plate CCXXI. fig. 15), of which the head is very small compared to the size of the body,— Loricera (Ibid. fig. 14), of which the first joint of the antennae is robust, almost as longas the three following united, the second and fourth short, with strong hairs, the third longer than the second, likewise furnished with hairs,—and Patrobus. [7:9:129] [table] [7:9:130] Anterior tibiae without an emarginatĩon on the internal side, or presenting one that begins close to their extremity, or that does not extend on their anterior face, and forms merely an oblique and linear canal. Section 6th, Granüxpalpi, Lat. Simplicipedes, Dej. In this section of the Carabici the ligula is often extremely short, terminated in a point in the centre of its summit, and accompanied by pointed paraglossae. The mandibles are robust. The terminal joint of the exterior palpi is usually larger, compressed into the form of a reversed triangle, or hatchet-shaped in some,—almost spoonshaped in others.^[175.] The eycs are prominent. The elytra are entire, or simply sinuated at their posterior extremity. The abdomen is usually hulky when compared to the other parts of the body. These Çarabici are for the most part of great size, often richly coloured, or ornamented with metallic splendour. They are active in their movements, and voracious in their dispositions. They are divisible into three groups. Isŕ, Body always thick, without wings; labrum always bilobed; terminal article of the external palpi always very large; emarginatĩon of the mentum toothless; internal side of the mandibles entirely dentated (or nearly so) throughout their length. Genus Pamborus, Lat. Tarsi similar in both sexes. Terminal article of the palpi securiform. Antennae filiform. Labrum bilobed. Mandibles but slightly projecting, greatly curved, strongly toothed interiorly. Mentum almost plane, slightly notched anteriorly. Thorax almost cordiform. Elytra elongate oval. This genus is formed upon a large insect from New Holland, the P. alternans, which we have represented in Plate CCXXII. fig. 1. It is the only one yet known. In a collection received some time ago from New Holland (transmitted to the Edinburgh Museum by Colonel Lindsay), and submitted to our examination by Professor Jameson, there is either a distinct species, or a strongly marked variety,—the third and fourth striae of the elytra being much more regular than usual. Comte Dejean, with whom we communicated on the subject, regards it as a species. Genus Cychrus, Fab. Tarsi similar in the two sexes. Terminal article of the palpi very strongly securiform, almost spoon-shaped, and more dilated, in the males. Antennae setaceous. Labrum bifid. Mandibles narrow, and toothed interiorly. Mentum strongly notched. Thorax cordiform, little, if at all, raised at the edges, and not prolonged posteriorly. Elytra fixed, carinated laterally, and embracing the sides of the abdomen. C. rostratus is common all over Britain, and is sometimes taken at a great height upon the mountains. C. elongatus and attenuatus are said to occur in England. We. have represented that discovered by Professor Bonelli among the mountains of the north of Italy, Plate CCXXI. fig. 22. Eleven species are known in all. They are found in Europe, Asiatic Russia, and North America. I he genus Spiiaeroderus of Dejean is formed by dismemberment of the preceding. It is a sub-genus peculiar to America. We have represented *S ’. nitidicollis, Plate CCXXI. fig. 19. 2ď, Body thick, and mostly apterous, as in the preceding genera, but the emarginatĩon of the mentum provided with an entire or bifid tooth, and the mandibles armed at most with one or two teeth situated at their base. Genus Procerus, Megerle. Tarsi similar in both sexes. Terminal article of the palpi very strongly securiform, and more dilated in the males. Antennae filiform. Labrum bilobed. Mandibles slightly curved, very sharp, smooth, with only a single tooth at their base. A very strong tooth in the middle of the emarginatĩon of the mentum. Thorax almost cordiform. Elytra elongate oval. The Proceri are large and remarkable insects, the giants of the European Carabici. In regard to their colours, they are either entirely black, or black beneath, with a tinge of blue or green above. The elytra are extremely rough. They appear to inhabit exclusively the mountains and forests of Carniola, Illyria, Turkey in Europe, parts of Hungary, the south of Russia, the Caucasus, and Asia Minor. P. Dupoηchelii, Dej. was lately taken in the environs of Athens. Μ. Fischer is of opinion (Entomogra-phie de la Russie), that P. tauricus (Plate CCXXI. fig. 21) and Caucasiens are, the former the male, the latter the female, of the same species; but Dejean now possesses both sexes of each, and regards them as distinct. The synonymes of the species, however, are still confused and contradictory. Genus Carabus, Lin. Fischer, Dej. The first four articles of the anterior tarsi dilated in the males, the first three very strongly, the fourth often more slightly. Terminal article of the palpi more or less securiform, and more dilated in the males. Antennae filiform; the third article cylindrical, and scarcely longer than the others. Labrum bilobed. Mandibles slightly curved, more or less sharp, smooth, with only a single tooth at their base. A very strong tooth in the middle of the emarginatĩon of the mentum. Thorax more or less cordiform. Elytra more or less elongate oval. Wings not fitted for flight. The great genus Carabus of Linnaeus originally contained the whole of those extensive natural groups which now constitute the family of Carabici, with which we are still engaged. Even as now restricted, it is one of the most numerous with which the entomologist is concerned, and is rendered highly interesting from the size and beauty of many species. The genera with which the Carabi, as above defined, bear the most direct relations, are Procerus, Procrustes, Calosorna ; but, as Dejean observes, they differ from the first by the anterior tarsi, dilated in the males,—from the second by the form of the labrum and mentum,—and from the third by several characters easily perceived on comparison. The greater proportion of the true Carabi, which form a very interesting and well-observed genus, occur in the comparatively temperate countries of Europe, the Caucasus, Siberia, Asia Minor, Syria, and the north of Africa, as far south as the 30th degree. A few are also found towards the two extremities of America, and it is not improbable that others may be ascertained to inhabit the intermediate countries.^[176. I t · 1 lt !⅛2 ften in ° re di] at θ d in the males than in the other sex, particularly in Procerus. Règne Animal, t. iv. p. 412.] A very fine species (C. cribellatus, Adams) is native to the polar regions of Siberia;^[177. Εntοmοgraphιe de la Russie, tab. 8, fig. 13.] and Sir Joseph Banks captured another as far south as Terra del Fuego;^[178. “ Introduc, to Ent. vol. iv. p. 493.] of the latter circumstance, Dejean, who has done so much to illustrate the family, does not appear to be aware. “Depuis long temps je supposais néanmoins qu’on devait les retrouver à l’extrémité de l’Amérique Méridionale; Μ. Eschscholtz, qui fait pour la seconde fois le tour du monde avec le Capitaine Kotzebue, vient de confirmer cette supposition, et dans une lettre écrite à Μ. le Comte de Mannerheim il lui annonce [7:9:131] qu’il a trouvé au Chili un véritable Carabe.”^[179. Sj>edes General, t. ii. p. 33.] None of the genus, however, has as yet been found either in Southern Africa or New Holland. Count Dejean possesses 163 species, which he has arranged in sixteen divisions. In the first thirteen are comprised all those of which the elytra are arched or convex, in the three last those in which they are plane. The nature of the surface of the elytra furnishes the other secondary characters, in pretty close accordance with the methods of Bonelli and Clairville.^[180. Règne Animal, t. iv. p. 412.] Among the continental species, the C. rutilans (Plate CCXXI. fig. 20), hispaηus, &c. exhibit perhaps the most ornamental examples within the range of the European Coleoptera; and our own Carabus nitens, an inhabitant of the heathy wastes, yields to few, even of the exotic species, in its lustrous and metallic splendour. The name of Carabus (Kαβα∕3oς), applied generically by Linnaeus to so vast a group, occurs in Aristotle’s history of animals, and denotes sometimes a winged coleopterous insect, at other times a species of crustaceous animal. Latreille supposes it to be a contracted form of Scara~ ljoeus. In addition to the characters already given, we may mention that the species of the genus, as now restricted, are all of considerable dimensions. Their colours are usually black with a tinge of purple, or greenish with a golden hue. The form of the body is elongated; the head, always narrower than the thorax, is generally of greater extent forwards than transversely, and is borne almost in a horizontal position. The eyes are globular, and behind them the head assumes a narrow neck-like form. The mandibles, which are strong and pointed, are usually destitute of dentation, and may be observed to cross each other when the insect is in a state of repose. The thorax is narrower than the abdomen, is bordered with a slightly recurved margin, and is almost always emarginate in its basal line; its superior portion (strictly speaking the prothorax) is more extended than the inferior parts, and covers posteriorly the scutellum of the mesothorax, which, naturally but slightly developed, presents to view its summit only. The elytra are also margined after the manner of the thorax, and their upper surface, rarely smooth, is variously characterized, according to the species, by striae, furrows, depressed points, or rows of bead-like elevations. The true or membranaceous wings are either wanting or exist in a very rudimentary condition. The species therefore are incapable of flight; but, to make amends for this deficiency, their legs are strong and lengthened, the trochanter is greatly developed, and the tarsi of the anterior pair (in the males) are dilated, with their first four articulations spongy on their inferior face. All the species are eminently voracious and carnivorous. They not only prey upon the soft bodied and defenceless caterpillars, and on all other insects weaker thah themselves, but they even seize upon and devour their own species. They usually avoid strong light, are partial to a certain degree of moisture, and conceal themselves during the heat of the day beneath stones, among mossy herbage, in garden rubbish, or under the stems or within the hollows of fallen trees. We have noted the usual habits of each of the species in the descriptions which follow; and, in regard to their general distribution, we may observe, that their principal seat appears to be the north temperate zone, that they are extremely rare in the warmer regions of the earth, and probably disappear altogether within the tropics. Their larvae and metamorphoses are but slightly known. Many of the perfect insects exhale a penetrating and fetid odoúr, and when touched exude a dark-coloured caustic humour. Mr Stephens enumerates nineteen species of British Carabi. The claims, however, of three or four of these (such as O. purpurascens, convexus, auronitens) to be regarded as truly indigenous, are extremely doubtful. The occurrence of an insect on our island shores is sometimes accidental, and results from the fortuitous impulsion of winds or waves. It is well that the visits of these erratic strangers should be recorded, as they afford an interesting illustration of the extreme extent in one direction of their geographical range; but they cannot on that account be considered as “children of the soil.” We shall here give a few brief notices of the Scottish species. C. cαtenalatus, Fab. Oblong-ovate, black, the margins of the thorax and of the elytra violaceous; elytra with interrupted crenated striae, and three rows of impressed dots, the spaces between the dots slightly elevated. Common throughout Scotland, both on mountains and in plains. C. monilis, Fab. Oblong-ovate, thorax coppery, elytra, brassy-green or violaceous, with three scries of oblong tubercles, and three equal elevated lines between them. The colour of this species is very variable. It is rare in Scotland, and we have not yet observed it during our excursions to the northern counties. C. arvensis, Fab. Ovate, greenish coppery, or brassy above, elytra with three series of oblong tubercles, and three crenulated lines between them, the central line rather elevated. Not as yet known to be generally spread over Scotland, but collected at several distant points. Pentland Hills, Island of Arran, vicinity of Jedburgh. C. cancellatus, Fab. C. morbillosus, Leach. Oblong, metallic green or brassy, elytra with three rows of oblong tubercles, and a single smooth elevated line between them. Not unfrequent in decayed wood and under stones. Neighbourhood of Edinburgh; parish of Durness, Sutherland. C. hortensis, Fab. Ovate, thorax black, margined with purple, elytra brassy brown, with three rows of excavated dots. Common near Edinburgh, occurring in gardens, pathways, &c., during spring and summer, and pretty widely spread over Scotland, but much rarer in the northern counties than C. cateηalatus, and not partaking with that species in the height of its occasional localities. Only one specimen found in Sutherland among many scores of other species of the genus. C. violaceus, Linn. Elongate, black, the margins of the thorax and of the elytra violaceous; elytra dull black, granulated. An elegantly shaped species, not unfrequent in Scotland, in woods and fields, and among garden rubbish. It also occurs among the mountains, and has been taken at Cape Wrath. C. glαbratus, Fab. Oblong, entirely black, the elytra very finely granulated, so as to appear smooth and shining. Inhabits the Pentland Hills, but is very scarce in our southern districts. Not unfrequent among the Grampians and other mountain ranges in the north, where it occurs on the summits of the highest hills. Taken at Cape Wrath, and in other parts of Sutherland. C. nitens, Linn. Ovate, head and thorax golden coppery, elytra brilliant green, margined with coppery-red, and having three blackish ribs on each. Under side of the body, and legs, shining black. This, though one of the smallest, is the most richly adorned of the British Carabi, and is one of the most beautiful of coleopterous insects. It is pretty generally spread over the upland and moorish districts of Scotland. We did not find it in [7:9:132] Sutherland, but we have specimens from the shires of Mid-Lothian, Lanark, Dumbarton, Argyll, Perth, and Forfar. It is always regarded as a valuable acquisition, on account of its extreme beauty. C. clathratus. Oblong-ovate, Of a dark brassy hue, thorax rather square, the posterior angles not much produced, the elytra with three elevated lines, and a triple series of deep golden excavations. This is one of the largest and finest of the British Coleoptera. It has hitherto been regarded as a very rare insect, but a closer examination of the wilder districts will probably bring it into more frequent view. We were the first to take it in Scotland,— which we did many years ago, and in considerable numbers (nine or ten specimens in a few days), in the island of Colonsay, the hospitable habitation of John Macneill, Esq. It has been since taken by Mr Macleay in Caithness. Capt. Graham, R. N. and others, also captured several specimens in different parts of Sutherland (near Invershin, on the point of Tongue, and the vicinity of Lairig), in the month of August 1833; and Mr George Little has collected it for some seasons at Ormsary, on the mainland of Argyllshire. On the continent this beautiful insect is found in Siberia, Sweden, Hungary, Italy, and the south of France, especially in the environs of Montpellier. It varies singularly in regard to the development of the true or membranaceous wings. Those which occur in the south of Europe are large, and furnished with wings; those of Sweden and Siberia are apterous, and of smaller size. Genus Calosoma, ^[181. Kaλοs, beautiful, and σωy,a, body.] Weber, Fab. First four articles of the anterior tarsi dilated in the males; the first three very strongly, the fourth often more slightly. Terminal article of the palpi very slightly securiform. Antennae filiform; the third article slightly compressed, sharp on the outer edge, and sensibly longer than the others. Labrum bilobed. Mandibles broad, very slightly curved, more or less sharp, transversely striated, without obvious teeth on their interior. A strong tooth on the middle of the emargination of the mentum. Thorax short, almost transversal, more or less rounded. Elytra usually of a square form, more or less elongated, rarely oval or rounded. Wings most frequently fit for flight. This genus is very widely distributed. There are about thirty species in all, spread in different proportions over Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. C. sycσphanta (Plate CCXXH. fig. 2) and inquisitor have occurred in Britain. The genus is as yet unknown in Scotland. 3ď, The third and last division of the Grandipalpi of Latreille presents an assemblage of characters which clearly distinguish its component parts from those of the two preceding. Most of the species are winged. The anterior tarsi of the males are always dilated. The labrum is entire. The exterior palpi are merely somewhat dilated or thicker at the extremity, the last joint being in the form of a reversed and elongated cone. The internal side of the mandibles presents no tooth deserving of notice; the one in the middle of the emargιnation of the mentum is bifid. The centre of the superior margin of the ligųla is elevated to a point. On the internal side of the anterior tibiae of several there is a short emargination, or one of the two spurs is inserted higher than the other, so that in this respect these Carabici are somewhat ambiguous, and might be placed, as well as those of the ensuing section, immediately after the Patelli-maηi. They usually 7 inhabit moist situations. A few, such as Omophron, seem to connect their tribe with that which follows,—the aquatic Carnivora. In some in which the body is flattened, or convex and suborbicular, the eyes are of ordinary size; the antennae linear, and generally consisting of elongated and almost cylindrical joints; the external sides of the maxillae are bearded, and the two internal spines of the two anterior tibiae are on a level at their origin $ these tibiae have merely a simple longitudinal canal. In Leistus, Froehlich (Pogo· nophorus, Lat.), the exterior palpi are much elongated, the mandibles are dilated at their base, the head is suddenly narrowed behind the eyes, and the antennae are long and slender. All the species belong to Europe, and the greater proportion are found to occur in Britain. Nebria, Lat. resembles Leistus, but the palpi arc much shorter, the mandibles not dilated, the head not restricted, and the antennae proportionally thicker, and composed of shorter articulations. Several of the species, such as N. Gyl-lenhalii, brevicollis, &c., are classed by English entomologists in the genus Helobia of Leach. In Oλiophron of Lat l (see Plate CCXXI. fig. 18), the first joint only of the two anterior tarsi is dilated in the males. In other genera the body is tolerably thick, and the eyes large and prominent; the antennae are slightly enlarged near the extremity, and composed of short joints, mostly in the form of a top or reversed cone; one of the two spines of the internal extremity of the two anterior tibiae is inserted higher than the other, with a notch between them. The four or first three joints of the anterior tarsi of the males are in general but slightly dilated. The palpi are more elongated. They occur chiefly by the sides of rivers in Europe and in Siberia. We may here place the genus Elaphrus, ^[182. Fabricius derives the name from Eλ β ,, a marsh. We think it may be more plausibly traced to E λα <^,-, light, active.] in which the thorax is convex, rounded, narrowed posteriorly, and nearly of the same length as the head. The elytra are convex and almost parallel. This genus was separated with great propriety by Fabricius from Cicindela of Linn. It is constituted by a few small species, generally 7 distinguished by metallic lustre, and of which one of the most beautiful, E. lap-ponicus, was lately presented to us by Professor Lyell, the learned author of the Principles of Geology. It has been hitherto only known as a native of Lapland, and was discovered by Mr Lyell on the north-west side of Catlaw, a mountain in Forfarshire, on a spot nearly 2000 feet above the level of the sea. Several of the smaller species which formerly belonged to Elaphrηs now form the genus Nο-tiophilus of Dumeril. Such are N. aquaticus, biguttαtus, &c. [7:9:133] [table] [7:9:134] B. Section 7th, Subulipalpi, Lat. Dejean. These form of themselves the second general division of the Carabici, and are distinguished from the preceding sections by the form of the exterior palpi, of which the penultimate obconical joint is united to the following, forming with it a common oval or fusiform body, terminated either gradually or suddenly in a point, or in the manner of an awl. The two anterior tibiae have always an emargination on the inner side. The first two articles of the anterior tarsi are alone dilated in the males. This division contains only three genera, as follows: [table] Of the two great tribes, viz. CicindeŁetae and Carabici, with the principal genera of which we have just been engaged, there are 2494 species enumerated in the last edition of the Catalogue of Comte Dejean. We come now to Tribe 3d, Hydrocantiiari, Lat. This tribe is composed of the undivided genera Dytiscus and Gyrinus of the old writers. Their feet are adapted for swimming; the last four being compressed, ciliated or laminiform, and the last two at a distance from each other. The mandibles are almost entirely covered. The body is always oval, the eyes but slightly prominent, and the thorax much wider than long. The terminal hook of the maxillae is curved from its base; those at the extremity of the tarsi are often unequal. All these aquatic Coleoptera pass both their first and final stage of existence in the fresh and placid waters of lakes and marshes, or the undisturbed parts of tranquil rivers, and are distributed over all the countries of the earth, wherever such localities occur, from Greenland to Van Diemen’s Land. The old genus Dytiscus (Plate CCXXII. fig. 3 and 4) embraced a vast assemblage of aquatic insects which the more minute observance of modern times has partitioned into many genera. They form a truly amphibious family: for although water is their favourite element, they sιirvive for a long time on moist land, and most of them fly about in the evening and morning twilight, and even during the darkness of the dewy night, with great power and celerity. They vary considerably in size, according to the species, some being extremely small, while others measure between one and two inches in length. They are fierce and voracious in their habits, preying indiscriminately upon whatever smaller and softer tribes they are able to subdue. They are frequently observed resting on the surface oí the water, with their legs expanded, their heads downwards, and the terminal segment of their bodies in contact with the air. It is thus that they carry on the process of breathing, for they cannot respire except by bringing a globule of atmospheric air in contact with the stigmata, which are placed on the sides of the abdomen, ∣ just beneath the outer margins of the elytra. Being specifically lighter than water, when they feel the necessity of respiration they have nothing to do but to allow themselves to float to the surface, where, by a peculiar action of the tips of the elytra and the terminal segment of the body, a portion of air is brought into contact with the stigmatic openings. The bodies of the larvae of these insects (Plate CCXXH. fig. 6) consist of eleven well-defined segments. The head is large, flattish, covered above by a scale or shield marked down the centre by a longitudinal furrow. On each side there are five or six black tubercles which are regarded as eyes, and anterior to the eyes are placed the antennae, consisting of three articulations. The mouth is armed with a pair of strong, horny, curved, sharp-pointed mandibles, which serve to seize and transfix the prey. According to Swammerdam and Degeer, these organs are pierced so as to act as suckers, by means of which the animal juices are absorbed. Near the extremity of the abdomen two delicate appendices may be perceived, pointing obliquely downwards. By means of these the larva appears to suspend itself occasionally from the. surface of the water when it wishes to respire. The principal stigmatic openings are at the end of the abdomen, and consist of two small cylindrical bodies, which, when the creature floats, come in contact with the air, and communicate with the tracheal vessels, which are seen to traverse beneath the skin on either side of the body. The movements of these insects in the larva state are effected in the water, partly by the legs and partly by an undulatory motion of the tail. They prey upon other larvae, such as those of dragon-flies, ephemerae, gnats, &c. As an instance of their great voracity, it may be mentioned that we once observed one of the larger kinds transfix and suck out the juices of thirteen well-grown tadpoles in a single day. W hen the period of their transformation has arrived, they leave the water and bury themselves in the moist soft earth of a neighbouring bank. There they work for themselves an egg-shaped chamber, in which they assume the nympha state. (Plate CCXXII. fig. 9.) How long they remain in that condition is not very precisely known, from the difficulty of rearing them in confinement throughout their entire changes, but it is believed that the insect is not long of making its appearance in the perfect state. It may then be kept alive in a tumbler for several seasons, and the larger kinds (Dytisci proper) soon assume a certain degree of tameness and familiarity, will follow the finger around the walls of their transparent prison, and, coming to the surface at an accustomed signal, will demand, according to their own mode of expression, a young earthworm, or a piece of fresh beef or mutton; for on these and several other articles they feed from the first with extreme, and as it were accustomed greediness.^[183. Esper kept a living specimen of Dytiscus marginalis in a glass vessel for three years and a half. It fed on beef] They may thus be said to be aquatic in the larva state, terrestrial in that of nymph, and amphibious in their winged condition. Genus Dytiscus, ^[184. From ∂yτ>7i, a diver.] Linn. Antennae setaceous, longer than the head. External palpi filiform, or a little enlarged towards their extremity. Anterior tarsi patelliform in the males, the middle pair with their basal joints dilated; the hind pair long, thick, and tapering to the apex, where there are two very small claws. Plate CCXXH∙ fig. 3 and 4.^[185. Figure 5 of the plate above referred to represents the head of D. Servicornis, a species remarkable for the anomalous form of the antennae. (See Nov. Act. Acad. Scient. Stockh. xx. 1, 3.)] The Dytisci are large aquatic beetles, the characteristic habits of which have been sketched in our preceding [7:9:135] general observations. We are acquainted with about fourteen species, six or seven of which inhabit Britain. D. punctulatus seems to be the most common in Scotland. It thrives well in confinement, and will live for a year or two in any small vessel, feeding on earthworms and shreds of becf or mutton.^[186. Eηiοmοlοgιa Edinensis, p. 127.] D. marginalis, when recently captured, has a smell resembling liquorice. It is said to kill Hydrus piceus, which is a much larger and apparently stronger insect, by piercing it between the head and thorax, the only part of the body which is unprotected. Esper asserts that it is much affected by atmospheric changes, and that it indicates these, when in a state of confinement, by the height at which it remains in its jar. In the genus Colymbetes ^[187. From ×ι>λυμβaω, to swim.] of Clairville (fore leg, Plate CCXXII. fig. 7), the four anterior tarsi have their three first joints equally dilated in the males, and forming collectively a small pallet in the form of a lengthened square. The antennae are at least as long as the head and thorax. The eyes are slightly or not at all projecting. Many of these insects are common in ditches and small brooks, and their habits resemble those of the preceding genus. There are about seventy species in all, of which one half inhabit Britain. The genus Acilius was first proposed by Dr Leach in the Zoological Miscellany. It is distinguished by the great flatness of the species; by the hairy elytra of the females, which have but few striae; and by the basal joint of the tarsi in the second pair of legs not being dilated. In the genus Hygrobia ^[188. From υγοi-,, moist, and βιos, life.] of Lat. the antennae are shorter than the head and thorax, the body is ovoid, and very thick in the middle, and the eyes are prominent. (Plate CCXXH. fig. 11.) In Hydroporus ^[189. F rom υiωo, water, and πι>ζi>s, a passage.] of Clairville, the four anterior tarsi are nearly similar, and spongy underneath, in both sexes, and are composed apparently of only four joints, the fifth being deficient, or very small, and concealed along with a portion of the fourth in a cleft of the third articulation. The scutellum is not apparent.^[190. ^ or . t ∙he other genera, see the works of Messrs Stephens and Curtis. The Scotch species are described by Messrs Wilson and uncan in the Entomologìa Edinensis.] In Noterus ^[191. From voτiξι>i, humid.] of the same author, the antennae are slightly dilated in the middle, and the last joint of the labial palpi is emarginate, and appears forked. In Haliplus, ^[192. From ά'λ?, the sea, and τλ««?, sailing.] Lat. there are only ten distinct joints in the antennae; the external palpi are fusiform, or have a more slendeŗ termination, tapering to a point; the body is convex and ovoid beneath; all the tarsi are filiform, composed of five cylindrical joints, and have nearly the same form in both sexes. All the preceding genera of Hydrocanthari belonged to the old genus Dytiscus. The remainder of the tribe are comprised in the Genus Gyrinus, ^[193. From γυ^αω, to go in a circle.] Linn. Antennae shorter than the ead, the basal joint very large, and produced externally into a triangular ciliated lobe, the rest forming a clavate mass, attached by a short peduncle to the upper side of the first joint. Anterior legs rather long, and projecting ike arms; the others compressed, ciliated, and formed for swimming. (Plate CCXXH. figs. 8 and 12.) In this genus the body is oval and generally very glossy. Γhe head is sunk in the thorax almost to the eyes, and hese are large, and divided by a horny process or border, in such a way that there seems to be two above and two below. Only seven joints of the terminal por∙∙ ion of the antennae are distinctly visible. The singular auriform shape of these organs induced Latreille to form the Gyrini into a family along with Pαrnus, under the name of Otioρhori. But at an after period that great entomologist approximated the genus to the Dytiscidae, thereby correcting the error he had previously committed of confounding, as Mr Maclcay observes, a relation of analogy with one of affinity. The Gyrinidae live in society, and several species are extremely common on our ponds, and ditches by the way side. They swim flat upon the surface, with their shining backs above water, chasing each other in circles, or darting about in more irregular gyrations. When hemmed into a corner of the pond, they make their escape by darting beneath the surface, carrying along with them a portion of air, which shines like quicksilver. Britain produces several species of this genus. They are known in England by the name of whirlgigs. These insects fly well, and transport themselves with ease and rapidity from place to place. The females deposit their eggs on the leaves of aquatic plants. The eggs are very small, lengthened in the form of little cylinders, and of a white colour tinged with yellow. According to the observations of Degeer, they produced minute six-footed larvae in the course of eight days, which swam in the water, or crept along the sides of the vessel in which they had been deposited. Neither he nor Roesel, however, could succeed in rearing them to a state of completion. These larvae (Plate CCXX1I. fig. 17) exhibit rather a singular aspect, and at first sight resemble small Scolopendrae. They arc of a dingy white or greyish colour, and their clear transparent skin permits the view of their internal structure. Their bodies are long, slender, cylindrical, and divided into thirteen rings, which are deeply incised. The head is oval, very much elongated, and flattened both above and below. It is armed in front with a pair of comparatively large curved jaws, tipped with brown, which, when closed, meet with their points in advance of the head, but are capable of wide extension. The structure of these parts demonstrates a carnivorous disposition. The antennae are very delicate, divided into four articulations, and equal the head in length. The first segment of the body is nearly twice as long as the others, and the three pairs of feet are attached to the first three segments. The eight following rings are garnished with very singular, long, slender, transparent filaments, which float in the water without being apparently under the guidance of the animal. From their resemblance to the gills of the Phryganeae and Ephemerae, it is probable that these are the respiratory organs. The twelfth or penultimate segment of the body is furnished with four of these filaments, of much greater length than the preceding, and covered with long hairs or secondary filaments. The last segment, which is much less than the others, is terminated by four long and remarkable hooks, placed parallel to each other, with their points bent beneath inwards. The whole body" seems filled with little globules of air, which are in frequent motion, sometimes towards the head and sometimes towards the other extremity. Modeer has described the transformations of these creatures in the Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sweden. About the beginning of August, according to that author, the larvae leave the water, and, crawling up the stems of reeds or other aquatic plants, they are transformed into nymphs, beneath the envelope of a small cocoon, pointed at both ends, and formed of a substance resembling grey paper. Towards the end of the same month the perfect insect is [7:9:136] excluded, and immediately jumps into the water. Modeer] •adds, that the cocoons are very frequently found pierced] by the ovipositor of an ichneumon fly. i Great Britain produces nine species of the genus Gy- < rinus (including G. villosus, which belongs to Potamobius, < Leach^[194. į ¾rtf iι ⅛ of Eschscholtz and Dejean.]). There arc twenty-six in all. They are rare in ∣ Africa and Asia, but are widely spread over Europe, North ι and South America, and New Holland. We have received a large species from Java. They are also found at the Cape and the Isle of France. The most common and best-known species in this country is G. natator, of an oval form, bluish-black, extremely glossy, the inflected margin of the elytra, apical segments ofthe abdomen, and legs, ferruginous. This agile little creature appears to have been rather a favourite object of observation with the entomologist, “Water, quiet still water,” says Mr Knapp, “affords a place of action to a very amusing little fellow {Gyrinus natator), which, about the month of April, if the weather be tolerably mild, we see gamboling upon the surface of the sheltered pool; and every schoolboy who has angled for minnows in the brook is well acquainted with the merry swimmer in his shining black jacket. Retiring in the autumn, and reposing all the winter in the mud at the bottom of the pond, it awakens in the spring, rises to the surface, and commences its sports. They associate in small parties of ten or a dozen near the bank, where some little projection forms a bay, or renders the water particularly tranquil; and here they will circle round each other, without contention, each in his sphere, and with no apparent object, from morning until night, with great sprightliness and animation; and so lightly do they move on the fluid, as to form only some faint and transient circles on its surface. Very fond of society, we seldom see them alone, or, if parted by accident, they soon rejoin their busy companions. One pool commonly affords space for the amusement of several parties, yet they do not unite or contend, but perform their cheerful circlings in separate family associations. If we interfere with their merriment they seem greatly alarmed, disperse or dive to the bottom, where their fears shortly subside, as we soon again see our little merry friends gamboling as before. This plain, tiny, gliding water-flea seems a very unlikely creature to arrest our young attention; but the boy with his angle has not often much to engage his notice; and the social active parties of this nimble swimmer, presenting themselves at these periods of vacancy, become insensibly familiar to his sight, and by many of us are not observed in after-life without recalling former hours—scenes of perhaps less anxious days; for trifles like these, by reason of some association, are often remembered when things of greater moment pass off and leave no trace upon the mind.”^[195. ≡ Journal of a Naturalist, p. 307∙] Wordsworth has likened a beetle to A mailed angel on a battle day; and Messrs Kirby and Spence describe the subjects of our present notice as being “covered with lucid armour, —when the sun shines they look like little dancing masses of silver and brilliant pearl.”^[196. Introduc, to Ent. vol. ii. p. 372.] They however exhale a disagreeable and rancid odour^[197. For the Scottish species, see Entomologĩa Edιnensis y p. 130. ť] FAMILY IL-BRACHELYTRA, Lat. ^[198. rom J⅛ a f' υ . s, short ' and tλ ¼ βl ⅛ »heath. Micropteba, Gravenhorst. Staphylinus, Linn.] 5« In this, the second family of Pentamerous Coleoptera, Latreille places those genera which have only a single palpus to each maxilla, or four in all, including the labial< pair. The antennae, sometimes of equal thickness, and] at others slightly enlarged at the extremity, are usually composed of lenticular or graniform articulations; the elytra are much shorter than the body (from which circumstance they derive their name), and the latter is narrow, elongated, generally depressed, with the coxae of the two anterior legs very large. The posterior extremity of the body is provided with two vesicles, which are protruded at will. These Coleoptera composed the great genus Staphylinus (of Linnaeus) before its subdivision by more recent writers. Ancient authors appear to have bestowed the name of Staphylinus on certain species, which, from the characters assigned them, and their reputed injurious effects on horses, we can scarcely refer to any of the modern genera of brachelytrous insects. Mouffet, however, having satisfied himself that some ancient passage did apply with sufficient correctness, made use of the term Staphylinus in relation to the present group; and whatever may have been its original application, its meaning is now no longer ambiguous in the modern systems. The genus, as constituted by Linnaeus, was first dismembered by Fabricius of two of its component groups, under the generic names of Poederus and Oxyporus ; and in still more recent times numerous other subdivisions have taken place, which have raised the original genus to the rank of an ordinal section or comprehensive family. Some writers regard the Staphylini as forming the passage from the Coleoptera in general to the Forficulae or ear-wigs, which compose the first genus of the orthopterous order. In their habits they somewhat resemble the Silphae and Necrophori. They have usually a large, flattened head, strong mandibles, short antennae, and a thorax as wide as the abdomen, which is long, narrow, and generally depressed. The elytra are very short and truncated, although they still suffice to cover the long membranous wings, which, when not in use, are compactly folded. The upper portion of the segments of the abdomen, being exposed in consequence of the shortness of the elytra, is, contrary to the usual rule among the coleopterous tribes, of as firm a consistence as that beneath. From the terminal segment of the abdomen two vesicles are protruded or retracted at the pleasure of the animal, and from these, when irritated, a subtile vapour makes its escape with a strong odour of sulphuric ether, “Though most of the micropterous species,” Mr Kirby observes, “have a fetid smell, yet there are some exceptions to this amongst them. One species (s i small, and m¶-Xos, a covering ; the elytra being so short as to leave a considerable part of the abdomen exposed, this genus is placed in the necrophagous family, Nitidididoe, by Mr Stephens. 2 Lat. (Plate CCXXH. figs. 10 and 14.) Antennae terminating in a solid club, and lodged in fossulae of the thorax. Proteinus, Lat. Antennae granose, somewhat perfoliate, and larger at the end, but clavate, always exposed, and inserted before the eyes; the thorax is short, and the elytra cover the whole of the abdomen. Aleochara, Grav. Antennae inserted between the eyes, or near their inferior margin, and exposed at the base, with the first three joints obviously longer than the following ones, which are perfoliate, the last elongated and conical; the thorax is nearly oval, or like a square rounded at the angles. òth, Microcephala, Lat. Head sunk posteriorly into the thorax, nearly up to the eyes, and separated neither by a neck nor visible restriction; the thorax is in the form of a trapezium, and is widened from before backwards. The body is less elongated than in the preceding section, and approaches more to an ellipsis; the head is much narrower, contracted, and projecting forwards, and the mandibles are of moderate size, edentated, and simply curved at the point. The elytra in several cover rather more than the half of the upper surface of the abdomen. Some of the species live on flowers and mushrooms, others on dung. In Lomľchusa, Lat., the tibiae have no spines; the antennae from the fourth joint form a perfoliaceous club, elongated or fusiform; the palpi are subulate; the antennae frequently shorter than the head and thorax. In Tachinus, ^[207. From ' ,as l . swift, active] Grav. (Plate CCXXII. fig. 23), the tibiae are spinous, the antennae composed of pyriform joints, and in- ( sensibly enlarging; the palpi are filiform. Tachyporus ^[208. From T aχ v s , quick, and ^ s , a passage.] I of Grav. (Plate CCXXH. fig. 28) resembles the preceding in the tibiae and antennae; but the termination of the palpi is subulate.^[209. For the species of this family, see Gravenhorsťs Coleoptcra Microptera, Gyllenhaľs Insecta Suecica, &c. With Mr Duncan’s aid, we have described the genera and species of ordinary occurrence near Edinburgh (Ent. Ed. pp. 308-388); but, as already mentioned, numerous ιιndescnbed Brachelytra inhabit Scotland. i] FAMILY III.—SERRICORNES, Lat. In this family of pentamerous Coleoptera, we find only four palpi, as in the preceding family, and those that follow. The elytra cover the abdomen, which character, with certain others, distinguishes the Serricornes from the Brachelytra. ^[210. In the genus Αtractocerus however, the elytra are extremely short. In Proteinus of the preceding family they are, on the other hand, comparatively long; thus showing the tendency to exception in each general rule.] The antennae, with some exceptions, are equal throughout, or smaller at the extremity, dentated either like a saw or comb, or even fan-like; and in that respect are more developed in the males. The terminal article of the tarsi is often bilobed or bifid. These characters are rarely visible in the ensuing family, that of Clavicornes ; at which, however, we shall arrive by transition so graduated, that rigorous limits are with difficulty assigned. Section 1st, Sternoxi, ^[211. From ∑τε^vβι<, sternum, and «ξύ?, pointed. ∙] Lat. Body always of a firm and solid consistence, and generally of an oval or elliptical form; the feet in part contractile; the head sunk vertically into the thorax up to the eyes; and the praesternum or median portion of the thorax elongated, dilated, or advanced as far as beneath the mouth, and usually marked on each side by a groove, in which the antennae, always short, are lodged, and prolonged posteriorly to a point, which is received by a depression of the anterior extremity of the mesosternum. The anterior legs are distant from the anterior extremity of the thorax. This section is further divisible into two tribes. Tribe 1st, Buprestides. In these the posterior projection of the praesternum is flattened, not terminated in a laterally compressed point, and simply received into a depression or emargination of the mesosternum. The mandibles are frequently terminated in an entire point, without fissure or emargination. The posterior angles of the thorax are either not at all or but slightly prolonged. The terminal article of the palpi is generally almost cylindrical, scarcely thicker than the preceding; the others globular or ovoid. Most of the articulations of the tarsi are generally broad or dilated, and furnished with pellets beneath. These insects never leap, a character which distinguishes them decidedly from the Elaterides. This tribe corresponds to the old genus Bu∙ prestis, as constituted by Linnaeus,—the Richard of Geoffroy;^[212. "This genus," it has been observed, "furnishes the most beautiful coleopterous insects which can adorn either the domain of nature or the cabinet of the naturalist. Most part of the species are clothed with such brilliant colours, that Geoffroy has thought proper to designate them all under the generic appelation of Richard. The origin of this name is as singular as its application is fantastical. It was originally given to the jay, in consequence of the facility with which that bird was taught to pronounce the word.” (Griffith's Animal Kingdom, Insecta, part 2d, p. 356.) Professor Klug has stated that the Berlin Museum possesses not less than five hundred species of the Linnaean genus Buprestis.] so named by the latter author on account of the [7:9:139] extreme richness of their external covering. Even of the European species several are extremely beautiful, and many of the foreign kinds are not only of the largest size for the class of insects, but present a brilliant surface, beset as it were with gold and emeralds, or glittering with an iridescent play of green and azure. The body is in general oval, somewhat lengthened, rather wider and obtuse before, as if truncated, and narrowed behind from the base of the abdomen. The eyes are oval, the thorax short and wide. The scutellum small or unapparent. The extremity of the elytra is frequently dentated. The legs are short. All these insects walk very slowly, but fly exceedingly well in dry and sultry weather. When an attempt is made to seize them they drop upon the ground, with a view no doubt to conceal themselves in the subjacent herbage. The abdomen of the female is furnished at its extremity with a coriaceous or horny conical appendage, composed of three pieces (the terminal abdominal rings), and which may be regarded as a kind of ovipositor, by which she deposits her eggs in dry or decayed wood, in which the larvae dwell. Several of the minor species occur on leaves and flowers; but the greater proportion are found in forests or depots of timber. They sometimes appear suddenly in places where they were never seen before, having been involuntarily transported in foreign timber in the nymph or larva state. The Buprestides are very common in South America and many of the other sultry regions of the earth. They decrease in number as we advance northwards into the temperate climes, and altogether disappear in colder countries. Scarcely a score occur in Britain; and of these we are not aware that even one has yet been found in Scotland. Genus Buprestis, ^[213. From Β ους, an οx, and πϱηδης, swelling, in allusion to the supposed injury produced on cattle by an insect anciently named Buprestis.] Lin. Palpi filiform, or slightly enlarged towards the extremity, terminated by an almost cylindrical article. Antennae of equal thickness throughout, and serrated from the third or fourth joint. Penultimate article of the tarsi deeply notched. Maxillae bilobed. These are the characters of the genus Buprestis, as restricted in recent times. Some of the species have no apparent scutellum. Such is B. fasciculata, a species from the Cape of Good Hope. It is about an inch long, of a golden or coppery-green, densely punctured, and with little tufts of yellowish or reddish hairs. It sometimes hangs in such abundance on a shrub, as to make it appear all laden with flowers. Others are furnished with a scutellum. Of these we may name B. gigas from Cayenne, a species, as its name implies, of the largest size; the thorax cupreous, mingled with brilliant green, and two large spots like burnished steel; the elytra tridentate at the end, cupreous in the centre, bronze-green on the margin, with impressed points and some elevated lines and ridges. Its larva is represented on Plate CCXXH. fig. 19. On the same plate (fig. 18) we have delineated a,magnificent species, B. bicolor, lately received from Java. It is of a deep-green colour, with a golden lustre, two cream-coloured spots on the elytra, and one on each side of the thorax. It belongs to the genus Catoxantha of Dejean. Of the other genera of the tribe we shall here name only Trachys, Fab. (Plate CCXXII. fig. 26), Aphanis-ticus, Lat., and Melasis, Oliv.^[214. For the species, the reader may consult Olivier, Coléoptères, t. ih; Fabricius, Systema Εleut. t. ii.; and Schoenherr’s Synonymialn-seetorum. See also Règne Animal, t. iγ. p. 446.] The last-mentioned genus (probably named from μι ∖ ας, bladι), conducts naturally to Tribe 2d, Elaterides. This numerôus tribe corresponds to the undivided genus Elater of Linnaeus, and differs from the Buprestides chiefly in the posterior style of the praesternum, which is prolonged to a sharpish point or spine laterally compressed. On examining the living species, the use of the last-named organ becomes obvious. The legs are very short, and when the creature falls upon its back, which it frequently does while dropping from a plant to the ground, it can only assume its natural position by springing upwards, which it is enabled to do by bringing the projecting point into sudden contact with a groove situated in front of the mesosternum. The sides of the praesternum are also distinguished by a groove, in which the antennae, pectinated or bearded in several males, are partly lodged. The females have a species of elongated ovipositor, with two lateral pieces pointed at the end, between which is the true oviduct. The tarsi are entire. The Elaterides occur in flowers, on various plants, and on the ground. We owe to Degeer the description of the larva of one species (undulatus). It is long, nearly cylindrical, provided with small antennae, palpi, and six feet. Its body consisted of twelve scaly segments, of which the posterior was covered by a circular plate, furnished with two blunt points curving inwards; underneath was a large fleshy mammilla, which seemed to serve the office of a foot. The larvae of Elater striatus are said to do much injury, by attacking the roots of wheat. The grub known in this country under the name of wire-worm is an Elater in the early state. It lives under ground for several years, feeding on the roots of grain and vegetables. It is partial to land newly broken up, and does great damage in gardens recently converted from pasture-land. In the year 1813, according to Mr Spence, this larva destroyed the greater proportion of the annuals sown in the botanic garden of Hull. In such cases Sir Joseph Banks recommended that slices of potatoes stuck upon skewers should be buried near the seeds, and examined and cleared of the wire-worms from time to time. Μ. Leon Dufour has studied the anatomical structure of several species of this family. In the number, length, and mode of insertion of the hepatic conduits, they show a resemblance to the Carabidae. The digestive canal is seldom more than once and a half the length of the body. Immediately succeeding an oesophagus, so short as to be included within the region of the head, there is a small smooth conical crop, which appears to have escaped the observation of Ramdhor. The chylific ventricle is bilobed in certain species. This tribe is very extensive both in exotic and European species, and is much more prevalent in temperate and even northern countries than the preceding. The Elaterides now consist of numerous genera. Some of the American species are remarkable for the fine phosphoric light which is observed to emanate from them during the evening twilight, and when the shades of night have fallen upon the forests. One of these had the fortune to be transported to Paris under the form of nymph or larva; and having made its escape into the streets after the assumption of the perfect state, it greatly astonished the inhabitants of the Faubourg St Antoine. Most of the genera are recognisable, in a general way, by their narrow, elongated, and somewhat flattish forms. We have above sixty species in Britain, arranged according to the modern views, under not less than twenty genera. [7:9:140] The various groups of the Elaterides are referred by Latreille to two principal divisions. 1 st Antennae entirely received into the inferior cavities of the thorax. In some the antennae are received on each side into a longitudinal groove, placed directly under the lateral edges of the thorax, and are always filiform, and simply serrated. The joints of the tarsi are always entire, without prolongations, and in the form of a pellet underneath. The thorax is convex or arched, at least on the sides, and dilates towards the posterior angles in the manner of a lobe, pointed or triangular. They approach the Ľuprestides. Here are placed the genera Galba and Eucne-mis. In others the antennae, sometimes clavate, are received, at least partially, either into the longitudinal grooves of the lateral borders of the praesternum, or into fossettes placed under the posterior angles of the thorax. The tarsi are frequently provided with little pellets, formed by the prolongation of the inferior parts, or the penultimate article is bifid. Here are placed the genus Adolecera, Lat. (Plate CCXXII. fig. 29), and others. 2 d Antennae exterior or exposed. In the genus Ceropiiytum, Lat. (Plate CCXXH. fig. 30), the terminal joint of the palpi, especially the maxillary, is much larger than the preceding, and almost securiform. These insects are more particularly distinguished from the following by their tarsi, of which the first four articles are short, triangular, with the penultimate bifid. The antennae of the males are ramose on the internal side, the base of the third and following articles being prolonged into a widened branch, rounded at the extremity; those of the female are serrated. In the succeeding genera the articles of the tarsi are entire and almost cylindrical. In Hemirhipus, Lat. (Plate CCXXH. fig. 31), the mandibles and labrum arc exposed, and the antennae of the male have a flabelliform termination. The species are foreign to Europe. In Elater properly so called (Plate CCXXH. fig. 27), the antennae of the males are simply serrated. Here we place the fire-fly, or mouche lumineuse of the French colonists, which during the night diffuses from its thoracic spots a strong and beautiful light, sufficient to enable one to read the smallest print, particularly if several are placed together in a glass vessel. By means of this natural illumination the women of the country (the species is South American) are said to pursue their work, and ladies even use it as an ornament, placing it among their tresses during their evening promenades.^[215. Regne Animal, t. iv. p. 445.] M. de la Cordaire, who has studied the habits of these insects in the living state, informed M. Latreille that the principal reservoir of phosphoric matter is placed below, at the junction of the thorax and abdomen.^[216. Ibiđ. note. See a1so Nouvelles Annales du Mus. d'Hist. Nat. t. ii. p. 66.] Mr Curtis had the insect alive in London, and has recorded his observations with his accustomed accuracy.^[217. Zoological Journal, vol. iii. p. 379.] In the genus Ctenicera, From χ7u., a comb , and a horn . 4 Lat. the antennae of the males are pectinated.^[219. For the British genera and species, see the works of Messrs Curtis and Stephens. Such as have been hitherto ascertained to inhabit Scotland are described in Εntomologia Edlncnsis, p. 192-9.] We shall conclude by observing that the name of wire- ∖ worm, bestowed on several larvae of Elaters, is more speci-Ĵ ally applicable to the early state of Catαphagus lineatu ^[220. From xaτa of the same author is the male), is a small narrow insect of about half an inch in length, of a pale fulvous eolour: the head, exterior margin, and extremity of the elytra black,—the latter eolour more predominant in the males. This species is extremely common in the oak forests of the north of Europe, although unknown in Britain, and rare in the vicinity of Paris. Its larva is so long and slender as almost to resemble a Filaria. It multiplied so prodigiously some years ago in the dock-yards at Toulon, as to eause the destruction of great quantities of timber.^[250. Règne Animal, t. iv. p. 369.] FAMILY IV—CLAVICORNES, Lat. In this family, as in the preceding, we find four palpi, and elytra covering the upper surface of the abdomen, or its greater portion; but the antennae are almost always thicker at the extremity, which frequently forms even a perfoliaeeous or a solid club; they are longer than the maxillary palpi, and their base is exposed or scarcely covered. The legs are not fitted for swimming, and the joints of the tarsi, at least of the posterior ones, are usually entire. In the larva state they feed on animal matter. Latreille divides the tribe into two sections. Section 1st. Antennae always composed of eleven joints, longer than the head, not forming from the third articulation a fusiform or nearly cylindrical elub; the second joint not dilated in the form of an auricle. The terminal joints of the tarsi, as well as its hooks, of moderate length, or small. All the genera of this section are terrestrial. It comprises several tribes. Tribe 1st, Palpatores. These, in a natural series, should be plaeed near the Pselaphii and Brachelytrous genera. Their antennae are at least as long as the head, are slightly enlarged towards [7:9:147] the extremity, or are nearly filiform; their first two joints are longer than those thatsfollow. The head is distinguished from the thorax by an ovoid strangulation. The maxillary palpi project, and are long and inflated at the extremity. The abdomen is large, oval or ovoid, and laterally embraced by the elytra. The legs are elongated, the thighs clavate, the joints of the tarsi entire. These insects are found on the ground beneath stones and other substances. They form a single genus, divided by some writers into Mastigus and Scydmaenus. The latter frequent moist places. . In all the following Clavicornes the head is generally sunk in the thorax, and the maxillary palpi are never at the same time advanced and club-shaped. Tribe 2d, Histeroides. This tribe is composed of the great genus Hister of Linnaeus. The four posterior legs are more widely separated from each other at.their origin than the anterior pair. The legs are contractile, and the exterior tibiae dentated or spinous. The antennae arc always bent or elbowed (geniculate), and terminated in a solid mass, or composed of close-set articulations. The body is of a very solid consistence, and the elytra so hard that even the pin of the entomologist is with difficulty made to enter, and the praesternum is often dilated in front, and the elytra truncated. The mandibles are strong, and not unfrequently unequal as to size. The palpi are almost filiform, or slightly enlarged at their extremity, and terminated by an oval or ovoid article.. In respect to their habits, the dentation of their tibiae, and some other circumstances, these insects seem to exhibit an approach to the coprophagcus Lamellicornes ; but both Dufour^[251. Annales des Sciences Nat. Octob. 1824.] and Latreille^[252. Règne Animal, t. iv. p. 491.] are of opinion that well-founded anatomical considerations connect them with the Silphae. In the species (H. sinuatus) dissected by the former author, the digestive canal was found to be four or five times as long as the body. The oesophagus is extremely short; the oblong enlargement which immediately succeeds it exhibits throughout its parietes some brownish lines, which seem to indicate the existence of interior appendages proper for trituration; and if so, such enlargement may be regarded as the gizzard. The chylific ventricle is very long, twisted on itself, and beset with pointed and projecting papillae. The hepatic vessels have six distinct insertions around the chylific ventricle.^[253. ībid. Juil. 1825.] These insects feed on putrid and stercoraceous substances, decaying vegetables, &c. and some dwell beneath the bark of trees. Their movements are slow, their colour blackish, frequently with a tinge of bronze. Such of the larvae as are known to naturalists affect the same food as the perfect insect. Their form, however, is different, being almost linear, depressed, smooth, soft, and of a yellowish white, with the exception of the head and first segment, of which the skin is scaly and of a brown or reddish colour. These larvae have six short legs, and are terminated by a pair of articulated appendages, and an anal prolongation or tube. The scaly shield of the first segment is longitudinally channelled. In some the tibiae, at least the anterior ones, are triangular and dentated, and the antennae always free and exposed, the body square, and slightly if at all inflated. Such is the genus Holepta of Paykul, in which the body is much depressed, the mentum deeply emarginate, and the palpi formed of almost cylindrical joints. The species dwell beneath the bark of trees. In Hister ^[254. The generic name is supposed to be derived from Histrio, a word of Tuscan or Etruscan root, signifying an actor, and was probably bestowed in consequence of their instinctive propensity to simulate death when handled. <] properly so called (Plate CCXXHI. fig. 22), the praesternum projects beyond the mouth, and the palpi are composed of joints, the last excepted, rather in the form of a reversed cone than cylindriċal.^[255. For the further divisions of this tribe, see Paykuľs Monographia Histeroideum ; and Leach’s Zoological Miscellany, vol. iii.] Tribe 3d, Silpπales. In these and the remaining Clavicornes the legs are inserted at an equal distance from each other, and, with the exception of the eighth tribe (Byrrπii), the legs are not contractile, or at most the tarsi only can be bent upon the tibiae, the mandibles are generally salient and flattened or not thick, and the praesternum is more dilated anteriorly. In the Silphales we find five distinct joints in all the tarsi, and the mandibles terminate in an entire point without fissure or emargination.^[256. In Spĥoerites, dentations are sometimes found on the internal side. ’.] The antennae terminate in a club which is generally perfoliated, and composed of four or five articulations. The internal side of the maxillae in some is furnished with a horny tooth. The anterior tarsi are frequently dilated in the males, and the exterior margin of the elytra of the greater number is marked by a groove with an obvious border. This tribe is composed of the genus Silpiia of Linnaeus. In the genus Necropiiorus, Fab. so named from a carcass, and αγοs, eating.] } Herbst, Lat. (Dermestes, Linn. Ips, Oliv. Antherophagus, Knock), in which the antennae are moniliform, with the second article as large or larger than the preceding, and terminate in a less abrupt and narrow club than in Daeηe, and with intervals between its segments. This is a pretty extensive genus, occurring in various parts of the world, but chiefly in European countries. We have fourteen species in Britain. In Latreille’s arrangement (Règne Animal, t. iv. p. 508) we now come to certain tribes in which the praesternum is frequently dilated anteriorly in the manner of a chincloth (mentonnière), and which differ from the preceding in their legs being more or less contractile. The tarsi may be free, but the tibiae, at least, are folded upon the thighs. The mandibles are short, usually thick, and dentated. The body is ovoid, thick, and furnished with deciduous scales or hairs of various colours. The antennae are generally straight, and shorter than the head and thorax. The head is sunk into the thorax as far as the eyes. The thorax itself is but slightly if at all bordered; it is trapezoidal, and wider posteriorly, the middle of the posterior margin being frequently somewhat prolonged or lobate. The larvae are pilose, and dwell for the greater part on the skins or carcasses of animals. They are hurtful in museums. Those in which the legs are not completely retractile, the tarsi being always free, and the tibiae lengthened and narrow, form Tribe 7tπ, Dermestini. In Dermestes proper (so called from rripμa, skin, and *Λ⅛ω, to eat or consume) the antennae are shorter than the thorax, the radical joint large and ovate, the seven following short and slender, the remaining three forming an ovate compressed club, of which the two lower joints are somewhat dilated in the inner side, the terminal being smaller and rounded. They are not received in a particular groove beneath the thorax. 1). lar darius (Plate CCXXHI. fig. 27) is black, pubescent, the elytra with a broad cinereous band across the base, in which are three brownish or black spots. In Attagenus the club of the antennae is proportionlly very large, almost serrated, and composed of three articles, of which the first and last, especially in the males, are the largest. The body is ovoid, short, slightly convex. The terminal article of the maxdiary palpi is large and ovoid. In Anthrenus ^[266. Α -rfļirn is the ancient name of an insect which dwelt among flowers,—a kind of bee.] the club of the antennae is more solid than perfoliate, and is in the form of a reversed cone, and lodged in a short cavity, hollowed beneath the anterior angles of the thorax. In the larva state these insects live on dried animal matters, par ticularly on the contents of entomological cabinets. In that condition they are oval, and furnished with hairs, some of which are dentated; they form aigrettes or tufts, of which the hinder are prolonged in the form of a tail. In the perfect state they are found among flowers. Other genera, such as Limηichus of Ziegler, Trogoderma and Globicornis, Lat., pertain to this tribe. Tribe 8th, Byrrhii. This tribe is composed principally of the genus Byrrhus of Linn., and differs from the preceding in its feet being entirely contractile, the tibiae being susceptible of being bent upon the thighs, and the tarsi upon the tibiae, so that the species, when their limbs are thus contracted, appear inanimate and without legs. The latter are usually broad and compressed. The body is short and convex. In Nosodendron, Lat. (of which we have one British example, N. fasciculare), the mentum is entirely exposed, large, and buckler-shaped. In Byrrπus proper the mentum is of ordinary dimensions, and as it were interlocked, at least partially, by the praesternum, of which the anterior portion is dilated. The larvae of these insects have been studied by M. Wadouer. Their heads are large, their bodies narrow and elongated, with the two terminal segments more extended than the others; the first, or that of the prothorax, presents superiorly a large corneous plate. The genus was confounded by Degeer with I)ermestes, and with Cistela by Geoffroy. The species occur in fields, woods, and sandy places. They are not unfrequent by the side of highways, and although they can fly with facility when they choose, they rarely exercise that faculty. When handled or even approached, they apply their legs and antennae şo close to the body as to exhibit the appearance of a little ball, and in that state they simulate death with great perseverance. Of eight or nine species found in Britain, we shall here name only ß. cenetis, an interesting species, lately added to the British Fauna by the Rev. James Duncan. It is oblong-ovate, brassy green above, scutellum whitish, the elytra irregularly punctured, and without striae. It was found in an open part of a wood near Newbattle House in Mid-Lothian. It has since occurred under stones on Musselburgh Links, has been taken in Dumfriesshire, and was met with by Dr Greville in considerable numbers near the ferry of Kyle-stroem in Sutherland. There are thirty-three species in Dejean’s collection. Section 2d. The Clavicornes of this section, although forming a good natural group, can only be characterized by the assemblage of several features. Some which are nearest to the Palpicornes have antennae of only nine or even six joints. Others have ten or eleven joints to these organs, which are sometimes scarcely longer than the head, and from the third joint form an almost cylindrical or fusiform club, arcuated and somewhat serrated; sometimes nearly filiform, and as long as the head and thorax. In this case, as well as among most of the other genera of the same division, the tarsi are-terminated by a large joint, with two strong hooks at the end. In certain genera, such as Heterocerus and Georyssus, these parts consist of only four articulations. The form of the body in this section is generally ovoid, with the head sunk up to the eyes in a trapezoidal thorax laterally bordered, and terminated posteriorly by acute angles. The praesternum is dilated posteriorly[7:9:150] (the Potamophĩli excepted), and the legs are imperfectly contractile. They usually occur in water, beneath stones by river sides, or in mud. They form two tribes. Tribe 1st, Acanthopoda. ^[267. From xyz, α thorn or spine, and που;, foot.] Remarkable for their broadish flattened legs, armed exteriorly with spines. The tarsi are short, of four articulations,^[268. According to the accurate Gyllenhal, there are actually five, the first being small and oblique. ( Insecta Suecica, t. i. p. 138.)] the hooks of ordinary size. The body is depressed, and the praesternum dilated. The antennae are rather longer than the head, arcuated, and composed of eleven joints, of which the last six constitute an almost cylindrical and slightly serrated club, the second being short and not dilated. This tribe is composed of the single genus Heterocerus ^[269. Frrom auferent, and χΐζα$, horn, ί ∖ ’ r 7] of Bose (Plate CCXXIH. fig· 26). Tribe 2d, Macrodactyla. ^[270. From įíisxõo;, long, and iaxτt,λ ai , finger. « ∙>∙ s . 1 λ ,] Here are included such of the Clavicornes as have simple narrow tibiae and lengthened tarsi, all composed, except inGeoryssus, of five articulations, the last of which is large, with strong terminal hooks. The body is thick or convex, —the thorax less rounded, and usually terminated on both sides by acute angles. The type of this tribe is formed by the genus Dryops of Olivier— Parnus, Fab. We here place the genus El-mis, ^[271. The name is apphed by Galen to a species of intestinal worm.] of which the species, pretty frequent in Britain, occur in water, beneath stones, or on the leaves of waterlilies. In Parnus proper ŲDryops, Lat. Oliv.) the antennae, shorter than the head, are lodged in a small cavity beneath the eyes, the second joint being compressed and much produced,—concave for the reception of the remaining joints, which form a serrated mass attached by a small peduncle near the base. P. prolifieornis is oblong, olive brown, villose, with the elytra thickly punctured, and obscurely striated towards the sides and apex. It occurs in moist places by the sides of ponds and marshes, not unfrequent during spring. Here are also placed the genera Potamophilus of Germar, Macronyclιus of Müller, and Geargssus of Latreille. FAMILY V—PALPICORNF.S. In this family, as in the preceding, the antennae are terminated by a kind of club, usually perfoliate, but composed at most of only nine articulations, and inserted beneath the advanced and lateral margins of the head, and scarcely longer than it and the maxillary palpi,—frequently even shorter than these last-named organs. The mentum is large and buckler-shaped. The body in this family is generally ovoid or hemispherical, and arched or convex. The feet in most of the genera are formed for swimming, and these present either four articulations to the tarsi, or five, of which the first is much shorter than the second: the whole are entire. Tribe 1st, Hydropiiilii. Feet fit for swimming. First article of the tarsi much shorter than the others. Maxillae entirely corneous. Of this tribe (genus Hydrophilus of Geoffroy) Linnaeus formed only a division of his genus Dytiscus. Their anatomical structure however differs in many important particulars from that of the true Dytisci. The digestive canal, which is four or five times as long as the body, presents a strong analogy, both in its length and texture, to that of the La- ∣ mellicornes, and differs from that of the Carnivora excepti as regards the biliary vessels. We perceive neither the swimming bladder nor the excrementitial apparatus, such as these exist among the Hydrocanthari. In the females only, the latter is replaced by secreting organs fitted for the formation of a cocoon to contain the eggs. The sexual organs of the male bear a great resemblance to those of the preceding family. These and other considerations have induced M. Latreille to place them here. The species are more convex in their general forms than the Dytiscidae, and their antennae are dissimilar; but in many of their instincts and habits of life, and in their general transformations, they bear a resemblance to that group. The largest water insect of Great Britain (Hydrophilus piceus), which we have failed as yet to discover in Scotland, belongs to this division. Many species are also extremely minute. In the genus Helopiiorus of Leach (from sλoς, arnaτsh, and φο^ω, I penetrate) the antennae are shorter than the head, the first joint is the longest, robust, and slightly curved, the second sborterthan the first, the three following minute, the last four forming the club. īl. aquaticus (Plate CCXXIH. fig. 29) abounds in almost every pond. It is almost always found covered with mud, in such an ingenious manner that, when feeding in its little pool, it is with difficulty distinguished from the subjacent soil, either by its natural enemies, or the no less dangerous eye of the practical entomologist. II. granularis is more frequently found upon the wing in situations remote from water. In Hydrochus of Germar (from υδωg, water, and oi’ăícu, to inhabit) the general form is narrower and more elongated, the thorax like a lengthened square, and the eyes prominent. II. brevis, a rather scarce species, occurs in the Edinburgh district in ditches near Craigcrook, and in the Braid marshes. As allied to the preceding genera we may here name Enicocerus of Stephens (so called from swκoj, singular, and κsgας, horn). The antennae are as long as the head, the basal joint long, curved, slightly geniculate at the base, the second ovate-truncate, three or four following very minute and obscure, the last five of nearly equal thickness, penultimate cup-shaped, terminal orbicular. E. viridioeneus, of a brassy green, thorax with an oblique groove near each of the hinder angles, and two foveae in front, the legs piceous. Although a newly described insect, it does not seem at all scarce in Scotland, where it occurs beneath small stones by the margins of water, or imbedded among mud and confervae. In the genus Sperciiaeus, Fab. the antennae have only six joints, and the clypeus is emarginate. In Hydropiiilus, ^[272. From ν Sa>ζ, water, and φ λos, a] properly so called, of Leach, the tarsi are identical in both sexes and not dilated, the pectoral spine terminates with the praesternum, and the scutellum is proportionally small. H. caraboides is the only British species. The genus Hydrous of the last-named author^[273. Zoological Miscellany, vol. iii. p. 94.] (Hydra-philus, Lat.) is characterized by the great extension backwards of the sharp-pointed sternal spine, and by the triangular-shaped dilatation of the last article of the two anterior tarsi of the males. The scutellum is large. H. piceus (Plate CCXXII1. fig. 28), the only British species, is one of the largest of the European Coleoptera. It measures above an inch and a half in length, is of an oval form, a blackish-brown colour, with a polished or shining surface. The club of the antennae is partly reddish. A [7:9:151] few slight strĩae arc visible on the elytra, of which the posterior extremity is rounded posteriorly, and prolonged to a small tooth at the inner angle. This fine insect flies well and swims swiftly, but is inefficient as a pedestrian. When held loosely in the hand it sometimes inflicts a wound with the point of the sternum. The female constructs an ovoid cocoon, arcuated, and of a brown colour. Its exterior tissue is composed of a gummy paste, at first somewhat fluid, which soon hardening, becomes impenetrable by water. The eggs which it envelopes arc symmetrically disposed, and kept in their .position by a sort of whitish down. These cocoons float in the water.^[274. For a detailed and accurate account of the structure and transformations of this insect, see a posthumous work of the celebrated Lyonnet, lately published under the title of Recherches sur ΓΑuatornie et les Metamorphoses de differentes espèces d'insectes.] The larva is depressed, blackish, and rugose; the head reddish brown, smooth, round, and capable of being drawn backwards. This peculiar faculty gives it the power of seizing whatever small shells or other living prey it may perceive floating on the surface. Its back serves it as a kind of tabic, on which it bruises its prey. The bodies of these predaceous larvae become very flaccid as soon as they are caught. They swim with facility, and are provided beneath the anus with two fleshy appendages, which serve to maintain them at the surface of the water when they ascend to breathe.^[275. Annales du Museum d' Hist. Rat, t. xiv. p. 441.] They arc called on the continent vers-assassins, on account of their greedy and ferocious nature. They become more herbivorous in the perfect state. In Limnebius of Leach (from λίμνη, a marsh, and βιος, life), the antennae are short, slender, the club six-jointed; the maxillary palpi longer than the antennae, with the ter-’ minal article shorter than the preceding, and cylindrical, ln this tribe are likewise included the genera Hydrobius and B erosus. Tribe 2d, Şphaerodiota. These Palpicornes differ from the -preceding in being terrestrial. Their tarsi consist of five distinct articulations, of which the first is at least as long as the following. The maxillary palpi are shorter than the antennae, with the third joint larger, inflated, and in the form of a reversed cone. The maxillary lobes are membranous. The body in this tribe is almost hemispherical, with the praesternum prolonged to a posterior point, and the tibiae spinous, the anterior being palmated or digitated in the larger species. The antennae are always composed of nine articles, or simply of eight, if we regard the terminal one as an appendage of the preceding. The genera are Cercyon of Leach, and Sphaeridium ^[276. Irom μloje-shaρed.] of Fabricius (Plate CCXXIΠ. fig. 30). The former is abundant in Britain, where we find about sixty species, many of which occur in Scotland.^[277. See Ent. Ed. p. 139.] Few are as yet ascertained to inhabit extraEuropean countries, although one or two occur in North and South America. All the species of this tribe are of small size. They usually occur in cow-dung, and exere-mentitious matter. Some are found on the margins of water. FAMILY VI.—LAMELLICORNES.^[278. Iront lamella, a little plate, and cornu, a horn, in allusion to the structure of the club of the antennae.] This is the last family of the pentamerous Coleoptera, and one of the most remarkable of the order,—whether we consider the great size of many species, the singularly varied forms of their head and thorax, or the richness of the metallic colouring with which the vegetable-eating kinds are frequently adorned. The antennae, inserted in a deep groove beneath the lateral margin of the head, are always short, and composed generally of nine or ten articulations; they are always terminated in a club or mass, which usually consists of three joints, expanded in the form of thinnish plates or leaves, disposed in various ways,—like the spokes of a fan, the leaves of a book, the teeth of á comb, or a series of funnels placed above and within each other. The body is generally ovoid or oval, and thick. The exterior edge of the two anterior tibiae are toothed, and the articles of the tarsi, with the exception of certain males, are entire, and without brush or pellet beneath. The anterior extremity of the head is advanced and dilated in the form of a clypeus or epistoma. The mentum is usually large, covering the ligula, or incorporated with it, and bearing the palpi. The mandibles of many are membranous, a character scarcely if at all to be observed in any other Coleoptera. The males are frequently very different from the females, being distinguished by horn-like elevations on the head and thorax, and by the greater size of the mandibles. Linnaeus indeed founded the sections of bis great genus Scarabaeus in accordance with these peculiar projections, while Scopoli assumed the spines or teeth of the fore-legs as the distinguishing characteristic of his subdivisions. The latter author likewise proposed two other methods, one of which regards the number of articulations in the clava of the antennae, and the other takes into consideration the varying manners of the insects themselves. The former of these is extremely defective, the second is chicfly deserving of consideration as exhibiting the first attempt ever made towards a natural arrangement of these insects. They are divided into An-thophylli, Phyllophagi, and Stercorei. Degeer was the first to avail himself of the improvements indicated by Scopoli, while at the same time he avoided his principal imperfections. He arranged the Scarabaei into three families, as follows: lsí, Scarabées de terre; 2√, Scarabées des arbres; 3d, Scarabées des fleurs. Oryctcs and Trox were no longer regarded as phyllophagous insects. Geoffroy separated from Scarabaeus of Linnaeus the ex-scutellated species under the name of Copris, and Scopoli’s genus Lucanus under the name of Platycerus. The institution of the genus Copris was certainly an improvement, although it was founded on such defective characters, that coprophagous nsects, such as the family Geo-trupini of Latreille, were included in the same genus with Cetoriia, from which they might have been perceived to be distinct so soon as the necessity was admitted of carrying the investigation among the Lamellicornes somewhat beyond that first affinity—the form of the antennae. At a still later period Fabricius further improved upon the heterogeneous composition of Geoffroy’s genus Scarabaeus, by taking from it the genera Trox, AIeloloηtlιa, Ce-toniα, and Trichius. But the re-union of Geoffroy’s genus Copris with Scarabaeus was a retrograde step which the entomologist of Keil afterwards corrected in a supplementary work. The connection, however, between the insects afterwards named Geotrupes by Latreille and the genus Copris of Geoffroy, was so far re-established by the formation of the Fabrician genus Scarabaeus. Olivier adopted the genus Scarabaeus of Fabricius, with all his other genera except Trichius, and divided it into [7:9:152] the following sections: ∖ st, Those furnished with mandibles, but unprovided with a labium; 2d, those furnished with mandibles and a labium; 3√, those which have neither mandibles nor labium. The three groups just mentioned are characterized by Mr Macleay as strictly natural.^[279. Hot. Ent. p. ∣7∙ to] This important family, in the system of Latreille, seems to include all those insects classed by Linnaeus in the old genera Scaraboeus and Lucanus. The lamellicorn tribes, indeed, include a very numerous assemblage, many of which, especially such as feed on flowers and living vegetation (called Thalerophaga by Macleay), arc remarkable alike for beauty of form and splendour of colour. Most of those, however, which feed on decomposed vegetables, or excrementitious substances, are usually of a more uniform black or brownish hue. But even the coprophagous kinds sometimes surprise us by their beauty, and present a singular contrast when disentangled from their repulsive habitations. They are all winged insects, although for the most part rather dull and heavy in their movements. The larvae are long, semi-cylindrical, soft, of a whitish colour, and divided into twelve rings or segments. The head, of a harder consistence, is armed with strong mandibles. The feet are six in number, and squamous or of a scaly texture. On each side of the body there are nine stigιnatic openings. The posterior extremity is the most bulky; it is rounded and almost always curved inwards, in such a manner as to prevent the larva from extending itself in a straight line. Its motions are consequently slow and awkward, and when crawling on the surface it frequently rolls over or falls on one side. The nympha or intermediate state is in some instances not assumed till after the lapse of several years. Immediately preceding the assumption of that state the larva protects itself by means of a cocoon of an oval form, composed of earth and the gnawed fragments of other materials, agglutinated by a viscous secretion which exudes from its body. These larvae seek their food in the dung of cattle, in tan pits, in gardens where rich vegetable mould occurs, and among the roots of plants. In regard to their interior structure, it has been observed that the nervous system, when studied in the different stages of life, presents a considerable dissimilarity. The ganglions are less numerous, and approximate more to each other, when the insect has reached the term of its final transformation; and the two posterior ganglia throw out numerous filaments disposed in a somewhat radiated form. In the larva the trachea is elastic, but simply tubular in the perfect insect. The structure of the eye in most of the lamellicorn beetles exhibits characters analogous to those of the Tenebrionites, the Blattae, and other lucifugous or light-shunning species. The alimentary canal is of great length, especially among the coprophagous kinds; and the chylific ventricle is beset with papillae, which, according to the investigations of Μ. Dufour, serve as the receptacles of the alimentary fluids. The biliary vessels resemble those of the carnivorous Coleoptera in number and position, but they difłer in being oí greater length and much more slender. Latreille divides this important family into two tribes. Tribe 1st, Scarabaeides. ^[280. Macleay, are chiefly tropical forms, that is, the species in the warmer regions of the earth are onlv rflne år^ ⅛ ŋ¾ ∏ five t °° ne ∙ θut oť 450 s P ecies and u P⅛ ⅛ the collection of Mr Macleay senior, only nine are natives oí England, and of these eight are Onthoρhαgl. the neoeÏÏityŠ] These correspond to the unrestricted genus Scaraboeus of Linn. Their antennae are terminated by a foliaceous club, generally capable of being alternately closed or expanded; or are composed of joints that fit into each other, either in the form of a reversed cone, or nearly globular. The mandibles are of identical form, or nearly so, in both sexes; but the head and thorax of the males frequently exhibit projections or peculiar forms. The antennae in the latter sex are frequently more fully developed than in the females. The alimentary tube in these insects is generally much longer than that of the following tribe, and the oesophagus is proportionally shorter. But it is chiefly by the genital system of the males that the Scarabaeides are distinguished, not only from the tribe with which they are conjoined, but from all other pentamerous Coleoptera. The larvae have a cylindrical stomach surrounded by three ranges of small caeca, the small intestine very short, the colon extremely thick and turgid, and the rectum of moderate size. A prodigious accession of fine typical forms has been received of late years by this division of Entomology, far beyond what we are able to indicate in this work.^[281. ŋ ° W contains 2060 s P ecies of Lameïïicornes, among which he has found himself under] We shall, however, notice the most important and remarkable genera, and illustrate many of these by means of the plates connected with this department of the Encyclopaedia. The following sections are established on the consideration of the masticating organs, the antennae, and the habits, and have been confirmed by the anatomical researches of Μ. Dufour. Section 1st, Coprophagi. ^[282. From Kesr¢¢í, dung, and φaγos, euting.] In some of these the antennae are formed of nine, in others of only eight articulations; the three terminal ones forming the club. The labruin and mandibles are membranous and concealed. The terminal lobe of the maxillae is also of the same consistence, broad and arcuated al the upper margin, and curved inwards. The terminal-article of the maxillary palpi is always the largest of all, nearly oval or almost cylindrical; but that of the labial palpi is almost always more slender than the preceding, or very small. Behind each of these latter palpi is a membranous projection, in the form of a ligula. The mentum is emarginate. The sternum presents no particular projections, and the hooks of the tarsi are always simple. The anterior tarsi are frequently wanting incertain species, either naturally or because they are deciduous. The extent of the alimentary canal is always very great, occasionally (as in Copτis lunaris) even ten or twelve times the length of the body. The chylific ventricle occupies the greater portion; it is beset with papillae, conoid or in the form of nails, folded on itself, and maintained in that state of agglomeration by numerous tracheal bridles. The intestine is filiform, but terminates in an enlargement. “Les testicules des coprophages disséqués par Μ. Dufour, lui ont paru composes de six capsules spermatiques, orbiculaires, un peu déprimées ordinairement réunies, par des trachées, en un paquet, portées chacune sur un pédicule tubuleux, assez long, ct qui aboutit à un canal déférent de peu de longueur. Il n’y a qu’une [7:9:153] paire de vésicules séminales; elles sont filiformes, très • longues et fort repliées.”^[283. Règne Animal, t. iv. p. 531.] Our present section corresponds to the third division of the genus Scarabaeus of Olivier (Copris), with the addition of some other Scarabaei (Aphodii) of that author. * In some the intermediate pair of legs are much more remote from each other at the base than the rest; the labial palpi are hairy, with the terminal articulation much smaller than the others, or even indistinct; the scutellum is either null or extremely small. Coprophagi of this division, peculiar to the eastern continent, with a rounded body, usually depressed above, or but slightly convex, similar or differing little in the sexes, and without horns; the antennae of nine joints, terminated by a foliated club; without either scutellum or a sutural hiatus indicating its place; the four posterior tibiae, usually furnished, as well as the tarsi, with ciliated or hairy fringes, and slender, elongated, not dilated at the extremity, or but slightly so, truncated obliquely, and terminated by a single strong-pointed spur; with the cpistoma more or less dentated ;—these form the genus Ateuciius ^[284. Probably from a priv∙ and <∏uχos, an instrument of war, the head being unarmed.] of Weber and Fabricius. (Plate CCXXIV. figs. 1 and 2.) The above genus, however, has been since restricted to such species as have the exterior margin of the elytra straight or unemarginated, and without a sinus, near the base, leaving exposed the corresponding portion of the upper margin of the abdomen. The tibiae and tarsi of the last four legs are furnished with long hairs; the first four articles of the tarsi are generally longer than the others. The first joint of the labial palpi is almost cylindrical, or in the form of a reversed cone. The epistoma is generally divided into three lobes or festoons, and its contour presents six teeth. The Ateuchi form the genus Scarabaeus of Macleay.^[285. Γhe genus Scarabaeus of Macleay (Ateuchus of most modern authors) is proper to the ancient world. Of the forty-three species which compose its five tvpes, as exposed in the Hora Εutomologicee, twenty-seven occur in Africa, lhe first type extends from the Atlantic Ocean to Thibet, and from Austria to the Cape of Good Hope. It contains the following species:—A. (Heliocantharus) »accr, Dufresnii, ρius, Bonelli, IIottentotus, impius, Lamarckii, Cuvieri, Sanctus, Palamon, intricatus, punctlcollis, Speneii, Dcgeeri, Savignii, mor billosus, laticollis, variolosus, semiρunctatus. Type second contains as yet only a single species, from the north oí Africa, A. (Mne-matium) Ritclιii. The third type seems confined to the south of Africa, and includes A. (Pachysoma) Aesculapius and Hippocrates. he existence of the fourth type is inferred upon general principles, and from an observed hiatus in the series of affinities, but has not yet been specially detected. The fifth type inhabits all that tract of country which extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Chinese Sea, and from Paris to the Cape of Good Hope, and contains A. (Gymnopleurus) azureιιs, nitens, mundus, sinuatus, pilularius, cAo mi ' l ' atr0nitiduli ''fl a S ellatu ^ humanus, Ixei, Bufo, fulgidus, candescens, affinis, cyaneus, Keenigii, granulatus,parvus, miliaris, spltotus, ma-] These insects deposit their ova in dung, which they form into balls, and roll along with their hind legs till they find a hole adapted to receive them, or a softish soil in which they may be buried. Two species were worshipped by the ancient Egyptians, and form a noted and conspicuous feature in the ĥicroglyphical system of that mysterious nation. We still find them sculptured on their monuments, in various positions, and sometimes of gigantic size. They were also formed into separate figures, as seals and amulets, composed of gold and other precious materials, and hung around the necks of the living, or buried along with their famous mummies. The insect itself in the natural state is also sometimes found in their gaudy coffins. The Ateuchus sαcer (Plate CCXXIV. fig. 2) occurs not only in Egypt, where it formed an object of superstitious worship, but over a great portion of the south of Europe. It is also found in the western regions of Asia. Another species, discovered in Sennaár by Μ. Caillaud, was, how-over, according to M. Latrcille, the first to attract the notice of the Egyptians.^[286. Description des Insectes recueillis par Μ. Caillaud, forming part of his Voyage en ĩĩùbie.] It is named A. Egyptiorum (ibid. fig. 1), and, instead of being black like the former, is green with a golden hue. The occiput also, instead of being bi-tuberculated, exhibits only a slight elongated eminence, which is smooth and shining. In Gymnopleurus of Illiger, the exterior sides of the elytra are strongly emarginate near the base. The four posterior tibiae are in general simply ciliated, or furnished with small spines, and the last article of the tarsi is as long, if not longer, than all the preceding ones taken together. The first article of the labial palpi is dilated internally and almost triangular. There is a fossula on each side of the thorax.^[287. For the other genera, see Règne Animal, t. iv. p. 405. Consult also Hot, Ľnt. p. 494.] Other Coprophagι, nearly allied to the preceding, and likewise placed by Fabricius among the Ateuchi, arc distinguished by the intermediate tibiae, the extremities of which, as well as of the two hinder ones, are frequently clubbed or dilated, and present two spurs or spines. The epistoma in many has only four or two teeth. The first article of the labial palpi is always larger than the following, and dilated on the internal side. The third and last article is distinct. We shall here name only the genus Sisyphus, which differs from the others in having only eight joints in the antennae. The form of the abdomen is triangular, and the intermediate and hind legs are long and narrow, with the thighs clubbed. In all the ensuing Coprophagi the intermediate and hind tibiae are always dilated at their extremity, and almost in the form of a lengthened triangle; the intermediate pair terminate, like those of the preceding, in two strong spines; but the head or thorax, or both these parts, of the males, are distinguished by horns or marked projections. In several the last three articulations of the antennae are semi-cupular, and concentrically fitted into each other. These insects are referable to the genera Onitis and Copris of Fabricius. The genus Ontiiopπagus, ^[288. β From ⅛⅛, dung> and φ*γo⅛ eating.] Lat. (ibid. fig. 3) (which, in common with Oniticellus of Dejean, has the third joint of the labial palpi small or indistinct, and the preceding larger than the first), exhibits a short body with a thickish thorax, broader than long, and semi-orbicular or nearly orbicular, but strongly emarginate or truncated in front. The head, and frequently the thorax also, is horned in the males. The scutellum is not apparent. Of this genus we have eight or ten species in Britain. Dejean’s Catalogue contains 150. Some beautiful species of small size occur in Africa and the East Indies. They are likewise met with in New Holland, where they constitute the principal portion of the coprophagous beetles, which seem rare in that vast region, a circumstance attributed by Mr Maclcay to the absence of all large herbivorous mammalia, except of the marsupial kind. Two other genera, furnished with a scutellum or a sutural hiatus, with the anterior legs often deprived of or unprovided with tarsi, and frequently long, slender, and curved in the males, are distinguished from all other Coprophagi[7:9:154] by the form of the club of the antennae; its first joint (or the seventh of the whole, counting from the base) being sub-triagonal, and receiving within it the ensuing, of wîiich the inner margin is shaped like a horse-shoe; the third or terminal article is in the form of a reversed cupula. The thorax is large, and usually exhibits two depressions near the middle of its posterior margin. In Onitis, Fab., the second article of the labial palpi is the largest of all; and the scutellum, though small and sunken, is yet visible. The anterior legs are generally long, slender, and curved in the males, and the tarsi are often absent. The thorax, with a few exceptions, is without horns. In Phanaeus of Macleay (Copris, Onitis, Fab.), Plate CCXX1V. fig. 4, the first article of the labial palpi is the largest, and dilated on the inner side. A simple sutural void indicates the place of the scutellum. This genus is composed of large and beautiful species, chiefly from the equinoctial regions of the new world. The males differ greatly from the females in regard to the hornlike processes which frequently characterize the head and thorax of the former; but the respective length of the legs docs not differ between the sexes, as in the preceding genus. The genus Copris ^[289. From xyz, dung.] l (Plate CCXXIV. fig. 5), as now restricted by Latreille, contains those species only the antennae of which are terminated by a trifoliate club; the four anterior tibise strongly dilated and truncated at the extremity; both scutellum and hiatus wanting; the body thick, and differing on its upper surface in the sexes; and the labial palpi composed of three distinct joints, of which the first is the largest, almost cylindrical, and not dilated on the inner side. The largest species of this numerous genus (there are eighty-four in Dejean’s collection, of which, however, scarcely half a dozen are European, and only one, C. lunaris, occurs in England) are indigenous to the warmer countries of Asia and Africa.^[290. The fine insect which, following the nomenclature of M. Fischer of Moscow {Entοrnοg. de la Russ. ), we have represented as an Ateuchus (see Plate CCXXIV. fig. 8), is, we understand, regarded by Latreille as belonging to the genus Cορris.] Many species are likewise native to the new world. , * * In others the legs are inserted at equal distances from each other; the scutellum is distinct; the labial palpi smooth, or but slightly haired, with the third and terminal article larger, or at least longer, than the preceding. In the genera of this subdivision of the Coprophagĩ the elytra entirely envelope the contour of the abdomen, to which they form as it were an arched covering,—a character by which they approach the ensuing section. They are, however, closely related, by the structure of their legs and antennae, to the preceding genera; although the sexual differences are less pronounced or apparent, and frequently consist merely in small tubercles instead of horns. All the species are of small size, and some of them are among the most frequent of the British Lamellicornes. 1hey constitute the family Apliodiidae of the English entomologists. These insects are extensively distributed over the whole of the north temperate zone; and Mr Macleay has made out the proportion of tropical species to be to those from countries beyond the tropics as one to eight. According to the same authority, none have hitherto been brought from New Holland, although several occur at the Cape of Good Hope, which is nearly of the same south latitude. It is probable, however, that if the marine detritus of New Holland were properly searched, some insects at least approaching to Psamιnodii i∏ habit would occur.^[291. Hor. Ent. i. p. 58.] Although these insects closely resemble each other in general structure, they yet differ rather wid z ely in their modes of life. They are not all coprophagous, strictly speaking, for several prefer vegetable matter, for the most part marine, in a state of putrescence. We shall notice the two principal genera. In Aphodius, ^[292. From a¢ĵđð;, dung.] Fab. (Plate CCXXIV. fig. 6), tire last article of the maxillary palpi is cylindrical, and that of the labial more slender than the preceding. The maxillae have no appendage, or corneous and dentated lobe, on the inner side. The species of this genus are slow of foot, but they fly with facility; and their appearance is interesting, as denoting the “ethereal mildness” of returning spring. They are common in cow pastures. We received the species figured on the plate referred to (A. bipunctatus) from the south of Russia. Above fifty species occur in Britain, and three times that number are known to naturalists. In Psαmmodius, Gyllenhal (so named from ψαμμώδης, sandy, in reference to the places of their most frequent occurrence), the last article of the palpi is almost oval, and longer and thicker than the others, and the internal lobe of the maxiliae is corneous, and divided into two dentations. Section 2d, Arenicoli. The groups of this section have one character in common with the two genera last mentioned, that the elytra entirely cover the posterior extremity of the abdomen; but their other features are distinctive. The labrum is coriaceous, and generally projects beyond the epistoma. The mandibles are corneous, and usually curved and salient. The terminal lobe of the maxillae is straight, and not curved inwards. The third and last article of the labial palpi is always very distinct, and always at least as long as the preceding. With few exceptions, the antennae consist of from ten to eleven articulations. Like the preceding insects, however, these also live in dung, beneath which they dig holes in the earth. Their principal period of flight is during the evening, after sunset. When touched they counterfeit death. * In this subdivision the labium is terminated by two lobes or projecting ligulae; the mandibles are generally salient and curved; the labrum is exposed in whole or in part; the antennae, in the greater number, are composed of eleven articulations. The bodj is black or reddish, with the elytra smooth or simplĵ striated. The males are generally distinguished from the females by horn-like projections and other external characters. They affect more especially excrementitial substances. In the genera Aegialia of Lat. and Chiron (Plate CCXXIV. figs. 7 and 11) of Macleay, the antennae are onlj nine jointed. In the latter their terminal club is rather semipectinatcd than foliated, and the species are placed by some with Passalus. In the subsequent genera the antennae are considered to consist of eleven joints, although the computation varies according to the view which may be adopted of the exact structure of the articulations. The genus Lethrus, Scopoli, is distinguished from all the others by the form of the antennal club, like a reversed cone, and composed of leaflets contorted into a kind of funnel, and fit· ted concentrically into each other; and by the mandibles 1 [7:9:155] whiclι are entirely dentated and serrated on their inńcr side, and present a corneous advancement underneath, especially in the males. L. cephalotes is said to be extremely injurious to cultivated grounds, where it attacks the scarcely visible buds and leaves of plants, cutting them cleanly off with its mandibles. It is hence called Schneider in Hungary, where it sometimes proves very hurtful to the vines. This species (there are only two or three others known) lives in holes in the earth, and fierce battles take place during the nuptial season between the males when aspiring to the favour of the gentler sex. The antennal club of the remaining Arenicoli is composed of ordinary-shaped leaflets, placed one on another like the leaves of a book. In Geotrupes of Lat. (Plate CCXXIV. figs. 9 and 10) named from γη, the earth, and rgιwαω, to bore,, in reference to their excavating propensities, the club of the antennae is oval or ovoid, and the edges of all the leaflets are perceptible even when the part is contracted. The labrum forms a transverse square, entire, or simply dentated. The mandibles are curved, greatly compressed, dentated at the extremity, and frequently sinuated on the inner side. The species are pretty numerous, and occur both in Europe and America. Some are common in Britain, especially G. stercorarius, a large black beetle, with brilliant metallic blue or purple reflections on the under surface, well known as “wheeling its drowsy flight” during fine evenings. We have often been amused by the different devices made use of by insects to deceive their enemies. While the Byrrhidae, and several other tribes already alluded to, contract their limbs when alarmed, so as to give themselves the appearance of a little ball Of inert matter in no way tempting to any insectivorous creature, the species above named pursues an opposite line of conduct, and sticks out its legs at full length, where it holds them perfectly still and rigid, so as to produce the same appearance as if it had been long deprived of life. It is thus supposed to deceive the cunning rook and other birds, which value it chiefly as a living prey.^[293. Εηt. Edinensìs, p. 180.] In Bulboceras ^[294. From βολζii, α bulb, and χtpaf, a horn.] of Kirby (Plate CCXXIV. figs. 12,13, and 14), one of the mandibles is simple at the extremity, while the other is dentated. The genus is also distinguished from the preceding (in common with Athy-τeus and Elephastomus of Macleay) by having the club of the antennae large, orbicular, or nearly globular, with its first and last leaflet, when the part is contracted, completely enveloping the tenth or intermediate, and forming for it a kind of box (see figs. 13 and 14). In Hybosorus and Acanthocerus (placed in different families, the former in Geotrupidae, the latter in Trogidoe, by Macleay^[295. Hor. Ent. pp. 120 and 136.]), the antennae consist, as in most of the subsequent Scaŗabaeides, of ten articulations. * * In this our second subdivision of the Arenicoli, the an-. tennae, scarcely longer than the head, are composed of-ten articulations, of which the first is large and hirsute. The ligula is entirely concealed by the mentum. The labrum and mandibles are but little exposed, and the latter şre thick. The palpi arc short, ţhc mentum very hairy. The inner side of the maxillae is armed with teeth. The body, of a cinereous or earthy hue, is rough or tuberculatcđ on the upper surface. The head is inclined, and terminates in an angle or point. The thorax is short, transversal, without lateral borders, sinuated posteriorly, with the anterior angles advanced. The abdomen is large,’ arched, and covered with very hard elytra. The an-^ terior legs are advanced, and their thighs cover as it were the lower surface of the head. These insects form the genus Trox ^[296. Tpωξ, from τpa>λω, I gnaw.] of Fabricius and Olivier. They generally occur on sandy soils, and are supposed by Latreille to feed on the roots of plants. We suspect that our knowledge is still extremely vague regarding their habits of life and modes of transformation. It is certain that they are attracted by dried bones and other cadaverous remains, but it is difficult to determine whether this is owing to the peculiar colour, or the nature of the animal substance. Pallas observes, “sub cadaveribus aestivo ardore exsiccatis cum Histeribus et Der-mcstibus hospitatur;” but it by no means follows from that peculiarity of position that the insect partakes of the carcass, any more than that numerous other species which seek the secure covering of a rock or mass of stone, are in the habit of devouring these inorganic matters. We may further remark that the Troges are the only petalocerous insects among which we find an apterous species,—the T. horridus being destitute of wings. It forms the genus Phoberus of Macleay, and is worthy of consideration as probably destined, when its habits are better known, to throw some light, either by agreement or opposition, on the history of its congeners, and the value of the groups into which they have been divided. These in general are supposed to delight in cadaverous substances: all insects intended to live on animal matter, partially distributed and collected in masses, arc provided with wings, which convey them rapidly (with the joint guidance of the sense of smell), to those decaying objects which they instinctively desire; but the species above named being destitute of wings, a doubt naturally arises as to the probability of its feeding, like its congeners, on dried cadaverous matter. It has been stated as an illustration of this point, that the genera Silpha, Hister, Dermestes, and other necrophagous kinds, are winged, whilst Pimelia, Brachyce-τus, &c. which, like T. horridus, frequent sandy deserts, are apterous,—a formation supposed to accord with the fact that the particles of which their food is composed are so universally spread over these arid plains as to obviate the necessity of any rapid or extended change of place.^[297. See ĩloroe Ent. p. 62; Ent. Ed. p. 186; and Règne Animal, t. iv. p. 546.] Section 3d, Xylophili, ^[298. From Svλa>, wood, and pλos, a lover.] Lat. In these the scutellum is always distinct, and the elytra do not cover the posterior extremity of the abdomen. In several the hooks of the tarsi are unequal. The antennae have always ten articulations, of which the last three form a foliated mass,—the central leaflet being never entirely concealed or inclosed by the others. The labrum is not projecting, and only its anterior part is exposed. The mandibles are entirely corneous, and laterally project beyond the head. The maxillae are corneous, or of a solid texture, straight, and usually toothed. The ligula is covered by an ovoid or triangular mentum, nar-. rowed and truncated at the extremity, where the angles are frequently dilated. All the legs are inserted at equal distances from each other. * A first subdivision contains those genera in which the males arc distinguished from the females by tubercles or [7:9:156] horn-like projections on the head or thorax, and sometimes by a difference ih the form of the latter part. The epistoma is small, triangular, and either pointed, truncated, or bidentateđ at the end. The labrum is almost always concealed. In some the maxillae terminate by a simple coriaceous or crustaceous lobe, more or less hairy, and without teeth; in others they are entirely squamous or scaly, pointed, and provided with a small number of teeth, accompanied by hairs. The mentum is ovoid, or truncate-triangular. The chest exhibits no projection. The hooks of the tarsi are generally equal. The scutellum is small, or of medium size. The colours incline to black and brown. . Of those genera in which the maxillae are terminated by a coriaceous or crustaceous lobe without teeth, and simply hirsute or furnished with cilia, we shall adduce as an example Oryctes ^[299. Ofuκτ⅛j, one who digs.] of Illiger (Plate CCXXIV. fig. 15). The legs of these differ but little in length, and the four posterior tibiae are thick, strongly incised or emarginate, with an extremity greatly widened, and appearing as if stellated in some. This genus contains some large and striking species, such as 0. rhinoceros, and others, from the East Indies. There are few European species, and of these 0. nasicornis is by some regarded as indigenous in England. It feeds on tan and rich vegetable mould. Its larva is well known as having furnished the great Swammerdam with the subject of one of his many remarkable anatomical investigations. Of such as possess maxillae which are usually corneous or scaly, and more or less dentated, we shall mention the genus Scarabaeus ^[300. The term Scarabaeus appears to have been either applied by the Romans to coleopterous insects in general, or at least to have been used with a wide and indefinite generic application. The origin of the word is bv no means clear, and its derivation from rχ,ζπτω, as given by Fabricius and Olivier, has been regarded as inconsistent with the rules of etymology. Mr Macleay thinks it difficult to obtain the word at all from the Greek, and regards it it rather as being of Etruscan origin, the more especially as it never occurs in other than ancient Latin authors. Let us here note tliat the Scarabaei (properly so called) of Latreille belong to the genus Dynastes of Macleay, which inclues the "giants of the insect race." We believe, however, that some Prionidae exceed them in size.] properly so called (Plate CCXXIV. fig. 17). In these the body is thick and convex, and the external side of their mandibles sinuous or dentated. These insects occur chiefly in the equatorial regions, both of the old world and the new. They are scarcely known in Europe, and do not exist in Britain. N. punctatus is found in Italy and the south of France, and N. monodon in Hungary. Several species from South America (such as S. Hercules) and the East Indies, are remarkable for their gigantic size and extraordinary structure. N. Atlas, Fab. (Hector of Dejean?), is a native of Java, but it also occurs in the mainland.^[301. The specimen in our collection was taken at Rangoon by Sir Archibald Campbell, and obligingly transmitted to us by George Swinton, Esq. We have since received Javanese specimens from Lieutenant Loudon, R. N. of Musselburgh.] We know little of the actual history or transformations of these fine insects, but their habits may be inferred to resemble those of Oryctes, and other congenerous tribes of the Scarabaeides. The larvae probably dwell in the decaying portions of great timber trees, and no doubt hasten the death and overthrow of these sylvan monarchs. We could dilate with pleasure on the singular aspect of these gigantic Coleoptera, did not the nature of our general plan, and our desire to notice, however briefly, most of the principal genera, preclude our entering into the descriptive details of species. We must therefore rest satisfied with a general reference to the works of Olivier, Fabricius, Latreille, Macleay, and< the Catalogue of Dejean, part ii. p. 150.^[302. Few points are more puzzling, or productive of greateer delay in the progress of the student, than the cloud of synonyms by which natural history is overshadowed. This arises partly from iignorance, and partly from the (nearly allied) source of'self-conceit, which induce together "confusion worse confounded," in the very face of an expressed desire to enlighten and amend. Even the great masserts of the art have sometimes erred in the imposition of their generic names. The reader will bear in mind that Geotrupes of Fab. forms no part of the Geotrupieds of the present day, but corresponds to the genus Scarabaeus of Latreille; while the genus which bears the latter name in the Horae Entomologicae is identical in its prevailing parts to the genus Αtcuchui of the Systema Eleutheratorum. There is no doubt that Mr Macleay s genus contains the insects to which the name of Scarabaeus was applied by Pliny.] We cannot 1 help, however, here alluding to that principle of association in the human mind, by which size or dimension affects us with such different ideas in relation to different objects. Many may smile at our using the expression “gigantic” or “magnificent” to creatures the largest of which (of the Coleopterous kinds, e. g. Prionus gigas) scarcely exceeds six inches in length ;—yet true it is, that to an entomologist accustomed only to the European forms of insect life, the first sight of any of the greater Prionidae, or of Scarabaeus Hercules, or Atlas, or Actaeon, creates a feeling bordering upon awe, such as that which an enlightened artist may be supposed to experience on first beholding the perfect proportions of some great temple. Our ideas are perhaps equally relative in all departments both of art and nature. An Egyptian pyramid is thought stupendous, while North Berwick Law (of about equal height with the greatest of the Coptic monuments) is almost nameless as a Scottish mountain. An eagle, from his size and strength, is called a “feathered king,” although his body is less than that of a pig a few months old. A mastiff or Newfoundland dog, being among the largest of the canine kind, is called “majestic,” although a sucking elephant might squeeze both of them to death by an accidental stumble,-—the said elephant being at the same time regarded as a “poor creature,” because it is not a full grown example of the “wisest of beasts.” An ancient walrus, floating among the hoary icebergs of the arctic seas, is looked upon as one of the most ponderous of created things; yet a Greenland seaman considers as insignificant, and will scarcely throw his harpoon into the sides of a young whale, which with one blow of its upraised tail could lash the ocean into foam, sink a “captain’s gig,” and send the walrus with a fractured skull to the bottom of the sea. The same principle is capable of illustration, by the practice of the more enthusiastic disciples of Isaac Walton. Even the most experienced of anglers gazes with delight, almost with wonder, at a river trout of three or four pounds weight. A grilse of the same dimensions, when made to·“spurn the indignant shore,” is viewed by the salmon fisher almost with a feeling of disappointment. We remember our friend Sir William Jardine killing, inter alia, one morning in the Tweed, a salmon of six and thirty pounds weight, in an hour and five minutes, and yet the same skilful angler was greatly astonished by a Loch Awe trout, which, though a giant of its kind, was, when brought to the balance, found wanting by several ounces, in the weight of twelve pounds. But to return to our beetles. The genus Phileurus ofLat. (Geotrupes of Fabricius) differ from the Scarabaei in their mandibles, which are straighter, without sinus or dentation on the outer side; [7:9:157] their body is also depressed, and the thorax dilated or rounded laterally. Such are N. dydimus, vulgus, depressus, of Fab. * * A second subdivision of the Xylophili contains those genera in which the head and thorax are of similar structure in both sexes, and not characterized by peculiar projections. The anterior margin of the labrum is almost always exposed or apparent. The maxillae are entirely squamous, as if truncated at the termination, and furnished with five or six strong teeth on their inner edge. The mentum is proportionally shorter and broader than that of the Scarabaei, and less narrowed superiorly. The mesosternum is frequently prolonged to a horn or blunt point between or beyond the second pair of legs. The scutellum is usually large. The hooks of the tarsi are generally unequal. A small number cxcepted, these xylophilous Coleoptera are peculiar to the equatorial regions of the new world. They resemble in many respects our preceding subjects, and are at the same time nearly allied to the Melolonthae, and particularly the Cetoniae, of which they bear the external aspect, although their masticating organs differ. Fabricius and Olivier, in fact, arranged most of these insects with each other. The body of the kinds now under consideration is shorter, more rounded, and smoother than that of the preceding. They moreover differ in being frequently ornamented with brilliant colours. In some (agreeing in this character with all the .preceding Scarabaeides), we do not perceive, between the posterior angles of the thorax and the exterior ones of the base of the elytra, an axillary piece filling up as it were the space comprised between these parts. We shall first notice a genus in which the central portion of the chest presents no pointed prolongation. Such is Hexodon ^[303. from jξ, six, ĨSous, tooth, in allusion to the amount of dentations of the maxillae. See Plate CCXXIV. fig. 16.] (Plate CCXX1V. figs. 16, 20, 22, and 23), of which the body is almost orbicular, plane beneath; the head square, and received into a deep emargination of the thorax; the exterior margin of the elytra dilated and anteriorly marked by a small groove or gutter; the legs slender, and the hooks of the tarsi small and equal. But in the following genera the sternum is prolonged between the second pair of legs to a conical point. In Ciiryso-phora of Dejean (Alelolontha chrysochlora, ^[304. ο yοge de MM. IIumlοldt el Bοηρlαηd, ii. xv. 1, fem.; 2, male.] Lat.), Plate CCXXIV. figs. 18 and 19, the hind legs of the male are very large, the thighs thick, the tibiae arcuated, and terminated at the inner angle by a very strong point. Here is also placed the Scarabaeus macropus of Shaw.^[305. Naturalist's Miscellany, 380, iv.] ln RuTELA, Lat. (Plate CCXX1V. fig. 25), there is no remarkable difference in the size of the legs in the two sexes; the mentum is almost isometrical; the scutellum small or moderate; and the sternal point is short,—not reaching to the origin of the two anterior feet. The body is ovoid or oval. Macraspis, Macleay (Plate CCXXIV. fig. 26), differs from the preceding in the proportions of the mentum, which is obviously longer than broad; in the short and rounded form of the body; in the length of the scutellum, which at least equals a third of that of the elytra; and in the length of the sternal point, the extremity of which attains to the origin of the two anterior legs, or extends beyond it. The mandibles are almost triangular, with the extremity pointed or emarginate. The maxillae are furnished with several teeth. One of the hooks of the tarsi, at least of the four anterior ones, is bifid, the other entire. Here Latreille places also the genus Cπasmo-dia of Macleay. In other genera w e perceive the axillary piece, before alluded to (agreeing with that seen in the same quarter in the Cetonia, and named epimera by M. Audouin^[306. Mémoire sur le Thorax des Insectes.]), filling up the space comprised between the posterior angles of the thorax and the exterior angles of the base of the elytra. Such is the genus Ometis of Latreille. Section 4τn, Pπyllophagi. ^[307. I‘ rom <1>uλλoν, a leaf, and φαγο;, eating.] This section, as well as the ensuing, is formed from the great genus Melolontha of Fabricius, of which certain species are scattered also among the preceding groups. The Phyllophagi are nearly related to the concluding genera of the third section. Their mandibles, however, are covered above by the epistoma, and concealed beneath by the maxillae,—their exterior side being alone exposed, but without cither protruding or presenting the sinuosities or dentations observed in the Rutelae and other analogous genera. The anterior edge of the labrum is exposed, and is sometimes of the form of a broad reversed triangle, sometimes (and more frequently) of a transverse lamina, emarginate in the centre. The number of the articulations of the antennae is by no means uniform, and varies from eight to ten. The same observation applies to those of the club, which in several differs even in the sexes of the same species. The ligula is entirely covered by the mentum, or incorporated with its anterior face, and the elytra meet completely along the whole of the dorsal suture,—characters which distinguish our present species from those of the fifth or ensuing section. * The family of Anaplognathides of Mr Macleay, and some other genera nearly allied to the preceding, form the first subdivision according to Μ. Latreille’s views. The epistoma is thickened anteriorly, and forms, either alone or with the labrum, a vertical facette in the form of a reversed triangle, the point of which rests on the mentum. This last-named portion is sometimes almost ovoid, densely pilose, with the extremity either rounded or truncated, and without emargination,—sometimes in the form of a transverse square, with the middle of the superior margin prolonged into a tooth, simple or emarginate. The maxillae of some terminate by a coriaceous or membranous lobc, very hairy, without teeth, or with a very small number, and situate near the middle of the internal border ;—those of the others are entirely corneous, resemble mandibles, and are either truncated or obtuse and entire at the end, or terminated by two or three tceth. In the genera Paciiypus of Dejcan, and Amblyteres of Maelcay, the mentum is almost ovoid; and in the former the antennae of the males are composed of only eight joints, of which the last five form the club,—in the latter they consist of ten joints, of which the last three form the club. In the other genera of this subdivision the mentum forms a transverse square, the centre of the superior margin projecting in the manner of a tooth, entire or emarginate. In the gcnus Anapi.ognathus of Leach (peculiar to Australasia) there is a sternal projection, and the hooks of the tarsi are entire and unequal. The antennae are composed of ten joints, and the extremity of the maxillae is truncated, or obtuse and entire. These insects are [7:9:158] of considerable size, and of rather brilliant aspect.^[308. See Hot. Ent. p. 143; and Linn. Trans. vol. xii. pp. 401—5; also Leach’s Zoological Miscellany, vol. ii∙ p. 44.] Here also are placed the genera Leücoţiiyreus of Macleay, and Apogonia and Geniates of Kirby. * * A second subdivision of the Phyllophag ^[309. Misnamed (we presume accidentally) Xyloρlιilcs in the second edition of the Règne Animal, t. iv. p. 558.] of Latreille contains the Melolonthidae of Macleay. In these the labrum is in the form of a transverse plate or leaflet, generally strongly emarginate beneath in its centre, so that when seen in front it exhibits the figure of a reversed or demi-truncated heart. The mentum is as long if not longer than broad, somewhat narrowed anterior to the summit, and either nearly square or heart-shaped; its superior margin is straight, or more or less emarginate or concave, in the middle, but without any tooth-like dilatation. The maxillae arc usually squamous, and armed with several (frequently five.or six) teeth, 1his subdivision is itself capable of a further partition into two groups, the first corresponding to the genus Melolontha of Fabricius, as restricted by liliger and Latreille—the other to the genus Hoplia of Illiger. The former continues to bear the name of Melolonthides. Distinguishable by the following general characteristics. The number of complete leaflets of the club exceeds three in several genera. The form of the body is usually thick and massive. The mandibles are strong, entirely or in greater part corneous, and exhibiting at most only a membranous and hirsute appendage, placed in the emargination of the inner side; the superior extremity is strongly truncated, with two or three teeth or angular projections. All the tarsi are terminated by two hooks; the first article of the two anterior being prolonged inferiorly into a hooked appendage. The labrum is usually apparent,—the maxillary teeth robust. The insects of whieh this group is composed were included by Linnaeus, like all those with which wc have been lately engaged, in his extensive genus Scarabaeus, and they also continued to form a portion of that genus in the works of Geoffroy, Degeer, Schaeffer, and other entomologists prior to the time of Fabricius. The last-named author established the genus Melolontha, which in its extended signification may be regarded as synonymous with the Melolonthides of Latreille. Were we to follow the prevailing and praiseworthy example of botanists, who bestow upon a family the name of the genus by which it is most strongly characterized, our present group ought to be denominated Sericides, in as far as the type is not formed by Melolontlια vulgaris, but rather by Μ. brunηcα of Fabricius, which now constitutes the genus Serica of Macleay. But as it is at all times desirable that families should be named after well-known genera, the designation now adopted is preferable to that which might be derived from the less noted though more characteristic type. The Melolonthides are not often distinguished by brilliant or metallic colouring. Their elytra, of which« brown is a characteristic colour, are generally slightly scaly 1 or hirsute. Throughout the entire period of their existence these insects live on vegetable substances, and their ravages are often extremely injurious. The larvae are very long lived, and sometimes pass three or four years in that destructive state. In cold and temperate climates they are very sluggish, if not torpid, during winter, and descend somewhat deeper into the earth to avoid the effects of frost. The perfect insects feed on leaves,—the larvae for the most part on roots. In the genus Melolontha properly so called (from μqλeα, an apple-tree, and αν0τjffις, inflorescence ^[310. ? M^λaλa>+, or is a term of frequent occurrence in Aristotle and other ancient authors, and was first applied by Fabri cius to the insects of the present genus. It is derived from the words mentioned above, because the insects it denoted either were supposed to be pιoduced from the flowers of fruit-trees, or were accustomed to resort to them for food. This circumstance renders it probable that the of the ancients belonged to the family Cetoniides, as the true Melolonthides are hardly ever seen on flowers; and the description of Eustathius, who says that the animal resembled a wasp, led Air Macleay to conjecture that it might be the Tiichìus fasciatus, a vernal beetle common in Greece, which might be readily mistaken by a casual observer for one of the ^ √ meuoptera, as it bears a considerable resemblance to some of the members of that order, both in its colouring and mode of flight. Jylouiiets investigations led him to a very different conclusion—that the insect was of a metallic green, and referable to the Bupres-tιdes. I he former opinion is greatly the more probable, and accords with the brief notices on the subject found in ancient writers, particularly Hesychιus and the scholiast on Aristophanes; but these notices are too imperfect to warrant the determinate application of a word obviously, used with considerable latitude of meaning, and intended in all probability to indicate a group or tribe of insects rather than any individual species. (See ∏or. Ent. p. 78; and Mouífeti, Thcat. Insect, xxi. 158.)] ), see Plate CCXX1V. fig. 29, the antennae are ten jointed, with the five or seven terminal joints in the males, and the six or four in the females, composing the club. The labrum is thick and strongly emarginate beneath. All the hooks of the tarsi are equal, and terminate in a point entire or simply uni-dentate at their base. The posterior extremity of the abdomen usually ends in a point or style, at least in the males. Of the species of which the antennal club in the male consists of seven leaflets, in the female of only six, we shall here notice the common cockchafer, Μ. vulgaris (S. Melolontha, Linn.). The body of this insect is of a pitchy black, with a whitish pubescence; the sides of the abdomen are marked by a range of triangular spots. The elytra are testaceous. The antennae of the males are much larger than those of the females. (Plate CCXXIV. figs. 21 and 24.) This, though a most abundant insect in England, and over most parts of Europe, is less generally known in Scotland, and is rare in the Edinburgh district. Specimens, however, have beer procured in the park of Dalkeith House, in Lanarkshire; at Lorn in Ayrshire,^[311. Professor Rennie, in Insect Transformations, 225.] at Raehills and Moffat in Dumfriesshire, and as far north as Glencoe.^[312. jļ n ŧ t j1 i p p. igg. ?] We may observe that the existence in the perfect state of the species above named is of very short duration. The life of an individual is supposed not to extend beyond í week, and the entire species during each successive seasor prevails only for the space of a single month. The male speedily perishes after the sexual union, and the femal< merely survives for a sufficient time to deposit her eggsiι safety. As soon as the latter is fecundated, she digs a hol< in the earth of about half a foot in depth, by means of he dentated fore legs. The larvae which proceed from thes< eggs are soft, lengthened, of a dingy-white or yellowisl colour; they have six short scaly fcet, a large scaly head two antennae, each composed of five pieces, and nin∣ stigmata on each side of the body. The eyes are not a first visible—being concealed under the skin, which is er< long cast off. These destructive creatures feed upon th∣ roots of various plants. They are most voracious during the summer season. In the course of the autumn the; descend into the earth, and pass the winter in a state o profound repose, neither requiring nor desiring food. A [7:9:159] soon as the solar rays produce their genial influence in • early spring, they ascend within six inches of the surface, and recommence thcir ravages. They change their skin every year, assume the nympha state in the course of the third autumn after they are hatched, and appear in the perfect state during the ensuing spring or early portion of summer. The beetle, when it first escapes from its cocoon, is pale and soft, and does not venture to leave its subterranean chamber for some time. But ere long it acquires a firm consistence, and crawling to the surface, it expands its wings, and mounting into the air, is henceforward no more a subterranean dweller, but seeks its nourishment among the umbrageous branches of the loftiest trees.^[313. Some very laborious and beautifully elaborated works have been recently published on the anatomical structure of the Melolon-tliae. See more particularly Considérations générales sur Γ Anatomie comparée des Animaux articulés, auxquelles on a joint l'anatomie descriptive du Hanneton, par Μ. Straus, 1 vol. in 4to, with plates. Paris, 1828. The illustrious and lamented Cuvier has observed of this production, that it is the only work fit to be compared to that of Lyonnet, Sur la Chenille du Saule. Μ. Dufour has also explained the digestive system of these insects, in the 3d vol. of the Ann. des Sciences Nat. ; while the muscular economy of the wings and thorax has been described and figured by the accurate Chabrier, in his Essai sur le Vol des Insectes. Paris, 1823.] Although the generality of insects are more destructive in the larva than in any other state, great ravages are occasionally committed even by the perfect insect. It is in relation to the present species that Mouffet records the number of beetles which at Qne time fell into the Severn as being sufficient to stop the wheels of the water-mills. In the year 1688 they covered the hedges and trees in a district of the county of Galway, in such infinite numbers as to hang in clusters like bees when they swarm. When on the wing they almost darkened the light of day, and produced a peculiar sound by the rustling of their wings. When feeding, the noise of their jaws might have been mistaken for the sawing of timber; and in a very short time the foilage of the trees for miles around was so totally consumed, that at midsummer the country wore the aspect of the leafless winter.^[314. Phil. Trans, xix.] “One of the worst of these ravagers,” say Messrs Kirby and Spence, ii is the grub of the common cockchafer. This insect, which is found to remain in the larva state for four years, sometimes destroys whole acres of grass, as I can aver from my own observation. It undermines the richest meadows, and so loosens the turf that it will roll up as if cut with a turfing spade. These grubs did so much injury about seventy years ago to a poor farmer near Norwich, that the court of that city, out of compassion, allowed him L.25, and the man and his servant declared that he had gathered eighty bushels of the beetle.^[315. phù Trans. 1741. 581.] In the year 1785 many provinces of France were so ravaged by them that a premium was offered by the government for the best mode of destroying them. They do not confine themselves to grass, but eat also the roots of corn; and it is to feast upon this grub more particularly that the rooks follow the plow.^[316. lntrod. to Ent. vol. i. η. 177.]” The scarcity of this species in Scotland saves it from the fate often inflicted in the south, where spinning a cockchafer is a favourite amusement among school-boys. When the larger Coleoptera fall upon their backs, they have some difficulty in resuming their natural position,— arid in Sweden, according to Sparmann, there is a fond belief among the simpler of the common people, that their sins will be forgiven them if they set a cockchafer upon its legs. If this creed be true, our English youths have much to answer for.^[317. We may here record that the Melolontlιa lιippoeastani, Fab. (Olivier, i. 3, a, b, c) was taken by the writer of this article some years a go on the banks of Windermere. It was formerly confounded with Μ. vulgaris, but is distinguished by being rather smaller, shorter, and more convex; the elytra are narrowly margined with black, and the terminal style of the abdomen is rather shorter, and has a slight constriction or neck, which makes the extremity appear broader and more obtuse. It does not seem to be known as British to the English collectors. (See Entomoloεia Eãìnensĩs, p. 190, note·)] The only other species of the genus which we shall mention is Μ. fullo (Plate CCXXIV. fig. 29), one of the largest of the European Coleoptera. It is sometimes nearly an inch and three quarters long, of a brown or blackish colour, marked with many irregular white spots. The club of the antennae in the males is remarkably large. This species occurs chiefly on downs along the maritime shores of Europe. It is sometimes captured in England. We have received it from Persia and other eastern countries. In the genus Riiisostrogus of Lat. (formerly Amphimalla of the same author), the species closely resemble the preceding; but the antennae, consisting of nine orten joints, have only three leaflets in the club. Such is a well known English insect not yet ascertained to inhabit Scotland, 7?. Solstitialis. In the genus Areoda of Leach and Maclcay (Plate CCXXIV. fig. 30) the antennae have ten articulations, the sternum is corneous, and all the hooks of the tarsi are equal in those individuals presumed to be females, and unequal in such as are regarded as males., The species are brilliantly adorned, and inhabit Brazil. All the preceding phyllophagous genera, it may be observed, with few exceptions, are furnished with ten articulations to the antennae; but in the following Melolonthides there are only nine. In Phyllopeřtha of Kirby (from puλλor, a leaf, and ¶ĩįôu, to destroy), the antennae are only nine jointed. Here we place a species which often appears in prodigious quantities among fcrns on commons in many parts of Britain. It is called the Bracken-clock in the north of England— P. horticola. It falls into the genus Anisoρlia of Megerle and Dejean. A larger and much rarer species is P. Prischii. It has been found near Montrose. In the genus Serica ^[318. From σηpwm, ι silk.] of Macleay (Plate CCXXIV. figs. 27 and 28), the joints of the antennae seem to have been differently computed.^[319. Antennae articulis decern, IIor. Ent. 14G. Je n'en compte que neuf, Règne Animal, iv. 562.] All the hooks of the tarsi are bifid. The body is ovoid, arched, with a silky aspect, and changeable reflections. Certain insects, as yet found only in New Holland, form the gcnus Diphucepiiala ^[320. From eiįuns, double, and xs¢aX». head.] of Dejean. Their tarsi are bifid, as in the preceding, but the body is narrow and elongated, and the thorax square. In Euciilora of Maclcay (Plate CCXXV. fig. 1 and 2), the hooks of the tarsi are unequal, and there is no sternal projection; one of the hooks of the four anterior tarsi is bifid in the males, the body is arched, the epistoma short and transverse. The second group of this subdivision, or the third and last of the Phyllophagi, is called Hoplides, and is characterized as follows. The mandibles are small and depressed, and as if divided longitudinally into two parts, of which the internal is membranous, the external corneous; the superior extremity presents no sensible dentations. The labrum is concealed or but slightly apparent. The maxillae have frequently only small dentations. The body is short, depressed, broad, with the elytra[7:9:160] narrowed posteriorly at the exterior side. The last two tarsi are usually furnished with but a single hook. In such as have two* hooks to all the tarsi (genus Dicrania), the first joint of the anterior tarsi is prolonged inferiorly, and exhibits on the internal side a strong hooked tooth. M. Leon Dufour, as Latreille informs us, has remarked, that the digestive canal in these insects (at least in sueh Hopliae as he has examined) is mueh shorter than that of the Melolonthae, and rather approaches the same part in the genus Cetonia. The chylific ventricle is smooth and flexuous. The small intestine is shorter than in Melolontha, and often presents an ovoid inflation at its origin. The great intestine is elongated, and destitute of valvular anfractuosities, and the reetum is distinctly marked by an obvious collar. The generative system resembles that of the Melolonthae. In the genus Dicrania (Lepel. and Serville, in Encyclop. Meth.), besides the characters alluded to above, the body is very smooth, without scales, the scutellum rather large, and there are two strong spines at the extremity of the four posterior tibiae; the lower extremity of the two hindmost tibiae is dilated. These insects are natives of Brazil. In the genus Hoplia of liliger'there is only a single hook to the two posterior tarsi (Plate CCXXV. fig. 4). The pairs of the others are bifid and unequal. The extremity of the intermediate and hind tibiae is as it were crowned by little spines of nearly equal length. The body is generally furnished with minute scales. The epistoma is either almost square or nearly semicircular. The thighs of the two hind legs are moderately enlarged, and the tibiae are long, straight, and without a hooked tooth at their extremity. H. farinosa (Plate CCXXV. fig. 3), one of the most beautiful of European Coleoptera, is a eommon inseet in the south of Franee. The antennae are nine-jointed, the body is eovered with silvery seales, or a pale but bright and ethereal blue, with a greenish or golden tint beneath. This species, on whieh a British entomologist gazes with great delight, is eommon in several European countries, near the banks of brooks and rivers. Section 5tπ, Antiiobii. ^[321. From α√sj, α flower, and βms, life.] The scarabideous inseets of this section also formed a portion of the undivided genus Melolontha, and are nearly allied to the concluding members of the preceding groups. Their paraglossae, however, or divisions of the ligula, project beyond the upper extremity of the mentum, and the edges of the elytra are somewhat open, or removed from the usual line of the dorsal suture, towards their posterior extremity, which is narrowed to a point, or rounded. The antennae consist of from nine to ten joints, of whieh the three last alone form the club in both sexes. 1he terminal lobe of the maxillae is often almost membranous, silky, in the form of a peneil,—in others it is coriaceous and dentated along the inner edge. The labrum and mandibles are more or less solid, according as these parts are exposed or eovered. These inseets live among flowers and the varied foliage of shrubs and trees. In the genus Amphicoma, ^[322. From aμp, about, or on both sides, and κoμ∏, hair, in allusion to the frequent covering with which the species are invested.] Lat. (Plate CCXXV. figs. 5 and 6) the first joint of the antennal club is concave, and encases the others. Hie mandibles are rounded and curved on the exterior side, without dentation on the inner margin; the antennal mass is globular, the abdomen soft, and all the legs of ordinary size. The epistoma is distinctly margined. The anterior tibiae have three teeth on their outer edge. The first four artieles of the tarsi are strongly ciliated in the males. These singular insects can scarcely be regarded as European, although they do occur occasionally in Greeee. They are more frequent in the south of Russia, and in'the western parts of the Persian dominions. Comte Dejean informs us that A. hirta, Fab. is the female of A. vιdpes of the same author. A. vulpecula, with which we were favoured by M. Falder-mann of the Imperial Botanie Gardens of St Petersburg, appears to be also a variety of the first-named insect. The only other genus of this section which we can here notice is Anisonyx of Lat., an example of which is given in Plate CCXXV. figs. 7 and 13. Section 6tii, Melitopiiili. ^[323. From μίλι, honey, or μιkιτoω, to make honey, and ¢/Xo¢, a lover.] In these the body is depressed, usually oval, brilliant, hornless, with the thorax trapeziform or almost orbicular. An axillary piece occupies, in the greater number, the space comprised between the posterior angles and the exterior of the base of the elytra. The anal termination is exposed. The sternum is frequently prolonged in the form of a point or advanced horn. The hooks of the tarsi are equal and simple. The antennae are 10-articulate, with the last three joints forming the elub, which is always foliaceous. The labrum and mandibles are eoncealed, lamelliform, and nearly if not entirely membranous. The maxillae terminate in a silky lobe, in the form of a pencil, without corneous teeth. The mentum is usually ovoid, truncated superiorly, or almost square, with the middle of the superior edge more or less coneave or emarginate. The ligula is not projecting. The alimentary tube of these insects, aceorđing to Μ. Dufour, is shorter than in any of the scarabideous family. The chylific ventricle has usually its external tunic covered by very small superficial papillae, or projecting points. The enlargement which terminates the small intestine is not cavernous, as in the Melolonthae.^[324. For other details, especially for such as illustrate the generative system, see Annales des Sciences Nat. t. iii. p. 235, and t iv. p 178∙] The larvae are said to live in decayed wood. In the perfect state they oceur on flowers, and not unfrequently also on the trunks of sueh trees as exude any fluid. This section, according to the views of M. Latreille, by which we have already been so long guided, is susceptible of division into three prineipal groups, eorresponding to the genera Trichius of Fabricius, Goliathus of Lamarck, and Cetonia of Fabrieius, but reduced and simplified by certain abstractions. The Melitoph ili of the first two divisions have no strongly-marked sternal projection; the lateral portion of the mesosternum (or that named epimera by M. Audouin) does not generally manifest itself upwardly. The thorax does not increase from before backwards as in Cetonia; nor is the exterior side of the elytra abruptly narrowed or uni-sinuate a little below the humeral angle, as in those insects. A more rigorous character consists in the labial palpi being inserted in lateral grooves of the anterior face of the mentum, so that they are entirely exposed, the sides of the mentum jutting beyond them at their origin, and protecting them behind. In the first two divisions these palpi are inserted beneath the lateral margin of the mentum, or in the margins themselves, in such manner [7:9:161] that the first articulations, when viewed from before, do •not appear. Is/, Trichides. In these the mentum is either almost isometrical, or rather longer than broad, and leaves the maxillae exposed. They correspond, as we have said, to the genus Trichius of Fabricius (Plate CCXXV. figs. 8 and 9), of which we may mention as an example T. fasciatus, probably the only British species. It is black, with scattered yellow hairs, the elytra yellowish, with three transverse black bands, interrupted at the suture. It is very rare in Scotland, but is, however, recorded by Mr Curtis as occurring “on the flowers of the thyme, near Loch Rannoch, in July.” It was also noticed some years ago by Dr Greville in Glen Tilt, and we saw it taken by Mr Giles Mun-by, on the southern border of Sutherland, early in the month of August 1833. The dimensions of the female considerably exceed those of the male. The genus, as now restricted, is not very extensive. Dejean enumerates twelve species, several of which are from North America. 2d, Goliathides, May be distinguished from the preceding by the mentum, which is much longer and wider, and covers the maxillae. In some the mentum is concave in the centre. The anterior extremity of the epistoma is neither toothed nor horned. Such is the genus Cremastocheilus of Knock (Plate CCXXV. fig. 10), in which the thorax forms nearly a transverse square; the maxillae are terminated by a strong tooth, hooked or falciform, with setae or little spines in place of an inner lobe; the last article of the palpi is very long and cylindrical; the mentum in the form of a widened heart, or of a reversed triangle rounded at the upper angles, without sensible emargination. In others the mentum is in the form of a greatly widened heart, but without a discoidal cavity, its superior edge being emarginate or sinuous. The anterior extremity of the epistoma in the males is divided into two lobes, in the form of obtuse or truncated horns. The thorax is almost orbicular. Such is the extraordinary genus Goliathus of Lamarck (Cetonia of Fab. and Olivier), Plate CCXXV. figs. 14 and 16, which contains some of the largest and most striking of coleopterous insects. One of the species which we have represented appears to exhibit some variation in its markings.^[325. See Olivier, Coléoptères, No. 6, pl. 5, fig. 33, et pl. 9, fig- 33. We are indebted to Mr Joseph Dalton Hooker for an accurate drawing of the valuable specimen in the Glasgow Museum. We did not receive it till the figure above referred to had been copied by our engraver from Olivier’s work.] The same species seems figured by Drury (Illustrations, vol. i. pl. 31), who says it was brought from Africa, where it was found “floating dead in the river Gaboon, opposite Prince’s Island, near the equinoctial line.” The only specimen with which we are now acquainted is that preserved in the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow. Mr Kirby has described two smaller species from Brazil.^[326. Linn. Τrαns. vol. χii. n. 407.] Other kinds form the genus Inca of modern writers.^[327. Encyclopédie Méthodique, art. Scaτabeides. See also Dejean’s Catalogue, p. 168.] 3tZ, Cetoniides. In this group the sternum is more or less prolonged to an obtuse point, between the intermediate pair of legs; the axillary piece before mentioned is always visible above, and occupies the entire space which separates the posterior angles of the thorax from the base of the elytra; the thorax is usually enlarged posteriorly, and has the form of a triangle truncated anteriorly or at its point. The mentum is never transversal; its superior margin is more or less emarginate in the middle. The terminal lobe of the maxillae is silky or pencil-shaped. The body is almost ovoid, and depressed. The membranaceous texture of the mandibles and maxillae of these insects demonstrates, as Mr Macleay has observed, that in the perfect state they live on vegetable juices. Thus C. morio, Fab. and doubtless many others, especially of the darker coloured kinds, regale themselves on the sap of wounded trees,—while C. aurata and its brilliant allies arc only found on flowers.^[328. ∏or. Ent. n. 74.] The Cetoniides, though in general gay and ornamental insects, yield in metallic splendour to several species of the genera Rutela, Glaphyris, and Anaplog∙ nathus. “Nothing, however, can exceed the beauty and lustre of the polish, or the admirable variety of ornament, with which their elytra are adorned. The larvae live in the fattest vegetable soils; but notwithstanding the excellent observations of Degeer, much remains to be performed towards the elucidation of this part of their history.”^[329. Ibid. p. 75.] Sufficient data have not yet been collected for the proper elucidation of their geographical distribution, but it appears that many more species exist within than without the tropics. In some the thorax is prolonged posteriorly in an angular form, so that the scutellum disappears. These form the genus Gymnetis of Macleay (Plate CCXXV. fig. 12). Several species occur in America. In others from New Holland and the East Indies the clypeus is bifid, or armed, in the males, with a couple of horns, and the body is proportionally narrow and elongated, with the abdomen obviously decreasing in size posteriorly. It is even almost triangular in some. The club of the antennae is elongated. These constitute the genus Macronota of Wiedemann (Plate CCXXV. fig. 15). “Mais toutes ces coupes n’acquerront de la solidité que lorsqu’on aura fait un étude particulière des nombreuses espèces du genre Cetonia de Fabricius.”^[330. Règne Animal, t. iv. p. 574. We observe a work On the Family of the Cetoniides, recently announced in France as preparing for publication, and from which, we doubt not. the entomologist will derive advantage.] The European Cetoniae are provided with a scutellum of ordinary size. C. aurata (commonly called the rosebeetle) is well known in many parts of England. It is nearly an inch long, of a brilliant golden green above, with coppery red reflections beneath, and some whitish markings on the elytra. It has been taken in Morayshire by the Misses Dick Lauder, and is also known to have occurred in Dumfriesshire. It is still, however, to be regarded as inter rariores of the Scottish species. Dejean’s Catalogue contains 125 Cetoniae, of which the greater part are foreign to Europe. They occur over all the warmer regions of the earth. Java produces several of great beauty, of which C. Macleayi is described, and figured by Mr Kirby in his Century of Insects. ^[331. Linn. Trans, vol. xii.] The one which we have represented, C. Baxii (Plate CCXXV. fig. 11), is highly prized by collectors. Tribe 2d, Lucanides. In this second tribe or principal division of the lamellicorn Coleoptera, which derives its name from the genus Lucanus of Linnaeus, the club of the antennae is composed of leaflets or dentations disposed perpendicularly to its [7:9:162] axis, like the teeth of a comb. These organs always consist often joints, of which the first is usually much longer than the others. The mandibles are always corneous, generally projecting, and of larger size as well as of different form in the males. The maxillae in most terminate in a narrow lobe, lengthened and silky; in others they are entirely corneous and dentated∙ The ligula in the greater number is formed of two small silky pencils, more or less projecting beyond the mentum, which is almost semicircular or square. The anterior legs are generally elongated, with the tibiae dentated all along their outer edge. The tarsi are terminated by two hooks, equal, simple, with a small appendage, ending in two setae, between them.^[332. See our elementary plate sCCXX.l fi≡r s . 1. 2. nnωσ~s, obscurity.] Lat. the antennae are almost-filiform, or enlarge insensibly towards the end. The anterior tibiae want the teeth. Z. testudi narius is black, the elytra chagrined, and covered on the sides with a whitish powder. It occurs at the Cape. In Nyctelia, Lat. (Plate CCXXV. fig. 24), the third article of the antennae is much larger than the preceding, and the following, as well as the ninth and tenth, are almost globular. The base of the maxillae is exposed. The species are proper to South America. In the genus Hegeter, Lat. the thorax assumes the form of a trapezium, almost as broad at the posterior margin as the base of the elytra, against which it is applied throughout its breadth. The terminal article of the antennae is rather less than the preceding. In Tentyria of Lat. (Ahis, Fab.) the thorax is almost orbicular, sometimes narrower than the abdomen, sometimes of the same breadth, but rounded at the posterior angles, and leaving an hiatus between them and the base of the elytra. The terminal article of the antennae is as large as the preceding. These, as well as the following genera, are peculiar to the warm and western countries of the ancient continent. The genus Aκιs^[344. From «»s, having projecting claa>s.] Fab. the thorax is at least as broad as the abdomen, almost isometrical. The anterior thighs are strongly inflated, and frequently dentated in the males. The tibiae are long and narrow. The terminal article of the antennae is ovoid-conic, and elongated. The species are peculiar to the western countries of the ancient continent, and are confined to its warmer parts. In Scoτo- bĭus of Germar, the terminal article of the antennae is scarcely longer than the preceding, and in the form of a reversed top. The thorax is perceptibly broader than long, and much arched in its lateral margins. These insects are peculiar to South America. Other insects of this tribe, agreeing with those just named in the entireness of the mentum, are remarkable for the lateral dilatations or tooth-like projections of the thorax. The eyes are more projecting than in the others, and the antennae are pubescent. The elytra are very unequal. Such is the genus Sepidium ^[347. From '∑wπι⅛0t', putridity.] ° of Fab. of which the species are found in the southern countries of Europe, and in Africa. [7:9:164] Among the last to which we shall here allude, is the genuíTnACHYNOTus, Lat. (Plate CCXXV. fig. 26), which differs from the preceding in the joints of the antennae: these are mostly cylindrical, or in the form of an elongated and reversed cone, the last three or four being alone rounded, and either ovoid, turbinatcd, or hemispherical. The eyes are almost round or oval, entire, or but slightly emarginate, and elevated. The last article of the antennae is sensibly longer and thicker than the preceding. r . In the genus Moluris, Lat. Psammodes, Kirby (Plate CCXXV. fig. 27), the eyes are narrow and elongated, and scarcely elevated. The thorax is convex, nearly orbicular, emarginate in front, truncated posteriorly, and without angular dilatations on the sides. These insects, in common with those immediately preceding, occur at the Cape. Tribe 2d, Blapsides, Lat. This tribe receives its name from the genus Ωlaps of Fabricius. The maxillary palpi are terminated by an obviously dilated article, triangular or hatchet-shaped. Among other anatomical observations made by Μ. Dufour in relation to these insects, he states that they are provided with a double excrementitial secreting apparatus, totally different in structure from that of the pentamerous tribes. It consists of two tolerably large oblong bladders, placed altogether beneath the viscera of digestion and generation, closely approximated to each other, with extremely thin parietes, and surrounded by vascular folds, adherent, more or less pursed or turgid, and of which it is difficult to ascertain the precise point of insertion, from the impossibilitv of unrolling them. The same may be said of the canals destined to the emission of the secreted fluids. They are concealed by a kind of membranous diaphragm, which is applied, by means of a fleshy pannicle, to the last ventrical segment. The fluid flows out laterally, and not from the extremity of the terminal segment: it is of a brownish colour, extremely acrid and irritating, of a peculiar and penetrating odour, and is capable of being thrown to a distance of six or eight inches. Those in which the body is generally oblong, with the abdomen laterally embraced by the elytra, and in which these parts are frequently narrowed towards the end, and terminate in a tail-like point, form Latreille’s first division. The tarsi are nearly alike in both sexes, and without any remarkable dilatation. In the genus Acant∏omera, Lat. (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 2), the thorax is almost orbicular, transversal; the abdomen nearly globular; the third article of the antennae cylindrical, and longer than the ensuing. In Blaps ^[348. From Bλ α ξ, slow.] proper (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 27) the thorax is almost square, and plane or but slightly convex. The abdomen is oval, transversely truncate at the base, more or less elongated. The elytra, for the most part, are narrowed or prolonged to a point, especially in the males. The third article of the antennae is cylindrical, and much longer than the ensuing; the last is short and ovoid. As an example of this genus (of which there are three British species), we may name a well-known insect, B. nιortisaga (ibid.) nearly an inch long, of a somewhat shining black, the ends of the elytra forming an obtuse point. It occurs occasionally in pantries, store-rooms, and other parts of houses, especially such as are dirty or neglected. A species called Blαps sulcata is said by Fabricius to be ( eaten by the Turkish women in Egypt, to make them fat. They cook it with butter. On the same authority, it is ι asserted to be used as a cure for headach and the sting of the scorpion. In Scotinus of Kirby (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 9),^[349. the subjects of Plat^CCXÎCVĩ^nr en o' av θ r, s θveral figures, which were afterwards inserted in the vacant spaces, some ≡ See i⅛1 1⅛ uθ p 456. ľ ≡^ stematic order ’ but the references in the text wifl be found correct.] the thorax is emarginate and dilated at the anterior corners, and the terminal joints of the antennae are thickened, the two last being confounded together. Then follow certain Blapsides with an oval and slightly elongated body, and farther distinguished by a sexual difference in the tarsi, the first or the tw’o anterior pair being most dilated in the males, and their inferior surface usually silky, or furnished with a brush. These insects frequent sandy places. Their two anterior tibiae are generally wider, dilated triangularly at the extremity, and adapted for digging. Here are placed the genera Pedinus, Plαptinus, &c. of Latreille, Dejean, and other authors.^[350.] Tribe 3d, Tenebrionites, Lat. These differ from the last in being provided with wings. Their body is usually oval or oblong, depressed or but slightly raised, with the thorax square or trapezoidal, and as wide as the abdomen at its posterior extremity. The palpi are larger at their extremity; the last joint of the maxillary palpi has the form of a reversed triangle, or is hatchet-shaped: the mentum is but slightly widened, and leaves the base of the maxillae exposed. The genus Tenebrio, as originally arranged by Fabricius, together with Opatτum and Ortìiocerus, serve in this tribe as the types of as many divisions. 1sZ, Those in which the body is oval, with the thorax nearly trapezoidal, arcuated laterally, or forming a semioval truncated anteriorly, wider than the abdomen, at least at its posterior margin, but slightly, if at all, bordered; the maxillary palpi terminated by a securiform joint, or nearly resembling that form; the antennae insensibly enlarged. Here are placed the genera Crypticus of Lat. and Opatrum, Fabricius. 2cZ, Those in which the body is narrow and elongated, almost of equal breadth posteriorly, or wider, with the thorax nearly square, and at least almost as long as it is broad; the antennae forming a thickish club, or abruptly dilated at the extremity. Such are, among others, the genera Corticus of Dejean (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 13), Ortiiocerus, Lat. (ibid. fig. 25), and Chiroscelis of Lamarck (ibid. fig. 32). '3d, Those of which the body is equally narrow and elongated, with the thorax nearly square, but of which the antennae are of the ordinary thickness, and not abruptly terminated by a mass or club. In Upis, Lat. (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 5), the thorax forms a lengthened square; the body is narrow, though not linear; the penultimate joints of the antennae are lenticular and transversal. In l enebrio ^[351. Γhe name refers to the habits of the species, and signifies one that shuns the light.] properly so called (ibid. fig. 23), the thorax differs from that of Upis in being broader than long. T∙ molitor (the species figured) is a well-known insect, which appears in the evening in the least frequented parts of houses. It is likewise found in flour-mills, bakehouses, and among old walls. Its larva, commonly called the meal-worm (ibid. fig. 29), is long, cylindrical, of an ochry yellow, scaly in its texture, and smooth. It lives among bran and flour, and forms a favourite and judicious food [7:9:165] for nightingales in the domestic state. It sometimes occurs in the interior of the human body. How it gets there nobody seems to know, but the fact is certain. We have three or four species of the genus in Britain. In a singular genus, named Heterotarsus ^[352. From 'iriζι, s , different, and rαζσi(, α part oĵ the foot or hand.] by Latreille (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 30), the penultimate joint of the tarsi is extremely small, in the form of a little knob, and received into a longitudinal groove of that which precedes it, which is itself more dilated, and almost cordiform (ibid. figs. 34 and 36). The only species with which we are acquainted comes from Senegal. It has all the characters of a Tenebrio, with the exception of its remarkable tarsi. At first sight the two anterior seem to consist but of four joints, and the two others of three. See the figures last referred to. » FAMILY II.—TAXICORNES, Lλt. In this family the small corneous tooth on the inner side of the maxillae, mentioned in our generalities of the preceding tribes, is wanting. All the species are winged. Their body is generally square, their thorax trapezoidal or semicircular, and either concealing or receiving the head. The antennae, usually inserted beneath a marginal projection of the sides of the head, are short, more or less perfoliate or granose, and either enlarge insensibly or terminate in a club. The legs are not adapted for running, and all the articles of the tarsi are entire, and terminated by simple hooks; the anterior tibiae are often broad and triangular. Several males have the head furnished with horns. The greater proportion of these Heteromera occur on tree fungi, or beneath the bark; some live on the ground under stones. M. Dufour has observed an excrementitial secreting apparatus in several genera, and salivary vessels are known to exist in the genus Diaperis. The chylific ventricle is beset with little hair-like papillae. In some the head is exposed, and never entirely received into a deep anterior notch of the thorax. The latter portion is sometimes trapezoidal or square, sometimes almost cylindrical; its margins, as well as those of the elytra, do not extend perceptibly beyond the body. This division forms Tribe 1st, Diaperales, Lat. In the genus Diaperis properly so called^[353. From ⅛aπεiξω, to pierce through..] (Plate JCXXVI. fig. 1), the maxillary palpi terminate in an article scarcely thicker than the preceding, and nearly cylindrical; the anterior tibiae, scarcely, if at all, larger than the following, are narrow, almost linear, and feebly dilated at their extremity. Among the ovoid and convex species, with the central portion of the thorax lobate posteriorly, we may name the insect here figured, D. boleti. Its body measures about three or four lines in length; it is of a shining black, with three bands of fulvous yellow, transverse and dentated, upon the elytra. It is a well-known British species, not yet observed in Scotland. In Leiodes of Lat. (Anisοtomα of Fab.) the body is short and convex, and the antennae terminate in an oval mass of five joints, of which the second is the least. Mr Stephens enumerates above thirty British species, of which Ł. arenaria was lately discovered near Cramond Bridge, Edinburgh.^[354. Εntomologia Εdlne.nsis, p. 145. We also possess an undescribed species, from the same locality, named in our cabinet L. fuscìcollis.] In this tribe are contained several other genera of minute insects, such as Tctrαtomα, Herbst, Eledona, Lat. &c. Tribe 2d, Cossyphenes, Lat. These are analogous in form to the genus Peltis of Fab. and to several Nitidulae and Cassidae. They are ovoid or sub-hemispherical, and overlapped in their contour by the dilated sides’ of the thorax and elytra. The head is in some entirely concealed beneath the thorax,—in others it is received or incased in its anterior emargination. The last joint of the maxillary palpi is larger than the preceding ones, and hatchet-shaped. This tribe corresponds to the unrestricted genus Cossypiius of Olivier and Fabricius. In the genus Cossyphus properly so called (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 3), the thorax is almost semicircular, exhibits no anterior emargination, and entirely covers and conceals the head. The antennae are short, terminate abruptly in an oval mass of four articles, chiefly transversal: the second of the whole number and the following ones are almost identical. These insects inhabit the East Indies, the south of Europe, and the north of Africa. In He-laeus of Lat. and Kirby, the head is received into a deep emargination, or median aperture of the thorax, and is exposed at least superiorly. The antennae terminate gradually in a narrow elongated club. These insects are peculiar to New Holland. Some other species, proper to South America, of which the body is almost hemispherical, very convex, and of a soft or slightly solid consistence, form the genus Nilio of Lat. At first sight they remind one of Coccinellae, and of various species of Erotyli. FAMILY III—STENELYTRA,^[355. 'rom r∏n l1 narrow, and ιλvτp,v, sheath, in reference to the form of the elytra.] Lat. This family of heteromerous Coleoptera differs from the preceding one chiefly in the antennae, which are neither granose nor perfoliated. In the greater number the extremity is not thickened. The body is generally oblong, arcuated above, and the legs elongated, as in many other insects. The males, except in their antennae and genera] dimensions, resemble the females. Our present species generally are of much more active habits than those we have just left. Many conceal themselves beneath the bark of trees, while most of the others are met with on flowers and foliage. Linnaeus referred most of them to his genus Tenebrio, and distributed the remainder among the incongruous groups of Necydalis, Chrysomela, Ceram· byx, and Cantharis. In the first edition of the Regne Animal, Latreille combined them, under a single genus, that of Helops ; but a more intimate knowledge of their ⅛tructure, interior as well as exterior, has since induced him to partition them into five tribes, referable to a corresponding number of the older genera, viz. Helops, Cistela, Direoea, of Fab. and Oedemera and Myeterus of Olivier. In Oedemera the head is more or less narrowed, and prolonged anteriorly in the form of a muzzle, and the penultimate article of the tarsi is always bilobed,-a character which seems to connect these insects with the weevils, oι rhyncophorous Coleoptera. In respect to the digestive canal and some other considerations, Helops and Cistela approach the Tenebriones; but in Cistela the chylific ventricle is smooth, and the mandibles entire, and the species affecl flowers and leaves, a habit by which they are distinguished from Helops. Most of the Dirceae possess the faculty of leaping, and the penultimate article of the tarsi, or at least of some of them, is bifid. Some live in mushrooms, others in old wood. They connect on one side with Helops[7:9:166], and on the other with Oeđemera, and still more with that sub-genus of the same tribe named Nothus by Ziegler. These are the principles by which Latreille has been recently directed in his arrangement of the present family. A certain number (including the first four tribes) have the antennae approximate to the eyes, and the head not prolonged into a trunk, but terminated at most by a short muzzle. Tribe 1st, Helopii. Antennae covered at their insertion by the margins of the head, almost filiform, or a little larger towards the extremity, generally composed of nearly cylindrical articles attenuated towards the base, and of which the penultimate are frequently a little shorter, in the form of a reversed cone,—the terminal being for the most part nearly ovoid, and the third always lengthened. The extremity of the mandibles is bifid; the last joint of the maxillary palpi is of larger size, and hatchet-shaped, or in the form Of a reversed triangle. The eyes are oblong, reniform, or emarginate. None of the legs are adapted for leaping; the penultimate joint of the tarsi, or at least of the hindmost ones, is almost always entire, or not deeply bilobed; the terminal hooks are simple, or without fissure or dentation. The body is for the most part arcuated above, and always of a firm and solid consistence. Such of the larvae as are known are filiform, smooth, shining, with very short feet, like those of the Tenebriones. They occur in old wood. It is also beneath the bark of ancient trees that we find the perfect insects. The tribe corresponds in great part to the genus Helops of Fabricius. Some have the body almost elliptical, strongly arcuated above, or very convex, with the antennae at the utmost as long as the thorax, compressed and dilated towards their extremity, like the teeth of a saw; the thorax transversal, plane above, either trapezoidal and widening posteriorly, or almost square; the elytra frequently terminated by a point or tooth. The posterior extremity of the praesternum forms a little salient point, which is received by a forked notch of the mesosternum. Here are placed the genera Epitragus and Cnodalon of Lat. and Campsia of Lepelletier and Serville. In all the other Helopii, the mesosternum exhibits no marked emargination, and the posterior extremity of the praesternum is not prolonged to a point. Here are placed the genera Spheniscus of Kirby, Acanthopus of Megerle and Dejean, Amarygmus of Dalman, Spiiaerotus and Adelium of Kirby, and Helops properly so called. In the last named, most of the joints of the antennae are nearly in the form of a reversed cone, or cylindrical and attenuated at the base. The thorax is transverse, or scarcely as long as broad, either square, or trapezoidal, or heart-shaped, abruptly narrowed posteriorly, terminated by pointed angles, and always applied exactly to the base or the elytra. Here also are placed the genera Laena of Megerle, Stenotrachelus, Strongylium of Kirby, and Pytho of Latreille.^[356. ^ r ∙iιθ d θ taιls 0 f th θ se and other genera of the tribe which we have been unable to do more than name, we must refer the reader -ιnrl r⅛ehir⅛ ⅞ e T d crt f ac ∙^ lηsect ∙i the Eηcydορ. Method. ; Linn. Trans. vol. xii.; Dalman’s Analecta £ntomol. ; Dejean’s Catalog*, and bischer s Łntomog. de ĩa Russie. j] Tribe 2d, Cistelides. This is very closely allied to the preceding, but the insertion of the antennae is not covered. The mandibles terminate in an entire point, or are unemarginate. The hooks of the tarsi are dentated beneath like the teeth of a comb. Several of these insects live on flowers. Their digestive canal is shorter than that of the Helopii, and( the chylific ventricle exhibits no papillae. They correspond to the genus Cistela of Fabricius. In some all the articles of the tarsi are entire. The last joint of the maxillary palpi is simply a little larger, obconical or triangular. In Lystronichus, Lat., the thorax is thick, narrower than the abdomen, almost orbicular or heart-shaped. The antennae are thickened towards the extremity. The thighs are clubbed. In Cistela properly so called, the thorax is depressed, trapezoidal, of the breadth of the abdomen at its posterior margin, or scarcely narrower. The antennae are filiform, or slightly enlarged at the extremity, and the head is advanced in the manner of a muzzle. In others, such as the genus Allecula, Fab., the penultimate article of the tarsi is bilobed, and the last joint of the maxillary palpi much dilated, in the form of a hatchet. The body is generally more oblong. Tribe 3d, Serropalpides. The most remarkable distinction of this tribe, and that from which it derives its name, is the frequent serration of the maxillary palpi, which are likewise large and inclined. The antennae are inserted in an emargination of the eyes, exposed as in the preceding tribe, and often short and filiform. The mandibles are emarginate or bifid at the extremity, and the hooks of the tarsi are simple. The body is almost cylindrical in some, oval in others, with the head inclined and the thorax trapezoidal. The anterior extremity of the head is not advanced, and the posterior thighs are not inflated. The penultimate article of the tarsi, or at least of the four anterior, is frequently bilobed; and in those in which it is entire the posterior legs at least are adapted for leaping; they are thin, long, compressed, the tarsi small, almost setaceous, with the first article elongated. The anterior are always short and dilated. The genus Dirccea of Fabricius forms the type of the tribe. It contains the genera Orchesia, Lat., Eustrophus, Illiger, Hallomenus, Paykul, Dircaea (proper), Fab., Melandrya, Fab., Hypulus, Paykul, Serropalpus, Hellw., and Conopalpus, Gyll. Tribe 4th, Oedemerites. ^[357. From oiitω, I swell, and l wsξ<>i, thigh.] This tribe is allied to the preceding by several characters, such as the exposed insertion of the antennae near the eyes, the bifid extremity of the mandibles, the bilobation of the penultimate article of the tarsi, and the hatchet shape of the terminal joint of the maxillary palpi; but they exhibit other characters, which authorize their separation. The body is elongated, narrow, almost linear, with the head and thorax scarcely so broad as the abdomen; the antennae are longer than those parts, serrated in some (such as Cαlopus), filiform or setaceous, and composed of long and nearly cylindrical articles, in others. The anterior extremity of the head is more or less prolonged in the form of a small muzzle, and rather restricted behind, with the eyes proportionally more elevated than among the preceding tribes. The thorax is at least as long as wide, and a little narrowed behind. The elytra are linear, or narrowed posteriorly, and are frequently flexible. Latreille regards the species as allied to Tele-plιorus and Zonitis. Μ. Dufour has recognised in the Oedemerites the existence of salivary vessels, of a simple nature, flexuous and floating, as well as of a paunch formed by a lateral crop, furnished with a neck or pedicle. [7:9:167] i They are the only Coleoptera in which that character has been observed. These insects, of which the transformations are unknown, are found on flowers and trees. They are all comprised in the old genus Oedemera of Olivier. In some the antennae are always short, inserted in a notch of the eyes, and simple; the posterior thighs are inflated, at least in one of the sexes; the thorax as broad as the base of the abdomen; and the hooks of the tarsi bifid. Such is the genus Nothus of Ziegler, in which the maxillary palpi are terminated by a large elongated hatchet-shaped article. The posterior legs in one of the sexes are very large, and furnished beneath with a strong tooth and two little spurs, near the lower extremity of the tibiae. The head is not prolonged anteriorly. In others the antennae are always longer than the head and thorax, the legs usually of nearly equal size, the thorax narrower than the base of the abdomen, slightly narrowed posteriorly, and the hooks of the tarsi entire. Such are Calopus, Fab. Sparedrus, Megerle, Dytilus, Fisch, and Oedemera properly so called (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 4). Tribe 5tπ, Rhynchostoma. ^[358. From ⅛uvχβi, leak, and στόμα, mouth.] In this, which forms the concluding tribe of the Stenelytra, are grouped certain insects, some of which are evidently allied to the preceding, while others in a natural system might be regarded as belonging to the Phynco-phorì. The head is obviously prolonged anteriorly in the form of an elongated muzzle, or of a flattened trunk, bearing the antennae at its base, and in advance of the eyes, which are always entire or without emargination. Sometimes the antennae are filiform, and the muzzle not enlarged at the base; the thorax is narrowed in front in form of a truncated cone or of a trapezium; the ligula is emarginate, and the terminal joint of the tarsi bilobed. These insects occur on flowers, a habitat indicated by the silky prolongation of the terminal lobe of the maxillae. Such are the genera Stenostoma, Fab. and Mycterus, Clairville. Sometimes the antennae are terminated by an elongated mass, formed by from three to five terminal joints; the muzzle is very flat, with a projecting angle on each side, anterior to the extremity; the thorax is in the form of a truncated heart, narrowed posteriorly; the ligula and all the joints of the tarsi are entire. These insects dwell beneath the bark of trees, and seem allied to the Aηthribi of Fabricius. They form the genus Rhinosimus of Lat. and Oliv. Those of which the club of the antennae consists of only three articles, fall under the genus Salpingus of Illiger. We have several British species. The second general division of heteromerous Coleoptera forms FAMILY IV.—TRACK ELIDES. The head is triangular or heart-shaped, borne upon a kind of neck or abrupt pedicle; the body is usually soft; the elytra flexible, without striae, sometimes very short, in others slightly inclined. The maxillae are not uιιgui-culated. The joints of the tarsi are often entire, and the . 00 ^ s °f the posterior ones bifid. The majority of these insects live in the perfect state on various plants, of which ey devour the foliage, or suck the nectarous juices, any, when seized, bend their heads, contract their limbs, an simulate death. Others are extremely active. La- r θι1le divides them into six tribes. Tribe 1st, Lagriariae. These have the body elongated, and narrower in front; the thorax either almost cylindrical or square, or ovoid and truncated. The antennae, inserted near a notch on the eyes, are simple, filiform, or insensibly increasing towards the extremity, generally and at least partially granose, with the terminal article longer than the preceding in the males. The palpi are thickened at their extremity, and the terminal joint of the maxillary is larger, and in the form of a reversed triangle. The thighs are oval and clubbed; the tibiae elongated, narrow, with at least the two anterior arched. The penultimate article of the tarsi is bilobed, and the hooks of the last are neither incised nor dentated. The tribe is formed of the genus Lagria of Fabricius, subdivided in accordance with certain characters detailed' in the Pegne Animal, t. v. p. 52. Tribe 2d, Pyrociiroides, Approach the preceding in regard to the tarsi and the elongation and restriction of the anterior part of the body,—but the latter is flattened, with the thorax almost orbicular or trapezoidal. The antennae, at least in the males, are pectinated or plumose— en panache ; the maxillary palpi are somewhat toothed or serrated, and terminate in an elongated and almost hatchet-shaped article; the labial palpi are filiform. The abdomen is elongated, entirely covered by the elytra, and rounded at the end. These insects are found in woods in spring. The larvae dwell beneath the bark of trees. In the genus Dendroides, Lat. the antennae of the males are almost as long as the body, and give off long bearded filaments; in the same sex the eyes are large, and approximated behind. The thorax is trapezoidal, or in the form of a truncated cone; and the body, as well as the legs, is proportionally more elongated. In the genus Pyrochroa properly so called^[359. From ∙πυ^,Jlre, and yellow·] (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 6), the antennae are shorter and simply pectinated, the eyes distant, and the thorax almost orbicular and transversal. Tribe 3d, Mordellonae. These do not present, either in relation to the form of the tarsi and their hooks, or to that of the antennae, any constant character in common, but they are easily distinguished from the other Heteromera of the same family by the general conformation of their body. It is elevated, and arcuated; the head is low, the thorax trapezoidal or semicircular, and the elytra either very short, or narrowed, and terminated by a point, as well as the abdomen. Several of these insects approach the Pyrochroides in respect to their antennae ;—others in their maxillae, the hooks of the tarsi, and their parasitical habits, resemble Nemogηathus and Sitaris, two genera of an ensuing tribe; —but they differ from all of these in their extreme agility, and the firm and solid consistence of their teguments. They formed the old genus Mordella of Linn. Some have the palpi almost of the same thickness throughout. The antennae of the males are strongly pectinated or fan-like. The extremity of the mandibles offers no emargination. The articles of the tarsi are always entire, and the hooks of the hindmost are dentated or bifid. The middle of the posterior margin of the thorax is always much prolonged backwards, like a scutellum. 1he eyes are unemarginate. The larvae of certain species (/?«’- piphorι) live in the nests of wasps. The genus Ripiphorus of Bose (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 7) [7:9:168] has the wings extended, and reaching beyond the elytra, which equal the length of the abdomen. The hooks of the tarsi are bifid. The antennae, inserted near the inner edge of the eyes, are pectinated on both sides in the males,—serrated, or with only a single range of short teeth, in the females. The terminal lobe of the maxillae is very long, linear, and projecting; and the ligula is also elongated, and deeply bifid. Some naturalists having found in the nest of the common wasp several living specimens of P. paradoxus, it has been inferred that they live there in the larva state. M. Farines, however, has observed that the larva of P. bimaculatus lives and undergoes its transformations in the roots of Eryngium campestre. ^[360. Annales des Sciences Nat. viii. 224; and Nouv. Dict. d'Hist. Nat. second edition, art. Ripiphore.] Here are placed the genera Pelocotoma of Fischer, and Myodites of Lat. Others have the wings always covered by the elytra, which are prolonged nearly to the extremity of the abdomen, and terminate in a point. 1he posterior margin of the thorax is slightly if at all lobed. The abdomen or the females is terminated by a pointed tall. The eyes are sometimes emarginate. The maxillary palpi are terminated by a large article, in the form of a hatchet or reversed triangle. The extremity of the mandibles is notched or bifid. The antennae, even in the males, are merely serrated. IπMordella properly so called (Plate CCXXVĬ. fig. 8), the antennae, of equal size throughout, are slightly serrated in the males. All the articles of the tarsi are entire, and the hooks of the last present beneath one or two small indentations. M. Dufour has observed in a species of this genus two floating salivary vessels, longer than the body. The hepatic vessels have no caecal insertion,—an exceptive character in the present section. The genus Anaspis, ^[361. From a priv. and xyz, scutellum.] Geoff, is distinguished from the preceding by the antennae, which are simple, and gradually enlarged, by the emargination of the eyes, and by the four anterior tarsi, of which the penultimate article is bilobed. The hooks of the last are entire and without sensible dentations. Tribe 4th, Antπicides. Here the antennae are simple, or slightly serrate, filiform, or a little thicker towards the end, and most of the articles are in the form of a reversed cone, and nearly alike, except the last (and sometimes also the two preceding), which is larger and oval. The maxillary palpi are terminated by a securiform club. The penultimate joint of the tarsi is bilobed. The body is narrow anteriorly, with the eyes entire or slightly emarginate. The thorax is sometimes in the form of a reversed oval, narrowed and truncated posteriorly, sometimes divided into two knots, in others semicircular. Certain species are found on plants of different kinds, but the majority occur upon the ground. They run with great swiftness, and their larvae have been supposed to be parasitical. They compose the genus Noτoxus^[362. F rom vít¢í, back, and <+j, pointed.] of Geoffroy, which Latreille divides into Sekaptia, Steropis, and Noτoxus properly so called.^[363. See Règne Animal, t, v. p. 58; and Mém. des Nat. de Moscou , I. 166.] The two concluding tribes of this family, and of the heteromerous section, exhibit certain characters in common, such as the termination of the mandibles in a simple point, the palpi filiform or simply a little longer at their extremity, but never either clubbed or securiform, the abdomen soft, the elytra flexible, and in most instances blistering or vesicatorial, and, with few exceptions, the articles of the tarsi entire, and the hooks of these parts generally bifid. They are all herbivorous in the perfect 1 state, but many are parasitical, while larvae, in the dwellings of other tribes. Tribe 5τπ, Horiales. These differ from the ensuing, or Cantharidiae, in their hooks, which are dentated, and each accompanied by a serrated appendage. The antennae are filiform, not longer than the thorax; the labrum is small, the mandibles strong and projecting, the palpi filiform, the thorax square, and the two posterior legs very robust, at least in one of the sexes. The tribe is composed of the genus Horia of Fabricius (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 10). These insects inhabit the intratropical regions of India and America. The lamented Lansdown Guilding has published figures and a short history of H. maculata. ^[364. Linn. Trans, vol. xiv. part ii. p. 315.] It deposits its eggs in the nest of a wood-gnawing bee (Xylocopa teredo), and the larvae, when hatched, are supposed to devour the food deposited in the ligneous chambers for a very different purpose by the parent bee. “Forsan,” says Mr Guilding, “dum larva cibum apìbus praeparatum avide consumit, hospes fame perit.” It is often so. Tribe 6th, Cantharidiae. This tribe is distinguished from the preceding by the hooks of the tarsi, which are deeply divided, and appear as if double. The head is generally large, broader, and rounded posteriorly. The thorax is usually narrowed behind, and approaches the form of a truncated heart; in some it is almost orbicular. The elytra are often somewhat inclined laterally, or tectiform, and rounded. These insects counterfeit death when seized, and several of them exude a yellow caustic liquor, of a penetrating odour, from the joints of their antennae; but no peculiar apparatus for the production of that secretion has yet been ascertained. Many kinds are highly serviceable in the formation of blistering applications. They were all included originally in the old genus Meloe of Linnaeus, now greatly subdivided. The anatomical observations of Μ. Dufour, and the extremely interesting researches of Μ. Bretonneau of Tours, on the vesicatorial properties of this tribe of insects, have enabled Latreille to arrange them in what he regards as a natural order,—not greatly differing, however, from that which he had previously adopted. Μ. Bretonneau has ascertained that the genus Sitaris is not vesicatorial,—and Μ. Dufour has found that these same Heteroιnera possess only four biliary vessels instead of six, the amount by which other insects of the tribe are characterized. That genus also resembles Zοηi∙ tis in its general organization, while the latter is itself closely allied to Cantharis. The series of groups adopted by Latreille is also in harmony with the progressive changes in the form of the antennae. In some these organs are composed in both sexes of only nine articulations, of which the last is large, and in the form of an ovoid head; those of the males, as well as their maxillary palpi, being very irregular. The body is depressed. Such is the genus Cerocoma of Geoff. The species make their appearance during the summer solstice, and frequently in great numbers on the same spot. They frequent the flowers of the wild chamomile, milfoil, &c· Meloe Schcefferi of Linn, of a bluish green, with the antennae and legs wax yellow, may be mentioned as an example. In all the others the palpi are identical and regular in [7:9:169] both sexes. The antennae have generally eleven articulations, and when they offer one or two less they terminate regularly in a club. The body is thickish, and the elytra somewhat inclined. In some the antennae, always regular and granose in both sexes, sometimes appear to be composed of only from nine to ten joints, and are not longer than half the body; they occasionally terminate in an arcuated club, or are obviously enlarged at the extremity; while in others they form from the second joint a short cylindrical or almost fusiform stem. They constitute the genus Mylabris of Fabricius. Such of them as have the two or three last joints of the antennae united, at least in the females, and forming an abrupt, thick, ovoid, or button-shaped club, the extremity of which does not extend beyond the thorax, and in which the total joints are only from nine to ten, form the genus Hycleus of Lat. Such, again, as have the antennae proportionally longer, and offering in both sexes eleven distinct and well-divided articulations, gradually enlarging, or terminating by degrees in an elongated club, of which the terminal joint, very distinguishable from the preceding, is large and ovoid, belong to the genus Mylabris properly so called (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 11). The species we have here represented is the J∕. chicorii. It is more than half an inch long, black, pilose, with an almost round yellowish spot on the base of each elytron, and two transverse and indented bands of the same colour, one near the centre, and the other nearer the extremity. The antennae are black. This insect, unknown in Britain, is occasionally found as far north as the vicinity of Paris, but it is much more common in the south of France, and other meridional parts of Europe. Its blistering qualities are quite as active and efficient as those of the true Cantharis or Spanish fly; and in Italy it is employed for the same purposes, mixed up with the latter, or even used alone. Μ. pustulatus is used by the Chinese. In the other Heteromera of this tribe the antennae, always composed of eleven very distinct joints, are almost of equal thickness throughout, or rather more slender towards the extremity, and frequently much longer than the head and thorax. They are irregular in several males. In Meloe properly so called (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 12), the antennae are composed of short and rounded joints, the intermediate of which are the largest, and sometimes so disposed that these parts in the males exhibit an emargination or crescent-like form. The wings are wanting, and the elytra, oval or triangular, with a portion of the inner margins crossing each other, only partially cover the abdomen, especially that of the females, which, as often happens, is extremely voluminous. According to Dufour, the crop of these insects may be considered as a true gizzard, being furnished internally with callous and anastomosing plicae, and separated from the stomach or chylific ventricle by a valve formed of four principal pieces, each of which results from two hollow cylinders placed back to back, and tridentated posteriorly. All the species of the genus Meloe are awkward and mis-shapen, and of sluggish movements. They are found either crawling slowly and heavily along the surface of the earth, or on plants of humble growth. They feed on leaves, and when handled, an oily fluid of a yellow or reddish colour flows from the joints of their legs. Latreille suspects that these insects are the Eupτestides of the ancients, to which were attributed such destructive effects on cattle, when inadvertently swallowed by the latter. The genus seems characteristic of the European continent and islands. Eight or nine species occur in Britain; and of the twenty-one species enumerated by Dejean, the whole are European. Mr Kirby however possesses a specimen taken in North America by Professor Peck. They are all characterized by dark or sombre colours. They are most frequent in spring and autumn, and occur in fields and pathways, preferring, it is said, a sunny situation and a sandy soil. In some districts of Spain they are employed along with Cantharides, or in their room. They are also used by farriers.^[365. In regard to these insects we may further observe, that Dr Leach was informed by Mr Hunneman that the species called Μ. variegatus is highly prized in Germany as a medicine, being considered as a specific in hydrophobia. For this purpose it is taken by slipping a hair round its neck, and suspending it till dry; the oily secretion first thrown out being preserved, as in that the chief virtue is supposed to exist. Mr Hunneman adds more particularly, that the late king of Prussia, Frederick the Great, purchased the nostrum from the discoverer for a valuable consideration, as a specific against the bite of a mad dog. According to the recipe, twenty-five of these insects that have been preserved in honey, are, with two drachms of powdered black ebony, one drachm of Virginia snake-root, one ditto of lead filings, and twenty grains of fungus sorbi, to be reduced to a very fine substance; the whole, with two ounces of theriaca of Venice (and, if necessary, a little elder root), to be formed into an electuary! (See Linn. Trans, xi. p. 245.)] The females, when filled with eggs, become greatly dilated, and in that condition much exceed the males in size. An individual of the former sex observed by Goëdart, and fed by him with the leaves of anemone and ranunculus, laid 2212 eggs between the 12th of May and the 12th of June, besides about as many more which were thrown aside uncounted. It effected this laying at two separate periods, placing the extremity of its abdomen in a hole which it had formed in the earth, and depositing the eggs in packets. These are of a yellowish colour, and resemble grains of sand pressed together. The larvae are long, cylindrical, garnished with scattered hairs, composed of eleven nearly equal segments, besides the head, which is oval, and provided with two eyes, and a pair of longish antennae. They have six legs, of rather large size compared with the length of the body, which is terminated by two long bristle-like appendices. Their larvae are supposed by some ingenious observers to be parasitical on the bodies of winged insects. Degeer having remarked that a strong resemblance existed between the larvae of Meloe, and a small insect which he found adhering to Eristalis intrica-rius, he placed two domestic flies among the former, and found that they were speedily adhered to by the larvae, which stuck to them pertinaceously, and caused their death in two or three days. Bees are also subject to their attacks; and MM. Lepelletier and Serville are said to have recently confirmed the observations of Degeer, by breeding these parasites from the eggs of Meloe. “On the other hand,” says Mr Curtis, “Mr Kirby is disposed to think that his Pediculus Melitta (P. Apis, Linn.?) is not the larva of Meloe; and M. Leon Dufour has even formed them into a genus under the name of Triungularis andrenetarum ; and a figure of one is given in the thirteenth volume of the Annales des Sciences Naturelles.'’ ^[366. Brit. Εnt. vol. vi. fol. 279.] Μ. Latreille seems to adopt the opinion of their parasitical nature; and the facts, so far as known, are well stated by Μ. Walkenaer, in his Mémoires pour servir a l’Histoire Naturelle des Halictes. ^[367. See also Introduction to Entomology, vol. iv. p. 225.] The digestive system of the genus Meloe, with other anatomical details, has been illustrated by Μ. Dufour;^[368. Ann. des Sciences Nat. t. iii. p. 486.] and we are indebted for a monograph of the British species to Dr Leach.^[369. Linn. Trans, χi. p. 35 and 242.] All the ensuing genera of the tribe are provided with [7:9:170] wings, and elytra, of the ordinary structure, covering longitudinally the back of the abdomen. In the genus Cantharis, Geoff. (Plate CCXXV1. fig. 14), all the joints of the tarsi are entire, the thorax almost ovoid, a little elongated, and restricted anteriorly, truncated posteriorly. The second joint of the antennae is much shorter than the following, and the last of the maxillary palpi is sensibly larger than the preceding. The head is a little broader than the thorax. The antennae of the males are sometimes irregular, and even semi-pectinated. The name of Cantharis is extremely ancient, and has been received in a variety of acceptations. Aristotle did not apply it to any particular insect, but to various Goleoptera.^[370.] Linnaeus made use of the term to designate a great genus of the same order, which, however, did not include the true Cantharis, which he placed in Meloe. Geoffroy substituted the name Cicindela, already otherwise employed, for that of Cantharis, and placed in the latter the genuine Spanish fly. Fabricius placed it in his genus Lytta, which corresponds to Cantharis of Geoffroy. The latter, however, amidst all these revolutions of names, appears to have maintained its ground, and to have been the most generally adopted. The Cantharides properly so called have an elongated and almost cylindrical form. The history of the most noted species, C. veswatoria, commonly called the Spanish fly (fig. 14), is still somewhat doubtful, so far as concerns our knowledge of its transformations. Neither De-gecr nor Geoffroy ever saw the larva. Those who suppose themselves to have seen it say that it feeds on various roots, and is metamorphosed in the earth,—an observation which accords with the usually sudden appearance of the perfect insect, the unexpected apparition of which has sometimes given rise to the belief that they migrated from more southern regions. It is described by Olivier as consisting, in its early state, of thirteen segments, soft, of a yellowish-white, with six short scaly feet,—the head rounded andflattish, and furnished with two short filiform antennae. The mouth consists of a pair of tolerably solid maxillae and four palpi. The medicinal uses of this now celebrated beetle are universally known, but its connection with the sanitory art is not traceable to a remote antiquity; for the Cantharis of the ancients was certainly not the same as the Spanish fly, and is even supposed to have belonged to a different genus. According to the testimony of Pliny and Dioscoridcs, who affirm that the best Cantharides arc such as are marked with transverse yellow bands, it becomes evident that their species was the Mylabris chicοrii already mentioned, which in China is used for epispastic preparations down to the present day· The insect of the European laboratories, C. vesicatoriα, is of a beautiful golden green, with black antennae. 1he males are less than the females, and there exists in general a great variety of size among different individuals. Diese insects are very common in France,^[371.] Italy, and Spain. The greater proportion employed in commerce come from the last-named country, and hence their common name, lheir collection requires precaution on the part of those who are employed in that office, both with a view to guard against injurious accidents, and for the proper preservation of the objects themselves. They are killed by means of vapour of vinegar, and completely dried after they are dead. The following is the plan of procedure . In the course of the month of June the natives place extended cloths or sheets beneath the trees on ι .which the Cantharides occur, and make them tumble' down by beating all the branches. When they have obtained a considerable quantity, they either put them into a hair sieve, which they place over the vapour of vinegar, or into a fine cloth, which they dip repeatedly in a vessel containing diluted vinegar. They are then allowed to dry under the shade of some loft or granary, being placed on hurdles covered with cloth or paper, and stirred occasionally with a stick, or with the hand protected by a stout glove. When thoroughly dry they are packed into vessels of wood or glass, which are afterwards carefully and tightly closed. These little processes being properly attended to, the insects retain their blistering qualities for a length of time. The chemical analysis of Cantharides has been made by numerous experimentalists, who appear, however, to have confined their researches rather too exclusively to the Spanish fly. Had they studied with equal assiduity the genera Meloe and Mylabris, and even Cardbus, Cοc-ciηclla, and several Tenebriones, they would have discovered in these also an analogous or identical principle, less active perhaps in its nature, but for that very reason susceptible of being employed with greater advantage in special cases. Thouvenet, Fourcroy, Beaupoil, Orfila, and especially Robiquet, have arrived at some remarkable results. The latter has demonstrated the existence of a particular substance, on which he has bestowed the name of Cantharadine, and which may be characterized as white, crystalline, insoluble in water, soluble in boiling alcohol, in ether, and in oils. It is the seat of the vesicatorial or blistering property, which does not therefore reside in the green oil, nor in the black insoluble matter, nor in the yellow matter soluble in alcohol and in water,—the other ingredients of which analysis has demonstrated the presence. This discovery, though important in a scientific point of view, has produced no alteration in the practice, which proceeds effectually enough upon the old experience, that when the substance of the insect is reduced to powder, mixed up with some fatty matter, and applied to the surface of the body, it immediately proceeds to action, and detaches the outer skin from the dermis with great rapidity. It is also used for several other purposes.^[372.] Naturalists are acquainted with many other species of Cantharis besides the Spanish fly. Of these we may mention C. Syriaca of Olivier, which occurs in Syria and the south of Europe, and the C. dubia of the same author, found in the southern provinces of France, Italy, the Levant, and Siberia. In the United States a species, described by Fabricius under the name of vittata, is employed for medicinal purposes. It is found in great abundance among potatoes. The remaining genera of the tribe are Zonitis, Fab. .Nemognathus, Lat. Gnathium, Kirby, and Sitaris, Lat. TETRAMERA. Four Articulations to all the Tarsi. The numerous and important groups which constitute this, the third primary section of the coleopterous order, arc all vegetable feeders. The larvae have very short [7:9:171] feet, and in many even these seem wanting, or are replaced by mammillae. The perfect insects occur among flowers and plants. Latreille divides them into seven families. The larvae of the first four or five most commonly live concealed in th,e interior of plants, and are generally destitute of feet, or have these organs extremely small; many attack the hard or ligneous portion of their dwelling. These Coleoptera are the largest of their section. FAMILY I.—RΠYNCHOPΠORA.^[373. Since the publication of the first edition of the Règne Animal, considerable attention has been bestowed on this difficult family. Messrs Gennar and Schoenherr, more particularly, have devoted their time to its elucidation; and the latter author (in his Curcnliοmdιιm Dlgpońtìo Methodica, Leipsic, 1826) gives a hundred and ninety-four genera, exclusive of sub-genera. He divides the Curculionidae, in accordance with the straightness or geniculation of their antennae, into two great sections, the Rcctleornes or Or-thocera, and Fractìcornes or Gonatoccra. The recent observations of Μ. Leon Dufour on the internal structure of these insects seem to strengthen the propriety of that classification. The species of the latter section are furnished with salivary vessels, which are wanting in those of the former. In Latreilles recent reconstruction of Schoenherr’s arrangement, the Recticornes compose four tribes—the Brucheies, the Anthrlbldcs, the Attelabides, and the Brentidcs. In the first two the labrum and palpi are very visible; these palpi are filiform or larger at the extremity; they are small and conical in the two other tribes, as in all the following Rhyncho-phora. The Fractìcornes form a fifth tribe, viz. the Curcullonites. These are divided into the Brevirostres and the Longìrostres, terms which bear relation to the place of insertion of the antennae. In the former these organs are attached to the extremity of the muzzle, or on a line with the base of the mandibles,—while they are placed further back, or nearer the head, in the latter. The genera of the Brcvîrostres are arranged in three subtribes, viz. Pachyrhy neiden, Brachyceridcs, and Liparidss, —corresponding to the genera Curculio, Brachycerus, and Liparus of Olivier; the last sub-tribe comprising also some Lixi of that author. The relative size and form of the mentum, the mandibles, the presence or absence of wings, the direction oí the lateral sulci of the proboscis, in which the first joint of the antennae is partly lodged, the length of that joint, and the proportions and forms oí the thorax—these and other secondary considerations furnish the characters of the various groups. The C urculio>ιltcs Longirostres are divided into two principal sections, in accordance with their habits, and the composition of their antennae. These consist, in the Phyllophagl, uí not fewer than ten joints, the last three of which, at least, form the terminal club. But among the Spcrmatophagl the antennae never consist of more than nine joints, of which the last or the last two form the club. The legs oí the Plιyllophagi are sometimes contiguous and sometimes remote. Those in which they approach each other are divided into four tribes:—the Lìxidcs (Lixus, Fab.), the Rhynchoenldes (Iíhynchaenus, Oliv.), the CionÚcs (Cionus, Clairv.), and the Orchestides (Orchestes, Illig.). The Spcrmatophagl, again, fθ rm three principal sections or sub-tribes:—the Calandroeiđcs (Calandra, Clairv., Fab·), the Cossonides ( .ossonus, Clairv.),^ and the DryoptJurrides (l)ryopthorus, Schoen., Bulbifer, Dej.). These latter lead to the IIylesιni, Fab., and other Xylophagi.. (See Regne Animal, t. v. p. 69.) A great proportion of the .European Curculionidae are most accurately described by Gyllenhal in his Insecta Snecìca. Mr Kirby’s paper on the genus Apion (Linn. Trans, vol. iv.) is also deservedly esteemed. The reader will find a critical and expository treatise en this family by Latreille, under the term 11iiynciiophores, of the Diet. Class, d , ∏lst. Nat. t. xiv. p. 584 e may also consult Gerniar’s Insectorum Speeles Novoe, and the continuation of liliger’s Magazin fur Inseetenkunde.^ The Bιitish species are described, with their usual skill, by Messrs Curtis and Stephens. The latter, in the second edition of his Nomenclature, enumerates above 500 indigenous species. Tt e Scottish kinds are described in our Entomologla Eainensis. ^We see, from our recent correspondence, that about 3000 species of this great family are now known to naturalists. .] This numerous and widely extended family, so remarkable for the beauty of its South American species, is easily recognised by its more or less extended muzzle, terminated by a mouth, of which the parts, from their peculiar structure and position, are not easily determined without the aid of microscopical cxamination and dissection. The abdomen is generally of a bulky form, the antennae geniculate and clavate, and the penultimate joint of the tarsi almost always bilobate. In many tribes the posterior thighs are dentated. The body of the larvae is oblong, and resembles a small white worm, exceedingly soft. The head is squamous or scaly, and the fcet are either wanting or mammillaeform. They live by gnawing the various parts of plants. Many dwell exclusively in the interior of fruits and seeds, and do great damage to the farmer, grain-dealer, and horticulturist. Some, such as the Brachyceri, are supposed to live beneath the ground, and to feed on roots. The muzzle in this richly adorned family differs essentially from the rostrum of the hemipterous species. It is in fact merely a prolongation of the head, and not composed of the parts of the mouth, as in the last-named order. This prolongation, however, exerts an influence over the alimentary tube, the oesophagus being thereby somewhat prolonged, and—as we find to be the case in the truly suctorial tribes—there is also a provision of salivary glands. We have little detailed information regarding the internal structure of the Curculionidae. Two species (Attelabus betuleti and Cryptorhynchus lapaŧhi) have been examined and described byRamdhor.^[374. Abbildungen zur Anatomie der lnsecten.] In both of these the alimentary canal l was moderately long, the stomach partially shaggy, and the small intestine inversely claviform. In other respects, however, they differed materially. There was no crop or gizzard in the former, the stomach was fringed on each side, except at its upper extremity, with a series of small caeca or shags, and there were three pair of bile-vessels; in the latter the gullet was dilated into a crop, which included a gizzard of singular and exquisite construction; for, though so minute as scarcely to exceed a large pin’s head in size, it was found to be provided internally with more than four hundred pairs of teeth, moved by an infinitely greater number of muscles. A transverse section of this gizzard represented two concentric stars, with nine rays each, the object of this structure being the comminution of the timber which the insect has to perforate, and probably devour. The stomach was very slender, but dilated in the middle into a spherical vesicle; and only two pairs of bile vessels were observable.^[375. Introduction to Entomology, vol. ιv. p. 107∙] It may well be supposed, that in a family consisting of not much less than three thousand ascertained species, many diversities occur both in habit and external structure. The antennae are sometimes straight, but more frequently have an angular bend. They are inserted either towards the extremity of the muzzle when that organ is short, or nearer the centre, or even towards the base, in the long snouted species. The number of the articulations of the antennae varies in certain genera from six to ten; but eleven is the more usual number, or even twelve, if we count the false or terminal article. The body is generally narrowest in front, with a large abdomen covered by very hard elytra. The tarsi are very frequently garnished beneath with short hairs. None of the species are carnivorous in any degree; but even in the perfect state they are sometimes extremely noxious, when they happen, as they sometimes do, to occur in great abundance. They tap the buds and leaves of trees, and of several cultivated vegetables, and feed upon their juices. Tribe 1st, Bruchelae, Lat. Labrum apparent, anterior elongation of the head short, broad, depressed, and in the form of a snout. Palpi very [7:9:172] visible, filiform, or larger at the extremity. These insects compose the old genus Bruchus, Linn. They are subdivided as follows. Those species of which the antennae are clavate, or very obviously enlarged at their extremity, with the eyes unemarginate, and which appear to have five articulations to the four anterior tarsi, form the genus Rhinosimus, which Latreille, in accordance with its tarsal characters, formerly placed among the Heteromera, but which other natural affinities connect more closely with the following genus. Those of which the antennae and eyes resemble the last, but which present only four tarsal articulations, compose the genus Anthribus ^[376. ‘ From α ^ s , flower, and I destroy. _] of Geoffroy and Fab. (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 16), to which Latreille adds the Rhinomacers of Olivier. These insects are generally found on old wood, although some occur on flowers. In the genus Bruchus properly so called^[377. From β > z , .] (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 17), the antennae are filiform, frequently serrated or pectinated. The eyes are emarginate. The anus is exposed, and the hind legs are frequently very large. 1 hese species deposit their eggs in the yet tender germs of our leguminous plants, of our most valuable grains or palms, coffee, &c., where the excluded larvae occasion infinite damage. The perfect insect detaches a portion of the epidermis in the form of a cap, and, on issuing, produces those circular holes so often seen on peas and beans. Such is a small species called B.pisi (see the figure last referred to), an insect which has been known to occasion great injury in North America. A very large species, the B. Bactris of Linn, occurs in Cayenne, where it feeds on the fruit of Cocos guinensis. It is named Counana by the natives. The genus Rhoebus of Fischer is distinguished from the preceding by flexible elytra and bifid hooks to the tarsi. The genus Xylophilus of Bonelli is characterized by clavate palpi. In the other tribes there is no apparent labrum. The palpi are very small, inconspicuous to the naked eye, and of a conical form. The anterior prolongation of the head represents a beak or trunk. * Sometimes the antennae are straight or not geniculate ( Orthocerι), inserted on the rostrum, and consist of nine or ten joints. Those in which the three or four last joints are united into a club form Tribe 2d, Attelabides, Lat. They gnaw the leaves and tender parts of plants. Most of the females roll up these leaves into a tube or trumpet, in which they deposit their eggs,—thus forming a proper nidus for their offspring. The different proportions of the trunk, the mode of its insertion, the nature of the tibiae, and the form of the abdomen, have given rise to the formation of several genera, such as Apoderus, ^[378. Jťiom aπa, used to augment the sense of the word with which it is used, and Ssgs, the neek, which is much prolonged.] Attelabus, ^[379. rom m∙ to , to leap, and λaβι, seizure. The name was originally applied by Aristotle to an orthopterous insect.] Rhynchites, ^[380. brom '{ ∣∣∣ %t , rostrum.] and Apion. ^[381. From ŵ«», a pear, which the insects somewhat resemble in form.] The first is very strongly marked. The head is narrowed behind, or presents a neck-like prolongation, and unites with tíie thorax by means of a rotule. The muzzle is short, thick, enlarged at the end, a character common to the Attelabi properly so called; but in them, as well as in the other two genera, the head enters into the thorax up to the eyes, and the snout is elongated in the form of a proboscis. In' Rhynchites the latter is somewhat widened at the end, and the abdomen is nearly square. In Apion, of which Mr Stevens enumerates ninety-one species as indigenous to Britain, the snout is not widened at the end, and frequently terminates in a point. The abdomen is large or inflated.^[382. See Kirby in Linn. Trans, vol. ix.] Here also are placed the genera Rhinotia and Euriπnus of Kirby,^[383. Ibid. vol. xii.] and Tubicenus of Dejean (Auletes, Schoen.^[384. Çureul. Dιsp. Method. 46.]). Those in which the antennae are filiform, or in which the terminal article alone forms the club,—in which the muzzle, often longer in the males than in the females, and differently terminated, is always bornc in advance,—of which the proportions of the body are usually much lengthened, and in which the penultimate article of the tarsi is bilobed, form Tribe 3d, Brentides, Lat.^[385. Gen. Brentus, Fab. Curculio, Linn.] ° In the genus Brentus properly so called (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 15), the body is linear, and the antennae filiform or slightly enlarged towards the extremity, and composed of eleven articulations. There is only one species of Brentus found in Europe, the B. italiens, which lives beneath the bark of trees, and generally, according to Savi the younger, of Pisa, in the same domicil with a certain species of ant. They are numerous in South America, and occur there also beneath the bark of trees. The genus Ulocerus, Schoen. resembles the preceding in general form, but the antennae have only nine articulations, the last of which forms a little club. The last of this tribe is constituted by the genus Cylas, Lat. in which there are ten articulations to the antennae, the last of which forms an oval club. The thorax seems divided into two knots, of which the posterior, forming the pedicle, is the smallest. The abdomen is oval. * * Sometimes the antennae are distinctly geniculate (Go- natocerι), the first articulation being much longer than the following. These form the genus Curculio of Linn, or Tribe 4tii, Curculionites, Lat. These seem naturally divisible into two lesser groups, according as the antennae are inserted near the extremity of the proboscis (Brevirostres or BrachyrhynchC), or further back, either towards the centre, or near the base (Longirostres, or Mecorhynchι) ; “ mais il n’est pas facile,” says Latreille, “de bien determiner leurs limites, et plusieurs genres sont très-ambigues sous ce rapport.”^[386. Diet. Class. d'IIist. Nat. t. xiv. p. 594.] A. Brevirostres. In the genus Braciiycerus, ^[387. ' rom βζα,χυ;, short, and χtoas, horn.] Fab. all the joints of the tarsi are entire, and without brush or pellet beneath. The antennae are short, not much bent, and present externally only nine joints, the last of which forms the club. These insects are destitute of wings, and their body is very scabrous or uneven. They are characteristic of Southern Europe and of Africa, live on the ground, in sandy soils, and appear very early in the spring. The women of Ethiopia use one species as a sort of amulet, passing a string through its body, and hanging it around their necks.^[388. Caillaud, Voyage au Fleuve Blanc.] [7:9:173] In the genus Curćulîó, Fab. almost the whole of the under parts of the tarsi are furnished with short stiff hairs forming pellets, and the penultimate article is deeply divided into two. The antennae are composed of eleven articulations, or even of twelve, if we count the false one by which they are sometimes terminated. The last form the club. This splendid and extremely numerous genus, although greatly restricted by Fabricius, compared with its vast extent in the system of Linnaeus, has been still more circumscribed by authors of the present day. An enormous accession of species having been discovered and described, these have been arranged by Germar, Schoenherr, Megerle, Dejean, and others, into a corresponding variety of generic groups, partly for the sake of convenience, and partly (though not entirely) because the nature of the subjects required such systematic modifications. Latreille’s observations have led him to form these Curculiones into two principal divisions. Isŕ, Those in which the mentum, more or less widened superiorly, and more or less orbicular, occupies the entire breadth of the cavity of the mouth, and wholly or nearly conceals the maxillae,—and in which the mandibles have no very sensible dentations, or merely exhibit a slight sinus underneath the point. The generic groups are as follows. In Cyclomus the tarsi (as in genus Brachycerus) are unprovided with brushes, and the penultimate articulation is entire, or very slightly notched, without distinct lobes. In this genus Latreille would comprise those named Crytoρs, Deracαnthus, Amycterus, and Cyclomus of Schoenherr. The tarsi of all the others are furnished with brushes beneath, and the penultimate joint is deeply bilobate. Some are apterous. In Curculio properly so called (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 18), the lateral sulci of the proboscis are oblique and directed inferiorly. The anterior legs differ little in their proportions from the following ones. The genus, even thus restricted, comprises an immense number of groups, raised by Germar and Schoenherr to the rank of genera, “dont les caractères,” says Latreille, “sont peu importants et souvent très-equivoques.” 1 He thinks that at most only those should be detached of which the antennae are proportionally longer. Among such as have short antennae, the thorax longitudinal, and forming a truncated cone, the shoulders salient, and of which recent writers have formed the genera Entimus, Chlorima, and others, we find many noted South American species, of considerable size and exquisite beauty, and which, considered all in all, maybe regarded as the most splendid examples of the coleopterous order. Such, for example, is C. imperialis, commonly called the diamond-beetle, which (may the scientific reader pardon the digression), inclosed in its little box, and covered by a microscope, has so often exhibited to the wondering gaze of youth hues more gorgeous than are ever seen in after days, when no glass, however potent, can dispel the mists which gather around whatever seemed the brightest and most beautiful of earthly things. The species just named is of a brilliant golden green, with two black longitudinal bands upon the thorax. There are several ranges of impressed or hollow^[389. Règne Animal, t. v. p. 78. . . rp , _] spots upon the elytra, of a beautiful and sparkling green, with intervals of black, presenting the appearance of innumerable emeralds incased in gold and ebony. Such also is C. regalis, an insect still of great value, of which in former days a single specimen once sold in Paris for L.23 sterling. It is a good deal less than the diamond-beetle, of a bluish green, with extremely brilliant gold and copper bands upon the elytra. It is found in St Domingo and the island of Cuba. Many others, of almost equal beauty, will occur to the recollection of those who have inspected an extensive collection of foreign insects, and the specific names of fastuosus, sumptuosus, nobilis," and splendens, sufficiently attest the unfeigned admiration of the lovers of nature, of that bright attire which distinguishes these favoured creatures.^[390. Even among our native Curculionidae there are many species, though of small size, yet of exquisite beauty. ıe genera y- drusus of Germar, and Ρhyllοbius of Schoenherr, frequent the foliage of trees and of herbaceous plants. . They excel mostt the in-đigenous Coleoptera in brilliancy of colouring,—produced by a covering of minute scales, the body itself being dull and opaκe∙ These scales vary in shape, being often rounded and adpressed to the surface, at other times narrower, and having ıe appearance hair. The prevailing colours are green or silvery-green, golden, and coppery, of various shades and different degrees o. resp en a considerable range of variation' being observable even among individuals of the same species.. Green, .however, is y ar e o common colour, and is no doubt intended to contribute to the preservation of the insect by assimilating it to the objects by which it is usually surrounded. (See Εntomologia Edinensìs, p. 253.) , ,. r] The genus Leptocerus ^[391. From w τ , f , dender ∖ nd *w s , horn.] differs from the preceding in having the two anterior legs larger than the following, with the thighs thick, the tibiae arcuated, and the tarsi often dilated and ciliated. The antennae are usually long and slender. The thorax is almost globular or triangular, and is scarcely exceeded in width by the abdomen. These insects are very abundant in Brazil, and several analogous species are found in the Isles of France and Bourbon. Some inhabit Africa. Another genus, that of Phyllobius, ^[392. From υλn, wood, and βιos, life·] comprehends likewise winged species, but in which the grooves of the sides of the proboscis are straight, short, and consist only of a simple fossette. Several of these are extremely common in Britain. Along with the preceding, Latreille combines the genera AIαcrorhynus, Myllocerus, Gyphicerus, Ambli~ rlιinus, and Phytoscapus, of Schoenherr. Those Brevirostres in which the penultimate joint ol the tarsi is bilobate, but which are apterous, and always destitute of a scutellum, form other sub-genera, such as Othiorhynchus, Omias, Pachyrhynchus, Psalidium, Thyla* cites, Syzygops, and others. 2d, Those in which the mentum is narrowed, and, not occupying the whole of the cavity of the mouth, leaves the jaws exposed on either side. The mandibles, too, are evidently dentated. The club of the antennae is frequently formed of the last five or six joints. Some have scarcely more than two teeth to the mandibles. The labial palpi are distinct. The club of the antennae, rather abrupt, does not commence, except from the eighth or ninth articulation, and is not elongated and fusiform. The body, though frequently oblong, is not of a uniform figure. Several are apterous, with the tarsi unfurnished with pellets, and their penultimate article feebly bilobed. Such is the genus Myniops of Schoenherr, with which Latreille combines Rhytiτrhinus of that author. Several, likewise apterous, have, like most of the Rhyn-chophori, the under surface of the tarsi furnished with pellets, and the penultimate article deeply bilobed. They compose the genus Liparus, Lat. which comprises several genera of Schoenherr. Such as are winged form two additional genera,—that of Hypera, Germar, in which the tibiae have either no hook at their extremity, or but a very small one, and that of IIylobius, ^[393. From a ĩea f> and β " s > llft '] in which the [7:9:174] hook at the internal extremity is very marked. Among the former, H. tamarisci (the type of the genus Co>natus of Schoenherr) rivals in its colours the most beautiful of the exotic species; among the latter we may name a well-known Scottish insect, H. abietis, Linn. (Cur. pini of Marsham^[394. It frequents the Scotch fir, and is common in the Edinburgh district, as well as throughout Scotland. It seems to occur pretty frequently over our southern borders is more sparingly distributed in Cumberland and the adjoining counties, and, becoming gradually scarcer as we advance, is regarded as a rare insect in the southern parts of England. The imperfect description of this species given by Linnaeus, who appears, in some of his works, to confound it with another insect, has rendered it rather difficult to identify his Cur. Abietis, and its synonyms have consequently become perplexed. From an inaccurately named specimen in the Linnaean cabinet, Marsham was led to believe that it was the Cur. ρini of that illustrious observer, and he accordingly described it under that name in his Entοmοlοgια Britannica. Neither Paykul nor Fabricιus appear to have formed accurate views of its characters,—the latter, in his Species Insectorum, regarding it as a sexual variety of an insect which in fact belongs to a different genus. The larva inhabits the wood of the Scotch fir, often proving very descructive to young plantations of that tree. The manners of the perfect insect are well described by Linnaeus in his peculiar style: "Tarde incedit, arcte apprehendit, tenaciter adhaeret, ore frustra cutem mordere tentat captivus."]). Others have from three to four teeth upon the mandibles, the mentum abruptly narrowed near its upper extremity, and truncated, the palpi very small or imperceptible. The antennae terminate gradually in an elongated fusiform club. The body has in most an analogous form. Olivier placed these insects in the genus Lιxus, from which, in fact, they do not greatly differ. They compose the genus Cleonus, as constituted by Latreille. B. Longirostres. In this, the second group of the tribe Curculionites, the antennae are inserted beyond the origin of the mandibles, and often near the centre of the proboscis, which is usually elongated. It comprises, with the exception of a few species, the genera Lixιιs, Rhyηchceηus, and Calandra or Fabricius. In the two former the antennae are composed of at least ten articulations; they frequently consist of from eleven to twelve, of which at least the last three form the club. The gcnus Lιxus of Fab. (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 19) almost resembles Cleonus in the organs of manducation, the elongated fusiform club of the antennae, the long and narrow form of the body, and the curvature of the tibiae. L. parαplecticus (the species figured) is nearly linear. Its larva lives in the stem of Phrdlawlrium aquaticum, and is alleged by Linnaeus to occasion paraplegia among horses. The disease, as well as the plant, is called Staikra by the Swedes. The transformations of the insect arc described by Degeer. Another species, L. odontαlgicus, is a reputed cure for toothach. The genus Riíynchaenus of Fab. does not present an equal uniformity of character among its constituent parts, and has therefore been numerously subdivided. We shall mention a few of the modern groups. * In some the legs are contiguous at the base, and there is no sternal groove for the reception of the proboscis. Of these a certain number never leap; their antennae are composed of eleven or twelve joints, and their body is furnished with wings. Such are the genera Tamnopiĩi-lus, ^[395. From τaμνω, or τiμνω, to cut asunder, and φiλ<>s, a loner.] Bagous (small insects found in marshes), Brachy-pus, ^[396. From βζαχύ;, short, and πoυs, foot.] Balaninus ^[397. From βαλανινο;, produced from an acorn.] (remarkable for the great length of the proboscis), Riíynchaenus properly so called, and Sy-bines. Along with these may be placed Myorhinus of Schoenherr, and other genera, distinguished from the preceding by being apterous. In the genus Cionus the antennae consist of from nine to ten joints. The body is usually very short, and almost globular. The ensuing differ from those above named in having very thick posterior thighs, which give the faculty of leaping. Those in which the antennae are inserted on the proboscis form the genus Orchestes ^[398. From ¾⅛^ν, α saw. 5 . , , , ,] of authors (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 33), the antennae are longer than the head and thorax,—serrated or pectinated in some, —simple, attenuated towards the extremity, and with elongated articulations, in others. The terminal lobe of the maxillae is at least as long as the first two articulations of the palpi. The body is generally depressed, with the body square or trapezoidal, and either toothed or spiny, or presenting a lateral projecting angle. These insects are said to take wing only during the night or evening. When reposing they occur on trees. Some exotic species are remarkable for their great size, and their projecting mandibles. “C’est dans ce genre,” observes M∙ Guerin, “qui sont les plus grands Coléoptères connus, puisque certaines espèces Américaines atteignent plus de six pouces de longueur.”^[421. Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat. t. xiv. p. 282.⅛] The larvae of P. cervicornis, which dwell in the wood of the Gossampinus, are used as articles of food. We have only four or five species of this genus in Europe, of which P. coriarius is the sole British species. It is one of our largest insects, measuring about fifteen lines in length. The larva lives in the decaying trunks of oaks and birch trees. It undergoes its metamorphosis under ground. P. giganteus is above half a foot in length. It fortunately inhabits Cayenne. Tribe 2d, Cerambycini. In these the labrum is very apparent, and extends across the entire width of the anterior extremity of the head; the two maxillary lobes are very distinct and projecting; the mandibles are of ordinary size, and similar, or differing but slightly, in the two sexes. The eyes are always emarginate, and surround, at least in part, the base of the antennae, which are usually the length of, or longer than, the body. The thighs, at least the anterior four, are commonly in the form of an ovoid club, restricted to a pedicle at the base. Latreille commences with such as have the last articulation of the palpi always obviously thicker than the preceding ones, and in the form of a triangle or reversed cone. The head is not sensibly narrowed, and prolonged anteriorly in the form of a muzzle; the thorax is not widened from before backwards, and does not present the figure of a trapezium or of a truncated cone; the elytra are neither very short and squamiform, nor abruptly nar rowed a little beyond their base, and subulate at the extremity. These may be termed the regular Cerambycini,' in contradistinction to those of a more anomalous nature, by which we shall be afterwards conducted to another tribe. They compose the genera Cerambyx i Clytus, and Callidium of Fabricius, and a portion of his 8tenocori i and consist of the great Linnaean genus Cerambyx, with the addition of some Lepturoe of the Swedish naturalist. Certain modern entomologists have greatly augmented the number of generic groups; but Latreille regards the characters assigned for their distinction as by no means sufficiently precise. We shall here notice the principal genera, as admitted in the Regne Animal. A considerable amount of species, all from South America, have the body proportionally shorter and broader than those that follow, and are remarkable for the extent of the thorax, which nearly equals half the length of the abdomen. The anterior legs at least are distant at their base. The scutellum is large in several species. The antennae are often pectinated, serrated, or spiny. Those of this division, of which the thorax, nearly semi-orbicular and always very large, is smooth or merely chagrined, with a single tooth on either side at the posterior angles, —of which the posterior extremity of the praesternum is plane, truncated, without emargination, or emarginate, and placed upon the mesosternum,—of which the scutellum is always very large, and the legs distant at their origin—form the two following genera . ’ — Lissonotus of Dalman (Plate CCXXVI. fig. 35), in which the antennae are strongly compressed, serrated or semi-pectinated, and long, with the posterior extremity of the praesternum unemarginate :— Megaderus of Dejean, in which the antennae are simple and shorter than the body, and the posterior extremity of the praesternum emarginate, and receiving the opposing end of the mesosternum. Those, again, of which the thorax is extremely unequal, tubercular, or with many dentations, and the praesternum carinated or terminated posteriorly in a point, form the following four genera,— Dorcacerus, ^[422. ° t f zwfc ⅛V hοrη ' s t7∕∖v4 ÷ι∙> ι „ i. V i * ļ .t -∣∙ « »] Dejean, Trachy-deres, Dalman (Plate CCXXV1. fig. 37), Lophonoce-rus, ^[423. Liom Λοφοsy tuft» and hοrn∙] Lat. (Plate CCXXVII. fig. 1), and Ctenodes, Olivier and Klug.^[424. For the characters by which these genera are distinguished from each other, see Règne Animal t. v. pp. 111-12·] In other groups of species, the thorax, sometimes square or cylindrical, sometimes orbicular or nearly globular, is very much snorter than the elytra, at least in those in which it is extended in breadth, and the praesternum presents neither a carina nor pointed prolongation at its posterior extremity. The scutellum is always small, and the legs are approximate at their origin. Several, remarkable for their beautiful metallic colouring, and the agreeable odour which they exhale, exhibit rather an anomalous character in regard to the relative proportions of the palpi,—the maxillary being smaller than the labial, and even shorter than the terminal lobe of the maxillae, which frequently projects. The body is depressed, with the anterior of the head narrow and pointed. The hinder tibiae are often much compressed. They form the genus Callichroma ^[425. From xc&KqS} bĉdutïjuly and colour·] of Latreille (Cerambyx, Fab. Dejean). A species well known in England, but which we have not traced farther north than Westmoreland, and remarkable for its strong odour of roses, is the Cal. moschata (Cer. mοs ^ clιatus of Linn, and of the English naturalists). It nιea ' sures about an inch in length. South America, and the equatorial regions of the ancient continent, furnish several species. Other Longicornes of this division, but in [7:9:179] which the maxillary palpi are as usual at least as long as the labial, and surpass the extremity of the maxillae, are distinguished from such as follow, by the antennae, particularly of the males, having twelve distinct articulations instead of eleven. These parts are always long, setaceousj and not unfrequently spiny or bearded. ∙ The thorax is toothed or spiny on the sides. These are united by Latreille under the genus Acanthoptera ^[426. From Mit⅛, α spine, and ¢rrsjei,, a wing.] ( Callichroma, Purpuricenus, Stenocorαs, Dej. Dalm.). Certain species with the thorax nearly square or cylindrical, and the elytra generally terminated by one or two spines, enter into the genus Steηochorus of Dalman. Others, more characteristic of the western countries of the ancient continent, form the genus Purpuricenus of Ziegler and Dejean. An elegant insect of a pale ashy blue, with three black spots on each elytron, and several joints of the antennae furnished with tufts of hair, is the Acanth. alpiìius of Lat. recently removed from the genus Callichroma. It smells strongly of musk. We took it among the Alps of Switzerland, and have since received a specimen captured in a timber-yard in Paris. The following Cerambycini have only eleven articulations to the antennae. In some these organs, at least in the males, are long and setaceous; the terminal article of the palpi is in the form of a reversed cone; the thorax is either square or a little dilated in the middle, or oblong and almost cylindrical; it is often rugose or tuberculated laterally. They compose the genus Cerambyx properly so called^[427. From κsζai, hοr7i, and βοvs, an οχ.] (Plate CCXXVH. fig.. 2). Of these, certain species form the genus Hamaticerus of recent writers. Such is C. heros of Fab. an inhabitant of the temperate and warmer regions of Europe. It is one of the largest Coleoptera of the European continent. The larva forms deep excavations in the wood of the oak, and has been deemed by some the Cossus of the ancients. As it is not now the custom to eat grubs, that disputed question still remains obscure. Latreille places in this niche of the entomological system various Callichromae (so called) of Dejean, with a smooth or but slightly unequal thorax. Most of them belong to South America. They are in general beautifully ornamented by the hand of nature, though their size is small. Some are singularly distinguished by one or more little globular tufts of hair upon the antennae, and even the hind legs of certain species are similarly adorned. The thighs of these insects (some of which were arranged by Fabricius and Olivier among the Saperdoe) resemble a club-like mass, supported upon a more lengthened pedicle. The antennae consist of long and slender articulations. In the genus Gnoma of Dejcan the thorax is long and cylindrical. The palpi are almost filiform, and the inner side of the mandibles presents a tooth. The species occur in America. In the extensive genus Callidium ^[428. From xαλo5, beautiful, and !bw,fοτm.] of Olivier, the antennae are in general scarcely longer than the body, and are rather filiform than setaceous. The thorax, always unarmed, is sometimes nearly globular or orbicular, sometimes more narrow, nearly cylindrical, and simply dilated and rounded in the centre. The palpi, always very short, are terminated by an article rather thicker and broader than the preceding ones, and in the form of a reversed triangle. These insects now form the genera Certal-łum of Megerle and Dejean, Clitus of Fabricius, and Callidium properly so called. Of the second and last we have several British species.. Latreille concludes our present tribe of insects with certain species, which, in regard to the palpi, the form of the head, thorax, and elytra, and their general proportions, offer some remarkable and anomalous characters. He commences with such as present a thorax analogous to that of the preceding, especially the genus Certallum. It is as broad as the head, and as the base of the elytra, or scarcely narrower, and is either almost cylindrical, or rounded, or nearly orbicular; in both cases wider near the middle. The terminal articulation of the palpi is sometimes attenuated near the end, and terminated in a point, sometimes thicker and truncated, and obconical. All the thighs are clubbed, and supported by an abrupt, slender, and lengthened pedicle. The elytra of the greater number are either very short, or abruptly narrowed at a little distance from their base, and then subulate. In the genera Obrium of Megerle, and Riiinotragus of Dalman, the elytra do not exhibit those peculiar forms; but in Necydalis, Linn, those parts are either very short and scale-like, or prolonged, as usual, as far as the extremity of the abdomen, and abruptly contracted a little beyond their origin, then greatly narrowed, and terminated in a point. They do not resemble the Aedemerae, with which they were arranged by Fabricius, except in the form of the elytra. They are divisible into two minor groups. For example, those with subulate elytra form the genus Stenopterus ^[429. From s, narrow, and trriζ >v, wing. .] of Illiger (Plate CCXXVII. fig. 5), while such as have them short and squamiform continue to bear the name of Necydalis (ibid. fig. 3). Certain insects, for the most part proper to the African islands, to New Holland, New Ireland, and New Zealand, present some ambiguous characters; and, according to Latreille, ought perhaps, in a natural order, to be placed between the Lamiariae and the Lepturetae. In the mean time, however, he concludes with them the tribe Cerambycini. The palpi are almost filiform, with the terminal articulation nearly cylindrical, slightly attenuated towards the base. The tlιorax is usually smooth, or but slightly uneven, without acute tubercles, is widened posteriorly, or presents the form of a trapezium or of a truncated cone. The abdomen is almost in the form of a reversed triangle in the greater number, and the elytra are truncated at the extremity. They form four genera, viz. Disticiioce-ra, Kirby, Tmesisternus, Lat., Tragocerus, Dejean, and Leptocera of the last-named author. b. In other Longicornes, forming Tribe 3d, Lamiariae, The head is vertical and the palpi filiform, or scarcely larger at their extremity, and terminated by an article more or less ovoid, and tapering to a point. The exterior lobe of the maxillae is a little narrowed at the extremity, and curved upon the inner division. The antennae are most frequently setaceous and simple, and the thorax, exclusive of the lateral tubercles or spines, is nearly of an equal width throughout. Some species are apterous,—a character not exhibited by any other division of the family. Our present tribe, in the system ofLatreille, is composed of the genera Lamia and Saperda of Fabricius, of some of the Stenocori of that author, of the Coloboth¢ae of Dejean, and of several of his Cerambyces. The genus Acrocinus of Illiger is constituted by an insect of a very striking and extraordinary aspect, the Ce- τambyx longimanus of Linn. The genus is distinguished [7:9:180] ι from all the Longicornes by the thorax being provided on •each side with a moveable tubercle, terminated by a point or spine. The body is flattened, with the thorax transversal; the antennae are long and slender; the anterior legs much longer than the others, especially in the males; anil the elytra are truncated at the end, and terminated by two teeth, of which the exterior is the strongest. The singular species above named, of which the colours present an agreeable mixture of grey, red, and black, is known to the French colonists by the name of the Harlequin of Cayenne. It is a very large insect. The Prionus accentifer of Olivier pertains to the same genus. All the other Lamiariae are referable to the great genus Lamia (Plate CCXXVH. fig. 4), which, however, has been extensively subdivided in modern times. A great number of species, chiefly from South America, of which the legs are robust and the tarsi much dilated, fall under the genus Acanthocinus of Megerle and Dejean. Not more than three species are known in Europe. Of these we received A. eεdilis (called the Carpenter in France), from a wood near Inverness; and Sir Thomas Dick Lauder informs us that he likewise took it in a forest of that northern county. Specimens from the neighbourhood of Kirkaldy are preserved in the collection of Sir Patrick Walker. The species is remarkable for the great extent of the antennae, which in the males are four times the length of the body. It is characteristic of northern countries, and most of the British examples have occurred in Scotland. “Habitat frequens,” says Linnaeus, writing in reference to Sweden, ii in linteribus et arborum truncis decorticatis, dum ex his domos struunt ruricolae, hinc pueris nostris dicitur Timberman omnibus notissima species: vulgus hunc laedere religiose apud nos ducet.”^[430. Fauna Suecica.] Others of an analogous form, but of which the antennae are garnished with hairs, compose the genus Pogonocherus ^[431. From τωγΛ v heard, and *sgαj, horn.] of the same authors. Britain produces four species, of which two occur in Scotland. Certain apterous kinds compose the genus Dorcadion ^[432. S¢jxaJiáv, a small species of deer.] of Dalman. These insects are proper to Europe and the neighbouring countries of Asia. Their antennae are generally shorter than the body, with their articulations in the form of a reversed cone, which gives them a knotted aspect. A species common on the continent of Europe (^Cer. fuligiηator, Linn.) is almost exclusively confined to calcareous soils. Other Lamiariae have the thorax cylindrical, and unfurnished with tubercles or spines. The body is always elongated,—in some almost linear. They compose the genus Saperda of Fab., which has been greatly subdivided. We have several British species, of which we shall here name only S. carcharias, an insect about an inch in length, covered with a yellowish ashy down, spotted with black, and the antennae coloured alternately with black and grey. Its larva lives in the trunk of the poplar, and sometimes proves injurious to plantations of that tree. B. In this our second principal section of the Longicornes, forming Tribe 4th, Lepturetae, The eyes are rounded, entire, or scarcely emarginate, and the antennae are then inserted forwards, or at most at the anterior extremity of that feeble emargination. The head is always inclined, prolonged posteriorly behind the eyes in several, or abruptly narrowed into a neck-like form at its junction with the thorax. This last part is conical or trapezoidal, and narrowed anteriorly. The elytra become gradually narrower from the base. This tribe corresponds to the genus Leptura of Linnaeus, with the exception of a few species which fall more naturally among the preceding tribes, and also of suçh as belong to the more modern genus Oonaeia. We shall here notice only a few of the genera which, as native to our own island, are the most likely to interest the British naturalist. In the genus Rhagium (of which we have three indigenous species) (Plate CCXXVIL fig. 6), the antennae are simple, and at most not more than half the length of the body. The terminal articulation of the palpi forms a triangular club. The head is large, almost square, with the eyes entire. The sides of the thorax are furnished with a conical or spinous tubercle. In the genus Toxo-τus^[433. τoζoτ∏s, an archer ?] the antennae are at least as long as the body, simple, with the first article much shorter than the head. The eyes are entire, or very slightly emarginate. The body is triangular, or forms a lengthened square, narrowed posteriorly. T. meridianus and clιrysogaster are supposed to be synonymous,—in which case we have probably not more than two British species. In the genus Leptl t ra ^[434. Named írom χ l ∙πrc s , slender, and ov i a, the tail, in allusion to the attenuated form of the elvtra.] properly so called, the head is abruptly narrowed immediately behind the eyes, and the antennae, inserted near the anterior extremity of their inner emargination, are distant at their base. The two usual eminences from which they spring are almost confounded in one plane. The thorax is almost always smooth, or without lateral tubercles. The majority of the genus occur in Europe, and Britain produces about a score. Few of them have yet occurred in Scotland, probably owing to our comparative deficiency in wood. We have met with only one species in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, L. rujιcollis. FAMILY V—EUPODΛ. Some of the component parts of this family are nearlj allied to the Longicornes or preceding tribes, while others so much resemble the Chrysomelae as to have been arranged with the latter by Linnaeus. The organs of manducation present the same range of affinities. Thus among the Donaciae, the ligula is membranous, bifid 01 bilobed, as among the Longicornes, and their maxillae an very analogous to those of the latter; while among the concluding Eupoda the ligula is almost square or rounded, and analogous to that of the ensuing family, callee Cyclica. At the same time the maxillary lobes are membranous, or but slightly coriaceous, whitish, or of a yellowish hue; the exterior expands towards the extremity and has not the figure of a palpus,—a feature which allies our present family rather to that which we have lei than to the one which follows. The body is more or less oblong, with the head and thorax narrower than the ab domen. The antennae are filiform, or gradually enlarg( towards the extremity, and are inserted before the eyes These are in some entire, round, and projecting, in other slightly emarginate. The head is received posteriorly bj the thorax, which is cylindrical, or in the form of a trans verse square. The abdomen may be called large wheι compared with the other parts, and forms a lengthene< square, or elongated triangle. The articulations of th< tarsi, excepting the terminal one, are furnished beneatl with little cushions, and the penultimate is bifid or bilob cd. The posterior thighs are very large in many species [7:9:181] and it is from that character that the family derives its name. They are all winged insects, and occur on the stems and leaves of various plants, especially, so far at least as many of the European species are concerned, on the liliaceous tribes. The larvae of the Donaciae feed on the internal portion of the roots of aquatic plants. Those of other genera live exposed, but, after the manner of the Cassidae, cover themselves with a case or scabbard formed of their own excrementitious matter. Latreille divides the family into two tribes. Tribe 1st, Sagrides. The mandibles terminate in a sharp point. The ligula is deeply emarginate or bilobed. In some the palpi are filiform, the eyes emarginate, the posterior thighs very large and strong, and the tibiae arcuated. We here place the genera Megalopus, ^[435. Fromui, a ram, and ×-'.≈as, a horn.] of Geoffroy, which Latreille divides as follows. In some the mandibles taper to a point, and present two or three teeth at the extremity. The palpi are filiform, the antennae of ordinary thickness, almost granose in certain species, and chiefly composed in others of articulations in the form of a reversed cone, or perceptibly thicker towards their superior extremity. In the genus Donacia, Fab. (Plate CCXXVH. fig. 8), the posterior thighs arc large and inflated. The antennae are of equal size throughout, and composed of lengthened articulations. The eyes are entire, and the terminal joint of the tarsi is inclosed, for the greater part of its length, by the lobes of the preceding articulation. This interesting genus was confounded with Leptura by Linnaeus and Degeer, and with Stenochorus by Geoffroy. It was established by Fabricius under its present name, from δovαξ, a reed, on account of the species of which it is composed being found on reeds and other aquatic plants, such as those of the genus Iris, Saggitaria, Nymphaea, &c. to which they cling with great tenacity, and on the roots of which the larvae are supposed to feed. In the form of their bodies and antennae they show an alliance to the Cerambycidae, but their habits, and the structure of the cibarian organs, ally them still more closely to Crioceris and Galeruca. They are frequently bronzed or gilded in their aspect, and are covered in some cases by a fine silky down, w hich is supposed to prove useful to them when they fall into the water. Indeed, even in the perfect state, they are partly aquatic, and may be seen to seek repose and shelter on the under side of the leaf of a water lily, where they are necessarily submerged. According to Μ. A. Brongnĩart, the chrysalids are attached to their filaments by one edge only. M. Leon Dufour inclines to think, in consequence of anatomical investigation, that the Donaciae ought to be formed into a particular family. His observations, as we are informed by M. Latreille, demonstrate that their hepatic vessels, in number, form, structure, and arrangement, constitute a very remarkable exception to those of the Tetramera in general, and one which even appears peculiar to the genus. These vessels only open into the chylific ventricle, while in all the other Ťetramera which M. Dufour has dissected, they have two insertions, one of which is ventricular, and the other caecal. These biliary ducts, which are only four in number, are of two different kinds, —the first are capillary, and disposed in two strongly flexed curves, and are inserted by four distinct ends into a short obround vesicle placed at the inferior and somewhat lateral extremity of the chylific ventricle,—the others are much shorter, thicker, more dilatable, thin, and tapering at both ends, with one extremity free, and separately inserted by the other into the superior and dorsal region of the ventricle. They contain a whitish pulp, which is regarded as an alimentary substance. The oesophagus is capillary, and has no dilatation in the form of crop. The ċhylific ventricle is beset with projecting papillae.^[438. Règne Animal, t. v. p. 136.] Britain produces above twenty species of Donaciae—a great amount, when we consider that Dejean’s Catalogue contains only twenty-six in all. The genus may be regarded as characteristic of Europe, for scarcely any occur in other countries, although a few have been collected in America. The genus Crioceris properly so called, differs from the preceding in the posterior legs being scarcely, if at all, larger than the others. The antennae become somewhat enlarged towards the extremity, are almost granose, with their articulations not much longer than broad. The eyes are elevated and emarginate, and the posterior extremity of the head forms a kind of neck behind these latter organs. These insects are of small size, their bodies narrow and elongated, and frequently ornamented with lively colours. They live on the leaves of various plants,—Liliaceae, Asparagi, &c. and occur in gardens and meadows. When seized they produce a sharpish sound, by rubbing the superior extremity of the abdomen against the inferior extremity of the elytra. The larvae feed on the same plants as those on which we usually find the perfect insects, and are somewhat adhesive or tenacious by means of their six scaly feet. Their bodies are soft, short, and inflated; and they protect themselves in that early state from the action of the sun and the changes of the season, by covering their backs with their own ordure. They occupy a subterranean position in the nympha state. The species are extremely numerous as the genus was originally constituted, but it has been greatly restricted in recent times. Mr Stephens gives seven as the amount of British species. Of these not above three have yet been found in Scotland. C. asparagi was taken near Edinburgh by Sir Patrick Walker. In others the mandibles, instead of tapering to a point, as in the two preceding genera, are truncated. The palpi are terminated by a strongly inflated joint, truncated, with a small angular prolongation, exhibiting the appearance of another joint. The antennae are slender, and composed, of very long and almost cylindrical articulations. Such is the" genus Megascelis of Dejean and Lat. (Plate· CCXXVII. fig. 9), peculiar to South America. [7:9:182] FAMILY VI—CYCLICA. In this family the first three joints of the tarsi are still spongy, or furnished beneath with pellets, the penultimate joint divided into two lobes, and the antennae filiform, or a little larger towards the extremity; but the body is usually rounded, with the base of the thorax as broad as the elytra in such (and these are few in number) as are of an oblong form. The exterior division of the maxilhc, in its narrow and almost cylindrical form, and darker colour, presents the appearance of a palpus; the interior division is broader and destitute of a scaly tooth. The bgula is almost square or oval, entire, or slightly emarginate. It appears from the anatomical researches of M. Leon Dufour, that the alimentary canal is at least thrice the length of the body in such of the genera as have been examined; that the oesophagus is usually inflated behind the crop; and that the chylific ventricle, or stomach, is generally smooth, at least throughout a great part of its length. The biliary apparatus resembles that of the Ccrambycidae and other Longicornes, in the number and double insertion of the vessels of which it is composed ;—these amount to six, two of which (except in the genus Cassida) are for the most part shorter and more slender. The larvae have six feet; their bodies are soft, and frequently coloured. They feed, like the perfect insect, on the leaves of plants, to which they adhere by means of a viscid humour. Some enter the earth prior to their assumption of the nympha state, w hile others undergo that change attached to the plants on which they feed, and partly encompassed by the exuviae of the larva. The perfect insects are of small size, but they are frequently adorned by brilliant colours and metallic splendour. They are slow and timorous in their general movements, and when attempted to be seized, they closely fold their feet and antennae, and drop to the ground. Several species are good leapers, and the females are extremely prolific. Latreille divides this family into three tribes, according to the mode in which the antennae are inserted. Tribe 1st, Cassidariae. These have the antennae inserted on the superior part of the head, and approximate, straight, short, filiform, and almost cylindrical, or increasing gradually towards the extremity. The mouth, situate altogether underneath, and with very short almost filiform palpi, is sometimes arched (cintrée), sometimes partially received into the cavity of the praesternum. The eyes are ovoid or round; the legs contractile and short, with the tarsi flattened,— the lobes of the penultimate articulation entirely inclosing the terminal one. The body being flat beneath, these insects, by the disposition of their tarsi, are enabled to adhere closely to the surface of vegetation, and to remain there immoveable; in other respects the body is generally orbicular or oval, and is margined all round, or overlapped, by the thorax and elytra. The head is concealed beneath the thorax, or is received into its anterior emargination. The colours are extremely varied, and are distributed in the form of spots and radiated markings, in a manner delightful to look upon. The larvae present a less inviting aspect, and have the instinctive habit of covering themselves with their own excretions. In the old genus Hispa, ^[439. Perhaps from hispidus, shaggy.] of Linn, the body is oblong, with the head entirely free or exposed, and the thorax trapezoidal. The mandibles have only two or three teeth; the external maxillary lobe is shorter than the internal,’ and the antennae are filiform, and borne projecting forwards. These insects now form the genera Alurnus, Fab. (Plate CCXXVII. fig. 10), and Hispa properly so called (ibid. fig. 11)∙ The genus Cassida, ^[440. From cassida, a helmet.] Linn, and Fab. (Plate CCXXVII. fig. 12), is distinguished from the preceding by the orbicular or almost ovoid form of the body, which, however, in a small number is nearly square. The thorax, more or less semicircular, or in the form of the segment of a circle, entirely covers and conceals the head, or incloses it in its anterior emargination. The elytra, often elevated about the region of the scutellum, project over the body. The mandibles are furnished with not fewer than four teeth, and the external maxillary lobe is at least as long as the internal. The name by which the insects of this genus are distinguished was no doubt bestowed upon them on account of a strongly marked character in their structure. The edges of the thorax and elytra overlap and protect the limbs and abdomen on all sides, and the head is also nearly covered and concealed by the prothorax. Many of the species are highly ornamental, and present pleasing combinations of green and golden hues, which, however, soon disappear or diminish in intensity after the death of the insect, but may be temporarily restored by the use of hot water. These insects are herbivorous in their habits, and are fond of artichokes and thistles. The structure and habits of the larvae are rather singular, and have been studied and described by Goedart, Roesel, Réaumur, and Degeer. They are flattish, rather broad, and beset laterally by sixteen branched spines placed horizontally on each side of the posterior and superior portion of the body. At the base of these spines may be observed seven small cylindrical truncated tunnels, each placed on a distinct segment. These are probably the stigmatic openings. The head is small, of a corneous consistence, and presents four small tubercles on each side of its superior part, and only three on its inferior. These are regarded by Degeer as genuine eyes. Six scaly feet terminated by a brown-coloured hook, sustain the body, which is terminated by a two-branched fork, curved oveι the back, and usually bearing a pile of excrementitious matter, under which the larva lies in part concealed. Il can elevate or depress this “stercorareous parasol” al pleasure, for the varying purposes of shade or shelter. The nymph is shorter than the larva, broad, flattened, ol an oval form, and surrounded by peculiar appendages. I∣ has an ample thorax, terminated by a circular arch, and furnished with similar points or appendages. The legs and the segments of the abdomen are perceptible. It was in the aspect of one of these nympħae that Goedart supposed he recognised a representation of the human figure surrounded by an imperial crown. The genus Cassida presents an immense amount of species. About twenty are indigenous to Britain, several more occur on the continent of Europe, and, including exotic species, Dejean enumerates 103 as the amount (in 1821) of his ther splendid, and now (1834) unrivalled collection of Coleop· tera. Tribe 2d, Chrysomelinae. In this tribe the antennae are inserted in front of th¢ eyes, near their internal extremity, and are distant at th∈ base. None of the species are capable of leaping. Thej form, in the earlier works of Fabricius, the genera Cryptocephalus and Chrysomela, of which we shall here notic¢ the principal component parts, as modified by the syste· matic views of recent writers. [7:9:183] The original genus Cryptocephalus ^[441. From Άξυστο;, eοηeeαled, and the head.] contained those Chrysomelinae of which the head seemed plunged vertically into an arched or hood-like thorax, in such a way that the body, generally in the form of a short cylinder, or almost ovoid, and narrowed anteriorly, appears, when viewed from above, as if truncated in front, or deprived of the head. The terminal articulation of the palpi is always ovoid. In some of these the antennae are short, and pectinated or serrated from the fourth or fifth joint, as in the genus Clythra of Leach and Fab. of which C. quadripunctata (a Chrysomela of Linn.) may be mentioned as a well-known British species. It measures about half an inch in length, and has red elytra, with a pair of black spots on each. Its larva lives in a little coriaceous tunnel, which it drags along with it. We here place also the singular genus Chlamys ^[442. From χλa,μ,υs, a coat of mail·] of Knock^[443. Neue Betrage zur Insectenkunde, p. 122.] (Plate CCXXVII. fig. 13), in which the upper surface of the body is extremely rugged and unequal. Nothing is known of the history or transformations of these insects, all of which, as far as yet observed, are natives of the new world, especially of Brazil, a region so remarkable for its entomological riches. In a state of repose they draw in their legs and antennae close upon their body, and when not in motion are with difficulty recognised as living creatures. The species are few in number, and by no means common in collections. Mr Kirby has described a new species under the name of Chlamys bαcca, —“ Animal singularc, baccam rubicundam acinis constantem superficie rugoso simulans.”^[444. Linn. Trans, vol. xii p. 446. Monographs of the genus Chlamys have been published both by Kollar and Klug.] In the genus Lamprosoma From λα ∣ u5r i< , s, bright, and piger, which now forms a genus under its specific name. Some have the antennae bearded beneath, with the oviduct shaped like a boat, and form the genus Sca-piiura of Kirby.^[495. See also Regne Animal, t. v. p. 184; Charpentier’s Hora Εnt. ; and Thunberg in the Mém. de ΓAcad. Imper, de Petersburg·] All the preceding genera of the leaping or saltatorial Orthoptera have this character in common, that the males effect their peculiar cry chiefly by a portion of the elytra, which is discoloured, transparent, and somewhat resembles a mirror or small tambourine. But in the following genera, the stridulation of the male is effected by the friction of the spiny legs against the sides and edges of the elytra and wings. The antennae are sometimes filiform and cylindrical, sometimes sword-shaped, or terminated by a mass, always at least as long as the head and thorax. The ligula in the greater number has only two divisions. There are three simple eyes, the labium is notched, the mandibles much toothed, the abdomen conical and laterally compressed. The tarsi are composed of three articulations, and the female is not furnished with a prolonged ovipositor.. They all leap better than the preceding genera, and have a higher and more sustained flight. They feed on vegetables, and are extremely voracious. They compose the old genus Acrydium of Geoffroy, which Latreille divides as follows. * Mouth exposed, ligula bifid, a membranous cushion between the hooks, at the end of the tarsi. Genus Pneu-mora. Antennae filiform, of sixteen articulations, inserted close upon the inner margin of the eye. Posterior legs shorter than the body, and less adapted for leaping. Abdomen large, vesicular, and appearing as if empty. We know little of the manners of the insects of this genus (Plate CCXXVIH. fig. 14). They inhabit southern Africa, and feed on vegetable substances. The P sex· guttata has green elytra, with three silvery spots on each. It is a very beautiful insect. Genus Proscopia, Klug. Without wings. Body long and cylindrical. Head prolonged anteriorly into a point or cone, bearing two short filiform antennae, composed at most of seven articulations, of which the last is pointed. Posterior legs large and long, approximated to the intermediate, which are farther than usual from the anterior pair. These singular insects are peculiar to South America, and are usually of a large size. Klug, in his monograph of the genus, has described fifteen species.^[496. bee Proscopιa, Novum genus Insectorum 0rthopterorum,m folio, with two plates.] [7:9:193] Genus Truxalis, Fab. Head pyramidal, bearing on its extremity, and above the eyes, two prismatic, compressed, ensiform antennae. We are acquainted with about a dozen species of this genus. Their distinctive characters have not yet been well expressed, and it is not improbable that several have been confounded. They are characteristic of the warmer countries of the ancient continent. The best known is the T. nasutus of Fab. figured by Rocsel, Insect, ii. Gryll. iv. 1, 2. See also Drury, ii. xl. 1. It occurs in Africa and the south of Europe (Plate CCXXVΠI. fig. 10). Genus Acrydium. Head ovoid. Antennae filiform, or terminated by a button, and inserted between the eyes, at some distance from their inner margin. Body solid, and not vesicular. Hinder legs longer than the body. This genus contains the noted insects commonly called locusts, the structure and history of which we shall briefly detail. The head is largely developed, and supports two rather short antennae, composed of twenty articulations. The true eyes are oval, projecting, and situated on the sides of the head, while the stemmatic cyes, three in number, form a triangle on its summit. The mouth is composed of a large and broad upper lip, slightly notched on its anterior margin; of strong cutting mandibles, irregularly toothed; of maxillae terminated by three teeth, and supporting at the same time the galeae by which they are covered, and a pair of filiform palpi, consisting of five articulations; of an inferior lip, broad, advanced, bifid at the extremity, and giving insertion to a pair of filiform palpi of four articulations. The prothorax, of the same breadth as the body, sometimes exhibits superiorly small heels, which are prolonged transversely on the sides in slight impressions, appearing to indicate the natural divisions of that portion of the thorax. The chest of the mesothorax and metathorax, or rather the sternum, is broad, flattened, and very dissimilar to that of Locusta (Sauterelles), in which it has the appearance of two triangular foliaceous plates. The elytra are coriaceous, narrow, and as long as the wings, which are large, reticulated, folded like a fan, and frequently ornamented by brilliant shades of red or blue. The legs are of unequal length,—the two anterior pair being of ordinary proportions, while the hindmost are large, and formed for leaping. Many species exhibit on each side, and near the origin of the abdomen, a large cavity, closed interiorly by a thin membranous diaphragm, of a pearly white colour. Latreille regards it as a pneumatic pouch, forming an acoustic instrument. It may no doubt be influential in regulating the sounds uttered by these insects, which, however, are certainly produced in the first place by the alternate friction of the inner face of the hind legs against the surface of the elytra. The females, which arc not provided with an exserted ovipositor, lay their eggs in some instances in the ground, in others on the stalks of plants, to which they adhere naturally by a gummy secretion, and are, moreover, enveloped and protected by a frothy matter, which hardens over them, she larvae, the nymphae, and the perfect insects, arc all voracious, and feed on plants. The ravages of locusts are so well known to all readers of foreign travels, and accounts of their desolating inroads have been so frequently extracted, and published in numerous popular works, that a few slight notices of the subject will here suffice. Locusts are of very common occurrence in many parts Qt Africa. Mr Barrow records, that in the southern districts which he visited, the surface of an area of nearly 2000 square miles might literally be said to be covered by them. 1he water of a wide river was scarcely visible, m consequence of the innumerable dead locusts which i°atedonits surface, apparently drowned in their attempts to reach the reeds which grew along its shores. Except these much wished-for reeds, they had devoured every other green thing. Their destruction on a former occasion was sudden and singular. All the full-grown insects were driven into the sea by a tempestuous wind, and were afterwards cast upon the beach, where they formed a bank three or four feet high, and extending nearly fifty English miles. The smell, as may be easily supposed, was most abominable, and was sensibly felt at the distance of 150 miles. In regard to the lndian locusts, a correspondent of Messrs Kirby and Spence informed these authors, that he was an eye-witness to an immense army of locusts which ravaged the Mahratta country, and was supposed to come all the way from Arabia. This column extended five hundred miles, and was so compact when its members were upon the wing, as to darken the sun like an eclipse, so that no shadow was cast upon the ground, and some lofty tombs, distant not more than two hundred yards from the observer, were rendered invisible. These were not the Gryllus migratorius of Linnaeus (A. migratoriurn, Plate CCXXVHI. fig. 13), but a red species, the peculiar colour of which is said to have added additional horror to the scene ;—for after having stript the trees of their foliage, they congregated around the bare and desolate branches, producing a hue like blood. When they moved again, “the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots, and of many horses running to battle.” The migratory flight of these insects, their desolating effects upon vegetation, and consequent injury both to man and beast, have afforded a frequent subject of exercise to the pen of the poet; but by none has their injurious inroads been so magnificently portrayed as by the prophet Joel, “A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains; a great people and a strong: there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devourcth before them, and behind them a flame burncth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.” “The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.” “How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed because they have no pasture; yea, the flock's of sheep are made desolate.” Dr Southey, “the laurel-honouring laureate,” as he is well called by his friend and fellow poet S. T. Coleridge, has also, in his “wild and wondrous lay” of Thalaba, sketched the progress of these destroyers. Onward they came, a dark continuous cloud Of congregated myriads numberless, The rushing of whose wings was as the sound Of a broad river headlong in its course Plunged from a mountain summit, or the roar Of a wild ocean in the autumn storm, Shattering its billows on a shore of rocks. The scene of the above quotation is Arabia, where these insects are very formidable, and of different kinds. Forskal thinks that the species which chiefly infests that tented region, and which he names Gryllus gregarius, is distinct from the Gryllus migrαtorius of Linnaeus. They come invariably from the'east, which induces the Arabs to believe that they are produced by the waters of the Persian Gulf. Nejed is particularly exposed to their ravages; and no sooner have they destroyed the harvests, [7:9:194] than they penetrate by thousands into the dwelling-houses, devouring whatever they can find, even to the leather of the water vessels. They appear in the air at a distance like clouds of smoke; and their near approach, accompanied as by a sound of falling water, stuns the inhabitants with astonishment and dread. They alight upon a field, and its verdure disappears,—the lofty palms are stript or their long shadow-casting leaves,—and pulse and all other succulent crops are voraciously devoured. Grain, however, if ripe, usually escapes, in consequence of its hardness and aridity. The Bedouins of Sinai are frequently driven to despair by the multitudes of these flying vermin, which remain for a period of a month or six weeks before they finally disappear. The time of their arrival is towards the end of the month of May, when the Pleiades are setting,—a coincidence which leads the natives to imagine that locusts entertain a dread of that beautiful constellation. Although a few are visible every year, the great flights are inflicted only every fourth or fifth season. Most of the Arabs, except those of Sinai, are in the habit of eating these insects. “In almost every town there are shops where they are sold by measure. In preparing them, the cook throws them alive into boiling water with which a good deal of salt has been mixed. After a few minutes they are taken out and dried in the sun; the head, feet, and wings are then torn off; the bodies are cleansed from the salt, and perfectly dried, after which they are put up into sacks or bags. Sometimes they are broiled in butter, and spread on the unleavened bread used at breakfast. The Jewish Arabs believe that the food of which the Israelites ate so abundantly in the desert was showers of locusts.”^[497. Edinburgh Cabinet Library, vol. xiv. (Arabia, vol. ii.) p. 4G0.] They are also used as food in several African countries, and are even exported as articles of commerce. The elytra and wings are first cut off, and then the bodies are preserved in brine. M. Miot, in his translation of Herodotus, has observed that the numerous carcasses of winged serpents said to have been noticed in Egypt by the early Greek historian, were in all probability masses of the dead bodies of some large species of locust. Latreille coincides in this opinion.^[498. Règne Animal, v. 187.] í The most noted species is that already mentioned under the name of Acrydium migratorium (Gryllus rnigratorius, Linn.), Plate CCXXVI1I. fig. 13. It measures above two inches and a half in length. Its usual colour is green, obscurely spotted, the elytra pale brown, marked with black. The mandibles are likewise black, and the thorax is marked by a slightly elevated crest. This species is common in Poland, but occasionally extends its ravages into other European countries. It was very destructive in Provence sb lately as the year 1819. It is well known in the Levant, in Barbary, and Egypt. These countries produce another species, likewise found in the south of France, the A. lineola, Lat. It is of a reddish-brown colour. The crest of the thorax is intersected by three impressed transverse lines; there is a conical pectoral point between the anterior legs, almost as long as the haunches; and the posterior legs are furnished with reddish spines, black at their extremity. This species is eaten in Barbary. Another kind, native to Senegal and other parts of Africa, of a yellow colour, spotted with black (it is figured by both Shaw and Denon, in their Travels), is ground when dry into powder, and used as flour. Many large exotic species are characterized by the superior portion of the thorax being greatly elevated, much compressed, and forming a sharp: crest, rounded and prolonged backwards to a point. Of this kind, though of smaller dimensions, is the A. armatum, found in the south of Europe, and figured by Fischer.^[499. Entom. de la Russ. i. Orthopt. i. 1.] Others have the elytra and wings so abbreviated, at least in one of the sexes, as to be incapable of flight. These form the generic group named Podisma by Latreille. Such as exhibit a swelling or button-like expansion at the tips of the antennae form the genus Gomphocerus of Thunberg ;—for example, the A. sihiricĩim (figured by Panzer, Fauna Insect. Germ, xxiii. 20), which occurs alike among the desert steppes of Siberia and the mountain passes of St Gothard. * * In this second section of the Acrydium of Geoffroy, a part of the under portion of the head is received into a cavity of the praesternum. The ligula is quadrifid, and the tarsi are unprovided with a cushion between the claws. The articulations of the antennae do not exceed from thirteen to fourteen. The thorax is prolonged backwards in the form of a large scutellum, sometimes exceeding the body in length. The elytra are extremely small. Such are the characters of the genus Tetrix of Latreille (Plate CCXXV1H. fig. 15), which is composed of a considerable number of small species. A good light has been thrown on their characters and classification by MM. Lepelletier and Serville, in the Encyclopédie Méthodique, article 7 1 e∙ trix, as well as in the more recent works of Mr Zettersted.^[500. Orthορtera Sucnoe, 1 vol. 8vo, Lund. 1821, and Fauna Lapοnica, 1 vol. 8vo, Hamm. 1828.] The genus contains the little chirping insects so frequent in this country on dry and sunny banks, and known under the familiar name of Grasshoppers. Order HL—HEMIPTERA.^[501. Ryngota , Fab.] The insects of this order have neither mandibles nor maxillae properly so called. Their mouth is fitted for suction, and is composed of a tubular articulated rostrum, cylindrical or conical, curved inferiorly, or directing itself along the breast, and, when extended, presenting the appearance along its upper surface of an elongated groove or canal, in which are lodged three delicate pointed bristles, covered at their base by a ligula. These bristles form by their union a needle-like sucker, of which the tubular piece just mentioned forms the sheath, in which they are retained by means of the ligula or triangular basal portion. The inferior bristle is in fact composed of two, which unite together not far from their origin, so that the sucker itself consists of four pieces. Savigny is of opinion that the two superior bristles are analogous to the mandibles, and that the inferior represent the maxillae^[502. Mém. sur les Animaux sans Vertéb. i. part i∙] of the masticating orders. According to this view, which the author has illustrated with admirable assiduity and skill, the mouth of hemipterous insects is as usual composed of six principal portions, the so-called ligula representing the labrum, and the articulated sheath the labium, of the other orders.^[503. See Plate CCXX. figs. 4 and 6, and the detailed explanation of the same at page 69 (note 1) of this article.] According to Latreille, the languette properly so called also exists, and under a form analogous to that of the supposed labrum, but bifid at the extremity. The palpi, however, have entirely disappeared, with the exception of some slight vestiges of those parts observable in the genus Thrips. These representative relations between the parts of the mouth in the mandibulated and haustellated orders had in fact been sus- [7:9:195] ,pected by Latreille previous to their laborious demonstration by the ingenious Savigny.^[504. Hist. Nat. des Crust, et des Insect, t. ii. p. 140-143.] The elytra of a great portion of the hemipterous order are of a coriaceous texture throughout their principal extent, with their terminations membranous. They thus partake of the nature of both elytra and wings, and the order, as formerly mentioned, derives its name from that peculiarity. Among the Cicađae and the Aphides, however, all the four wings are membranous, and frequently quite clear and transparent. In Tettigonia, Membracis, plαtlα, &c. they are of a denser consistence; while in Aleyrοdxs they are farinaceous, and of a milky translucence. Certain kinds are apterous, as the bed-bug, some species of Lygοeus, and the females of the cochineal in- sec t j but these anomalies do not remove them from the hemipterous order, to which the structure of the mouth shows them to belong. The composition of the thorax in these insects begins to experience some modifications, which exhibit their relation to the ensuing orders. The first segment, or prothorax, in certain cases resembles in extent that of the Coleoptera; but in others it is much more minute, and becomes incorporated with the second segment, which is then manifest or exposed. The scutellum is sometimes extremely small, or altogether imperceptible; while in certain genera, such as Scutellera and Membracis, it is greatly dilated, and covers the entire upper surface of the body, concealing the elytra and wings. The sucker, regarded as a sting, and so named by the ancient naturalists, is adapted only for the extraction of animal or vegetable matter in a fluid state. The delicate parts of which it is composed penetrate various organic substances, the nutritive juices of which are forced to flow into the interior canal by successive compressions, till they reach the oesophagus. The antennae of the hemipterous tribes are frequently very small, and of difficult detection. In Psylla, Cimex, Τhrips, and others, they are very obvious; in Cicada they are short, simple, setaceous threads; in Fulgora they are still shorter and subulated; while in Nepa, Ranαtra, &c. they are placed beneath the eyes, and so abbreviated as to be rendered visible only by reversing the insect. The eyes are rather large, and between them, on the upper part of the head, in many species, there are two or three of the stemmatic kind, or ocelli, called yeux lisses y οy the French entomologists. The nature and amount of the tarsal articulations differ according to the genera or tribes; but the greater number of hemipterous insects are characterized by three divisions of the tarsi. In some the anterior tarsi are composed of only a single piece, which is bent upon the leg in the form of a pincer; while in the aquatic genera, such as Nαucοris and Notonecta, the posterior legs are oar-shaped, with the tarsi composed of two articulations. All hemipterous insects pass as usual through three stages of mutation. But their metamorphosis is not in any case complete, and their changes consist rather in the development of the organs of flight, and the increased bulk of the body, than in any very decided or obvious transformation. Their anatomical structure exhibits a stomach with a rather solid and muscular coat, a small intestine of medium length, succeeded by a large intestine, divided into various swellings, and of a small number of biliary vessels, inserted at some distance from the pylorus.^[505. Règne Animal, v. 192.] The habits of the order are extremely various, as we shall show when we come to treat of the genera more in detail. HETEROPTERA.^[506. I-rom tτi1 >i!>s, of a different kind or nature, and ttíocl, icings.] Sucker originating from the front of the head. Elytra membranaceous at their extremity. First segment of the thorax much larger than the others. Wings horizontal or slightly inclined. FAMILY I—GEOCORISAe.^[507. rrom γr,, the earth, and ×ι>ys, t>ug.] Antennae exposed, longer than the head, and inserted between the eyes near their internal margin. The tarsi are composed of three articulations, of which the first is sometimes extremely short. These insects form the great genus Cimex of Linnaeus, which has now undergone many modifications. They are principally terrestrial insects, although some dwell upon the surface of waters. From several of the species a disagreeable odour emanates. Genus Scutellera, ^[508. From scutellum, a shield.] Lam. Sheath of the sucker of four distinct articulations. Labrum prolonged beyond the head, awl-shaped, and striated above. Tarsi with three articulations, the first as long or longer than the third. Antennae filiform, of five articulations. Body usually short, oval, or rounded. Scutellum covering the abdomen. (Plate CCXXIX. fig. 1.) The insects of this genus, formed by Lamarck from Pentatoma of Olivier, live on plants, of which they absorb the juices by inserting their suckers in the leaves or tender twigs. They occur in many countries, but are larger and more brilliant in equatorial than temperate regions. The S. nobilis of Latr. is of an elongated oval form, and of a metallic or golden blue colour, spotted with black. It is found in Asia. The >S ’. stoherus is oval, green, spotted with black, and has a red abdomen. It occurs in the Antilles. Of the European species we shall mention only the *S'. lineata ( Cimex lineatus, Linn.), which is about four lines in length, red, radiated above with black lines, and marked beneath with black spots linearly disposed. It is common in Central and Southern Europe on umbelliferous flowers.^[509. Consult, for the other species, Fabricius, Systema Ryngotorum, genus Tetyra.] Genus Pentatoma, ^[510. From ^tvτa,,five, and η-cμa,, division.] Oliv. Elytra exposed. Scutellum covering only a portion of the body. Other characters as in the preceding genus. The species of this genus, known as wood-bugs, and under other names, are extremely numerous. They occur in every region of the world, and under various temperatures. The species proper to the warmer countries of Africa, America, and the East Indies, attain-to a considerable size, and are adorned by brilliant colours. The larvae of these insects do not greatly differ from the perfect state, except in having neither wings nor elytra. The nymphae possess these organs in a rudimentary state, inclosed in sheaths. Their changes of condition are accompanied by a general casting of the skin. In their various states they exist on vegetable juices, which they seem as it were to pump up by means of their suckers. Some species, however, have been seen to attack insects, even those of their own kind, and suck their softer parts. Almost all of them exhale a disagreeable and penetrating odour, [7:9:196] which adheres to whatever substance the insect touches. The eggs are deposited on the stalks of plants, regularly disposed, and made to adhere by means of a remarkably tenacious liquid. They are not unfrequently adorned by extremely agreeable colours. A pleasant and curious narrative is given by Degeer, relating to the female of a species of this genus, the Cimex griseus of Linn. He found on a birch tree several of these females, each followed by a little troop of thirty or forty young ones, which accompanied their mother as chickens do a hen. The parents seemed to watch over them with the greatest solicitude. This is a singular fact in the history of insects, which for the most part are not personally regardful of the welfare of their offspring, although they seldom fail instinctively to deposit their eggs in situations the best adapted for the sustenance and preservation of the future larvae. Several of the generic groups proposed by Fabricius, as derivable from the genus Pentatoma of Olivier, are not adopted by Latreille; while, on the other hand, several genera proposed by more recent writers have been adopted.^[511. See Règne Animal, t. v. p. 193-4.] Genus Tesseratoma, Pel. et Serv Antennae with four articulations. Body very flat, membranous, with the margins much dilated, notched, and angular. Thorax prolonged posteriorly in the form of a truncated lobe. This genus was formed upon the Edessa papillosa and amethystina of Fabricius. The species are chiefly from India and the Eastern Islands (Plate CCXXIX. fig. 2). Certain species from Brazil, and we believe other countries, likewise very flat, with the margins notched and dilated, with the anterior extremity of the body forming a clypeus truncated in front, and cloven at the sides, form the genus Phlaea of the Encyc. Meth. (Plate CCXXIX. fig. 3). Genus Coreus, ^[512. „ ,] Fab. Antennae with four . articulations, filiform, or larger at the extremity, the last being usually shorter than the preceding. Body oval. Sheath, labrum, and tarsi similar to those parts in the genus Pentatoma, which they resemble in their habits of life. The species of this genus have the head in general of a trigonal form, and sunk, without apparent neck, into the prothorax, which is narrow anteriorly, and broader behind. The eyes are small, but prominent. The scutellum is triangular and obvious. The elytra equal the length of the abdomen, which is depressed, with elevated edges. The legs are long and slender. These creatures are said by some authors to feed On other insects, as well as on the juices of plants. The C. marginatus is of an obscure brown, with two small advanced points between the antennae. The latter have their second and third articulations fulvous. It exhales a strong smell of apples. Wolff, Icon. Cimic. fascic. i. p. 20, t. 3, fig. 20. The C. hystrix is an insect of a very bizarre appearance, found in France and elsewhere. Sparmann collected a species not very dissimilar at the Cape of Good Hope,—of a grey colour tinted in parts with reddish brown; spiny, membranous, the edges of the thorax relieved in roundish lobes. The abdomen likewise margined by numerous brown-coloured lobes. The second and third joints of the antennae are spiny at the extremity. It was named C. paradoxus by Fabricius (Plate CCXXIX. fig. 4). Between the principal genus Coreus, Fab. and that named Lygceus by the same author, as now restricted, several intermediate ones occur in the system of Latreille.^[513. See Règne Animal ;Encye. Mttkοd. t. x.; and the Systema Ryngoiorum ofĩľb.^’] Of these, however, we shall mention merely the genus Neides (Plate CCXXIX. fig. 5), distinguished by its greatly elongated and almost linear form of body, and slender limbs and antennae. Genus Lygaeus, Fab. Antennae terminated by an elon-: gated article, almost cylindrical, and of the same thickness as the preceding joint. The stemmatic approach the true eyes, and the membranous appendages of the elytra frequently offer only four or five nervures. The L. equestris (Plate CCXXIX. fig. 6) is red, spotted with black. The thorax is black before and behind, and there are two points of the same colour on the scutellum. The elytra are traversed by a black band, and there are two small spots and a point of white upon their membranous portion. It measures about five lines in length. The abdomen has four ranges of points. The C. apterus (Stoll, Cimic. ii. XV. 103) is rather less, red, and without wings. The head, a spot on the centre of the thorax, and a large point on each elytron, are black. The extremities of the elytra are truncated, or without membranous appendages. It sometimes occurs winged. The species with the large anterior thighs have been formed into a separate genus by MM. Lepelletier and Serville. Those with angulated antennae form the genus Neides of Latr. already mentioned, and the genus Aly-dus of Fab. includes such as have filiform antennae with out dilatation, and the body narrow and elongated.^[514. Ibid, and Genera Crustae, et Insect, iii. p. 126.] All the preceding genera of the Linnaean Cimices agree in having four articulations to the sheath of the sucker, and a prolonged and striated labrum; but those which follow have only two or three apparent articulations to the sheath, and the labrum is short and without striae. The first joint of the tarsi, and frequently the second also, are very short in the greater number. a. Feet inserted in the middle of the chest, and terminated by two distinct hooks, which take their origin from the central extremity of the tarsus. They are not adapted for rowing, or running on the surface of the water. * Rostrum straight, more or less inclosed in a sheath Eyes of ordinary dimensions. Union of the head and thorax not characterized by a narrow neck, or sudden restriction. The body is usually membranous in whole or in part, and is generally extremely flat. This group of genera composes the major part of the primitive genus Acanthia of Fabricius, which the author himself afterwards dismembered. Genus Syrtis, Fab. Anterior feet formed of a mono-dactyle claw like that of the Crustacea, and serving them in like manner to seize their prey. Antennae terminated by an oval mass or enlarged articulation, and lodged in a groove of the head and thorax. The species of this genus feed on flies and other insects, which they seize with their fore v legs, after the manner of the Mantides. They live in woods. The S. crassipes (Wolf, Icon. Cirnic. tab. 9, fig. 82) measures about three lines and a half in length. The head and thorax are brownish red; the abdomen of a deeper hue as far as the centre,— the sides and towards the base being paler. The antennae, under parts of the body, and feet, are reddish yellow. This is a European species. Most of the others occur in South America. Genus Tingis, Fab. Body extremely flat. Antennae with the third articulation much longer than the others, and terminated by a button. These insects live on plants, of which they pierce the leaves and flowers, not unfrequently producing great injury to their vegetation. The species found on the peartree, and known to the continental horticulturists under [7:9:197] the name of tiger, is extremely destructive. It is the T. vyri of Lat. and is distinguished by a white reticulated thorax, the edges raised, and inflated in the centre. The scutellum is foliaceous. The elytra are white, with two black bands. The larva of T. clamcorms inhabits the flowers of Teucrium Chamaedrys, and, by piercing the petals, causes them to thicken,—thus preventing their healthy development. The puncturings of the perfect insects of tlňs genus sometimes produce a kind of gallnut. Genus Aradus, Fab. Body formed like that of Tingis; but the antennae are cylindrical, with the second articulation almost as long or even longer than the third. These insects occur chiefly on the trunks and beneath the bark of trees, where they congregate during the winter. They show themselves more actively in. spring. The A.cοrticαlis of Wolff (Cimic. fasc. iii. t. ix. fig. 81) serves as a type of the genus. Genus Cimex, Lat.∙ Resembles the preceding genera in the form of the body; but the antennae are almost setaceous, composed of four articulations, of which the first is shorter than the others, the second thick and long, the third also lengthened and more slender than the others, the last scarcely increasing in thickness at the extremity. Elytra extremely small. No true wings. Of this genus the C. lectularius or bed-bug (Plate CCXX1X∙ fig· 7) is probably too well known in many quarters to require particular description. It deposits its eggs in the month of May. The larvae differ from the perfect insects in wanting the elytra. This species, though mentioned by Dioscorides, is said to be not an original inhabitant of Europe. It is also believed to have been unknown in London prior to the great fire in 1666, after which calamity it was transported thither in timber from America. It is said sometimes to acquire wings, and infest young pigeons, swallows, and other birds. Latreille however is of opinion that the kind attached to the last-named birds is of a distinct species from that which troubles the lords of the creation. The best means of extirpating bugs are care and cleanliness. * * Rostrum exposed, arched, sometimes straight, but with the labrum projecting. The head suddenly restricted behind, so as to form a neck-like portion. Eyes not remarkably large. Neck apparent. Genus Reduvius, Fab. Rostrum short, but sharp and piercing. Thorax distinctly lobed. Elytra at least as long as the abdomen. Tarsi triarticulated. Antennae with four articulations, setaceous, and extremely slender at the extremities.^[515. The first joint is often united to the second, and that to the third, by means of a very small article or rotule. {Règne Animal, v. 202.)] Γhe species which form this genus are predaceous, and greedily attack other insects, sucking out their juices with their sharp-pointed beaks. The ĩi. personatus is about eight lines in length, and of a blackish-brown colour, without spots. It is common in France. This species, which inhabits the interior of houses, covers’itself with ordure, or the sweepings of apartments, and, thus disguised, lies in wait in some obscure corner for its prey. No sooner °es a fly or other feeble insect approach within a calcu-ated distance, than it suddenly darts upon it, and sucks it to death. Sometimes it may be seen approaching its victim by slow and cautious steps, till the fly, thrown off hs guard by this insidious show of peace, is instantaneous-y captured by one deadly spring. Its bite is so severe as produce the immediate death of its captive; and in-θed we are informed that our venerated friend Latreille having been bitten on the shoulder by a Ređuvius, experienced a great swelling of the entire arm, and suffered severe pain for several hours. It is chiefly in the larva and nympha states that these insects disguise themselves in the manner just mentioned. Entomologists are acquainted with a great many species of this genus, few of which, however, are native to Europe. The rest are spread over Asia, Africa, and America. We shall here briefly notice a few of the genera which in recent times have been formed by dismemberment of the genus Reduvius as originally constituted by Fabricius. In the genus Heloptilus of Lepel. ct Serv. the antennae have only three articulations, of which the last two are garnished with long hairs, disposed in two rows, and verticillated on the terminal joint. In the genus Pe-talociieirus of Palisot de Beauvois,^[516. Insectes τecueill en Afr. et en Amer. fasc. i.] the two anterior legs are singularly expanded into oval plates or shield-like dilatations. These insects are of African origin. The P. rubiginosus is blackish-brown, with the antennae and feet of a rust colour. The thorax is spiny on either side, and surrounded by a line of yellow. The scutellum is surmounted by a straight spine. The only other species with which we are acquainted is the P. variegatus of the author last named. In the genus Zelus the form of the body is linear, and the legs very long, slender, and similar to each other. The genus Ploiaria is characterized by the same linear body, and the like length and tenuity of limb; but the two anterior legs have the haunch elongated, and formed, as in Mantis, for the seizure of their prey. † † Eyes remarkably large. No apparent neck. The insects of this subdivision run swiftly along the margin of waters, making occasionally little leaps. Genus Leptopus, Lat. Rostrum short, arched, and spiny beneath. Antennae setaceous. Anterior thighs large and spiny. This genus was established by Latreille upon L. litteralis, a small insect about two lines in length, of an obscure ash colour, with some spots upon the elytra, and the margins of these parts whitish. Their membranous appendages are pale, with obscure nervures. The feet are pale yellow. This species was discovered in Spain by Leon Dufour; and another nearly allied to it, L. lapidi-cola, has been taken by Basoches in the department of Calvados. Genus Acanthia, Lat. Rostrum long, straight, with the labrum projecting beyond the sheath. Antennae filiform, or slightly enlarged towards the extremity. Form of the body oval. This genusis composed of insects belonging to the genus Saida of Fabricius, such as S. striata, zosterae, littorαlis, &c. We may regard as its type the Lygaeus saltatorius of Fab., a species which dwells by the banks of rivers, and runs and leaps with agility. Certain species, of which the antennae are much shorter than usual, and bent over the eyes, the body shorter and more rounded, with the scutellum rather large, form the genus Pelogonus of Latreille. These Hemiptera approach those of the genus Naucoris in their nature, and secm to conduct towards them in common with the following. b. Four posterior feet slender and long, inserted on the sides of the chest, and distant from each other at their points of articulation. The hooks of the tarsi are very small, indistinct, and placed in a fissure of the lateral extremity[7:9:198] of the tarsus. The feet are adapted for rowi-ng or walking on the water. These characters are proper to the genus Hydrometra- of Fabricius, which Latreille has divided into three, as follows. Genus Hydrometra, ^[517. From ν‰>ζ, water, and l usτjos, measure.] Lat. Antennaesetaceous. Head prolonged into a muzzle, and receiving the rostrum, of which the articulations are by no means obvious, in an inferior groove. These insects dwell in moist places, and run upon the surface of waters. (Plate CCXXIX∙ fig. 8.) Their bodies are narrow, thin, linear. Their eyes are large and globular, and are placed towards the centre of the lateral parts of the muzzle, or rather muzzle-shaped head. The best known species is H. stagnorum, which measures about five lines in length. It is of a black or blackish-brown colour, with the feet of a redder hue. The elytra are very short, with two nervures on each. This species is common throughout Europe. The H. fossarum of Fab. is a native of the East Indies. We are inclined to regard it as belonging to the next genus. Genus Gerris, Lat. Antennae filiform. Rostrum with three articulations. Anterior feet serving the office of pincers. Second pair distant from the anterior, and as long again as the body. (Plate CCXXIX. fig. 9.) These insects have elongated bodies, are usually of a blackish colour, and are met with on the surface of still waters, on which they advance as it were by starts. Their under surface seems covered by a peculiar coating, of a black or silvery hue, according to the position in which the insect is held, and which probably protects it from the influence of the subjacent liquid. They appear rather to row than to walk upon the surface. The species are insectivorous, and prey upon such of their own class as they can master, and especially upon any land species that have fallen accidentally into the water, and are naturally inactive in that element. These they immediately seize upon with their anterior feet. The G. lacustris, Lat. (Hydrometra lacustris, Fab.), figured on the plate above referred to, is of a blackish-brown colour, greenish above. The feet are brown. The body is terminated by a projection. This species presents some peculiarities worthy of notice. There are two varieties of it, one of which is winged, the other apterous. The former of these constitute the punaises aquatiques tres-allongées ailées of Degeer, the latter correspond to the punaises aquatiques tres-alłongees non ailées of that author.^[518. Mem. sur les Insectes, iii.. 311.] Such as make their appearance in spring, and which have without doubt passed the winter beneath the ice, or under cover of the frozen banks, are all apterous, but resemble perfect insects in every other part of their structure. Sexual intercourse takes place among them. It was this latter circumstance which induced Geoffroy to believe that they offered a remarkable exception to a general rule, and that fecundation took place in the state of nymph or larva. Degeer, in combating this opinion, maintained that these apterous insects were of a distinct kind, and perfect in their way. Μ. Auđouin, on the other hand, is or opinion that they may be regarded as individuals of the ordinary kind, proceeding from larvae of the preceding year, of which the development has been checked by the rigours of the winter season, and the consequent condition of torpidity. He conceives that the wings are not, in these aquatic insects, organs of the first importance, and that the influence of surrounding causes is on that account the more likely to prove effectual, and that thus they remain rudimentary, when the other parts of the body, and the generative system in particular, have at-1 tained the maximum of their development. He illustrates this point by reference to the genera Lampyris and Ðri- lus, in which (in the females) the organs of flight of the perfect insects are scarcely if at all more developed than in the larva state, while all the interior parts of structure are fully and functionally completed. The apterous individuals, then, of G. lacustris, which are observed to fulfil the offices of the perfect insect, are larvae only so far as regards the undeveloped condition of the wings.^[519. Diction. Class. d'Hist. Nat. vii. 337,] General Hardwicke has described a new species of this genus from Nepaul, under the name of G. laticaudata. The extremity of the abdomen is remarkable for certain processes like teeth or claws.^[520. Linn. Trans, xiv∙ 134, pl. 6.] Genus Velia. Antennae filiform, as in Gerris; but the rostrum has only two apparent articulations, the legs are much shorter than in that genus, and are inserted at nearly equal distances from each other. Like the preceding species, these insects live on the surface of water. Their motion, however, is more like running than swimming. The V. currens is blackish-brown, with the superior edges of the abdomen fulvous, spotted with black. The l z . rivulorum is black spotted with white, the abdomen fulvous. FAMILY II.—HYDROCORISAe.^[521. From ùìuļ, water, and xí¢/í, bug.] Antennae inserted and concealed beneath the eyes, shorter than the head, or not exceeding it in length. Tarsi composed of only two articulations. Eyes for the most part remarkably large. These Hemiptera are aquatic and carnivorous. They prick severely with their rostrum, and seize upon other insects with their anterior feet, the joints of which are bent upon themselves, so as to form a kind of pincer. Their heads appear as if sunk into or intimately united to the thorax. The rostrum is short. Their metamorphoses do not differ from those of the other Hemiptera. Tribe 1st, Nepides. We here place the species of the unrestricted genus Nepa of Linnaeus, commonly called water scorpions. They have the anterior legs in the form of hooks or nippers,— composed of a thigh, sometimes large, sometimes elongated, with a groove on its under surface for the reception of the tibia, and of an extremely short tarsus, which forms as it were a hook or crotchet with the tibia. The form of the body in some is oval and much depressed, in others it is more linear. Latreille divides this tribe into the following genera. Genus Galgulus, Lat. All the tarsi similar to each other, cylindrical, with two distinct articulations, of which the terminal is provided with two hooks. The antennae do not appear to have more than three articulations, oi which the last is the largest, and of an ovoid form. The only species of this genus with which we are acquainted, G. oculatus, Lat. (flist. Nat. des Crust, et des Insect. xii. 286, pl. 95, fig. 9) was placed by Fabricius in the genus Naucoris. It is of a dull ashy brown, with some paler spots upon the elytra. The thorax is unequal. The legs are pale brown, with deeper spots. This odd-looking ⅛∙ sect was brought by Bose from Carolina.' Its body >' s short and rough. The head has little length, but is prolonged[7:9:199] laterally into two angles which support the eyes. The prothorax is lobed posteriorly, and placed before a triangular scutellum, on each side of which are inserted the short and coriaceous elytra. The thighs of the anterior legs are swollen and dentated beneath, and the tibiae and tarsi are applied close to them when the insect is in a state of repose. We are not aware that any thing is known of the habits of this insect, further than that it is aquatic. . Genus Naucoris, ^[522. From wu;, boat, and ×οζu, bug.] Geoff. Labrum exposed, large, triangular, and covering the base of the rostrum. Antennae simple, and consisting of four articulations. Tarsi of the anterior feet terminating in a simple point or crotchet. The middle and hinder pair of legs ciliated,—their tarsi with two articulations, terminated by a pair of hooks. Of this genus the body is usually depressed, almost ovoid, with the head rounded anteriorly, and the eyes lengthened and depressed. The abdomen is dentated around its edges. The species are extremely active, and swim with great ease and swiftness, making use of their hinder legs as oars. They sometimes quit one pool of water for another, and they then make good use of their wings. They are extremely voracious, and destroy a great number of other insects. The larvae and nymphs inhabit the same situations as the perfect insects, and differ from them chiefly in the absence of wings. The nymphs indeed exhibit the rudiments of these organs enclosed in a kind of case, from which they expand at the period of the completed metamorphosis. The A r . cimicoides (Nepa cimicoides, Lin.) measures about six lines in length. It is of a greenish-brown, with the head and thorax paler and spotted. The eyes are blackish. The margins of the abdomen are strongly dentated. It is common throughout the fresh waters of Europe. Genus Belostoma, Lat. Labrum sheathed. Antennae semi-pectinated. All the tarsi with two articulations. Abdomen terminated by a pair of setae. The B. grandis (Nepa grandis, Fab.) may be regarded as the type of this genus. It is a very large insect, measuring nearly three inches in length. It is of a greyish colour, spotted with brown. The legs are likewise spotted. The thorax is smooth. It is common in collections of foreign insects. Genus Nepa. ^[523. Supposed by some to have been originally a misprint for Heρa, a Latin word applied to the scorpion,] Labrum and setae as in the preceding genus. Rostrum curved beneath. Anterior tarsi with only one articulation,—the middle and posterior pair with two. Antennae appearing forked. Haunches of the anterior legs short, and the thighs much broader than the other parts. The body in this genus is almost elliptical, and narrower and more elongated than in the preceding genera. The head is small, and partly lodged in a notch of the thorax. The setae, which terminate the abdomen, serve, according to some authors, for the purposes of respiration m the moist and muddy places in which they dwell. The Nepae, i∏ their various states, inhabit the quiet waters of ponds, lakes, and marshes. They swim more leisurely than many of their congeners, and often proceed along the surface of the mud below, in search of the minute insects of which they make their prey, and which they seize with their anterior feet. Their eggs are of an oval form, and, when examined with a microscope, are seen to be crowned by an aigrette of seven small threads. Swammerdam anatomized these insects, and has given us some curious details regarding the arrangement of the eggs in the ovaries. 1hey are so disposed that the crown-like threads of the one which is next the orifice embraces the one which follows, and so on consecutively. The generative system of the male is singular, and very complicated. The larvae leave the eggs in midsummer. They differ from the perfect insects chiefly in wanting the wings and setae. The nymphs acquire, as usual, rudimentary wings inclosed in sheaths, and placed on each side of the body. The perfect insect frequently quits its subaqueous abode during the dewy night, and flies about with great agility. The genus is by no means numerous in species, although these seem pretty extensively distributed over the waters of the earth. The N. cinerea, Lin. (Plate CCXXIX. fig. 10), is nearly an inch in length, of an ash colour, the upper part of the abdomen red, the tail shorter than the body. We owe to M. Leon Dufour some curious and excellent observations on the anatomy of this species, and on that of Pa* natra linearis. ^[524. Annales Gen. des Sciences Physiques, t. vii.] These insects present a peculiar organ, which the French observer regards as a kind of pectoral trachea, communicating with those of the ordinary kind. It forms in P. linearis a pair of elegant panaches, or feather-like bunches, of a pearly whiteness, composed of numerous little branches, and situated in the centre of the muscular mass of the breast. In N. cinereα the pectoral tracheae appear to offer the vestiges of a pulmonary organ. They consist of two oblong bodies, placed immediately below the region of the scutellum, clothed by a fine membrane, smooth, and white as satin. They are almost as long as the chest, free except at their extremities, and are filled with a substance like tow, which, when examined under the microscope, presents a homogeneous tissue, formed by vascular arbusculae. The nervous system appears to consist of two large ganglions, the one placed beneath the oesophagus, the other in the chest betwixt the first and second pair of feet, and throwing out two remarkable cords, divided into two or three threads at their extremities. Only two biliary vessels have been yet observed. Genus Ranatra, Fab. differs from the preceding chiefly in the linear form of the body, in the rostrum being directed forwards, and in the character of the anterior legs, of which the haunch and thigh are slender and elongated. These insects do not excel as swimmers. They frequently leave the water in the evening, and are good flyers. They are very voracious. The jR. linearis occurs throughout Europe. It is pale cinerous, with a yellow tinge; the abdomen reddish beneath. It measures about an inch in length, and the setaceous appendages are as long as the body. The aigrette upon the eggs of this species consists of only two setae. The genus is by no means numerous in species, but it occurs in the East Indies and America, as well as in Europe. Tribe 2d, Notonectides. In this group the two anterior legs are simply curved underneath, with the thighs of the usual size, and the tarsi pointed and thickly ciliated, and resembling those of the posterior legs. Their body is ovoid or nearly cylindrical, and thickish, or less depressed than in the preceding tribe. Their posterior legs are much ciliated, and resemble oars. They are terminated by two small indistinct hooks. They swim or row with great swiftness, and frequently turn upon their backs. They correspond to [7:9:200] the genus Notonecta of Linnaeus, which Latreille divides as follows. Genus Corina, Geoff. Rostrum very short, triangular, transversely striated. Anterior legs very short, with ciliated compressed tarsi, furnished with a single articulation. The other legs are elongated, and the middle pair are terminated by two very long hooks. Elytra horizontal. Scutellum not apparent. Sigara of Fab. These insects are of an elongated form, the body somewhat flattened, the head large and vertical, the eyes triangular, the prothorax more developed transversely than in a longitudinal direction, but prolonged backwards to a point. They walk defectively, but swim and fly well. We think they never swim upon their backs, like the species of the following genus, but are usually seen as it were suspended by their extremity from the surface of the water, and prepare to dive instantly on the approach of danger. When seized they endeavour to pierce the skin of the captor with their sharp-pointed rostrum; and if they succeed in that effort, pain accompanied by swelling not unfrequently ensues. The genus is not extensive. We may here name, as the most frequent in the fresh waters of Europe, the C. striata (Notonecta striata, Linn.), which measures about five lines in length, brown, with numerous spots or little rays of a yellowish hue. The head, legs, and under parts of the body, are likewise of the latter colour. We may here note, that Dr Leach assumes the Not. minutissima of Fabricius as the type of his genus Sigara. It resembles the preceding genus in many respects, but the body is rather ovoid than linear or cylindrical, and the thorax is provided with a scutellum.^[525. On the Classification of the natural tribe of Insects Nοtοneetides, with Descriptions of the British Species, Linn. Trans, xii. p. 10.] Genus Notonecta, ^[526. From xyz, back and xyz, swimmer.] Geoff. Fab. Rostrum articulated and in the form of an elongated cone. All the tarsi with two articulations. The four anterior legs geniculate, with simple cylindrical tarsi. Elytra declined. Scutellum distinct. The Notonectae properly so called are characterized by the singular practice of swimming upon their backs, with their bodies somewhat inclined, their heads being elevated during their upward progress, and the contrary while they either rest suspended at the surface or descend towards the bottom of the pool. When these insects are in the act of swimming, they make use only of the middle and posterior pairs of legs, the anterior being applied closely to the chest; but when they walk at the bottom, or over the herbage of aquatic plants, in search of insect prey, they then bring the latter into active service, and merely trail the former after them, or alongside. The females deposit their eggs, which are long and white, on the stalks and foliage of water-plants. The young are produced in spring, and resemble the perfect insects, except in the want of wings. The nymphae are equally active, and exhibit these organs in a rudimentary state. They are all, of whatever sex, age, or condition, predaceous in their disposition, and, in the absence of more ordinary food, will seize upon and cruelly devour their own species. We are acquainted with about a dozen of the genus, of which about a third inhabit Europe. The others occur in Asia, Africa, and America. The most familiarly known in this country is the Λ r . glauc α of Linn. (Nepa notonecta, Dejeer, Mem. Insect, iii. p. 3θ9 j No. 5 j t a 1 h 1g j fig. 16, 17), figured σn Plate CCXXIX. fig. 11. It is about half an inch in length, of a greenish black beneath, the front of the head of a pale green, the upper and anterior portion of the thorax whitish, the posterior half obscure. The elytra are of a yellowish-grey, with a tint 0 j brown, their sides spotted. The scutellum is black. This insect varies considerably in its external aspect. Those with brown elytra, varied with reddish, may be regarded as N. maculata of Lat.^[527. From xyz , equal, or the same, and xyz , wings, —in reference to the similar texture of the organs of flight.] The N. minutissima of Linn, must not be confounded with the species so called by Fabricius. The former constitutes the genus Plea of Dr Leach, and differs from Notonecta in having the third point of the antennae larger than the others. The articulations of the anterior tarsi are also of equal length, and the hooks of the posterior legs are large. The form of the body, and texture of the elytra, likewise present some disresemblances. HOMOPTERA, Lat. In this second great division of the hemipterous order the rostrum or sucker originates from the inferior part ol the head, close upon the chest, or even from between the two anterior legs. The elytra (almost always inclined) are semimembranous, and of the same consistence through· out. They are sometimes scarcely distinguishable in their texture from the inferior wings. The three component segments of the thorax are united as it were en rnαtse i and the first is always shorter than the one following. The genera of this section are quite dissimilar in their habits to those with which we have been previously engaged. They feed on the juices of plants. Many of the females are provided with a scaly sheath or ovipositor (called oviscapte by M. Marcel de Serres). This is usuali) composed of three dentated blades, lodged in a bivalvular groove. They use it as a kind of saw, with which tc produce notches or other excavations in various plants, for the purpose of depositing their eggs in safety. FAMILY I—CICADARIAe. The genera composing this family present three articulations in the tarsi,—the antennae are usually very small, conical or awl-shaped, and consist of from three to six portions, including the attenuated seta by which they are terminated. We owe to MM. Ramdhor, Marcel de Serres, Leon Dufour, and Straus, many excellent observations on the internal structure of these insects. According to Dufour, the stomach, or chylific ventricle, is of remarkable length. It commences by an oblong dilatation, either curved or straight, and decreases into’ an intestini-form canal, which returns upon itself, and opens near the origin of the ventricle, alongside the insertion of the hepatic vessels, and not far from the origin of the intestine. They are all provided with four biliary vessels. In the Cicadae the ventricle has what Dufour calls “la forme d’une anse,” the right portion being dilated into a large lateral, and frequently plaited pouch. Its superior extremity is united to the oesophagus by an upper ligament, and the other leads to the narrow, tubular, very long, reflexed prolongation, with the form of an intestine, which, after its circumvolutions, re-ascends to unite with the pouch near the insertion of the hepatic vessels. This truly singular disposition of the chylific ventricle, which, after several convolutions, finally disgorges into itself, by the completion of a circle traversed throughout by the alimentary fluid, is doubtless a circumstance not easily explained in a physiological point of view. It is, however, [7:9:201] not the less a well determined fact, and one which constitutes the most characteristic feature in the anatomy of the Cicadae and other Cicadariae.^[528. Règne Animal, v. 211. See also Recherches Anatomiques sur les Cigales, in the õth vol. of the Ann. des Sciences Nat.] In the Ledra aurita of Fabricius, the inflated portion of the chylific ventricle is placed immediately after the crop; and there is but a single cluster of salivary sacks on each side, a character likewise observable in Cercopis spumaria, or Frog-spittle; while in Cicada there are two on each side. In Membracis cornuta the anse duodenal of Dufour is replaced by a short pouch, likewise attached to the oesophagus by a suspensory filament, a character peculiar to these insects. 1st, Stridulantes. Antennae composed of six articulations. Three simple eyes. This division includes the Manniferoe of Linnaeus (Tettigonia, Fab.), and forms the Genus Cicada of Oliv, and Lat. Head transversal. Eyes large. Prothorax broad or transversal, with a straight posterior margin; the mesothorax large, with the form of an X on its posterior edge. Elytra generally vitreous. A large scaly operculum covers a cavity on each side of the base of the abdomen in the males. These insects differ from those that follow, not only in the structure of the antennae and the amount of the simple orstemmatic eyes, but also in their being all destitute of the faculty of leaping. The males are musical, that is, during the heat of summer, they produce, by a peculiar structure, a loud and continuous cry or stridulation, called by courtesy a song. When we examine the lateral base of the abdomen of a male Cicada, we perceive two large scaly plates of a rounded figure, approaching that of a demi-oval cut through its smaller axis; so that each plate presents a side which is rectilinear, while the remaining portion exhibits a rounded outline. It is by the straight side that each plate is fixed without articulation, on the metathorax, of which it forms a portion. When we lift up these plates we discover a cavity on each side of the abdomen, divided into two principal chambers by a horny triangular septum. When viewed from the side of the abdomen, each cell presents anteriorly a white and plaited membrane; and lower down there is another membrane, thin, light, and transparent as glass, called Ze miroir by Réaumur. Some authors have regarded this as a kind of drum or tambour, and the seat of sound; but that organ has yet to be described. If we open the mirror from above, we perceive on each side of it another plaited membrane, moved by a very powerful muscle, composed of a great number of straight parallel fibres, and arising from the horny septum. This latter membrane is the tymbal or drum, on which the muscles act by contraction and relaxation, alternately tightening and restoring it to its original state. This is the true origin of the sound, which in fact may be produced even after the death of the insect, by jerking the muscle.^[529. Regne Animal, v. 214.] We may add, that M. Chabrier has perceived a stigmatic opening, not noticed by Réaumur, at the inferior junction of the mesothorax and metathorax; while Latreille has discovered on the posterior part of each tymbal a distinct hđle, which, he thinks, serves for the egress of the air. Chabrier, however, is of opinion that the air makes its escape through the two stigmata placed at the base of the opercula before mentioned.^[530. Essai sur le Vol des Insectes.] Further investigation will probably show that the analogues of this singular structure exist in other insects. Indeed, the principal pieces have been already recognised, though much more feebly developed, not only in the female Cicadae, but also in certain species of the orthopterous genera Acrydium and Truxalis. In the opinion of Audouin, the plates or shutters (volets') are merely large prolongations of the epimera of the metathorax.^[531. Diet. Class, d'łlist. Nat. ιv. 125.] The Cicadae dwell on shrubs and trees, of which they suck the juices. 1he females, which are provided with ovipositors, lay their eggs in holes, which they form in the small branches or twigs of trees. The parts thus attacked are easily recognised by little irregularities, formed by a portion of the wood which has been raised. These elevations are placed in a row, one after the other, upon the same side of the branch. The different holes have a diameter nearly equal. Their depth is from three to four lines. They commence in an oblique direction; but as soon as they reach the pith, they become nearly parallel with the twig itself. The ovipositor does not pierce be- , yond the pith; and the number of eggs placed in each lιole varies from four to ten. They are white, oblong, and pointed at both ends. The larvae are white, and furnished with six feet. They soon quit their sylvan nurseries, and make their way under ground, where they gnaw the roots of plants. Their anterior legs are short, with strong dentated thighs, and are well adapted for digging. They increase rapidly in size, and are ere long transformed into nymphs. These are of a dingy-white colour, and are chiefly remarkable for their very short and inflated fore legs, which are dentated, and serve them to penetrate the earth. After living for about a year in this state, they leave the groupd during the prevalence of warm weather, and, climbing up the stems of trees, their skin first hardens, and then bursts all along the centre of the dorsal line. The perfect insect then escapes from its exuviae. It is at first very soft, and of a greenish colour; but it soon attains a firmer consistence, and various external markings make their appearance, according to the characteristic aspect of the different kinds. These insects were well known to ancient writers, and their so-called song has been celebrated by poets from the highest antiquity. To ourselves it appeared monotonous and fatiguing, although heard not seldom among the leafy groves which shadow the fair white walls of the “Etrurian Athens.” The Cicada is the insect so frequently and fondly commemorated by the Greek poets under the name of r⅛mξ,—which our translators have generally though erroneously construed grasshopper. Linnaeus, with his accustomed propriety, applied the term Gryllus to the locust and grasshopper tribes, and that of Cicada to the “beloved of the Athenians.” The name of tree grasshopper, however, which is sometimes used, applies with sufficient accuracy to the latter, and indicates one of its characteristic habits, that of usually perching upon trees. The true grasshoppers are ground insects. The Cicadae are scarcely known in Britain, although the species attached to ash-trees (ċľ. orni) is recorded as an English insect, in common with C. hoematodes. They abound in Italy and other southern parts of Europe. The Italians call them Cicale and the French Cigales, both words being no doubt derived from the Latin. They are frequently mentioned by the modern Italian poets; and Lord Byron somewhere alludes to the “shrill Cigala, people of the pines,” thus recognising their arboreous disposition. Although held in the highest estimation as children of the soil by the Athenians, who used to wear golden images of them in their hair, there is no doubt that they were also regarded by the Greek nations under a less intellectual aspect. Aristotle mentions that they were used as food, and that they were particularly esteemed just before [7:9:202] the conclusion of the nympha state. The insect which he mentions under the name of Tettigometra, or mother of the Cicadae, is in fact merely that intermediate condition of nymph, prior to the development of the organs of flight. In that state, as well as when under the.form of larva, it lives upon the ground, or even beneath it, feeding on herbage and the roots of plants;.but when about to undergo its final metamorphosis, it climbs a tree, its outer garment bursts asunder and is thrown off as exuviae, the wings expand their folds “voluminous and vast,” and we have then the perfect insect or tree grasshopper, the Cicada of the Latins, and Tettix of the Greeks, so beautifully addressed by Anacreon :— . , We deem thee blest, thou grasshopper, as on the highest trees, Having sipp’d a little dew, thou sitťst, like a monarch, at thine ease; For every thing before thee, whate’er the fields produce, And the fruits of every season, are intended for thy use. Thou art the friend of husbandmen, since harmless are thy ways; By mortals held in reverence, sweet seer of summer days. The muses love thee dearly, to Phoebus art thou dear, Who with that voice hath gifted thee, so musical and clear. Song-skilled, earth-born, song-loving one, old age to thee’s no load; Fleshless, bloodless, passionless, thou almost art a god. A great variety of opinion seems to prevail regarding the musical accomplishments of these celebrated insects. Virgil accused the Italian Cicadae of bursting the very shrubs with their noise—“Et cantu querulae rumpent arbusta Cicadae;” and Dr Shaw in his Travels calls it, alluding to its shrilly cry, “the most troublesome and impertinent of insects.” Kirby and Spence tell us that in some countries it is execrated for its deafening din. Yet some one who desired to compliment Plato, asserted that his voice was as sweet as a grasshopper’s; and we may all remember the story of the rival musicians (Eunomus and Ariston), one of whom gained the victory in consequence of a Cicada settling on his harp, and supplying the place of a broken string. Even at this day the song of the Tettigonia Tibicen of Surinam is supposed so greatly to resemble the sound of a musical instrument, that the insect itself is called the Harper. The following is Mr Elton’s translation of Meleager’s invocation. 0 shrill-voiced insect! that with dew drops sweet, Inebriate, dost in desert woodlands sing; Perched in the spray-top with indented feet, Thy dusky body’s echoings harp-like ring: Come, dear Cicada! chirp to all the grove, The Nymphs and Pan, a new responsive strain; That I, in noonday sleep, may steal from love, Reclined beneath the dark o’erspreading plane. We shall here conclude our general sketch of these insects by observing that the substance used in medicine, and known by the name of manna, is an exudation from certain species of ash (^Fraxinus rotuηdifolia et ornus^ which flourish in the south of Europe. It has been observed to be frequently produced by the puncturing of the Cicadae, which feed on the juices of those saccharine trees. The largest insect of the genus in Europe is C. plebeia of Linn. Its cry is very strong and shrill; and as it is well known in Italy, there can be no doubt of its being the species mentioned by Virgil. If identical with the Athenian Cicada, its voice does certainly by no means correspond in musical intonation to what might be inferred from its recoιded character as a lyrist among the ancient Greeks. The pleasure produced may however depend upon association; for, as Cowper says/ Sounds inharmonious in themselves, and harsh, Yet heard in scenes where peace for ever reigns, And only there, please highly for their sake. It is said that the males alone are musical, which may perhaps be one reason for their continued cheerfulness; for, as the Rhodian Xenarchus has it, Happy the Cicadas’ lives, Since they all have voiceless wives. The amount of species in the genus Cicada is considerable. They are spread over almost all the regions of the earth, especially in the warmer latitudes.^[532. Encyclopédie Méthodique, t. v. p. 742. See also Stoll’s Représentations exactement coloriée d'après nature des Cigales et des Punaises.] The greater number are foreign to Europe. Our bounds will not admit of more than a brief notice of a very limited number of species. The Cicada Orni is a European insect, common in France and Italy. It is about an inch long, yellowish, paler beneath, but mixed with black on the upper portions. The margins of the abdominal segments are reddish. There are two rows of blackish spots on the upper wings, those next the inner margin being the smallest. Its voice is hoarse, and does not extend so far as that of several other species. This is the kind which, by wounding the tree from which it derives its specific name (a species of wild ash), causes a peculiar and honey-like fluid to flow from it. It afterwards dries and hardens, and in that state is used medicinally under the name of manna. The C. plebeia, Lin. (Tettigonia fraxini, Fab.), figured on Plate CCXXIX. fig. 13, is the largest species found in France. It is black, with some spots on the first segment of the thorax, its posterior margin, the raised and arched portions of the scutellum, and several veins on the elytra, reddish: Its cry is strong and shrill. The C. lκernαtodes is black, with the front of the thorax and legs spotted. The edges of the abdominal segments, and the reticulations of the elytra, are red. This species occurs in the south of France, but is rare in the vicinity of Paris, lts voice is weaker than that of the preceding species. Olivier has described sixty-six species in all.^[533. In Encyclop. Méthod. v. 742. See also Latreille’s Gener. Crust, et Insect, iii. 154; and the Syst. Rkyng. of Fabricius, genus Τettigonia.] We are indebted to Stoll for a monograph of the Cicadae, already referred to in a subjoined note. 2d, Mutae. Antennae with only three distinct articulations. Two ocelli or simple eyes. Legs, in general, adapted for leaping. Neither sex provided with organs of sound. The elytra are frequently coriaceous and opake, and the females of many species are observed to envelope their eggs in a white and cottony substance. A. Fulgorellae. Antennae inserted immediately beneath the eyes, and the front frequently prolonged into a muzzle, of variable figure according to the species. Genus Fulgora. ^[534. From fulgor, splendour.] Front of the head prolonged or expanded into a muzzle. No appendages beneath the antennae. Thorax of two apparent segments,—the posterior margin of the first straight, of the second triangular. These insects are remarkable for the varied and beautiful markings of their elytra and wings, and for the singU' lar form of their expanded muzzles, from which a luminous or phosphoric emanation proceeds during the night-Hence several of the species are known (in common with Elater, Lampyris, and other coleopterous kinds) under the name of fire-flies. The greater number of the species are exotic, and inhabit the sultry regions of Cayenne, Guadaloupe, Senegal, the East Indies, and China. They [7:9:203] dwell on trees, but their special manners are but slightly known. We shall here indicate a few of the more noted species. F. laternaria, Linn, is a large and remarkable insect from South America, drawn and described in most illustrated works on entomology. Its muzzle is nearly straight as to its direction from the head, but it is vesicular and inflated, or swollen out and rounded, at the sides and extremity. The ends of the under wings are pleasantly varied with black and yellow, in the form of an expanded spot, resembling the eye of a peacock’s feather. Madame Merian informs us, that from the head or front of this species a light is seen to shine during the darker hours, so clear and brilliant that it is easy to read by its rays. She adds, that during the day it is transparent as a bladder, and radiated with red and green. The indefatigable and accurate Réaumur, desirous to ascertain by anatomical investigation the proximate cause of this curious phenomenon, opened one of these vesicular expansions, buthe found it empty, except of air, and containing no organic structure. We must bear in mind, however, that the individual examined was in a state of desiccation. The species is common at Guadaloupe and Cayenne, where it is known by the name of fire-fly. It flies well, and hovers habitually about the summits of the tallest trees. Its luminous faculty has been sometimes called in question, especially by M. Richard, who captured many at Cayenne, but never saw them shine. Yet the testimony of Madame Merian, and the general application to the species of the name of mouche a feu, notwithstanding the fruitless results of Réaumur’s examination, suffices to establish that fact. It is probable, however, that the phosphoric emanation from this and other species is only perceptible at certain seasons of the year, and this consideration may explain the discrepancy arising from M. Richard’s observations. F. cαndelaria, Fab. (Plate CCXXIX. fig. 12), is a native of China and other eastern countries, and is very abundant in collections. It is known among us by the name of Lantern fly, and may be easily recognised by its long cylindrical snout, arched in an upward direction, its greenish reticulated elytra, and orange-yellow wings with black extremities. At night this insect glitters by thousands among the dark recesses of the Banyan tree, which to Indians known, In Malabar or Deccan spreads her arms, Branching so broad and long, that in the ground The bended twigs take root, and daughters grow About the mother-tree, a pillar’d shade High overarch’d, and echoing walks between. And they are likewise observed to dance in perpetual motion around the outmost branches of the spreading tamarind, producing a brilliant and singularly beautiful effect. F. Europoea, Lat. (Stoll, Cigales, pl. xi. fig. 51), occurs in the south of France, Italy, and the islands of the Mediterranean. Its front assumes the form of a conical advancement, with three raised lines above and five below. The elytra and wings are transparent, with green reticulations. There are three raised lines on the thorax.^[535. For the other species of this genus see the works of Stoll and Fabricius, last cited, and the Encycloρ. Míéthod. article Fulgore.] Genus Otiocerus, Kirby. Muzzle advanced. Simple eyes wanting. Two small appendages beneath each antenna. r b Genus Lystra, Fab. Head transverse, and without any prolongation in the form of muzzle. Two simple eyes. Second articulation of the antennae granular, and almost round. The species of this genus at first sight resemble small Cicadae. The extremity of the body, in the females, is furnished with little bundles of cotton threads, beautifully white, with which, it is presumed, they surround their eggs. We arc acquainted with many species from China, the East Indies, and South America. We shall here mention only L. lanata, Fab. (Cicada lanαta, Lin.), of which the sides of the front are red, and the extremities of the elytra black, with points of blue. We receive it from Cayenne and the Antilles. We shall here indicate a few genera, into the detailed history of which we cannot enter. The Cyxii oťLatreille resemble Lystrae, but the second joint of the antennae is smooth and cylindrical. Under the appellation of Tettigometra, Latreille has separated certain insects analogous to the preceding, but with the antennae lodged between the posterior and lateral angles of the head, and those of the anterior extremity of the thorax. The eyes are not projecting.^[536. Germar, Magazin äer Entomologie, iv. 7∙] The preceding genera are provided with simple eyes; but in such as follow, these organs are wanting. The species with large elytra, and the prothorax shorter in the middle than the mesothorax, compose the genus Paeciloptera of Latreille and Germar (Flata of Fabricius).^[537. Gener. Crust, et Insect, iii. 165; Mag. ãer Ent. iii. 219, İV. 103-4.] In Issus, Fab. the prothorax is as long at least as the mesothorax; and the elytra, scarcely longer, or sometimes shorter, than the abdomen, are dilated at their base, and then narrowed.^[538. Systema lĩĩiyngotorum, p. 199.] Sometimes the antennae are at least as long as the head, and are most frequently inserted in an inferior emargination of the eyes. The genus Anotia of Kirby resembles Issus in the insertion of the antennae.^[539. Linn. Trans, xiii. pl. i. figs. 9, 10, 11, 15.] In Asiraca of Lat. (Delphax of Fab.) the antennae are inserted in an inferior emargination of the eyes, and are as long as the head and thorax united. Their first joint is usually longer than the second, and is compressed and angular. In Delphax, as constituted by Latreille, the antcnnae are similar in their insertion, but they are never much longer than the head, and their first joint is much shorter than the following one, and without ridges. The simple eyes are apparent. The genus Derbe of Fab. is allied to Anotia. The species are little known. They are all exotic, and most of them come from South America. B. Cicadelloe. Antennae inserted between the eyes. Latreille subdivides this portion of the family of Cicadariae into the following genera. He commences with the species which, with the exception of a few (the Ledrae), formerly composed the genus ÏÏIemhracis of Fabricius. The head is much inclined or lowered anteriorly, and prolonged to an obtuse point, or under the form of a clypeus, more or less semicircular. The antennae are always very small, terminated by an inarticulate seta, and inserted into a cavity beneath the margin of the head. The prothorax is sometimes dilated and horned on either side, prolonged and restricted posteriorly to a point or spine, either simple or compound, sometimes elevated longitudinally along the back, compressed into a sharp edge or crest, and sometimes projecting and pointed forwards. The legs are scarcely spiny. [7:9:204] a ∙ No apparent or exposed scutellum properly so called. * Tibiae, especially the anterior, strongly compressed and foliaceous. Upper part of the head always forming a kind of semicircular cîypeus. Genus Membracis, Fab. Prothorax elevated, compressed, and foliaceous along the middle or the back. Of this pretty numerous genus we shall notice only Μ. foliata, Fab. (Plate CCXXIX. fig. 14), which is of a blackish brown, the front advanced, flattened, the thorax marked by an arch and band of white. The latter part is greatly elevated, flattened laterally, forming a salient crest, advancing over the head, which it almost entirely covers, and terminated posteriorly by a point prolonged beyond the abdomen. The elytra are oval, longer than the wings. The legs are elongated, flattened, rather broad. The anterior tibiae are shorter, of an oval form, and flattened. The native country is Cayenne. Genus Tragopa, Lat. Prothorax presenting on each side a horn or salient point, without any intermediate elevation, and prolonging itself posteriorly into an arched projection of the length of the abdomen, and occupying the place of the scutellum. This genus is composed of certain species from Brazil, which Μ. Latreille regards as analogous to Μ. glabra, albimacula, and xanthocephala of Germar. * * Tibiae of the ordinary form, not foliaceous. Genus Darnis, Fab. Posterior prolongation of the prothorax covering almost the whole, or the greater portion, of the upper part of the abdomen and elytra, and forming an elongated and arched triangle.^[540. For the species, see the Sy sterna Rhyηgσtοrum of Fabricius.] Genus Bocydium, Lat. Elytra entirely or in greater part exposed, the posterior and scutellar prolongation of the prothorax being narrow, and more or less lanceolate or s pi ni form. The Centrotus horridus, trifidus, globularis, clavatus, and claviger, of Fabricius, belong to this genus. b. Scutellum partially exposed, even although the prothorax is prolonged ;—the posterior extremity of the latter offering a transverse suture, which distinguishes it from the scutellum. Genus Centrotus, ^[541. ,] Fab. Similar to Membracis, but the thorax is dilated horizontally, and covers only a part of the body. C. cornutus, Fab. (Cicada cornuta, Linn. Plate CCXXIX. fig. 15), is of a blackish-brown, the thorax with a horn on each side, and prolonged posteriorly to a sinuated point of the length of the abdomen. This species measures about four lines in length. It occurs in France, and other parts oí Europe, in woods, on terns, &c. and is known by the name or petit diable. C. genistae, Fab. is of an obscure brown, the thorax without horns, but terminated posteriorly by a straight sharp point, as long as the half of the abdomen. It is only half the size of the preceding, and occurs on the broom. It is called demi-diable by the French. j Μ. Latreille now proceeds to those species of which the head, if not upon a level with, is scarcely lower than, the prothorax, and is horizontal or slightly inclined when seen from above. The prothorax is neither elevated in the centre, nor posteriorly prolonged, and offers at most some lateral dilatations. The mesothorax presents itself under the form of an ordinary-sized triangular scutellum. The elytra are always entirely exposed, and the posterior tibiae at least are spinous. In several genera the thorax bears the form of an irregular hexagon, prolonged and narrowed posteriorly, and terminated by a truncation, serving as a support to the base of the scutellum, which it frequently receives into itself,—the truncated portion being concave or emarginate. In the genus Ledra, Fab. the vertex is triangular, and bears the ocelli. The antennae are inserted upon or above an ideal line drawn from one eye to another. The head is very flat before the eyes, in the form of a transverse clypeus, arcuated and terminated in the centre of its anterior margin by an obtuse angle. All the under parts of the head are plane, or on the same level. The sides of the prothorax are raised in the form of rounded horns. The posterior tibiae are much compressed, and as if margined exteriorly by a đentated membrane. The Cicada aurita of Linn., or grand diable as it is called by Geoffroy, belongs to this genus. In the genus Cercopis, Fab. the third joint of the antennae is conical, and terminated by an inarticulate seta. Of this genus C. sanguinolenta is a well-known and ornamental British species, as is also C. spumaria, Linn, of which the larva inhabits a white foam frequent on the leaves and stalks of various plants, and called frog-spittle in England— gowk-spittle in our northern parts of the kingdom. The latter species is by some classed in the genus Tettigonia. In other genera of Cicađariae, which terminate our present family, the prothorax is scarcely if at all prolonged posteriorly, and terminates, at the height of the origin of the elytra, by a nearly straight line, the length of which is nearly equal to the breadth of the body. The scutellum, measured at the base, occupies a great proportion of that breadth. Here are ranged the genera ľulopa, Eu-PELix, Penthimia, Jassus, and Tettigonia properly so called.^[542. See the fourth volume of Germar⅛ d ,r and the K snc] FAMILY II.—APHIDII. These singular insects are distinguished from those of the preceding family by the tarsi, which have only two articulations, and by the antennae, filiform or setaceous, longer than the head, and composed of from six to eleven articulations. Such as possess organs of flight have always two elytra and a pair of wings. The species are usually very small,—their bodies generally of a soft consistence, the elytra and wings nearly alike, or differing merely in size and thickness. They lay a prodigious number of eggs, and their mode of production is in other respects very remarkable. In some the antennae consist of from ten to eleven articulations, of which the last is terminated by a couple of setae. These are leaping insects, and compose the genus Psylla of Geoffroy ÇChermes, Linn.). They are known under the title of faux-pucerons to the French naturalists, as distinguished from the true Aphides after mentioned. They live on trees and various plants, by the juices of which they are nourished. Both sexes are winged. The body of the larvae is usually very flat, the head large, the abdomen rounded posteriorly. Their feet are terminated by a small membranous vesicle, furnished beneath with a couple of hooks. The nymphs are distinguishable by four broad flat dorsal portions, which constitute the sheaths of the incipient wings and elytra. Several species are covered during both of those immature conditions [7:9:205] by a white and cottony substance, disposed in flakes. Their feces form threads or masses of a gummy and saccharine nature. Several species, by the wounds which they occasion to plants while sucking their juices, occasion the growth of peculiar excrescences on the buds and leaves, resembling gallnuts. Of these is Psylla buxi ((Jh, buxi, Linn.), which is green with yellowish-brown wings. Mr Stephens has named a great many British species as belonging to this genus.^[543. Systematic Catalogue, part ii. p. 361.] Latreille has founded the genus Livia upon a species which dwells among rushes (Plate CCXXIX. fig. 17). The antennae are much thicker near the base than towards the extremity. In other Aphidii the antennae have only from six to eight articulations, of which the last is not terminated by a couple of setae. . Some have the elytra and wings linear, fringed with hairs, and placed horizontally upon the body, which is of an almost cylindrical form. The rostrum is very small or indistinct. The tarsi are terminated by a vesicular article, unfurnished with hooks. The antennae consist of eight granular articulations. Such are the species which form the genus Thrips of Linn. (Plate CCXXIX. fig. 18). These insects are very small, extremely active, and seem to leap rather than fly. When teazed, they raise and recurve the extremity of the abdomen, after the manner of the Staphylinidae. They live among flowers and other parts of plants, and beneath the bark of trees. We may add, that although Latreille did not perceive in the organization of the mouth of these insects any characters essentially different from such as distinguish that organ among the other component parts of the homopterous Hemiptera,-yet M. Straus, who has studied the subject very laboriously, and with his wonted intelligence, is of opinion that the genus Thrips belongs in fact to the orthopterous order. Others have the elytra and wings oval or triangular, without fringe, and inclined or tectiform. The rostrum is distinct. The tarsi are terminated by two hooks. The antennae consist of from six to seven articulations. Such are the species which compose the great genus Aphis of Linn, which is now divisible as follows. In the genus Aphis properly so called, the antennae are longer than the thorax, of seven articulations, of which the third is elongated. The eyes are entire, and the abdomen is furnished with two horn-like projections at its posterior extremity. The species dwell together in society on various trees and plants, of which they suck the juices. They walk very leisurely, and cannot leap. The two horn-like processes just mentioned are hollow tubes, from which a drop of transparent liquid frequently exudes. It partakes of the property of sugar, and is much sought after by ants, who suck it with avidity from the living Aphides. This curious fact was first noticed by M. Boissier de Sauvages, and has since been amply confirmed by Μ. P. Huber. The desired liquor seems to be given out voluntarily by the aphis, when solicited so to do by a gentle tap from the ant’s antennae. A single aphis may be sometimes seen surrounded by three or four ants, all ln the act of deriving from it a plentiful and nectareous meal.^[544. The viscous drops so frequent on the foliage of many trees, and commonly known by the name of htmey-ãcw, is this secretion rom the Aphides. We have seen it falling from a willow tree like a gentle and continuous shower, and ascertained its origin by discovering at the same time millions of these insects incrusting the upper branches, and each giving out from time to time a minute drop of nectareous fluid.] 1he congregations of the Aphides consist, in spring and summer, of apterous individuals, and of nymphae with undeveloped wings. All of these are females, which give birth to living young, et sans accouplement préalable. The males, which consist both of winged and apterous insects, are produced towards the end of summer, or during the autumnal season. They fecundate the last broods produced by the females first mentioned; which broods consist of apterous females, differing from their progenitors in requiring impregnation prior to the continuance of their kind. They lay eggs soon after the sexual intercourse, and these remain in the crevices of trees, &c. throughout the winter, and in spring produce the broods above alluded to, which are capable of producing living young, without assistance from each other. “L’influence ďune premiere fécondation s’étend ainsi sur plusieurs générations successives. Bonnet, auquel on doit le plus de faits sur cet objet, a obtenu, par l’isolement des femelles, jusqu’à neuf générations dans l’espace de trois mois.”^[545. Regne Animal, t. v. p. 227.] M. Du-vau has recently added some observations to those of Bonnet and Réaumur on this singular subject.^[546. Ann. des Sciences Nat. t. v. p. 224.] By this extraordinary process of production, vast multitudes are brought forth during a favourable season, and the injury to vegetation, by the absorption of the juices, and the obstruction of the natural pores, is consequently great. Réaumur calculates, that in the course of five generations, a single mother may be the means of producing 5,904,900,000! But fortunately they are liable to the attacks of numerous enemies, and are greedily devoured by many other insects. The larvae of the genus Henιero∙ bins, those of different dipterous species, and of the Coccinellae or lady-birds, make the helpless Aphides their constant prey. We cannot here describe the species, but shall content ourselves by naming a few familiar examples. Aphis rosoe (Plate CCXXIX. figs. 19 and 20) is a small green species, very abundant on the younger shoots of roses, the flowering of which it seems to damage or destroy. Its hordes may be killed by dipping the affected branch into soapy water. A. quercus occurs on the oak, and is remarkable for the great length of its beak, which is at least three times as long as the body. It is of a brown colour. A.fagi is attached to the beech tree, and covers itself, as do many other species, with a white and cotton-like down, which exudes from its body. Including the genus Eriosoma of Leach, we have above fifty species of aphis in Britain. In the genus Aleyrodes, ^[547. From a *-ιυ1it,jiour, in allusion to the farinaceous powder by which these insects are often covered.] Lat. (Tinea, Linn.), the antennae are short, composed of six articulations, and the eyes are emarginate. A. Chelidonii of Lat. (T. proletella, Linn.) is found upon the celandine (Chelidonium majus), and other plants. It resembles a little moth. The larva is oval, flat, and shaped like a small scale. The nymph is fixed and enclosed in an envelope, so that its transformations differ from those of its congeners. Indeed the somewhat anomalous character of this insect has been the cause of its being described under a great variety of names.^[548. See Geoffroy, Hist. des Insect, t. ii. p. 172; Réaumur, Mem. Jth, t. ii.; and Diet. Class. Hist. Nat. t. i. p. 211.] Mr Stephens enumerates five British species, including the one just mentioned.^[549. Systematic Catalogue , part ii. p. 367∙] FAMILY III—GALLINSECTA. The insects of this family seem to have only one articulation to the tarsi, and are generally so described. It [7:9:206] is the opinion, however, of M. ŋalman, that those parts consist of three joints, with a single hook at the extremity.^[550. See his l∖1enιoir in Swedish,— On ηagra sνεnska arter of Coccus, Stockholm, 1826.] The males want the rostrum, and have only two wings laid horizontally on the body; their abdomen is terminated by a pair of setae. The females are winged and provided with a rostrum. The antennae are filiform or setaceous, and consist, for the most part, of eleven articulations. There are only nine in the males of the species described by M. Dalman. These creatures form the noted genus Coccus of Linn, commonly called cochineal insects. They are also known by the name of Chermes, ^[551. .Be E remembered, however, that the genus Chermes of Linn, corresponds to Psylla of Lat. already described, and not to our present species, which are the true Kermes of Geoffroy, Réaumur, and Olivier.] and their history and attributes are sufficiently remarkable. . We may frequently perceive on the branches of various trees multitudes of small oval or rounded bodies resembling scales, adhering closely to the wood, and presenting no indications of any external organs. These aiae insects of the genus Coccus, the progallinsectes of Réaumur. Their history was for a long period extremely obscure, and the species employed in commerce was even at one time regarded as a kind of grain. It was only towards the termination of the seventeenth century that Μ. Plumier clearly established their insect origin. We are indebted to Réaumur for a complete history of the life and transformations of the European kinds. The larvae of both males and females, on first quitting the egg, are tolerably active, and run about among the leaves and branches. They are, however, so extremely small at that period, as not to be distinctly discernible without the aid of a microscope. They are flat, ovular, apterous, with short and indistinctly articulated antennae. The males have no apparent organs of manducation, although the females are furnished with a small, extremely short, almost conical beak, inserted between the first and second pair of feet, nearly perpendicular in its direction, and composed of a four-jointed sheath containing a sucker of three pieces. It is with this instrument that they pump the juices of the leaves and tender stems. They also fix themselves from time to time for the purpose of changing their skin, and after arriving at a certain size, they become definitely fixed in some chosen spot, usually at the bifurcation of a branch, where they form a little nest, protected by a tapestry of cotton. They then attain the perfect state, and are apterous (we speak of the females) even in that otherwise complete condition. Their head is semicircular, their mouth is still formed of the beak which existed in the larva state, and the eyes are small. The thorax is not easily distinguished from the abdomen, the segments of which are distinct. When the insect has attained its full growth, its abdomen is found filled with a multitude of minute eggs. The larvae of the males, though by no means rare, are much less numerous than those of the other sex. Their mode of sustenance, owing to the want of the sucker, is not distinctly known; but they increase in size, and after a time their skin hardens, and serves as a cocoon, in which they undergo their transformation to the nympha state. In the latter condition they are remarkable for the anterior pair of legs being directed forwards. Towards the beginning of spring these eocoons open at their posterior portion, and the perfect male insect comes forth stern foremost. It is of a more elongated form, with a round head furnished with two small eyes and a pair of rather long antennae. The thorax is rounded, and has attached to it a pair of long wings, folded horizontally one over the other, and very delicately veined. (For a male Coccus see Plate CCXXIX. fig. 16; the fe male is shown by figures 21 and 22). The male is less thank the female, and more active, although it uses its wings very! sparingly. As soon as it attains the perfect state, it sets off in search of the other sex, which still remains fixed in s the nest, as formerly mentioned. The oviposition of the female is another remarkable peculiarity in the history of these insects. Though excluded from the body, the eggs do not appear externally, but are made to pass beneath the abdomen, and between it and the cotton tapestry above alluded to. In proportion as the insect becomes empty, the lower surface of the abdomen approaches the upper one, so as to leave beneath the body a kind of arch or cavity for the reception of the eggs. The perfect female never stirs a step in the course of her life, but having laid her eggs she dies, and her body shŗivels up and hardens, and thus forms a coeoon or covering for the incipient young. These, as soon as hatched, work their way from beneath the dead body of their parent, making their escape by its posterior extremity. These curious insects are certainly hurtful to vegetation, by causing a too abundant transudation of their juices; and they consequently excite the jealousy of those who cultivate the finer trees, sueh as the peach, the orange, the olive, and the fig. Certain species attack also the roots of plants. But, upon the whole, the advantages which we derive from this genus of insect amply counterbalance whatever injuries it may occasionally inflict upon us. The species are very numerous. We shall here notice only a few of the more remarkable. Of the kind called Kermes, is that known to naturalists by the name of Coccus Ilicis, of which the female attains to the size and form of a pea. It is of a violet-black colour, covered by a whitish powder. This species is common over the south of Europe on the evergreen oak, and appears to be widely distributed over many of the southeastern countries of the ancient world. It occurs abundantly in Spain, where it attaches itself chiefly to the twigs and leaves of a small species of spiny-leaved oak, frequent in the southern parts of that romantic kingdom, especially on the slopes of the Sierra Morena. Many of the inhabitants of Murcia have no other means of subsistence than those procured by collecting the Kermes. Women are usually so employed, and they scrape the adhesive insects from the trees by means of their nails. Though supplanted over the greater portion of Europe by the introduction of the more famous cochineal (Cbcm cacti), which is an American species, it is still extensively used in India and the Persian dominions.^[552. Kirby and Spence’s Introd. to Ent. and Bocharťs Ilìerozoic.] It has been employed from time immemorial to impart a blood-red or crimson dye to cloth, and was known to the Phoenicians by the name of Thola. It was called coccus (Koxzoř) by the Greeks, and kermes or alkermes by the Arabians. According to Beckman, the epithet vermiculatum was applied to it during the middle ages, when its insect origin came to be generally understood, and hence is derived our English word vermilion. The French term cramoisi is evidently from the Arabic. It is supposed to have been by means of this substance that the curtains of the tabernacle (Exodus, xxvi. &c.) were dyed of a deep red (which the word scarlet then implied, rather than the colour so named in more modern days, which was unknown in the > reign of James I. when our Bible was translated); and 1 from the same source have been derived the imperishable . reds of the Flemish tapestries. The scarlet afforded by cochineal was unknown in its highest perfection till the [7:9:207] year 1630, when the singular power of the oxide of tin m exalting its colours was discovered in Holland; it was soon after communicated to one of the celebrated MM. Gobelins of Paris, and may have contributed to the perfection of their tapestries.^[553. Quarterly Review , vol. ix. p. 210.] Since the preparation of Morocco leather has been established in this country, cochineal has been employed to produce the beautiful colour of what is called red morocco; but in Persia, Armenia, Barbary, and the Greek islands, a similar colour was originally produced by the use of either kermes or lac.^[554. Experimental Researches concerning the Philosophy of Permanent Colours, &c. by Edward Bancroft, Μ. ŋ. vol. ii. p. 167∙] The colouring matter of kermes is regarded by Dr Bancroft as identical with that of cochineal, but combined with some astringent matter derived from the tree on which it feeds. _ The substance called lac is also the produce of an insect of the Coccus kind. It is collected from various trees in India, where it is used in the fabrication of beads, rings, and other ornaments of female attire. When mixed with sand it forms grindstones; and, added to ivory black, and previously dissolved in water with a little borax, it composes an ink which, when dry, is said to be capable of resisting a considerable degree of damp or moisture. In this country, according to the different states in which it is imported, it is called stick-lac, seed-lac, lump-lac, or shell-lac. It is chiefly used in the making of varnishes, japanned ware, and sealing-wax, although during late years it has been applied to a still more important purpose, as originally suggested by Dr Roxburgh, that of a substitute for cochineal in dyeing scarlet. The first preparations from it with this view were made in consequence of a hint from Dr Bancroft; and large quantities of a substance termed lαe-lαhe, consisting of the colouring matter of stick-lac, precipitated from an alkaline lixivium by alum, were manufactured at Calcutta, and sent to this country, where at first the consumption was so considerable, that in the three years previous to 1810 the sales at the India house equalled in point of colouring matter half a million of pounds weight of cochineal.^[555. Bancroft, ut supra.] “More recently, however, anew preparation of lac-colour, under the name of lac-dye, has been imported from India, which has been substituted for the lac-lake, and with such advantage, that the East India Company are said to have saved in a few months L.14,000 in the purchase of scarlet cloths dyed with this colour and cochineal conjointly, and without any inferiority in the colour obtained.”^[556. Introd, to Ent. vol. i. p. 318.] The only mordant formerly used with kermes was alum, and the colour communicated was blood-red; but Dr Bancroft ascertained, that with the solution of tin used with cochineal it was capable of imparting as brilliant a scarlet as that dye, and one perhaps more permanent. It must be borne in mind, however, that as ten or twelve pounds of kermes contain no more colouring matter than a single pound of cochineal, the latter at its ordinary price is, after all, the cheapest. Several other curious and valuable products arc obtained from insects belonging to the genus Coccus, or to one nearly allied in its natural character and attributes. The pe-la, for example,, or white wax of the Chinese, is derived from an insect, apparently a Coccus, described by the AbbéGrozier; and a non-descript Indian species produces a wax analogous to pe la, first noticed by Dr Anderson under, the name of white lac. It is obtained in great quantities in the vicinity of Madras; but Dr Pearson’s experiments do not countenance the idea, at one time rather sanguinely entertained, that it might be advantageously used for making candles.^[557. Linn. Trans. 1794.] Geoffroy long ago attributed to a species of kermes the faculty of producing a sugary substance, of a white colour, resembling manna; and Captain Frederick has described an article of that nature under the name of Gez, found in Persia and Armenia; but he seems doubtful whether to attribute to it an animal or a vegetable origin.^[558. Transactions of the Bombay Literary Society, vol. i.] More recently, however, General Hardwicke has described an Indian insect, under the name of Chermis mannifer, of the size of the domestic bug, and of a flattened oval form, with a rounded tail. From its abdomen a quantity of saccharine substance is exuded, and assumes the form of a bunch of feathers, with a consistence like that of snow. These insects are found on the branches and leaves of trees in millions, and they there produce this feather-like secretion, till it becomes elongated, and, dropping on the leaves, hardens upon them into a substance resembling the most beautiful wax.^[559. Description of Gez or Manna, in the Asiatic Researches, vol. xiv. p. 182.] Of the European species, in addition to C. Ilicis, already described, we may mention C. adonidum, now naturalized in our hot-houscs, where it is very destructive, and C. polonicus, which yields a colouring matter almost as beautiful as the Mexican cochineal; it attacks the roots of ScleraηtJιus perennis, and other plants, and is still used as a dye in Russia. Before closing this branch of our subject, we must devote a few lines to the cochineal insect properly so called, the Coccus cacti of naturalists (Plate CCXX1X. figs. 16, 21, 22). This species, so important in a commercial point of view, and in relation to our arts and manufactures, is a native of Mexico, where it was assiduously cultivated at a period long anterior to the European conquest of that country. We shall not describe its appearance, as that will be better understood by an inspection of the figures just referred to. There are several varieties, named in general from the provinces where they are bred; and of these, that called Mastique or Mêsteque is regarded as the best. It is cultivated on a tree called Nopal by the Indians (Cactus cochenilifer, Linn.) and its colour is by some attributed to the juices of that plant. It is the female insect that is so highly valued for the incomparable beauty of its colour. It is imported to Europe in the form of a little grain, convex on one side, concave on the other, and exhibiting traces of the abdominal segments. In the year 1736 there was sent to Europe about 700,000 pounds weight of this minute creature, a quantity worth L.700,000 sterling. Humboldt states the quantity imported about the period of his inquiries to have been 32,000 arrobas, worth in South America L.500,040 sterling,^[560. Political Essay on New Spain.] —“a vast amount to arise from so small an insect, and well calculated to show us the absurdity of despising any animals on account of their minuteness.”^[561. Introduct. to Ent. vol. i. p. 316.] Dr Bancroft calculates the annual consumption of cochineal in Great Britain at about 750 bags, or 150,000 pounds weight,—worth L.375,000 sterling at recent prices. The natives of those districts in which the cochineal is reared form plantations of the nopal tree near their dwellinghouses. It grows freely from cuttings, and the latter are fit for the reception of the insect in eighteen months. Eight orten females are put into a small nest formed of tufts of a thread-like substance collected from a species of palm, [7:9:208] or of any other cottony matter. These nests are attached to the spines of the nopal, upon the side facing the rising sun, and the insects are placed in them about the middle of October, a period at which good weather usually commences in Mexico after the rains. The eggs are soon laid and hatched, and the progeny spread in vast numbers over the plant, each female producing upwards of a thousand young. According to Μ. Thierry de Menonville,^[562. Trαité de lα Culture du Nopal 2 vols. 8vo, Paris 1787. This author endeavoured to introduce the Spanish American cochineal into St Domingo, but they perished for want of care.] six generations are produced in a year, and they might be collected at all seasons, buζ for the destruction produced among them by the periodical rains. The first collection takes place about the middle of December, and the last in the month of May. They are detached by means of a knife with the edge blunted, to prevent injury to the nopal tree. When the first gathering is made, the nests are taken away, and the dead females (those placed on the nopal in October) are likewise picked off. These are lighter and less valuable than such as are taken off alive and full of young; the former losing three fourths, the latter two thirds, during the process of drying. As soon as dried, however, both kinds may be kept for any length of time, without any further loss of either weight or colour. They are killed by different processes. Some put them in a basket, which they dip in boiling water, and afterwards dry them by exposure to the sun; others place them in an oven, or on plates of heated iron. The various external colours of the insect, as we afterwards see it in Europe, depend upon the mode of putting it to death. Those which have been killed by being dipt in hot water (the method regarded as the best), lose a portion of the white powder with which they were previously invested, and acquire a brownish-red colour. When so treated, they pass under the name of renagrida. When killed in an oven they retain the white powder, remain externally of a grey colour, and are caWĉAjarpeada. Such as are placed on plates of heated iron become of a blackish hue, and are then named ηegra. When cochineal insects are forced from the tree, they speedily die, even if no further violence is offered them; because their sucker, being fixed in the wood, is unavoidably dislocated and broken off by the act of removal. It is necessary, however, to put them to death, because they might otherwise live for a short time, and meanwhile produce their young, the loss of which would diminish the quantity of colouring matter. The other most frequent variety of cochineal is called sylvester i on account of its being commonly collected from a species of cattus which grows wild, or without culture. It is of smaller size, and much less valuable in relation both to the amount and quality of the colour which it yields. We have not yet ascertained to our own satisfaction whether it is a mere variety or a distinct species. Although it occurs naturally upon a wild spiny cactus, it is also cultivated upon the nopal or garden species, for the sake of the greater facility of collection. So great indeed is the difference in this point, that in one day a single labourer will gather from the latter a quantity which, when dry, will amount to the weight of three pounds,—whereas from the former the most persevering hand will not obtain in that time much more than a couple of ounces. Moreover, when cultivated on the garden nopal, the sylvester cochineal attains to as large a size as the mastique. Various attempts have been made to introduce the culture of the cochineal into our eastern possessions, although these, so far as we are informed, have not yet been attended with any marked success. The old Spanish government manifested great jealousy on the subject; and we are not aware that the true kind has been yet imported, although the court of directors at one period offered a reward of L.6000 to whoever should effect its introduction to India. Colonel Bory St Vincent informs us that attempts have recently been made, and with a fair prospect of success, to effect its cultivation near Malaga, in Spain.^[563. Annal, des Sciences Nat. t. viii. p. 105.] We shall conclude our sketch by observing that considerable care is requisite to preserve these insects from the attacks of their natural enemies, of which one of the chief is the larva of a species of Coccinella, which sucks them to death, and leaves nothing but the skin. A very destructive foe is also described as being a caterpillar, of an inch in length, and the thickness of a crow-quill, whieh, it is said, would soon destroy the race if allowed to continue its attacks without any interference on the part of the higher powers.^[564. We scarcely think that the creature above alluded to can be a caterpillar properly so called, that is, the larva of a lepidopterous insect.] It is said that a species of Ptinus also feeds upon them freely. Besides these direct enemies, there is another insect, with the exact nature of which we are not acquainted, which lives in common with the cochineal upon the juices of the nopal, and by so doing greatly interferes with the health and progress of the more valuable species. Among its larger, if not more formidable enemies, we may mention a mouse, which is said always to prefer the mastique or finer cochineal to the Sylvester or wild species, because the cottony matter with which the latter is invested produces discomfort by entangling in its teeth. Both kinds are moreover subjected to the attacks of numerous birds. Order IV.—NEUROPTERA.^[565. Odonata, and the majority of Synistata, of Fabricius.] Distinguished by four naked or transparent wings, reticulated or interlaced by a delicate network, and usually of the same size as well as texture. The mouth is adapted for mastication, that is, furnished with mandibles and true maxillae, and never assumes the tubular form. The abdomen does not possess a sting, and is rarely provided with an ovipositor. The antennae are usually setaceous, and composed of numerous articulations. The head is furnished with two or three simple eyes. The thorax is formed of three segments, intimately united to each other, though perceptibly distinct from the abdomen; the first of these segments is usually very short, and in the form of a collar. The number of joints of the tarsi varies. The form of the body is for the most part elongated, and its texture rather soft and delicate. The abdomen is always sessile. Many of the species are carnivorous, both in the larva and perfect state. This beautiful and very varied order has been divided into two by Mr Kirby, by the separation of the genus Piιryganea of Linn., which the English naturalist raises to the rank of an order under the name Trichoptera. It might also have simplified the characters of the order if we had left in it only those which possess reticulated wings; but as some of the latter exhibit a difference in the texture of the organs of flight, it is difficult to assign rigorous characters to the neuropterous tribes, if we attach a high importance to the wings. “Of all the Linnaean orders,” says Mr Kirby, “this appears to consist of [7:9:209] the most discordant tribes; so that it seems next to impossible to construct a definition that will include them all unless indeed we admit M. Latreille’s idea, adopted by Mr Macleay, that a varied metamorphosis is its essential character; or, to speak more largely, variety itself seems the characteristic of the insects composing it in every state, and there is scarcely a common distinctive character in their perfect state, upon detecting which in any individual, you may exclaim—this is a neuropterous insect.”^[566. Introduc. tο Ent. vol. iv. p. 371.] Theneuropterous species, however, may be readily distinguished from the orthopterous and hemipterous kinds by the greater difference of consistence in the two latter between the upper and under wings. The Hymenoptera, again, have generally much longer maxillae—serving rather to suck the juices than to bruise .the more solid portions of the substances on which they feed. The scale-covered wings of the lepidopterous order prevent their being confounded with our present subjects; while the Diptera are easily distinguished by the absence of the lower wings, and the different structure of the organs of manducation. The mouth in the neuropterous order is generally composed of a labrum and a labium, of two mandibles, and a pair of maxillae. The latter organs are very sharp and strong among the Lihellulce, which prey on other insects, but extremely small or almost imperceptible in the Ephemeral, which, as their name implies, are very short-lived, and take no nourishment in the perfect state. The palpi are very short in the former tribes, but exceedingly long among the Aĩyrmeleones. Although the antennae, in the majority, are filiform or setaceous, they are terminated by an elongated club in those last named; while in the genus Ascalaphus they are very long and slender, and terminate in a little button, resembling those of many Lepidoptera. The wings are sometimes tectiform or incumbent, sometimes stretched out horizontally. Though frequently alike in size, they occasionally differ from each other. Thus in the genus Eemoptera the under pair are very long and narrow, while in some Ephemerae they are almost obliterated. In the larva and nympha states these insects are either terrestrial or aquatic, according to their kinds. In the former case some dwell beneath the bark of trees, others move about on twigs and branches, making an unresisting prey of Aphides; while a certain number inhabit sandy soils, where they excavate insidious pit-falls, and seize upon whatever insects venture within the circle of their treacherous toils. The aquatic species dwell in their earlier states in ponds and marshes, and in the shallower and more sheltered parts of lakes and rivers. They then respire by means of organs which exhibit a strong analogy to the gills of fishes, but which Latreille recognises only as exterior tracheal appendages, named false branchia. Many construct very ingenious cases of small stones, shells, and twigs of water-plants, in which they move about m their watery element. Ihe Neuroptera are, in general, insects ofan extremely elegant deportment. They fly with great facility, and are not unfrequently adorned by agreeable and varied colours. . Though almost all carnivorous as larvae, their habits differ greatly in the perfect state. Some undergo a semi-metamorphosis,—others are completely changed, —-but all the larvae are provided with six-hooked feet, which they usually employ in their search for food. La-tιeιlle divides the order into three families, which present the following succession of natural affinities, ∖ st, Carnivorous insects, subject to a semi-metamorphosis, with aquatic larvae; 2√, carnivorous insects, subject to a complete metamorphosis, with terrestrial or aquatic larvae; 3d, carnivorous or omnivorous insects, terrestrial, with semi-metamorphosis; ⅛th, herbivorous insects, subject to a complete metamorphosis, with aquatic larvae, which construct portable domicils. He terminates with such as have the wings the least reticulated, and which bear a resemblance to Phalenae or Tineites. FAMILY I—SUBULICOHNES, Lat. These consist of the Odonata of Fabricius, and the genus Ephemera. The antennae are subulate or awl-shaped, scarcely longer than the head, and consist at most of seven articulations, of which the last is setiform. The mandibles and maxillae are entirely covered by the labrum and labium, or by the anterior or prolonged portion of the head. The wings are always much reticulated, separate, sometimes horizontal, sometimes raised perpendicularly. The inferior pair, though often as large as the superior, are in some instances much less, or even entirely wanting. The real eyes are large and projecting, and have from two to three stemmatic eyes placed between them. They feed on living prey, and pass their earlier states beneath the waters. The larvae and nymphs exhibit a form somewhat similar to that of the perfect insects, and respire by particular organs placed along the sides or at least the extremity of the abdomen. They creep up the stalks of plants, or otherwise leave their moist abodes, before undergoing their final transformation. In the great genus Libellula of Linn. (Plate CCXXX. figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6), the mandibles and maxillae are corneous and very strong, and are covered by the labrum above and by the labium below. The tarsi have three articulations. The wings are nearly of equal size, and the posterior extremity of the body is terminated simply by hooks or by foliaceous appendages. The light and graceful form of these insects, their beautiful and varied colours, their large and lustrous wings, and the hawk-like velocity with which they pursue their flying prey, render them objects of our frequent attention, and easy to be recognised. Our present observations apply to all the component parts of the great and unrestricted genus just named. We shall afterwards give the specialities of the minor groups. The eyes of the Libellulae, or dragon-flies in general, are large and lateral; the stemmata are placed upon the vertex. The antennae are inserted on the front, behind a vesicular elevation, and are composed in the greater number of from five to six articulations, or at least of three, of which the last is composite, and attenuated in the form of a style. The labrum is arched and semicircular; the mandibles are of a scaly texture, very strong and toothed; the maxillae are terminated by a piece of the same consistence, dentated, spinous, and ciliated on the inner side, with a palpus of one articulation on its back, representing what is called the galea in the orthopterous tribes. The labium is large, arched, and trifoliate, the two lateral foliae being in fact palpi. There exists a kind of epiglottis, or vesicular and longitudinal tongue, in the interior of the mouth. The abdomen, always considerably elongated, varies in its contour, being in some cylindrical, in others compressed, and occasionally flattened. It is terminated in the males by tw o lamellar appendages, which likewise vary in fortn according to the species. The legs are short, and directed forwards. “Le dessous du second anneau de ľabdo-men[7:9:210] renferme, dans les mâles, leurs organs sexuels, et, comme ceux de la femelle sont situés au dernier anneau, l’accouplement de ces insectes s’opère différemment que dans les autres. Le mâle, planant d’abord au-dessus de sa femelle, la saisait par le col, au moyen des crochets de l’extrémité postérieure de son ventre, et s’envole ainsi avec elle. Au bout d’un temps, plus ou moins long, celle-ci se prêtant a ces désirs, courbe en dessous son abdomen, et en applique l’extrémité sur les parties du male, dont le corps est alors courbé en forme de boucle. La copulation a souvent lieu dans les airs, et quelquefois encore sur les corps où ces insectes sont posés.”^[567. Règne Animal, t. v. p. 237.] The female deposits her eggs on aquatic plants, by plunging her posterior extremity beneath the water. The larvae and nymphs are aquatic. The former have no wings, the latter exhibit them in a rudimentary state (Plate CCXXX. figs. 1, 3). The head in these early stages is remarkable for the singular piece which corresponds to the labium. It assumes the form of a mask, and covers the mandibles, the maxillae, and almost all the under parts of the head. It is composed of, 1s(, a principal triangular piece, sometimes arched, sometimes flat, named mentonnière (or chin-cloth) by Réaumur, which articulates by means of a hinge with a pedicle or kind of handle attached to the head; 2α, wings.] (Plate CCXXX. fig. 11), Bittacus, Panorpa proper (ibid. fig. 13), and Boreus. The type of the last-named genus, and the only species known, is the Panorpa hyema-lis of Linn, a small insect scarcely a line in length, of a cupreous black colour. It lives among moss in the northern parts of Europe, and is also found in the Jklps, not far from the region of perpetual snow. [7:9:212] Section 2d, Myrmeleonides, Lat. These are also characterized by five articulations to all the tarsi; but they differ from the preceding in not having the head prolonged in the form of a beak or proboscis. The antennae are gradually enlarged, or have a globular or button-like termination. The head is transverse, vertical, and exhibits no stemmatic eyes. The ordinary organs of vision are round and projecting. The mouth is furnished with six palpi, of which the labial are usually longer than the others, and somewhat inflated at the extremity. The palate of the mouth is raised in the toιm of an epiglottis. The first segment of the thorax is small. The wings are equal, elongated, tectιform, or incumbent. The abdomen is generally long and cylindrical, with two projecting appendages at the extremity in the male sex. The legs are short. These insects affect warm places, and are consequently more frequent in the southern countries of Europe than in the chilly regions of the north. They rest on plants, and generally remain quiescent during the day. The nymphs are inactive; but the generality of the perfect insects are well endowed with the power of flight. They form the old genus Myrmeleon of Linn., which Fabricius and La-treĩlle have divided into two. In Myrmeleon ^[574. From μυ^μ^, an ant, and λsa>, a lion.] proper (Plate CCXXX. fig. 12), the antennae are short, gradually thickened or almost fusiform, and hooked at the extremity. The abdomen is long and linear. The singular larva of one of these insects (ibid, fig. 14) has been attentively studied by Poupart, Vallisnieri, Roesel, Réaumur, and others. It is rather more than half an inch in length, of an oval depressed form and greyish colour. It feeds chiefly on Solomon’s emblem of industry, and has hence received the name of Formica-Leo or lion-ant. Its head is very small, but armed with two strong and lengthened mandibles, serrated on the inner side, and pointed at the end. These parts look rather like a pair of horns than organs of manducation; but it is with them that the larva seizes upon its prey; and as they are pierced at the extremity, they no doubt also act as suckers. As its form does not admit of active locomotion, nature has made amends by endowing this insect with admirable instinctive skill and cunning. It constructs, in a dry or sandy soil, a funnel-shaped excavation, the sides and edges of which are loose and crumbling, and at the bottom of which, with body closely covered, but with ever-reađy jaws projecting upwards, the insidious larva lies concealed. No sooner does an industrious ant, laden perhaps with its republican provision, approach the edge of the unsuspected slope, to it as dangerous as a volcanic crater or avalanche of snow, than the finely poised sand immediately gives way, and the persevering citizen, rolling to the bottom, is instantly seized and sucked to a shadow by the lurking tyrant. The dead body is ere long tossed by a jerk of the head beyond the immediate boundaries of the dwelling, probably because it is by this time useless, or, as some French naturalist has expressed it, “pour que son cadavre n’épouvante pas les autres fourmis qu’il attend.” There are tartars, however, among Myrmeleons as well as men; and it sometimes happens that a large and vigorous winged insect, such as a wasp, bee, or beetle, tumbles head foremost into the pit. “When Greek meets Greek, then comes the tug of war;” and when a lion-ant has the tail of a wasp in his mouth, there is no sayino∙ exactly how the combat may end. The one is furnished with jaws tenacious as well as strong,—but he bears no “charmed life ;” while the other is armed with a weapon which the dews of heaven cannot rust, and compared with the keenness of which the brightest sword in Damascus is as a broken foil. In these doubtful, though, to one or other of the parties, eventually disastrous circumstances, the result at last is, that either the lion-ant is dragged out of his den and stung to death, or dropped upon the ground and left a prey to birds, or that the winged insect is maimed, disabled, drawn into the sand, and slain. If an insect incapable of flight, or from its situation unable to use its wings, but of larger size than the Myrmeleon deems it prudent at once to seize upon, chances to fall into the snare, it is overwhelmed in its attempts to re-ascend, by repeated showers of sand, which its enemy directs upon it with unerring aim. No sooner, however, is the strength of the toiling and exasperated Sisyphus at least in part exhausted, than he too is seized upon, and sucked to death. The lion-ant makes use of its head as a catapult or instrument of war, with which to shower the sand upon its astonished prey. This singular larva is capable of enduring a very long-continued fast. When it has attained to the natural term of its increase, which requires the lapse, it is said, of nearly a couple of years, it weaves a white cocoon, by means of two spinners placed at the posterior extremity of the body, of a rounded form and satin lustre, but covered with grains of sand. In this it undergoes its transformation to the nympha state (Plate CCXXX. fig. 15). The perfect insect bursts from its silken tomb in the course of from fifteen to twenty days. We are acquainted with many species of the genus. Besides the one of which we have just now sketched the history, and which is the Myrìneleon formicarium of systematic writers, another noted species, named Μ. Libelluloides, occurs in the south of France. It is a very large insect, measuring from four to five inches between the tips of the extended wings, and was described as a Hemerobius by Linnaeus. It is the Libella turcica of old Petiver, and the Musea rarissima of Ray. We were once nearly drowned in trying to capture it by the side of a muddy stream. The flight of both of these insects, and of all belonging to the genus, is slow and heavy. They seldom fly far, and seem to end their lives near the places where they had their birth,— even to the last “loving the spots which once they gloried in.” They are unknown in Britain.^[575. Μ. firmari,,,. holds « nominal place as a British insect; but « have never felt ∞,,rrf „fits existence as an ind⅛enous specie··] In the genus Ascalaphus, ^[576. Λ, IS the ancient mythological name of a bird. We do not know for what reason it was applied to the »bove genus-] Fab. (Plate CCXXX∙ fig. 19), the antennae are very long, and terminate somewhat abruptly in a club or expansion. The wings are proportionably broader than those of Myrmeleon. The flight of these insects is rapid and light. They occur chiefly in the warmer parts of Africa and America, although a few are found in Europe. Of these A. Italicus occurs in France as far north as the environs of Fontainebleau. We have no very precise knowledge of their transformations. They do not occur in Britain. Section 3d, Hemerobini. The component parts of this group resemble those of the preceding in the general form of the body and wings; but the antennae are filiform, and the palpi only four in number. They form the old genus Hemerobius of Linn, and Fab. which has since been subdivided as follows:— In Hemerobius proper (of Lat.) the first segment of the thorax is very small, the wings incumbent, and the last article of the palpi is the thickest, ovoid, and pointed. [7:9:213] The larvae are terrestrial, that is, not aquatic. They wander about from place to place, committing great havoc among Aphides, their favourite food,—for which reason they are named lions des pucerons by Réaumur. These they seize by means of their horn-like mandibles, and speedily suck to death. Some of the perfect insects are exceedingly beautiful, especially a well-known British species called Hemerobius perla, which is of a pale yellowish green, with delicately transparent yet lustrous wings, and brilliant golden eyes. Its flight is feeble. The females lay their eggs on leaves, to the number of twelve or sixteen in a group. They are whitish and oval, and are supported and secured by a long hair-like stalk or pedicle, which some botanists, less versed in edible fungi than Dr Greville, have mistaken for a species of mushroom! (See Plate CCXXX. fig. 21.) Other allied species have the first segment of the thorax large, with the wings usually placed upon the body in a horizontal position. The palpi are filiform, with the last article conical, or almost cylindrical, and frequently shorter than the preceding. The larvae are aquatic. These insects were placed by Fabricius, along with the species of the genus Perla of Geoffroy (from which, however, they differ in the number of articulations of the tarsi), under the genus Semblis, which is itself composed of Corydalis, Chauliodes, and Siλlis, of Latreille.^[577. See Règne Animal, t. v. p. 252.] Section 4th, Termitinae. This group comprises such Neuroptera as are subject to a semi-metamorphosis, and are active and carnivorous, or rather omnivorous gnawers, in all their states. With the exception of the Mantispae, which, in regard to thcir anterior legs, resembling those of the Mantides, are peculiar in their order,—the tarsi have at most four articulations, in which they differ from the preceding genera of the family with which we are still engaged. The mandibles are always corneous and strong. Some possess tarsi consisting of from five to three articulations, with very distinct and projecting labial palpi. The antennae are generally composed of more than ten joints, the prothorax is large, in the form of a corselet, and the wings are of equal size, and much reticulated. In the genus Mantispa of liliger (JRhaphidia, Scopoìi, Linn.; Mantis, Fab. Oliv.), all the tarsi have five articulations, and the anterior legs, like those of Mantis, are adapted for prehension. The antennae arc very short and granose, the eyes large, the prothorax very long, thickened anteriorly, and the wings incumbent. This genus consists of not more than five or six species, only one of which, Μ. pagana, is found in Europe. In the genus Raphidia, ^[578. From oaφ i iäa;, a needle.] Linn. Fab. (Plate CCXXX. fig. 24), the tarsi have only four articulations. The wings are incumbent when at rest, the head elongated, and narrowed posteriorly, the thorax long, narrow, and almost cylindrical. The abdomen of the female is terminated by a long exterior oviduct, formed by a couple of laminae. The species figured on the plate referred to is well known in Britain. It lives in woods. Both the larva and imago feed on other insects. The former is lively in its movements when disturbed. It lives in the fissures of trees, and has the form of a little serpent. In the genus Termes, which contains the famous white ant (Plate CCXXX. figs. 17, 18, and 23), the tarsi are likewise composed of four joints, but the wings are very long, and are horizontally spread upon the body. The head is rounded, and the thorax almost square or semicircular. The body of these insects is depressed, and the antennae, at least in the females, are short, and formed like a chaplet. The mouth resembles that of the orthopterous order, and the labium is quadrifid. There are three ocelli, one of which, placed upon the front, is indistinct, and the other two are placed laterally, near the internal margin of the ordinary eyes. The wings are usually rather transparent, colourless, with fine and closeset nervures, but not very distinctly reticulated. There are two small conical biarticulated points at the extremity of the abdomen. The legs are short. A good monograph of this singular and destructive genus is still a desideratum in Entomology. Several species, inhabiting widely distant countries, have been described under the general name of Termes fatale, but we have still an insufficient knowledge of their actual and distinguishing characteristics. So confused was the acquaintance of our immediate predecessors with these insects, that the larvae of T. flavwolle, Fab. were placed by Linnaeus among his Aptera, while the perfect insects formed a part of his genus IIemerobius. These Termites are for the most part peculiar to countries placed between or near the tropics. The individuals named neuters or labourers among the white ants (commonly so called) are the wingless larvae (fig. 17), and in that state their powers of destruction are quite appalling. They live together in assemblages so vast as almost to defy calculation, and excavate galleries under ground, in trees, tables and all kinds of furniture, as well as in the timber of dwelling-houses. Dr M i Mur-trie saw a beautiful edifice in the Isle of France that had been abandoned within a few months after its completion, on account of the attacks of these destructive creatures. The whole building was a mere shell.^[579. Cuvier’s Animal Kingdom, American edition, vol. iv. p. 73.] λVhatever ligneous bodies are mined by them, retaining little but a superficial bark, soon crumble into dust; and where the roof of a house, or heavy lintel stone, depends on such support, the insecurity may be as easily imagined as described. They sometimes construct external tunnels or covered ways, which conceal them from view while passing to and from their subterranean dwellings. Sometimes their habitations are raised pyramidally above the surface, in other instances they resemble turrets, with an eave like expansion on the top. Some are broader and extremely solid; and when constructed, as they often are, in groups, they exhibit the appearance of a little village. They are so strongly built, that when raised to only half their height, they are capable of supporting such wild bulls as mount upon them to act as sentinels while the rest of the flock is feeding. λVhen at their full height of ten or twelve feet, they are used by men as stations from which to look across the country, the grass itself being in those regions of equal height. Sιneathman, to whom we owe a curious and often-quoted narrative of their history, has frequently stood with four companions on the top of one of their buildings, employing it as a watch-tower by the shore, from which to obtain sight of whatever vessels might heave in sight. Besides the larvae or workers, we find another set of inhabitants, of which the nature is not yet clearly known, although their functions are obvious. They are known by the name of soldiers or neuters, and were erroneously regarded by Fabricius as the nymphs. They defend the habitation. When a breach is effected with a pick-axe, they make their appearance, and snap about in all directions with their mandibles,—apparently in a state of considerable indignation. λVhen the attack has ceased, the soldiers retire, and are succeeded by the labourers, who speedily repair the breach. They are still attended, however, by a few soldiers, who seem to act as superintendents of the work. The nymphs bear the rudiments[7:9:214] of wings; in other respects they resemble the larvae. No sooner do they become perfect, by acquiring the organs of flight, than they wing their way from their original dwellings, during the evening, or the stillness or night, and in incalculable numbers. At sunrise, however, by a singular law of nature, they lose their wings, which dry up, become shrivelled, and fall to the ground. In this defenceless state they become the prey of many reptiles, and of insect-eating birds. Indeed they seem not to be despised in that respect even by man himself; for not only are they greedily devoured by Hottentots and negroes, but have been often eaten by Europeans with delight. Mr Smeathman found them “delicate, nourishing, and wholesome, without sauce or other help from cookery, than merely roasting them in the manner of coffee.” He indeed discoursed with various friends on the taste of white ants, and on comparing notes, they agreed that these insects were “delicious and delicate eating.’ One gentleman compared them to sugared marrow, while another thought they tasted like “sugared cream and a paste of sweet almonds.”^[580. χxι ∙ P∙ note ∙ The reader will find a good summary of their history in a more accessible work, “Insect Architecture, in the Library of Entertaining Knowledge.] Although prodigious numbers perish in consequence of this migratory instinct, such are their vast powers of fecundity, that old colonies are soon replenished, or new ones formed. According to Smeathman, the provident larvae seize upon all the winged couples they can find, and shut them up in a roomy cell or nuptial chamber, where they supply them with abundant food; “mais j’ai lieu de présumer,” says LatreiHe, “que l’accouplement a lieu, comme celui des fourmis, dans l’air ou hors de l’habitation, et que les femelles occupent seules l’attention des larves, dans le but de former une nouvelle colonie.” The abdomen of the pregnant female (Plate CCXXX. fig. 23) becomes so greatly dilated as to exceed the rest of her body by 1500 or 2000 times, and she is then about a thousand times heavier than her husband. Indeed well she may, if, as is reported, she is endowed with the power of laying thirty-one million Jive hundred and thirty-six thousand eggs in the course of a year. Those fond of arithmetic may try to discover how many grandchildren she is likely to possess by the termination of the ensuing season. Certain Termites (T. arborum) live on trees, where they build nests as large as sugar casks, and from seventy to eighty feet above the ground. These are formed of particles of gnawed wood cemented by a gluten either secreted by themselves, as silk is by caterpillars, or gathered from gummiferous trees. They are so strongly attached to their supporting branches as to resist the violence even of those tornadoes which so often in tropical countries level alike the palaces of kings, and “huts where poor men lie.” Indeed they cannot be detached except by being hewn in pieces. The genus Termes is not unknown in Europe. T. lucifugum of Rossi (Paun. Et∏ιsc.) occurs in the southern provinces of France, where it dwells in the interior of various trees. It has so greatly multiplied in the workshops and storehouses of the navy-yard of Rochefort that it cannot be extirpated, and is the cause of constant damage. T. Jlavicolle proves extremely injurious to the olive trees in Spain. Our “favoured isle” is fortunately free from these and many other continental pests,—if an entomologist may so express himself regarding species which would no doubt be highly prized as British by many a fond collector. The remaining Termitinae are characterized by their biarticulate tarsi, and their short and indistinct labial palpi. The antennae consist of about ten joints; the anterior seg- ' ment of the thorax is very small; and the inferior wings are less than the superior. They form the genus Psocus of Latreille, which consists of very small species with short soft bodies, often hunched or inflated, with a large head, setaceous antennae, projecting maxillary palpi, and incumbent wings, slightly reticulated or but simply veined. These are active insects, living beneath the bark of trees, in wood, straw, &c. Some occur among books and in collections of plants and insects. They seem peculiar to Europe. P. pulsatorius derives its name from the sound, resembling the ticking of a watch, which, in common with some other insects, it utters in our apartments. Its anatomy is described by Germar.^[581. j ! Ä? d r e ^ w i 1o ^ o . Λ iv ∙ 1 n n v] We have many British species. Section 5th, Perlides. Of these the tarsi are furnished with three articulations, and the mandibles are almost always partly membranous and small, with the inferior wings wider than the superior, and doubled on themselves at their inner edge. The genera are Perla of Geoffroy, and Nemoura ^[582. From > iμa , a thread, and tail.] of Latreille (Phryganea, Linn.).^[583. G C ν' ⅛ j ⅛f c f∖ t ∙. 111 λ p 'J 0 5 Regne Anîma h t∙ V. p. 258; Encyeloρ. Méth. art. Nemoure ; and Mémoire sur les Lanu de Nemoures, par l·. T. Pictet, in the Ann. des Sciences Nat. t. χχvi. p 369] FAMILY III.—PLICIPENNES. The insects of this family have no perceptible mandibles. Their inferior wings are usually broader than the upper ones, and longitudinally plaited. They compose the genus Phryganea ^[584. £rZ Z fags A 0t, î n all ľ Sİ ° n ’ ľ e P resume > t0 the usual aspect of their dwellings while aquatic larvae.] of Linn, divided by Latreille into Sericostoma ^[585. Prom rnζmoy, silk, and aτoμa,, the mouth. fa 1] and Phryganea proper (see Plate CCXXX. fig. 26). In the larva state (figs. 22 and 25) they live in tubes or cases of their own construction, made of a great variety of substances, according to the species. Latreille regards them as simply herbivorous, although other authors maintain that, in addition to aquatic plants, they prey upon the larvae of gnats and dragonflies. We shall conclude our sketch of this order by observing that the characters and habits of the genus Phryganea being very peculiar, the species have in recent times been separated from the neuropterous tribes, and erected into an additional order, Triciioptera, Kirby, so called from ¾∕ξ, vpγος, hair, in allusion to the usual roughness of the wings. Both Réaumur and Degeer had previously observed that they were allied to the lepidopterous order. “Although some other insects,” Mr Kirby has remarked, <£ (Myrmeleon and Hemeτobius), placed in the N eur opter a i do not agree with the rest in their metamorphosis, yet in their perfect state they exhibit the principal characters of the order, and therefore are properly retained in it; but Phrygaηea differs from the rest both in metamorphosis and characters. Its metamorphosis is very peculiar, the larva imitating many of the Tineαe, in constructing, of various materials, a kind of case for its habitation, from which circumstance they are commonly called case-worms ; and the pupa, which is incomplets, a n ^ at first quiescent, just before its final change, by a wonderful provision of an all-wise Creator, becomes locomo∙ tive, that it may place itself in a situation of security out [7:9:215] of the water before it casts its exuviae; and for this purpose the antennae and the four anterior legs are not confined under the general envelope, though each has its peculiar integument, so that the animal can use them when the time comes for it to emerge from the water, and commence a denizen of the air. The imago exhibits few or none of the characters of the other neuropterous genera. The wings are veined in a peculiar manner, without reticulations, in some degree like those of Lepidoptera. The antennae resemble much those of the Tinea tribe, and the tibiae of many of them are armed with the two pair of spurs observable in so many of the moths; but they have no spiral tongue, the wings, though hairy, have no scales, the under wings are folded longitudinally, and the head, besides the usual compound eyes, has three stemmata. If these remarks appear to entomologists well founded, and it be thought right to consider Phryganea as constituting a new order, I think it might be distinguished, since the names of all the known species are hairy, by the name of Trichορteray Linn. Trans. xi. p. 87, note. ι Order V.—HYMENOPTERA.^[587. Piezata, Fab.] This order, of more direct utility to man than many others, in as far as it contains the species which yield us wax and honey, is characterized, like the preceding one, by the possession of four membranous and naked wings. Γhe mouth consists of mandibles, maxillae, and an under and an upper lip. The organs of flight, however, differ from those of the Neuroptera, in being simply veined rather than reticulated; and the upper wings are always somewhat larger than the under pair. The abdomen of the female is terminated either by an ovipositor or sting. esiđes the ordinary visual organs, these insects are all provided with three small stemmatic eyes. The antennae are variable, not only in different genera, but in different sexes of the same species. In the majority, however, they are filiform or setaceous. The maxillae and the labium are generally long and narrow, fixed in a deep cavity of the head by lengthened muscles, semi-tubular it their lower portion, often folded at their extremity, md serving rather for the transmission of nutritive juices than for mastication properly so called. Indeed in several these parts unite to form a kind of trunk or sucker. The ligula is membranous, whether widened at the extremity, or long and filiform, with the pharynx at its anterior base, and frequently covered by a kind of sub-labrum or epipharynx. The palpi are four in number, two labial and two maxillary. The thorax as usual consists of three segments, of which the foremost is very short, and the two remainder are intimately united. The wings cross each other horizontally over the body, and the upper pair have a little rounded convex knob at their base. The abdomen is composed of from five to nine segments, the number being frequently six in the females and seven in the males. It is usually suspended, as it were, to the thorax by a small and slender pedicle; in which case its second articulation seems to be the first, the latter being in fact confounded with the metathorax. The ovipositor and the sting (both being constructed on the same model) are composed, in the generality, of three long and slender pieces, two of which serve as a sheath for the third, which is itself, when under the form of ä sting, composed of a pair of pieces joined in one The tarsi are composed of five articulations, none of which is divided. The structure of the wings of Hymenoptera has served as the basis of a noted method for their classification, made known by M. Jurine.^[588. NοuοcUe Méthode de classer les Hyménoptères et les Diptères, 1 vol. in 4to, Geneva, 1807∙ See also, by the same author, Observations fur les Ailes des Hyménoptères, in the 24th vol. of the Mém.de ľAcad. des Sciences de Turin.] This method is founded on the nature and number of the nervures of the wings, and of the cells or intermediate diaphanous spaces formed by their ramification. The nature of our present treatise, which we have already extended to the proposed limits (and we are still far from our conclusion), will not, however, admit of our entering fully into such details.^[589. When we examine a hymenopterous insect with a glass, or even by means of the unaided sight, we shall observe that the external or anterior margin of the upper wings presents two strong approximate parallel nervures, deriving their origin from the thorax, and united by means of a strong expansion of the membrane of the wing. The external nervure is called the radius, fig. 1, a ; the internal the cubitus, fig. 1, δ. Each of these terminates in a dark-coloured expansion called the stigma, fig. 1, c. Besides these larger nervures, which some call primitive, several others spring lil ewise from the base of the wing, and are named brachial, fig. 1, g. All these principal branches give rise to. shorter intersecting nervures, the interlacement of which partitions the wing as it were into membranaceous departments, designated by the name of cells. Several of these, by reason of their constancy of disposition in each genus of hymenopterous insects, have been used with advantage by Jurine for the purposes of classification. A nervure, called the radial (fig. 3, a), usually springs from the middle of the stigma, and attaining the tip or anterior angle of the wing, leaves between itself and the anterior margin a membranous space, known as the radial cell (fig. 4, a). If there should, moreover, spring from the stigma a lesser nervure, dividing the cell into two parts, we recognise a pair of ιadial ce s. to this case, however, the larger nervure does not derive its origin from the central line of the stigma, but farther back, or from its ⅛asal portion (fig. 1, d). It sometimes also happens that the radial nervure, proceeding from the stigma, encounters, before it gains the margin of the wing, a small intersecting nervure, itself proceeding from that margin. The radial cell is then said to be appen- ’^{appendKée} ,fig. 2 , a. . j ct , Another range of cells, of some importance, has received the name of cubital (fig. 1, e)∙ It is formed by the posterior e ge o e adιal nervure, and by another nervure named the cubital, which~springs from the extremity of the cubitus, near the stigma, and directs itself towards the tip of the wing (fig. 3, δ). This range is frequently divided into two, three, or four lesser cells, by means of intersecting nervures (fig. 4, e, and fig. 1, e). If two of these cells are much developed, and the second one, on the contrary, is so circumscribed that it cannot reach the margin of the radial nervure, we have then a peculiar character. The two developed cells, instead of being separated from each other by the entire interval of the second cell, are kept apart, for a space, only by a simple nervure, the length of which is proportional to the curtailment of the second cell; and in this way the latter has no other connection with the radial cell above it, than that it adheres to, or depends from it, as it were, by a kind of pedicle or stalk,—for which reason it is then named ρ<Λiοlated by Jurine (fig. 2, δ). If it happens that the cubital nervure does not attain to the extreme margin of the wing, the spaces which it partly forms are regarded as incomplete. It has been already stated that, besides the large nervures named cubitus and radius, Jurine has distinguished others, which also spring from the base of the wing, as at fig. ∖ ,g. These produce others of a secondary kind, which mount towards the cubital cells, sometimes attaining to the first and second, sometimes to the second and third, and sometimes only to a single cell. These have received the name of recurrent nervures (fig. 1,∕). By anastomosing among themselves, and with the cubitus, the brachial nervures and their branches form several cells, which Jurine has named the humeral (fig. 4, 7ı, ⅛, 7z, 7«, 7i). Of these Latreille distinguishes a» discoidal, such as are situated in the centre of the wing (fig. 2, i, i). The recurrent nervures always concur in their formation. Among lepidopterous insects, the cell situated in the centre of the wing is prolonged uninterruptedly as far as the base. Since we have entered into these details, we may here also mention briefly a few additional particulars, relating chiefly to the nomenclature oí the outline of the wings. The base is that part which articulates with the thorax (fig. 1, a, b, g). The point, summit, or anterior angle, is that part which is most directly opposed to the base (fig- 1, lι). The external, anterior, or upper margin of ⅛ e 'ving extends from the base to the summit (fig. 1, a, e, d, e, 7ı). The posterior, inner, or anal angle, is formed by the point of union of the posterior and inner margins (fig. 1, ž). The posterior margin commences at the anterior angle or summit, and ends at the posterior or inner angle (fig. 1, h,f,i). The internal margin extends from the posterior angle to the base of the wing (fig. 1, i, ⅛j∙ In addition to the works mentioned in a preceding note, see also the article Ailes in the Diction. Class, d'Ilist. Nat. ; the article Kadiales in the Encyelop. Mith. ; and Μ. Chabrier’s elaborate Essai sur le Vol des Insectes.] The digestive systeţn of Hyn ’ ιenoptera consists in general of two stomachs, of which the second is elongated; of a short intestine, terminated by a widened cloaca; and of numerous biliary vessels, inserted near the pylorus. In regard to their tracheal apparatus, M. Leon Dufour has remarked, that all the Hymenoptera which he has examined exhibit a greater degree of perfection in that part of their structure than any other order of insects. Instead of being composed of cylindrical and elastic vessels, of which the diameter decreases by successive divarications, they present constant dilatations, or determinate vesicles, favourable to the greater or less continuance of air, and capable of being distended or otherwise, according[7:9:216] to the quantity of their contents. On each side ot the base of the abdomen there is a large oval vesicle of the kind alluded to, of a dull milky white, giving rise here and there to radiating bundles of vascular tracheae, which distribute themselves to the neighbouring organs. On entering the thorax it becomes restricted, is again dilated, and ends insensibly in a tube, of which the subdivisions are lost in the head. Behind these two abdominal vesicles the respiratory organ is prolonged in the shape of two filiform tubes, which give off an infinity of little air-bearing branches, and become confluent towards the anal extremity.^[590. Journal de Physique, Sept. 1828.] Hymenopterous insects undergo a complete metamorphosis. Most of the larvae resemble little worms, unprovided with feet. At least those of the second and following families answer that description. Those of the first family, however, have six fcct, furnished with hooks; and besides these they frequently possess from twelve to sixteen others of a simply membranous texture. These latter larvae are named by the French fausses chenilles. Both kinds are provided with a scaly head, with mandibles, maxillae, and a labium, at the extremity of which is a spinner for the passage of that silky substance which is ere long employed in the construction of the nymph’s cocoon. Some live on vegetable substances; others, and these are the footless or apodal kinds, feed on insects, with which they are supplied by the provident attention of their mothers, which either carry food to their admirably constructed dwellings, or, as among the Ichneumonides, deposit their eggs at once on living larvae, of which the excluded young soon become the tenacious and destructive parasites. Among bees a vast number of individuals of ambiguous or undeveloped sex are charged, among other arduous labours, with the sustenance of the helpless young, a task performed with a propriety and precision which, with their many additional attributes of instinctive skill, render their proceedings worthy to be classed, if not as standing miracles of nature, at least as deserving the careful contemplation of the wisest minds. Happy if full of days—but happier far, If, ere we yet discern life’s evening star, Sick of the service of a world that feeds Its patient drudges with dry chaff and weeds, We can escape from custom’s idiot sway, To serve the sovereign we were bom to obey. More sweet to muse upon his skill display’d ^Infinite skill) in all that he has made! To trace, in nature’s most minute design, The signature and stamp of power divine, Contrivance intricate, express’d with ease, Where unassisted sight no beauty sees, The shapely limb, the lubricated joint Within the small dimensions of a point, Muscle and nerve miraculously spun, His mighty work, who speaks—and it is done, The Invisible in things scarce seen reveal’d, To whom an atom is an ample field: To wonder at a thousand insect forms, These hatch’d, and those resuscitated worms, New life ordain’d and brighter scenes to share, Once prone on earth, now buoyant upon air, Whose shape would make them, had they bulk and size, More hideous foes than fancy can devise; With helmet heads and dragon scales adorn’d, The mighty myriads, now securely scorn’d, Would mock the majesty of man’s high birth, Despise his bulwarks, and unpeople earth.^[591. Cowper’s Retirement.] In the winged or perfect state, hymenopterous insects generally oecur on flowers, and they may be regarded as more abundant in southern than in northern regions. We shall not here dilate upon the generalities of the order, as it is our intention to notice all the more remarkable historical facts, in our sketch of the principal tribes and genera. We shall merely remark, that notwithstanding the numerous and always delightful observations of Réaumur, Degeer, Huber, Latreille, Walkenaer, and others, the hymenopterous order still presents a vast and fruitful field of discovery to the zealous cultivator of entomological science. Christus has combined in a special work^[592. fort ^i79 t escjlic ^ lte ' Kl ass ifi ea ti° n ∙> «n<7 Nomenelatnr, der Insecten vom Bienen, Vespcn, und Ameisengeschelee∕ιt, von J. L. Christ. Franl"] a great deal of excellent information; but his labours are imperfect in relation to the present condition of the subject. The Systema Piezαtorum of Fabricius is merely a descriptive catalogue of species, assembled together without any precise notion of sexual distinctions, not seldom inaccurate in the exposition of generic characters, and extremely incomplete in relation to the European species. Jurine has carefully distinguished the sexes, and his groups are an improvement on those of his predecessors. Lepelletier de St-Fargeau,^[593. In varions articles and treatises in the Eneyclop. Míth.] Serville, Klug,^[594. Monograph™ Slrieum Gcrmamoe, atque Generum illis adnumeratorum, eum lab. een. eoi. Berlin, 1803; several memoirs regarding Hymenoptera in the Recueil ofí the Society of Naturalists of Berlin; a critical review of the genera of Fabricius, derived f⅛m l,ιnn. in liiiffer s Mamιzιn fur Insectenkunde. &c.] and, last though not least, [7:9:217] our own inestimable Kirby,^[595. In his Mοnοgrαphiα Αpum Anglioe, “ouvrage,” says Latreille, “qui a immortalise son auteur.”] have published valuable though partial additions to our knowledge of the history and classification of the hymenopterous tribes.^[596. Consult also the article Hymenopter.es in the Diction. Class, ďHist. Nat. t. viii. pp∙ 458-G2∙] Latreille divides our present order into two primary sections. TEREBRANTIA,^[597. From terebro, to bore or pierce. , , . , ,] In which the Females are provided with an Ovipositor. FAMILY I—SECURIFERA.^[598. From securifer, a hatchet-bearer, in allusion to the wood-cutting instrument with which these insects are armed,—which, however, happens to be a saw. ,] Abdomen sessile, or united by the entire .breadth of its base to the thorax, of which it appears a continuation, without distinct or separate power of movement. The females have an ovipositor (tariere), generally in the form of a saw, and which serves not merely for the deposition of the eggs, but also for the construction of a proper place for their reception. The larvae have always six scaly feet, and frequently several others which are membranous. This family forms two tribes. Tribe 1st, Tenthredinetae, or Saw-flies. Of these the mandibles are lengthened and compressed. The ligula is divided into three, as if digitated. The ovipositor is composed of two plates, toothed like a saw, pointed, united, and lodged in a groove of the posterior extremity. The maxillary palpi are always composed of six articulations, and the labial of four. The latter are always the shorter. Both pairs of wings are divided into numerous cells. This tribe corresponds to the great genus Tenthredo of Linnaeus. The abdomen of these insects is cylindrical, rounded posteriorly, composed of nine segments, and so united to the thorax as to appear almost like a uniform continuation of that part. The wings appear as if rumpled, and there are two little grain-like coloured bodies behind the scutellum. The form and composition of the antennae vary. The mandibles are strong and toothed. The extremity of the maxillae is almost membranous, or at least of a less coriaceous consistence than the base. The palpi are filiform, or nearly setaceous, and composed of six articulations. The ligula is straight, rounded, divided into three parts, of which the central is the narrowest; its sheath is usually short. The abdomen of the female is provided at its lower extremity with a double moveable ovipositor, scaly, serrated, pointed, and enclosed within two other concave plates, which serve it as a sheath. It is by the action of the teeth of this instrument that the insect perforates the stalks and other parts of plants, in which she lays her e Sa s ∙ These she afterwards imbues with a peculiar frothy liquor, which seems to prevent the parts of the plant from reuniting, and even causes the formation of a concave chamber, or of ligneous parts resembling galls, in which the excluded larvae dwell, either in a state of solitude, or m company, according to their kind. After undergoing its final metamorphosis, the perfect insect makes its escape by gnawing a circular overture. The larvae of many species, however, live exposed upon the foliage of trees and plants. They bear a great resemblance to caterpillars in their general form and colouring, but they present either from eighteen to twenty-two feet, or only six; whereas in caterpillars properly so called, these parts range merely from ten to sixteen. They frequently continue in the larva state for several months, or throughout the winter, and remain but a short time in the nympha state, previous to the assumption of which they spin a cocoon. We shall briefly notice the principal genera into which these insects are now divided.^[599. For the details, see Lepelletier de St Fargeau’s Monographìa Τenthredinetarum Synonymia Extricata ; Klug’s Entomologische Monographien ; Leach’s Zoological Miscellany, vol. iii.; and Règne Animal, t∙ V. p∙ 27L &c.] In Cimbex of Olivier and Fab. (Plate CCXXXI. fig. 1) the antennae are alike in both sexes, and terminate in a button-like expansion. The larvae have twenty-four feet, and some of them when tormented will spout out a greenish liquid to the distance of a foot. In Hylotoma, Lat. (ibid, fig. 2), the antennae exhibit only three distinct articulations, of which the last is in the form of an elongated prismatic or cylindrical club, more slender, ciliated, and sometimes forked in the males. A well-known species (figured as above), the Temthredo rosaecA Linn, belongs to this genus. In the genus Tentiiredo properly so called (ibid. fig. 3), the antennae are composed of nine articulations, which are simple in both sexes. The larvae have from eighteen to twenty-two feet. In the perfect insects the number of teeth of the mandibles varies from two to four. The amount of radial and cubital cells of the wings also varies in different species. Hence the formation of the genera Allantus, Dolerus, Nematus, &c. by Jurine, Leach, and other naturalists. The genus Cladi- us of Klug has also nine joints in the antennae, but those parts are pectinated on one side in the males. In Athalia of Leach the body is short and thick, as in Hylotoma, but the antennae, simple in both sexes, have from ten to fourteen articulations. The genus Pterygoρhorus of Klug are remarkable for their antennae, composed at least of sixteen articulations, being pectinated or fanshaped in the males, and serrated in the females. In LoPHYRUS of Lat. (Plate CCXXXI. fig. 4) the antennae are doubly pectinated in the males, and resemble a triangular plume (fig. 5); they are shortly serrated in the females (fig. 6).^[600. Lophyrus p>ni, the species figured on the plate referred to, has become much more common of late years in Scotland, since the plantation and growth of larch forests.] In all the preceding genera the labrum is quite apparent, and the four posterior tibiae are either unfurnished on their inner side with spines, or exhibit only one. But in the following the labrum is concealed, or but slightly projecting, and the inner side of the four posterior tibiae exhibits before its extremity two, and frequently three spines. Such are Megalodontes, Lat. in which the antennae are serrated or pectinated, and Pamphilus of the same author, in which those organs are simple in both sexes. The concluding Tenthredinetae have the ovipositor prolonged beyond the groove, and projecting posteriorly. The antennae are simple, and always composed of a great number of articulations. They constitute the genera Xye-la, Dalm., Cephas, and Xiphydria, Lat. Of the last named the antennae are inserted near the mouth, and become attenuated towards the termination (Plate CCXXXI. fig. 7). [7:9:218] Tribe 2d, Urocerata. ^[601. From οvζα, tail, and χ.ίοα.ς, horn.] The insects of this tribe arc distinguished from those of the preceding by their mandibles, which are short and thick, by their liguìa, which is entire, and by the ovipositor of the female, which is sometimes projecting and composed of three thread-like parts, sometimes spirally rolled within the abdomen, and of a capillary form. They compose the old genus Sirex of Linn. The antennae of these insects are filiform or setaceous, vibratory, and composed of from ten to twenty-five articulations. The head is rounded and nearly globular, the labrum very small, the maxillary palpi filiform, consisting of from three to five articulations, and the labial of three, of which the last is largest. The body is almost cylindrical. The anterior or posterior tarsi, and in several species the colour of the abdomen, differ according to the sexes. The females deposit their eggs in ancient trees, generally in those of the pine tribe. The ovipositor is lodged at the base of the abdomen, between two valves, which form a protecting groove. In the genus Oryssus, Lat. (Plate CCXXXI. fig. 9), the antennae are inserted near the mouth, the mandibles are without teeth, the maxillary palpi are long and five-articulate, the posterior extremity of the body is almost rounded and slightly prolonged, and the ovipositor is capillary and spirally rolled in the interior of the abdomen. There are only two species found in Europe, both of which are exceedingly active, and occur on trees in spring. We have figured 0. coronatus, the sole British species. In Sirex properly so called (Urocerus, Geoff.), Plate CCXXXI. fig. 8, the antennae, inserted near the front, consist of from thirteen to twenty-five articulations, the mandibles are toothed on their inner side, the maxillary palpi are very small, almost conical, of two articulations, and the extremity of the last segment of the abdomen is prolonged in the form of a tail. The ovipositor consists of three threads. These insects are of rather large size. They inhabit more particularly forests of pine and fir, in cold and mountainous countries, and during flight produce a buzzing noise, like that of an humble-bee. The larvae have six feet, with the posterior extremity of the body terminating in a point. It lives in the interior of wood, where it spins a cocoon, and undergoes its metamorphosis. Our most noted species is the S. gigas of Linn. The male has a yellow abdomen, with a black extremity; the female is black, with a yellow spot behind each eye, and the second and three terminal rings of the abdomen also of the latter colour. Owing to the disparity of aspect of the sexes, they have been not unfrequently described by naturalists as distinct species. FAMILY II—PUPIV01lA.^[602. From puρa, and voro, to devour, in allusion to their destruction of other insects by depositing eggs in their bodies, which usually destroy the pupae.] The various groups which compose this family are distinguished by the abdomen being attached to the thorax by a simple portion of its transverse diameter, or even in many instances merely by a slender thread or pedicle, so that its mode of insertion is distinct and obvious, and admits of a separate movement. The larvae are apodal, and for the most part parasitical and carnivorous. Latreille divides them into six tribes, as follows. Tribe 1st, Evaniales. In these the wings are raised, and the upper at least are areolated. The antennae are filiform or setaceous, and composed of from thirteen to fourteen articulations. The mandibles are dentated on the inner side. The maxillary palpi consist of six, and the labial of four articulations. The abdomen is implanted on the thorax,—i∏ some, just beneath the scutellum. The ovipositor is usually projecting, and composed of three setae. The following are the principal genera: Evania, Fab. {Sphex, Linn.) Plate CCXXXI. figs. 10and 13; Pelecinus, Lat., ibid. fig. 12; F. 7 enus, Fab. {Ichneumon, Linn.) ibid, fig. 14; Aulacus, Jur. and Paxylloma, Brébisson. Tribe 2d, Icπneumonides. In these the wings are also veined, and the superior always exhibit on their disc closed or completed cells. The abdomen takes its rise between the two posterior legs. The antennae are generally filiform or setaceous (very rarely clubbed), and composed of a great number of articulations. In the majority the mandibles have no tooth on the inner side, and terminate in a bifid point. The maxillary palpi, always apparent or projecting, have usually not more than five articulations. The ovipositor consists of three threads or setae. Such is a brief exposition of the technical characters of a tribe of insects which embraces almost the whole of the great genus Ichneumon of Linnaeus, and of which the natural economy and habits are so remarkable that we shall here take leave to extend our observations on their history. Perhaps we could not better illustrate the complex nature of the modern science of Entomology than by stating, that what we must here pass over in the space of a few columns, and which, even in the publications of comparatively recent writers, does not form a very important or greatly enlarged feature, occupies, in a work to which we have lately devoted our attention, upwards of 2800 pages.^[603. We allude to the complete and careful Ichneumonologìa Europoea of Professor Gravenhorst of Breslau, in three very thick volumes 8vo, 1829.] The general term Icħneumonides comprehends an extensive series of insects, important on account of the purposes to which they are subservient in the economy of nature, and deriving considerable interest from the peculiar manner in which these purposes are effected. They differ from most of the other members of the class to which they belong, in their mode of providing for their young,— presenting this peculiarity, that they deposittheireggs in the living bodies of other insects. In a tribe of such extent, considerable variety of external appearance necessarily prevails; but a genuine Ichneumon may in general be known by its elongated form, attenuated, and in most cases petio-lated abdomen, terminated frequently in a long fissile seta; and by its filiform, porrected, often recurved and annulated antennae, to which a constant vibratory motion is imparted. The European species vary in size from a fraction of a line to fifteen lines; those of tropical countries, however, greatly exceed these dimensions, a few of them ranking even among the largest insects. Upwards of 1300 species have been described as natives of Europe, of which number a great many hundreds exist in Britain.^[604. In the Systema Natura (12th edition), Linnaeus describes only seventy-seven species of Ichneumon.] 1he frequency of their occurrence, and singular habits oi life, which often force them unexpectedly on the notice of naturalists while engaged in the study of insect [7:9:219] -transformations, have secured some degree of attention for this tribe, even from the earliest periods. The word Ichneumon occurs in the natural history of Aristotle, by whom it is applied to a species of Spbex. Ray appears to be the first who used it to designate the tribe of insects to which it has ever since been restricted. Little, however, was known regarding the structure or habits of these creatures till the time of Frisch, who subjected them to an anatomical examination, and described the parts of the mouth, and formation of the wings, with great accuracy and minuteness. He was the first who employed the form and relative position of the cells of the latter to assist in distinguishing genera. Much valuable information resulted from the observations and experiments of Réaumur, whose work may be referred to for many interesting details regarding the manners and habits of the Ichneu-ιnonides.^[605. Mémoires, tome ii. iv. et vi.] Degeer also contributed materially to elucidate thcir history, and proposed a new arrangement of the family, characterized by his usual accuracy of discrimination. In the numerous works on Entomology which appeared during the latter half of the eighteenth century, our knowledge of these insects kept pace with the increased zeal manifested towards the study of natural history during that important period. Linnaeus, Scopoli, Fabricius, Schrank, Panzer, and others of inferior name, applied themselves successfully to investigate their history—reducing the information derived from their predecessors to a more systematic form, and greatly increasing the amount of known species. In 1807 Jurine published his new method for the classification of Hymenoptcra, already mentioned. The application of his principles to the Ichneumonides afforded less satisfactory results than in most of the other tribes. Like all systems founded on a partial view of organic structure, it led, in many instances, to the violation of natural order, by separating cognate species, and associating others having no positive affinity. But though Jurine failed to establish an efficient mode of arrangement, he rendered important service to subsequent inquirers, by describing minutely, and furnishing with a suitable terminology, the variously modified forms of the organs of flight, which are found to afford characters of considerable value for the discrimination of genera. Latreille at different times published arrangements of this tribe, and by the number of his sectional divisions, generally founded on obvious characters, greatly facilitated the identifying of species.^[606. Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière, des Crustacés et des Insectes, tom. iii. et xiii·; see also Regne Animal, t. v. p. 281] But the amount of these had increased to such an extent, and they were found to approximate so closely to each other in external characters, that a comprehensive division, and a more detailed description of specific difference, became indispensable. This desideratum has recently been supplied by the publication of an extensive and elaborate work on the Ichneumonides by Professor Gravenhorst; an individual eminently qualified to unravel the complexities of this difficult tribe. An extensive intercourse with men of science enabled him to amass a large collection of these insects from all parts of < Europe; while habits of minute observation and patient , research, combined with just views of systematic arrangement, and an accurate perception of the affinities of conι secutive groups, qualified him to employ to the best advantage the ample materials thus obtained. The result or his labours appeared in 1829, as specified in a note on < our preceding page. The arrangement adopted is funda- 1 mentally the same as that previously published by himself and Nees ab Esenbeck.^[607. The arrangement alluded to appeared in, 1818, in the 9th volume of Novorum Actorum Academue Natur x Curiosorum.] The body of the Ichneumons is more or less elongated, and in most instances naked and shining, seldom rough or impressed with punctures. It is occasionally covered, particularly on the head and thorax, with a pubescence composed of slender erect hairs, or it is somewhat sericeous and opaque, with a soft decumbent pubescence. The prevailing colours are rufous, black, and yellow, variously intermingled with lines and patches of white. In the great majority of species, there are one or two spots of the latter colour on the thorax, at the insertion of the wings. The scutellum is most frequently white. The feet are very often of a reddish colour, at times red and black; but they are never entirely black, the anterior femora being always, pale on the under side. The head is prominent, generally orbiculate or subovate anteriorly, in many instances a little narrowed towards the neck, and nearly of the same breadth as the thorax. The forehead is sometimes armed with one or two short erect horns, placed between the antennae and stemmata. The latter are three in number, and disposed in a triangular form. The antennae in the greater number of species are shorter than the body; in a few they are of the same length, very rarely longer, porrected, generally curved or involuted after death, especially in the females, filiform or setaceous, sometimes slightly compressed at the middle, as in some species of Phygadeuon, distinctly compressed in the Bary~ cerotes, much compressed and dilated in the Eucerotes, and clavate in the Hellwigioe. They consist of from eighteen to sixty articulations, of which the first or radicle is small, globose, and sunk in the head; the second or scape sub-cylindrical or sub-clavate, rarely ovate, very rarely sub-globose, always thicker than the rest (except in the antennae of the Barycerotes and the Eucerotes'), and longer than the two following; the third and fourth very short, rather stout, and often so closely united that they may be regarded as one joint; the fourth always shorter than the third, which is at times very inconspicuous; the fifth long, cylindrical; the remainder gradually decreasing in length, so that the apical joints often appear transverse. Such is the general appearance of the antennae; but they are liable to numerous modifications. The mandibles are corneous, more or less arcuate, generally broadest at the base, and narrowed towards the apex; in a few instances they are straight, and in others linear, or even dilated at the extremity, where they are furnished with two teeth, except in a very few species, which have the apex entire or tridentatc. The maxillae consist of two parts, of which the basal portion, or stipes as it has been called, is usually of a corneous consistence and somewhat lanceolate form; the other portion (mala) is of a membranaceous substance, and bifid or bipartite. The palpi are four in number, elongate, filiform, and unequal; the maxillary are rather long, and consist of five joints, very rarely of four. They have been described by Fabricius and Panzer as having six joints. The third joint is generally the longest; the first, second, and fourth, very short; sometimes, however, one or other of these, or the fifth, is longest, and in a very few cases the third is shortest; in some species all the articulations are of equal length. The labial palpi are rather short, and consist of five joints, very rarely of three. The Ichneumonides, like the rest of the Hymenoptera, are provided with four wings, composed of thin membrane, and of corneous ribs. These ribs are generally denominated nerves or nervures; and the various spaces into which the wing is divided by their intersection are called [7:9:220] cells or areolets. The base of the wing (radix), or that portion of it which is inserted into the thorax, is of a substance intermediate between corneousand membranaceous, and is always more or less coloured. It is partially covered with a hard convex scale (squamula), which, however, may more properly be regarded as an appendage of the thorax. The anterior wings (fig. A) are longer than the posterior, narrow throughout a considerable portion of their length, and gradually dilated towards the extremity. The stigma (a) is distinctly marked, and varies much in size. The thick rib of the anterior margin, extending between the stigma and the dorsal angle of the wing, is called the radius (b). By the anastomosing of the nerves, ten or eleven cells are formed, of which the three at the base of the wing are named humeral (humerales), 1, 2, 3; one radial (radialis), 4; two or three cubital (cubitales), 5, 6, 7; two lying under these discoidal (discoidales), 8, 9; and two towards the margin posterior (posticae), 10, 11. When the cells are viewed in relation to the breadth of the wing, the three situate at the apex or posterior margin are said to be external (5, 8, 10); those next the humeral cells internal (7, 11); and those between the external and internal cells intermediate (6, 9). Of the humeral cells, that which lies next the radius is named the external (1), that next the margin the internal (3), and that which lies between these two the intermediate (2). The intermediate cubital cell (6) is generally denominated the areolet, and is important on account of the distinctive characters it affords. The interior cubital cell (7) is very large, in consequence of the nerve which ought to divide it into two parts, at least which does so in the other Hymenoptera, having become obsolete. In many species, however, a portion of this nerve is visible (z) ; and in some instances it extends nearly to the centre of the cell; but it is usually very short, or a projecting angle alone indicates the point whence it ought to issue; and in the less typical species all traces of it are obliterated. The areolet likewise is occasionally awanting; different individuals of the same species have it or have it not; and examples occur in which it is distinctly formed in one wing and awanting in the other. In general, however, it is present, and may readily be distinguished from the other cells by its inferior size and angular form. It is either five-angled or quadrangular, triangular or orbiculate. But all these forms are liable to numerous modifications, and one passes into another. The posterior wings (B) are shorter and narrower than the anterior, and nearly of equal breadth throughout. By the anastomosing of the nerves, seven cells are formed, of which the three at the base of the wing are named inter-ĭ nal (1, 2, 3), and four at the posterior margin external r (4, 5, 6, 7). In the sub-genus Pezomachus the wings are generally absent, and when present are extremely imperfect, and usually unfit for the purposes of flight, although their structure, as far as it can be traced, exactly corresponds to that of the more perfect species. The abdomen, which is very variable in form, is composed of seven or eight segments, the eighth being more or less concealed, and often entirely obsolete. This imperfect development of some of the segments has led authors to give various accounts of their number. In addition to the seven usually enumerated, Audouin is of opinion that there is another of very small size, which unites the abdomen to the thorax. According to Blainville, there are never fewer than ten segments, of which the two at the apex are always concealed. The first or basal segment bears on each side of it a small tubercle, more or less distinct, which forms the outlet to a spiracle. When the tubercles are placed very near the base, and the anterior part of the basal segment is not much narrower than the following segments, and these nearly correspond to the breadth of the thorax, the abdomen is said to be sessile; the posterior part of the first segment being so short that it can with difficulty be distinguished, and the anterior part consequently appearing to adhere immediately to the thorax. If this segment, or the posterior part of it, be gradually contracted towards the base, the abdomen is said to be sub-sessile or sub-petiolate. When the posterior part is narrow and elongated, linear or filiform, that part is called the petiole or footstalk, and the abdomen is said to be petiolate. The sexes of these insects can with difficulty be distinguished,·—few species affording any permanent external marks of sexual difference. The males in some instances differ from the females in having a more slender abdomen, in others the antennae are thicker, and in some species they are more slender than in the females. Many of the latter are distinguished by having a white ring round the antennae,^[608. In regard, however, to this distinctive character between the sexes, Gravenhorst observes in his preface (page 10)- "nonnullarum mares quoque hoc ornamento gaudent."] which after death become curved or spirally convoluted. The males may frequently be known by having the colours with which they are adorned clearer and more distinctly defined than in the opposite sex. But the most certain, and often the most obvious mark of sexual distinction, is the ovipositor with which the females are provided. This remarkable appendage varies in its form, in fine accordance with the varied economy of different species. Some Ichneumons deposit their eggs on the bodies of caterpillars; an operation which they accomplish by merely piercing the skin. Others, in order to lodge their eggs in a proper receptacle, are obliged to perforate the nests of insects, and to penetrate to the bottom of crevices too narrow to admit of the whole body. The former are furnished with a short, retractile ovipositor, seldom exserted, and lodged in a groove on the under side of the abdomen. But the ovipositor of the latter is often of considerable length, exceeding in some instances that of the whole body. It is composed of three parts; that in the centre is a slender flexile seta, of a corneoui substance, very smooth and shining, generally straight and rounded, rarely arcuate and compressed, and most commonly of a rufous or castaneous colour. It is provided with a longitudinal central canal, through which the eggs are propelled. The apex is often compressed and dilated, and impressed with transverse inequalities; it is frequently compressed throughout its whole length, and occasion- [7:9:221] ally bent upwards at the extremity. On each side of this central seta is placed another, adapted, by the concavity of the inner surface, to enclose it as in a sheath. These lateral appendages are generally punctate and pubescent externally, and somewhat incrassate towards the apex. They issue from the terminal segment of the abdomen; but the central tube or oviduct originates in the interior, and must necessarily be connected with the viscera, to whose contents it forms the outlet. When a female Ichneumon, furnished with an apparatus of the kind just described, has discovered the retreat of a larva or pupa, in which she wishes to deposit her eggs, she stations herself immediately over the spot, and raising her abdomen to a vertical position, bends the ovipositor under her belly, and thrusts it into the aperture. This operation is much facilitated by the great flexibility of the instrument, and the ease with which it can be accommodated to any circumstances in which it requires to be employed. It penetrates to a considerable depth into the body of the larva, lest the eggs, by being placed near the surface, should be thrown off when the skin is changed. Upon their exclusion from the egg, the parasitical young make their way still farther into the interior of the larva, consuming the fat that surrounds the muscles and viscera, but carefully abstaining from doing injury to the vital organs. In this state they are gregarious, and were found by Réaumur (who has given a figure of a caterpillar so infested) to be arranged in regular rows in the interior of the caterpillar. When they have arrived at maturity, they undergo their destined change either in the body of the larva which served them as a matrix, or, gnawing a passage through its skin, they construct externally their silk cocoons, and are then converted into pupae, from which, after a longer or shorter period, they emerge in their declared or perfect form. A still more remarkable method of rearing its offspring is adopted by the Ophian luteus i and probably by all the other species belonging to that genus.^[609. Degeer, ii. p. 850, pl. xxix. fig. 15.] The eggs of this insect are deposited on the caterpillar of the Puss Moth (Cerwa viηula), to which they firmly adhere by means of an elongated pedicle or foot-stalk. When the larvae are evolved, they do not enter the body of the caterpillar, but remain attached to the columnar appendage, through which they extract, by suction, the juices necessary for their sustenance. The caterpillar dies before it assumes the pupa state, but this event in no case proves fatal to the larvae, as it either does not occur till they require no further nourishment, or they avail themselves of that principle of accommodation to existing circumstances, which insects possess in such a remarkable degree, and undergo their destined changes as soon as their supply of food begins to be withdrawn. Ichneumons are generally active and rapid in their motions; many of them, particularly those belonging to the genera Ichneumon proper, and Cτyptus i continually vibrate their antennae, a circumstance which induced the older writers to call them Muscoe vibratoriae ; others, such as the Ophιones, are of slower habits, and have not been o served to exhibit this peculiarity in the movements 0 .. t ae !r antennae. The larger species fly with con-sı erable celerity, and cannot very readily be approach- c > unless when engaged in depositing their eggs; an operation with which they are so entirely engrossed, that 3 regard for their own safety appears to abandon them. e y occur in flowers, on the trunks of trees, and on ants, also on walls and in houses; but their favourite P aces of resort are the flowers of umbelliferous plants. The species furnished with a long ovipositor usually frequent walls and the trunks of trees, for it is in these situations that they find the larvae on which a singular instinct leads them to deposit their eggs. Our knowledge is obscure regarding the food of these insects in the perfect state; but it appears to be derived from the vegetable rather than the animal kingdom. We kept one alive, however, during the greater part of a winter on calf-foot jelly. They have often been observed to examine carefully with their mouths the pollen of plants; and it is probable that the pollen, or rather the honey, of flowers, affords them nourishment. Indeed it is expressly affirmed by Fabricius, that it is this material which forms their food. They do not seem to attack or devour other insects, or larvae, or spiders, but associate with them without offering the least annoyance. It is likely, therefore, that those authors who assert that they are of predatory habits, mistook for Ichneumons certain species of an allied group (Spheges ∖ to which they bear resemblance. WTιenever they attack a larvae, it is not for the purpose of employing it as food, but to convert it into a matrix for the reception of their young. But, though they do not devour spiders, as has been asserted, that insidious tribe of creatures is by no means exempted from their destructive visits,—for they oviposit either on the spiders’ eggs, or on the dense silky web in which these are frequently enveloped; and the larvae when excluded consume the substance of the eggs, and are then changed into nymphs and perfect insects within that silken chamber, so carefully constructed for a far different purpose. The larvae of the Ichneumoniđes are without feet. The tissue of their cocoons is of fine silk, usually of a beautiful yellow, or pure white, according to the species. Some, however, are banded with brown and yellow. We have already stated that their positions are various. A remarkable instance is occasionally met with of a suspended cocoon. It hangs to the leaves or twigs of the oak-tree, fastened at one extremity by a silken cord. This cocoon is farther remarkable for the manner in which it executes little springs, several inches in height. These are no doubt occasioned by the enclosed larva, which probably has space enough within to admit of its body being bent and retorted, after the fashion of the little worms which we sometimes see vaulting within the hollow walls of an old cheese. Several Ichneumons are apterous. These Linnaeus placed with the Mutillae. Degeer describes one which proceeded from a ligneous gall which he found upon the stalk of a species of Potentiíla. It first attracted his notice by two inflated conical pieces, pointed at the end, attached to the upper and posterior portion of the thorax, and directed backwards. They were moveable at the base, and the insect worked them about in all directions while itself in motion. It was extremely small, and leapt with great activity. As its hinder thighs were not enlarged, Degeer inferred that its springs were produced by curving its abdomen, and then pressing that part forcibly against the plane of its position. In regard to the situations most favourable for collecting Ichneumonides, we may observe, that wherever other insects, especially in the larva state, abound, there also we may expect to find multitudes of these parasitical depredators. Having so greatly extended our general observations on this interesting tribe, our limits will less easily admit of our entering into descriptive details of genera and species. For these the reader must consult the works to which we have alluded. We shall however [7:9:222] enumerate the genera adopted by Latreille. They are as follows: Stephanus, Jur. (Plate CCXXXI. fig· 15 and 16); Xorides, Lat.; Pimpla (ibid. fig. 19); Cryptus, Ophion, and Banchus, Fab., Helw.; Joppa, Fab. (ibid, fig. 21); Ichneumon proper (ibid. fig. 17); Alomya, Fab.; Peltastes, Illiger (ibid. fig. 18); Acaenitus and Agathis, Lat.; Bracon, Jur.; Microgaster, Lat.; Helcon, Nees d’Ľs.; Sigalp∏us, Lat.; Chelonus, Jur.; Alysia, Lat.^[610. For their characters, see Ilègne Animal, t. v. pp. 285-90.] We shall now exhibit a few examples of Gravenhorsťs systematic exposition of the Ichneumonides, and these we shall select from British species. Genus Ichneumon, Grav. Abdomen petiolate, convex; head transverse; scutellum flat or convex; areolet in most instances pentagonal; (ovipositor concealed or subexserted). This genus includes a great many sub-genera, of which we shall choose the first, or that which bears the same name as its principal, viz. Sub-genus Ichneumon. Abdomen oblong or sub-ovate; the first segment globose, rough, the petiole long, linear, arcuate; areolet pentagonal; antennae and feet of moderate or medium size; (ovipositor concealed or sub-exserted). Section r ith of Gravenhorst. Scutellum pale; the abdomen either with pale markings, or some of the segments entirely yellow, the apical segment black. I. luctatorius, Fab. Linn. Lat. Grav. Length of the male from five to nine, of the female from five to seven and a half lines. The head of the male, with the mouth and face, yellow; of the female, either entirely black, or, with the interior orbits of the eyes, a lateral spot on the clypeus, the palpi and mandibles, yellow, the apex of the latter fuscous. Antennae of the male porrect, setaceous, half the length of the body, or a little longer, the first joint yellow beneath; those of the female half the length of the body, curved at the tip, from the ninth to the thirteenth, or from the twelfth to the fourteenth joints, white above, the basal joint sometimes ferruginous beneath. Thorax gibbous; with a yellow line or spot before the wings, and another beneath them, one of which is occasionally awanting; the anterior line, in the female, ascending as far as the neck, of which the upper margin, in the male, is at times yellow; the male has sometimes a yellow spot beneath the scutellum. Scutellum yellow. Wings of moderate size, or rather ample, silaceo-hyaline; the stigma fulvous or ferruginous, rarely fuscescent, the radius fuscous or ferruginous; the radix yellow or ferruginous, rarely fuscous; the squamula either yellow or fuscous, with a whitish or rufescent spot; the areolet pentagonal. The feet of moderate size; the anterior femora on the under side, and for the most part at the apex also, yellow, black towards the base, and sometimes entirely black: the intermediate femora, with the apex, sometimes as far as the middle, and in a few cases the whole under surface, yellow; tibiae yellow, the posterior black or fuscous at the apex; tarsi yellow, or flavo-ferruginous, the posterior with the tips of the joints sometimes blackish. Abdomen of the male elongated, longer sometimes by one half than the head and thorax, of the same breadth or a little narrower than the thorax, from the second to the third segments nearly of equal breadth, the following gradually narrowed towards the extremity; that of the female oblongo-ovate, a little longer than the head and thorax, and of the same breadth, the apex acute; the second and third segments yellow, in some females mixed with ferruginous and the margins fuscescent; the second segment of the males occasionally with a lateral abbreviated fuscous line, the third with a transverse line or two fuscous spots at the base; the fourth generally with a fulvous or rufous spot in the angles at the base, and more rarely the outer margin, or the base, or a lateral mark, rufescent or yellowish; the fifth very rarely with the outer margin yellowish. The males of this species occur in considerable profusion in Britain, and throughout the greater part of Eu rope; the females are very rare.^[611. It is probable that the predominance in number of one sex over the other, so often alluded to by authors as an anomalous fact in the history of Ichneumons, is more apparent than real, and arises, in some instances, from the distinctive marks of sex being so slight as to elude observation, while in others the sexes are so dissimilar that each of them is received as a different species. The détermination of the sexes is impeded by the difficulty of observing their intercourse. “Nunquam mihi successit,” says Gravenhorst, “par copula junctum aut copulam parans invenire, licet forsan centum millia individua viva Ichneumonidum, in statu eorum libero naturali, viderim, et per triginta annos omnem operam dederim ut copulam viderem.” (Vol. i. page 98.)] They frequent sides ot fields, and open places iιrwoods, and are often to be found on umbelliferous plants during the autumnal months. They are liable to great variation both in size and colouring. Roxburghshire, and near Edinburgh, in considerable plenty. Genus Tryphon, Grav. Abdomen convex, petiolate, or sub-sessile; head transverse; scutellum flat or convex; areolet triangular, or irregular, or absent; (ovipositor concealed, or sub-exserted). Sub-genus Tryphon. Abdomen oblong, sub-sessile, or sub-petiolate; antennae slender or middle-sized; feet of moderate length. Section ⅛th of Gravenhorst. Scutellum black, abdomen either entirely rufous, or τufοus and black, or yellow and black. T. elongator, Grav. Fab. Length from two and a half to five lines. The mouth generally rufescent, the apex of the mandibles black, or entirely black. The forehead with an erect horn, variable in length, but never exceeding that of the basal joint of the antennae. Antennae setaceous, shorter than the body; the first joint black, very rarely ferruginous beneath; the following generally fulvous or ferruginous, fuscous above, sometimes entirely fulvous or ferruginous. Thorax gibbous. Wings most commonly yellow-hyaline; the stigma and radius ferruginous, or pitchy straw-coloured, the radix straw-coloured, the squamula either black or pale ferruginous; areolet irregular or sub-triangular, sub-petiolate or sessile. Feet rather stout, the coxae and trochanters black; the anterior femora yellow or testaceous, black externally towards the base; the intermediate femora black, with the apex yellow or testaceous, sometimes almost entirely testaceous on the under side; the posterior femora entirely black; the tibiae yellow, rarely testaceous, the hinder with the apex and base black; the tarsi rufous or rufo-ferruginous, claws fuscous. Abdomen sub-petiolate, generally longer than the head and thorax, and nearly of the same breadth, sub clavate, or sub-ovate, or fusiform; first segment canaliculate, gradually dilated towards the apex, about one half longer than broad, generally black, with the margin rufous[7:9:223] or fulvous, sometimes almost entirely rufous or fulvous, with the base black; the second, third, and fourth segments, sometimes also the base of the fifth, yellow or fulvous. Ovipositor very short, black, generally concealed. This species abounds in most parts of Europe. It is plentiful in England, and is not unfrequent in Roxburghshire and other southern counties of Scotland. It likewise occurs near Edinburgh. Genus Alomya, Grav. Abdomen petiolate, convex; head globose; areolet triangular. A. ovator, Grav.; Ich. ovator, Fab. Lat.; Ich. elongator, Gmel. Oliv. Length from five and a.half to seven and a half lines. Head sub-globose, somewhat quadrate when viewed from above, with the angles obtuse, sub-transverse; the face sometimes with a slightly elevated tubercle. Antenna? of the male setaceous, shorter than the body, or nearly of the same length, porrect, entirely black; those of the female moniliform, not half the length of the body, incurved at the apex, from the third to the thirteenth or fourteenth joints, ferruginous or testaceous, gradually becoming paler. Thorax very slightly gibbous. Scutellum triangular, flat. Wings of moderate size, hyaline or smoky-hyaline, the stigma ferruginous or fulvous, the radius piceous, the radix piceous or fuscous or ferruginous, the squamula black or fuscous; areolet pentagonal. The feet of the male with the coxae and trochanters black; the femora of the fore legs ferruginous or fulvous, generally with the apex sub-testaceous and the base black; those of the middle legs generally black, with the apex ferruginous; those of the hind legs entirely black; the tibiae yellow or testaceous, the hinder occasionally with the apex fuscous; the tarsi testaceo-ferruginous. The legs of the female are shorter and thicker than in the male, the coxae, trochanters, and femora black, the latter, in the fore legs, for the most part almost entirely, or the apex only, rufous or ferruginous; the tibiae either entirely ferrugino-testaceous, or testaceous with the apex ferruginous; tarsi fusco-ferruginous. Abdomen petiolate, convex, elongate; that of the male rather more than one half longer than the thorax, and nearly of the same breadth, the segments from the second to the sixth equally broad; the petiole linear and slender; the colour black and‘rufous, variously intermingled. Ovipositor concealed. This species is of frequent occurrence both on the confinent of Europe and in Britain. Gravenhorst is of opinion that Alomya victor, Curtis, Ent. Brit. 120, is a variety of this species. Genus Cryptus, Grav. Abdomen petiolate, convex; head transverse; scutellum flat or convex; (ovipositor exserted.) Sub-genus Pezornach us, from νοΖομάγος, a fighter on foot, because the species, from the imperfect development of the organs of flight, are unable to attack larvae on the ζy mg. Body small; abdomen petiolate; wings awanting j ù J vf M' small; ovipositor exserted, short, or of ordinary P. Hopei, Grav. Supplementa Partis ii. vol. i. p. 715. τ/ η ^η/ Γ0Π1 tw θ an ð a f° nrt b t0 two ar *d a h ĩ Curtis conceives this insect to be one of the sexes of - l dentatus. [7:9:225] Genus Bassus, Grav. Abdomen sessile, depressed; the first segment flat, of equal breadth; the terminal segments in the female sometimes compressed. Sub-genus Bassus. Areolet either absent or triangular; antennae and feet of moderate size or slender; (ovipositor sub-exserted, sub-erect). ⅛.flavolineatus, Grav. Length three lines. The head with a facial spot, the palpi and mandibles yellow, the latter with the apex black. Antennae porrect, rather longer than the body. Thorax with the suture before the wings, and the lateral one between the prothorax and metathorax, together with a transverse line beneath the scutellum, yellow. Scutellum with the apex yellow. Wings smoky-hyaline, iridescent, the stigma and radius black-fuscous, the radius and squamula yellow. Feet rufous; the fore legs yellowish beneath, the base of the coxae black; the hind legs with the tarsi and tibiae black, the latter white at the base. Abdomen slightly depressed, the length of the head and thorax, and a little narrower; the first segment of equal breadth, one half longer than broad; the remainder transverse. Ovipositor very short, sub-exserted. This species has been taken in England by the Rev. F. W. Hope, near Netley. Genus Banchus, Grav. Abdomen compressed or subcompressed, sessile or sub-petiolate. Sub-gemιs Eanchus. Abdomen sessile, rarely sub-sessile; areolet sub-rhomboidal, the lower external nerve of the interior cell sub-arcuate. (Ovipositor concealed). B. fαlcαtοr, Grav.; Ich. venator , Fab.; Ich. /aleatorius, Fab. Gmel. Oliv. Panzer. Length from five and three fourths to seven lines. Mouth ferruginous, mandibles black at the base and apex, the external orbits of the eyes, rarely the internal also, yellow or ferruginous. Antennae half the length of the body, or a little longer, slender and incurved towards the apex, beneath rufous or ferruginous, rarely fusco-ferruginous. Thorax gibbous, generally with a short sub-testaceous line below the insertion of the wings. Scutellum tuberculate, rarely sub-acuminate, sometimes ferruginous, very rarely yellow. Wings middle sized, sulvo-hyaline or somewhat smoke coloured; the stigma, radius, radix, and squamula fulvous, rarely ferruginous, the latter sometimes with a fuscous spot. Feet elongate, fulvous, for the most part yellow beneath, the coxae black, occasionally with a ferruginous mark; the hinder tibiae black at the apex, the tarsi ferruginous or ferrugino-fuscous. Abdomen longer than the head and thorax; the first segment gradually a little narrowed towards the apex, nearly one half longer than broad; from the first to the fourth segment narrower than the thorax, the back fusiform, the belly compressed; from the fifth to the seventh angular, the back, sides, and belly compressed; the first segment seldom wholly black, the apex being generally brown or rufous or fulvous; the second seldom wholly rufous, or black with a dorsal rufous spot, >ut most commonly brown or rufous with the base black, or the base rufo-ferruginous, the apex fulvous-yellow; the third with the back either entirely rufous, or the base olack or the apex yellow, but more commonly black, with the base and a point at the apex rufous; the fourth sometimes, rarely also the fifth, sixth, and seventh, with the apex of the back, rufous. The female of this species differs considerably from the male, particularly in the markings of the head and thorax. Neither of the sexes is rare, as they have been aken abundantly both on the continent and in England. vxenus Ophion, Grav. Abdomen compressed or sub- co ξψressed, petiolate; antennae filiform. ub-genus Paniscus. Abdomen sub-petiolate compressed, the back carinate; areolet triangular; the feet and antennae somewhat slender; (ovipositor short). P. testaceus. Length of the male from three to nine, of the female from three and three fourths to eight lines. Hie mandibles black at the apex, the face sometimes yellowish; the eyes and ocelli, sometimes also the hinder part of the head, fuscous or black. The antennae for the most part obscure or fuscescent at the tip; in the male rarely fuscous or blackish, the base testaceous-ferruginous. Thorax sometimes with longitudinal fuscescent lines on the back. Wings hyaline or somewhat yellow-hyaline; the stigma testaceous or straw-coloured, in the male sometimes fuscescent, the radius fuscous or testaceous, the radix and squamula testaceous; areolet irregular sub-sessile, generally semi-complete, the lower portion of the exterior nerve obsolete. Feet fulvous, rarely ferruginous in the male, the hinder tarsi at times of a paler hue. Abdomen longer, sometimes by one half, than the head and thorax, compressed, the apex in the male obtuse, in the female truncate; testaceous, often fuscescent towards the apex, or somewhat fusco-fulvous towards the base; the sixth, seventh, and apex of the fifth segment, very rarely black-fuscous; the first segment gradually dilated towards the apex, five or six times longer than broad, the anterior portion nearly one half longer than the petiole. Ovipositor the length of a fifth or sixth part of the abdomen, black, the tube castaneous or fuscous. ' This insect is of frequent occurrence throughout the south of Scotland in the autumn. It is likewise plentiful in England, and on the continent. It deposits its eggs on the larvae of various moths, and occasionally on those of the genus Tcntlιredo. Sub-genus Ophion. Abdomen petiolate, compressed, the back carinate; areolet absent, the interior cell receiving the two recurrent nerves; feet and antennae slender, long; (ovipositor scarcely sub-exscrted). O. luteus, Grav. Fab.; Ich. luteus, Linn. Lat. Length of the male from six to nine, of the female from four to nine lines. The head in most individuals entirely rufous, or the internal orbits of the eyes yellow; rarely yellow, with the mouth and face, excepting the internal orbits of the eyes, rufous; very rarely entirely yellow; mandibles black at the apex: eyes and stemmata fuscous or blackish. Antennae either a little longer or a little shorter than the body. Thorax testaceous or rufous, very seldom rufo-ferruginous, the prothorax with two longitudinal pale lines. Scutellum for the most part pale, sometimes yellow. Wings hyaline or somewhat smoky-hyaline; the stigma, radius, radix, and squamula fulvous or testaceous, the upper exterior nerve of the interior cell very seldom incrassate towards the stigma; in most instances, however, the rudiment of the nerve dividing the interior cell is observable, and it is sometimes produced as far as the middle, rarely beyond the middle of the cell. Abdomen testaceous, seldom rufous, the belly generally fuscescent, sometimes also fuscescent or blackish towards the apex. Ovipositor scarcely sub-exserted, blackish. This species is pretty generally distributed over the western parts of Europe, and occurs not unfrequently in England. The female deposits her eggs on the larvae of Cerura vinula, Noctua proecax, and other moths. “Ils y sont fixés,” says Latreille, “au moyen d’un pedicule long et délié. Les larves y vivent, ayant l’extrémité postérieure de leur corps engagée dans les pellicules des oeufs d’où elle sont sorties, y croissent, sans empêcher la chenille de faires sa coque; mais elles finissent par la tuer, en consumant sa substance intérieure, se filent ensuite des coques, les unes auprès des autres, et en sortent sous la [7:9:226] forme ďiehneumons.”^[612. Règne Animal, t. v. p. 287∙] The larvae of another speeies, 0. moderator , Fab. destroy those of its ally Pimpla strobitelloe. Genus Hellwigia. Abdomen petiolate, compressed; antennae elavate. H. elegans. Grav. Length from five to six lines. Head thick and closely punctate, with two deep irregular foveae on the forehead, and a longitudinal groove between the antennae; that of the male yellow, the occiput, foveae, and apex of the mandibles black; that of the female blaek, the external orbits of the eyes yellow. Antennae porrect, dilated at the apex a little more than half the length of the body, and composed of about thirty joints; in the male fulvous, yellowish on the under side towards the base, the first joint fuscous above; in the female rufous, the first three joints blaek. Thorax short, gibbous; two simple or hook-shaped spots before the neck, a short line under the anterior wings, two points or a single one under the posterior wings, a perpendicular line or point at the sides of the thorax, a point under the seutellum, a large semilunar spot on the metathorax, and another on eaeh side of it, yellow: all these markings in the male are larger and more contiguous. Seutellum yellow. Wings middle-sized, hyaline, the stigma straw-eoloured, the radius and nervures pieeous or fuseous, the radix and squamula yellow. Feet middle-sized, sub-elongate; those of tlîe male entirely yellow, the posterior tarsi rufescent towards the apex, the joints from, the second to the fourth black at the base; the anterior feet of the female yellow, the coxae blaek, with a small apieal yellow spot, the troehanters blaek at the base; the hinder feet fulvous, the coxae black, with a yellow spot, the trochanters yellow, the base blaek. Abdomen nearly one half longer than the head and thorax; the first segment flaggon-shaped, shining, very smooth, the anterior part scarcely longer than broad, shorter, and one half broader than the petiole; in the male the first segment black, the apex yellow, from the seeond to the fourth testaeeous-rufous or yellow, with the base sub-rufeseent, from the fifth to the seventh yellow, the fifth, and sometimes the sixth also, with the base, blaekish at the side; in the female the first, fifth, sixth, and seventh segments black, with the margin yellow, the intermediate segments fulvous or rufous, with the margin for the most part yellow. Ovipositor scarcely sub-exserted, blaek. The preceding examples will suffice to illustrate Gravenhorst’s mode of treating the Ichneumonides. We shall now proceed to Tribe 3d, Gallicolae. ^[613. We now resume the system of Latrellle.] These have only a single nervure on the lower wings; the upper pair offer a few areolets or eells, viz. two at the base—the brachial, of which the internal is usually incomplete or slightly marked,—one radial and triangular,— and two or three cubital,—of which the second, in such as have three, is always very small, and the third very large, triangular, and elosed by the posterior margin of the wing. The antennae are either of equal thickness, or increase towards the termination, but not elub-shaped, and are eomposed of from thirteen to fifteen articulations, the number when different in the sexes being generally greater in the males. These inseets form the old genus Cynips of Linnaeus (Plate CCXXXI. fig. 20). Their general form is humped or gibbous, with the head small, and the thorax thiek and elevated. The abdomen is compressed, carinated, or cutting inferiorly, and truncated obliquely, or obtuse, at the extremity. It is furnished in the females with an ovipositor, which seems to consist of only a single piece, long and delicate, or capillary, spirally rolled at its base, and attached near the origin of the abdomen. It is minutely described by Réaumur.^[614. Mém. sur les Insectes, t. iii. p. 483, et seq∙] With this admirable instrument it deposits its eggs in the leaves and stems of various plants, and on these its punctures produce those peculiar excrescences known by the name of gallnuts, so useful when employed along with a solution of green vitriol, or sulphate of iron, in dyeing blacks. Some of these insects are apterous. “Une espèce,” says Latreille, “depose ses oeufs dans la semence du figuier sauvage le plus précoce. Les Grees modernes, suivant à eet égard une méthode que l’antiquité leur a transmise, enfilent plusieurs de ees fruits, et les placent sur les figuiers tardifs; les Cynips sortent chargés de poussière fécondante, s’introduisent dans l’oeil des figues de ees derniers, en fécondent les graines et provoquent la maturité du fruit.”^[615. Règne Animal, t. v. p. 292.] This is the process known abroad by the name of caprification. The genera of this tribe are Ibalia and Figites, Lat. and Cynips proper {Diplokpis of Geoff.). Of the genus last named we have figured C. rosae, its larvae, and the gall in whieh the latter dwell (Plate CCXXXI. fig. 20, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28). Tribe 4th, Chalcidiae. These do not differ very materially from the preceding, exeept in the antennae, whieh, with the exception of Eu- charis, -are genieulate, and form, subsequent to the bend, an elongated or fusiform club, of whieh the first articulation is not unfrequently lodged in a groove. The palpi are extremely short. The radial cell is usually w anting, and there is never more than a single eubital eell, whieh is not elosed. The antennae have not more than twelve articulations. The modern genera are very numerous, though all related to the genus Chalcis of Fab. The species are extremely small, brilliantly ornamented with metallic colours. Many of them are leapers. The ovipositor is generally composed of three threads, like that of the Ichneumons, and is salient. The larvae likewise resemble those of that tribe in being parasitical, and some of them are so minute as to be able to dwell at large in the interior of insect eggs, themselves seareely visible to the naked eye. We shall here mention only two genera of the tribe, of eaeh of whieh we have figured an example. Chalcis minuta (Plate CCXXXI. fig. 25), synonymous with Vespa minuta of Linn., is extremely eommon on umbelliferous flowers. It is blaek, with yellow feet. Another speeies, C. annulate. Fab., inhabits the nest of the pasteboard wasp of South America (V. nidulans), and appears to have been mistaken by Réaumur for the female of that insect. Our other representative, Lełicospis dorsigera (ibid. fig. 24), is black, with the abdomen almost as long again as the thorax, and marked with three bands and two spots of yellow. 1here is a transverse yellow line upon the seutellum, and two others of the same eolour on the anterior portion of the thorax. The female deposits her eggs in the nests of mason-bees.^[616. For the other genera and species, see, besides, Règne Animal (t. v. pp. 295-9), Latreille’s Genera Crust, et Insect, t. iv.; Klug’s Ŵ- tοmοlοgιsche Monographien ; Dalman’s Analecta Entomologien, and the Monographs and Memoirs of the same author; Maximilian Sp-nola’s Mémoire sur les Dìplolépaircs ; Mr Westwood on Parasitic IIymenoptcra (Phil. Mag. 3d series, No. 3); Mr Halliday’s Essay o∏ the same subject in Entom. Mag. No. 3; Mr Walker’s Monographia Chalcidum, published in the initiatory numbers of the last-name periodical; and a similar Monograph by Μ. Boyer de Foscolombe, in the Ann. des Sciences Nat. for July 1832.] [7:9:227] Tribe 5th, Oxiurĭ, Lat. This tribe resembles the preceding so far as concerns the want of nervures in the lower wings, but the abdomen of the female is terminated by a tubular and conical ovipositor, sometimes internal and exsertile, proceeding like a sting from the anal extremity, sometimes permanently external, and forming a kind of tail. The antennae are composed of from ten to fifteen articulations, and are in some cases filiform or slightly enlarged towards the extremity, in others clubbed in the females. The maxillary palpi in several are long and pendant. The minor genera which compose this tribe are all more or less related to the genus Bethylus of Fabricius and Latreille. The only example we have here adduced is that of Diapria elegans (Plate CCXXXIL fig. 1), an insect belonging to a genus in which the wings have no cells. The maxillary palpi are projecting, and the anteh-nae have fourteen joints in the male, and only twelve in the female.^[617. For the other genera, see Règne Animal, t. v. pp. 300—2; Genera Crust, et Insect, t. iv.; Dalman’s Analecta Entοmοl. ; and Jurine s hyménoptères.] Tribe 6th, Chrysides, Lat. This tribe agrees with the three preceding in the want of nervures in the lower wings; but the ovipositor of the female is formed by the terminal segments of the abdomen, which somewhat resemble in their construction the tubes of a telescope, and are terminated by a little sting.^[618. The details are given by Degeer in his Mém. sur les Insectes, t. ii. ρ. 834, pl. 28. _] The abdomen, which in the female seems to be composed of only three or four segments, is arched or plain beneath, and is capable of being applied against the chest,— in which attitude the insect assumes the form of a ball. This tribe includes the old genus Chrysis of Linnaeus, and is remarkable for the extreme richness and brilliant lustre displayed by the colouring of many species. In these respects they rival the gorgeous humming-birds, and are known under the name of gilded wasps,—the guepes dorées of our continental neighbours. They are lovers of the cheerful sunshine, and during the bright days of early summer may be seen moving about in a state of great vivacity, almost of agitation, on walls, old timber, and other objects exposed to the gladdening influence of heat and light. They are also found on flowers, “beautifying the beauti-ul,” and adding to their gorgeous petals all that is wanting to complete the glory of the “lilies of the field,”—a burnished or metallic lustre.^[619. In as far as we are competent to judge, plants and the mammalia seldom seem to exhibit a metallic surface· But that glowing° rιlmen t is frequent among foreign birds, and the subjects of our present treatise.] The body of these insects is covered by a very solid integument. Their antennae are filiform, geniculate, vibra-ile, and composed of thirteen articulations in both sexes. The mandibles are arched, narrow, and pointed. The maxillary palpi are usually longer than the labial, filiform, and composed of five unequal articulations ;—the labial consist of three. The ligula is for the most part emargi-ιιate. The thorax is semicylindrical, and exhibits several impressed and transverse lines. The abdomen in the greater number is semi-oval, truncated at the base, and appears at first sight as if attached to the thorax by its entire breadth. The terminal segment is frequently marked by large punctures, and terminates in dentations. 1hese beautiful creatures deposit their eggs in the nests 01 the solitary mason-bees, and in those of other Hymenoptera. Their larvae sustain themselves by devouring the lawful inhabitants. In some, such as the genus Parnopes, Lat. (Plate i CCXXX∏. fig. 2), the maxillae and labrum are very long, and form a kind of false proboscis, bent underneath. The palpi are small and biarticulate. The example figured, P. carnea, deposits its eggs in the nest of Bembex rostrata. In Chrysis proper there is no false proboscis. The maxillary palpi are of medium size, or elongated, and composed of five articulations; the labial consist of three. Several analogous genera are recognised by naturalists, such as Hedychrum, Lat. (Plate CCXXXII. fig. 3), in which the maxillary palpi are much longer than "the labial, the ligula emarginate, and the abdomen rounded and entire at the extremity.^[620. ļee a Monograph of the Chrysides, by Pelletier de St Fargeau, in the Ann. des Sciences Nat. t. vii. p. 115.] ACULEATA.^[621. From aculeus, a sting.] This, the second primary section of the hymenopterous order, is distinguished from the preceding by the want of an ovipositor. That organ is represented by a sting composed of three parts, concealed and retractile. It is characteristic of the females, and likewise exists in those individuals (imperfect in a sexual point of view) commonly called neuters, which constitute so important a feature in the social union of the gregarious kinds. It is, however, wanting in several of the ant tribe,—in which case the insect defends itself by ejecting an acid liquid, elaborated and contained in special reservoirs.^[622. Journal de Physique, September 1828.] Our present Hymenoptera have always simple antennae, composed of a constant number of articulations, that is, thirteen in the males and twelve in the females. The palpi are usually filiform; those of the maxillae, which are frequently the longer, have six articulations,—the labial only four. The mandibles of the males are smaller, and generally less toothed, than in the others·. All the wings are veined. The abdomen, united to the thorax by a thread or pedicle, is composed of seven segments in the males, and of six in the females. The larvae in this family are never furnished wfith feet. Their food is supplied to them by females or neuters, and varies in its nature according to the different kinds. Latreille divides the section into four families. FAMILY I HETEROGYNA.^[623. From itíooĩ, other or different, and γυrr,, female.] The species of this family consist of individuals which differ from each other not only in their sexual characters, but in the presence or absence of the wings, and in other particulars. In all, the antennae are geniculate, and the ligula small, rounded and hollowed, or spoon-shaped. Some live in society, and consist of three kinds of individuals, of which two, that is, the males and females, are winged, and the third or neuters are apterous, ι In the two latter kinds the antennae gradually increase in thickness, and the length of the first articulation equals at least the third part of their total extent; the second is almost as long as the third, and has the form of a reversed cone. The labrum of the neuters is large and corneous, and falls perpendicularly beneath the mandibles. These Hymenoptera comprise the genus Formica of Linnaeus. As a separate treatise under the article Ant ^[624. See vol. iii ∙ P∙ 239 ∙] has been already devoted in this work to the elucidation of the history[7:9:228] and habits of these admirable insects, so long noted for their foresight and industry, we shall not occupy our remaining space by repetition, but shall proceed to a brief sketch of the classification of the species, as promised at the conclusion of the article just referred to. Latreille divides the genus Formica as follows :— 1st, The genus Formica properly so called. These want the sting; the antennae are inserted near the front; the mandibles are triangular, dentated, and incisive; and the pedicle of the abdomen is never composed but of a single squama or knot. Of the European species we may mention F. rufa, Lat., of which the workers measure about four lines in length, and are of a blackish colour, with a great part of the head, the thorax, and the knot, fulvous. The thorax is uneven. The stemmatic eyes are discernible. This species builds in woods, and forms a dome-like or sugar-loaf shaped habitation of considerable size, composed of earth and fragments of wood, &c. Formic acid is obtained chiefly from this insect. The winged individuals make their appearance in spring. (Plate CCXXXH. fig. 4.) F. sanguinea, Lat∙, resembles the preceding in its workers; but the colour is sanguine red, with an ashy-black abdomen. It likewise dwells in woods, and is one of the species named Amazons or legionnaires by Μ. Huber. F. cunicularia, Lat., has the head and abdomen of the workers black. Around the mouth, the under parts of the head, the first joint of the antennae, the thorax, and feet, pale fulvous. The worker of F. fusca, Linn., is of an ashy-black, shining, with the base of the antennae and the feet reddish. The squama or knot is large, almost triangular, and there is an appearance of three stemmatic eyes. Both these species are attacked by the Amazons, carried off, and enslaved. 2rZ, The genus Polyergus, Lat. In these the sting is likewise wanting; but the antennae are inserted near the mouth, and the mandibles are narrow, arcuated, or strongly hooked. In this genus is placed the F. roussatre of Lat. so common in France. It is this species which is more particularly named Amazon by Μ. Huber the younger. . 3d, The genus Ponera, Lat. In these the workers and the females are armed with a sting. The pedicle of the abdomen is formed of a single scale or knot; the antennae of the individuals just mentioned are thickened towards the extremity; the mandibles are triangular, and the head is also nearly of that form, without remarkable emargination at its posterior extremity. F. contracta of Lat., which occurs near Paris, belongs to this division. The worker seems scarcely provided with eyes, and lives under stones in not very numerous groups. It is very small, black, nearly cylindrical, with the antennae and feet of a yellowish brown. ⅛th, The genus Myrmica, Lat. In these there is also a sting; but the pedicle of the abdomen is formed of two knots. The antennae are exposed, the maxillary palpi are long, with six distinct articulations, and the mandibles are triangular. Such is the fourmis rouge of Latreille, of which the worker is reddish, finely chagrined, with the abdomen smooth and shining. There is a spine upon the first knot of the pedicle, and the third segment is brownish. This species occurs in woods, and bites sharply. .bth, The genus Atta of Fabricius, which scarcely differs from Myrmica, except by its very short palpi, of which the maxillary are composed of less than six articulations. The head of the workers is usually very large. The species which serves as the type of the genus in the works of Fa-J bricius, Jurine, and Latreille, is the fourmis de visite, or Atta cephalotes of systematic writers. It is a foreign insect, and seems to agree with that figured by Madame Merian.^[625. Insectes de Surinam, ed. of 1726, p. 18, tab. 18. .] This creature burrows in the earth, to the extent, it is said, of six or eight feet. It however leaves its subterranean dwelling for a time once a year, and enters dwellinghouses, where it attacks and destroys every other kind of inconvenient insect. If during these predatory incursions they find an intervening space which they cannot cross, a party volunteer to form a chain of their own bodies linked together, over which, as by a bridge, the main body passes. 6th, The genus Cryptocerus of Lat., of which the species are also furnished with a sting, and have the abdomen of the pedicle formed of two knots; but the head, which is large and flat, has a groove on each side for the reception of a part of the antennae. They are peculiar to South America.^[626. Besides the article Ant of this work, see the noted volume by Huber the younger, entitled Recherches sur les Moeurs des Fourmi· indigenes, and Latreille’s Histoire Naturelle des Fourmis.] The other Heterogyna live in solitude, and each species is composed of only two kinds of individuals, winged males and apterous females,—the latter always provided with a strong sting. The antennae are filiform or setaceous, vibratile, with the first and third articulations elongated; the length of the former, however, never equalling that of the third part of the total length of the antennae. They form the genus Mutïlla of Linnaeus, which has been subdivided into Dorylus, Fab. (Plate CCXXXII. fig. 6), peculiar to Africa and the East Indies; Labidus, Jurine, proper to South’ America; and Mutïlla properly so called (ibid. fig. 5). Of the latter, Μ. Europoea, Linn., is black, with a red thorax, and three white bands on the abdomen. The female is armed with a powerful sting. The manners of the Mutillae seem little known. We are not ourselves acquainted with the nature of their metamorphosis. They love warm sunny places, and sandy soils. The females being apterous, are always found pon the ground, concealed under stones, or lurking in little holes. The males are seen on flowers, or by the sides of dusty paths, and other places frequented by the females. The genus is extensive, Olivier and Klug having described a great many species.^[627. In Εncycloρ. Meth and Act. Phys. Med. Acad. Coesar. Leopold, t. x. pars 2. Latreille has also published a monograph of the French species in the Actes de la Soc. d Hist. Nat. de Paris, and a great number are figured by Coquebert in his Ieonographia Insectorum.] FAMILY IL—FOSSORES.^[628. Γ rom fossor, a digger. 1 o - r] This family comprises such of the stinging Hymenoptera as are winged in both sexes, and of solitary habits. The legs of several are adapted for digging. The ligula is always more or less widened at the extremity, and never filiform or sectaceous. The wings are always extended. The old genus Sphex is the principal representative of this family. The females of these insects deposit their eggs in little prepared chambers in the earth or in wood, and place alongside of them a supply of insects or their larvae. They also pierce spiders with their stings, and close them up as provision for their young. The larvae are without feet, and spin a cocoon before passing into the nympha state. T⅛ e perfect insects are in general extremely active, and live among flowers. The maxilla and the labium are elongated, and assume in several the form of a trunk. The numerous minor genera derived in recent times from the genus just named, are distributed by Latreille into seven principal tribes. [7:9:229] In the first two the eycs are often emarginate. The body of the males is usually narrow, elongated, and terminated posteriorly, in a great number, by three spinous points or dentations. Tribe 1st, Scolietes, Lat. The first segment of the thorax is sometimes in the form of a bow, and prolonged laterally as far as the wings, sometimes of a transverse square, or resembling a knot or articulation. The legs are short, thick, very spiny or ciliated, with the thighs arched near the knee. The antennae are sensibly shorter than the head and thorax in the females. The genera are Tiphia, Fab. (Plate CCXXXII. fig. 7); Myzine, Lat.; Meria, Illiger; and Scolia, Fab. (ibid, fig· θ)∙^[629. For the anatomy of the Scoliae, see Dufour’s Observations in the Journal de Physique for September 1818. .] Tribe 2d, Sapìgytes. The first segment of the thorax is formed like that of the preceding group, and the legs are also short, but slender, and neither spiny nor strongly ciliated. The antennae in both sexes are at least as long as the head and thorax. The body is usually either smooth, or but slightly pubescent. The genera are Thynnus, Fab.; Polochrum, Spinola; and Sapyga, Lat. Tribe 3d, Spiiegides, Lat. These still resemble the preceding in the extent and form of the first segment of the thorax; but the posterior legs are at least once again as long as the head and thorax. The antennae are often slender, formed of lengthened articulations, lax, or not compactly set, and curved or arcuated, at least in the males. Of this tribe a certain number have the first segment of the thorax of a square form, whether transverse or longitudinal, and the abdomen is attached by a very short pedicle. The inner side of the posterior tibiae is usually furnished with a brush or pellet of hairs. The upper wings have three or two complete or closed cubital cells, and a terminal one which is imperfect. The genera are Peps is, Fab. (Plate CCXXXH. fig. 9), of which the species, abundant in South America and the Antilles, are large, with coloured wings; Ceropales, Lat.; Pompilus, Fab. (ibid, fig. 10), of which the species feed their young with spiders; Planiceps, Lat.; and Aporus, Spinola. Others of the same tribe have the first segment of the thorax narrowed in front, in the form of a knot or joint; and the first segment of the abdomen, and sometimes even a portion of the second, narrowed into an elongated pedicle. The upper wings always exhibit three complete cubital cells, and the commencement of a fourth. The genera are, Ammophilus, Kirby, of which we may mention, as an example, Sphex sabulosa, Linn., the female of which digs holes in the earth by the sides of paths and highways, in which she deposits a caterpillar mortally wounded, and then lays an egg beside it,—the said egg soon producing another larva, which, though much smaller, being in good health, immediately eats the sick one; Sphex, Pronaeus, Chlorion, ^[630. lor the singular habits of C. compressum, common in the Isle of France, where it attacks, s ays, an carries o o its young, see Sonneraťs Voyage aux Indes Orientales; Réaumur’s Mémoires, t. vi. p∙ 280; or the Dut. Class, d Hist. Nat. t. ιγ. p. ∙] and Doliciiurus, Lat.; Ampulex, Jur.; Podium and Pelopaeus, Lat. Tribe 4th, Bembecides, Lat. In these the first segment of the thorax forms only a mear and transverse border, of which the two lateral extremities are distant from the origin of the upper wings. The legs are always short, or of moderate length. The head, seen from above, appears transverse, and the eyes extend as far as the exterior border. The abdomen forms an elongated semi-cone, rounded on the sides, near the base. 1he labrum is entirely exposed, or very salient. " Of this tribe the species are characteristic of the warmer countries of the earth. Their body is elongated, pointed posteriorly, almost always varied with black and yellow, or reddish, and smooth. The antennae are approximate at the base, slightly geniculate at the second article, and enlarged towards the extremity. The mandibles are narrow, lengthened, dentated on the inner side, and crossed. The tibiae and tarsi are provided with little spines or cilia, which are particularly obvious on the anterior tarsi of the females. There are frequently one or two raised teeth beneath the abdomen of the male. The flight of these insects is extremely rapid, and they dart from flower to flower with a sharp and interrupted sound. Several species smell of the odour of roses. In a certain number we find a false trunk, bent underneath, with the labrum in the form of an elongated triangle. Of these, some have the palpi very short; the maxillary possessing four, the labial two articulations. Such is Bern-bex rostrata, Fab. (Apis rostrata, Linn.), Plate CCXXXH. fig. 11, a large black insect, with transverse bands of citron yellow upon the abdomen. This is a well-known European species. The female digs deep holes in a sandy soil, in which she places the carcasses of other insects, especially Syrphi, and other two-winged flies. Among these she lays her eggs, and then places a plug in the hole. Another hymenopterous insect, however, Parnopes carnea, possesses a strong instinctive desire to deposit her eggs in the subterraneous nest of the Bembex. As soon as the latter perceives its natural enemy hovering around its dwelling, it attacks it with the greatest fierceness, and endeavours to thrust its sting through its body,—an attempt, however, which is seldom successful, owing to the hardness of the Parnopes’s skin. Others have the maxillary palpi elongated, and with six articulations,—the labial with four. Such is the genus Monedula of Lat. In the remainder of this family there is no false trunk, and the labrum is short and rounded, e. g. the genus Sτι-zus of Jurine. Tribe 5th, Larrates, Lat. These in their general aspect resemble the preceding, but their labrum is either entirely or in great part concealed, and there is a deep emargination on the inner side of the mandibles,—a character which distinguishes them both from those which precede and those which follow. In some the upper wings have three closed cubital cells, of which the second receives the two recurrent nervures. Such are the genera Palarus, Lat., Lyrops, Illiger, and Larra, Fab. (Plate CCXXXH. fig. 13). In others the upper wings have only two closed cubital cells, each of which receives a recurrent nervure. Such are Dinetus and Miscopus, Jurine. Tribe 6th, Nyssones, Lat. In this family the labrum is likewise entirely or in great part concealed. The maxillae and labium do not form a trunk, and the mandibles have no emargination on the inner side. The head is of ordinary size, and the abdomen is triangular or ovoid-conical, becoming gradually narrower [7:9:230] from the base towards the extremity, and never borne upon a long pedicle. The antennae are filiform, with the first articulation slightly elongated. In the genera Astata, Nysson, Oxybelus, ^[631. The Oxybeli lay their eggs in little nests in sandy soils exposed to the sun. They store up a collection of dead flies for the use of their young.] and Nitela, Lat., the eyes are entire; in Pison of Spinola they are emarginate. Tribe 7th, Crabronites, Lat. In this, the concluding tribe of Fossores, the head is usually very large, and when viewed from above seems almost square. The antennae are often enlarged towards the extremity, or club-shaped. The abdomen is either oval or elliptical, and broadest about the middle,—or narrowed at the base into a lengthened pediele, and as if terminated by a elub. In some the antennae are inserted beneath the middle of the anterior part of the head, and the ehaperon is short and broad. In the genus Trypoxylon, Lat. the eyes are emarginate. Of these, one of the most remarkable is T. figulus (JSphex figulus of Linn.), Plate CCXXXIL fig. 13. The female deposits her eggs in holes in old timber, along with a supply of little spiders, which she eloses up with moist earth. In the remainder the eyes are entire. In the genus Crabro of Fab. (ibid. fig. 15) many of the males are remarkable for a. peculiar dilatation of the anterior tibiae, resembling a slender shell, convex without and eoncave within, and pervaded by a multitude of little holes, or rather of transparent points. They somewhat resemble the well-known expansions on the fore-feet of the male Dytisci, and probably serve for the same end.^[632. See Degeer, Mémoires, t. ii. p. 810, pl. 28.] In the perfect state these insects seem to feed on the neetareous juices of flowers; but the larvae are extremely greedy of animal food. The female parent forms holes in the earth, in each of which she deposits an egg along with the body of a captured inseet. She then, as usual, eloses up the orifice, and the entombed prey, whether dead or alive, is soon attacked and eaten by the young larva to which the egg gives birth. Dipterous insects form their most frequent food, although C. cribrarius is observed to seize upon the caterpillar of a Pyralis whieh inhabits the oak. Walckenaer observed several speeies hovering incessantly around the nests of a solitary bee named Halictus terebrator, whieh they seemed much inclined to enter.^[633. Mémoires pour servir α I' Histoire Naturelle des Abeilles solitaires.] The remaining genera of this division of the Crabronites are Stigmus, Jur.; Pemphedron, Lat., of which P. unicolor feeds its young on Aphides; Mellinus, Fab. (Plate CCXXXII. fig. 16); and Alyson, Jurine. In other Crabronites the antennae are inserted higher up or towards the middle of the faee, and are usually enlarged towards the termination, or even club-shaped. In the genus Psen of Lat. the elypeus is almost square, and the abdomen is borne upon an abruptly formed and elongated pedicle, composed of the first segment. The mandibles terminate in two teeth. In Philanthus of Fab. the elypeus is trilobed, and the first segment of the body is at most restricted in the manner of a knot. The mandibles terminate in a simple point. The females of this genus dig holes in the sand, in which they bury the eareasses of bees, Andrenae, and even of Curculionides, for the nourishment of their young.^[634. We have been under the necessity of doing little more than indicate the names of the generic groups in the family of Fossores, For the details the reader is referred to the corresponding articles in the Eηcyclop. Míth. and the Diction. Class. d'Hist. Nat.; to th® Regne Animal, t. v. pp. 31G-32, and more particularly to Μ. Van der Linden’s Observations sur les Hyménoptères d'Europe de la Famille des Fouisseurs. ~] FAMILY III—DIPLOPTERA.^[635. From i πλl>os, double, and wτiξα, wings, in reference to the folding of these organs.] This is the only family of the section in whieh the upper wings are longitudinally folded.^[636. β ^,^-bθ character however is not universal,—the genus Ceramlus, Lat. of which Klug has published a monograph, forming on ®*] The antennae are generally genieulate, and elubbed, or enlarged towards the extremity. The eyes are emarginate. The prothorax is prolonged posteriorly on each side to the origin of the wings, of whieh the superior have three or two elosed cubital cells, the second of whieh receives the two recurrent nervures. The body is smooth, or nearly so, black, and more or less spotted with yellow or fawn eolour. Many of the species dwell in temporary societies, composed of three kinds of individuals, males, females, and workers or neuters. A few females which have withstood the rigour of the winter season commence the building of the nest, and attend to the young first produced, which are usually neuters—and these speedily aid their parent in all matters of household management. The family is composed of two tribes. Tribe 1st, Masarides. In these the antennae seem at first sight to be composed of only eight articulations; the eighth forming with the ensuing ones an almost solid mass, rounded or obtuse at the end, with the articulations indistinct. The ligula is terminated by two threads capable of being withdrawn within a tube formed by its base. The upper wings have only two complete cubital cells. The middle of the anterior margin of the elypeus is emarginate, and receives the labrum in that emargination. The genera are few in number. In Masaris proper (Plate CCXXXIL fig. 17), the antennae, a little longer than the head and thorax, have the first article lengthened, and the eighth forming an obconic elub, rounded at the extremity. The abdomen is long. In Celonites, Lat. the antennae are scarcely longer than the head, and their first two articulations are mueh shorter than the third; the eighth and following form an almost globular body. The abdomen is scarcely longer than the thorax. Tribe 2d, Vespiariae. In these the antennae always exhibit distinctly thirteen articulations in the male and twelve in the female, and terminate in an elongated mass, pointed, and sometimes hooked (in the males) at the end; they are always genieulate, at least in the females and neuters. The ligula is sometimes divided into four plumose filaments, sometimes into three lobes, having four glandular points at the end, one on eaeh lateral lobe, and the two others on the intermediate one, whieh is larger, widened, and emarginate or bifid at the extremity. The mandibles are strong and dentated.- The elypeus is large. Beneath the labrum there is a little pieee in the form of a ligula, analogous to that whieh Réaumur observed in certain bees (bourdons), and which Μ. Savigny names epipharynx. With the exception of a small amount of species, the upper wings have three complete cubital cells. The females and neuters are armed with a very strong and venomous sting. Several [7:9:231] species live in societies composed of three kinds of individuals. . . The larvae of these insects are without íeet, and each is enclosed in a cell where it is fed, according to its kind, either on the bodies of insects carried thither by the mother at the period of oviposition, or on the nectar of flowers, the juices of fruits and of animal matter, elaborated in the stomach of the parent, or in that of the workers, and carefully supplied from day to day. This tribe corresponds to the genus Vespa of Linn. The genus Ceramius of Lat. differs from all the others in having the superior wings stretched or extended, and in the amount of the cubital cells, of which there are only two. The labial palpi are moreover longer than those of the maxillae. The species occur in South Africa, and the warmer regions of Europe.^[637. See Klug’s Entomologische Monographien, p. 219, et seq.] In all the following genera the superior wings are folded, and present three complete cubital cells. Sometimes the mandibles are much longer than broad, and approximate anteriorly in the form of a rostrum. The ligula is narrow and elongate. The clypeus is nearly heart-shaped or oval, with the point anterior, and more or less truncate. All the species arc solitary, and each is composed of only males and females. The latter provision their young both before their birth and during the continuance of the larva state. Their nests are usually formed of earth, and are either concealed in the holes of walls, beneath the ground, in old wood, or are external, and placed on plants. Each nest contains a supply of caterpillars or other larvae, which the female piles up in a circular form. She sometimes also stores up spiders, which she has the precaution previously to pierce with her sting. In the genus Synagris, Lat. the ligula is divided into four long plumose filaments, without glandular points at their extremity. The mandibles of some of the males are very large. The species arc few in number, and characteristic of Africa. In Eumenes, Lat. the ligula is divided into three portions, glandular at their extremity. The abdomen in some is ovoid or conical, and thicker at the base. Such are Pterochile of Klug, remarkable for the great length of the labium and maxillae, and for their labial palpi beset with long hairs, and composed of only three distinct articulations. In Odynerus, Lat. those parts of the mouth are much shorter, the labial palpi are nearly smooth, and consist of four perceptible divisions. Vespa murαriα of Linn, belongs to this genus. It is described by Reaumur.^[638. Mémoires, vi. xxxvi. I-10.] The female perforates deep holes in sand, or in the plaster of walls, at the orifice of which she forms an outer tube, at first straight, afterwards recurved, and composed of an earthy paste, arranged in thick contorted threads. In the cavity of the interior cell she heaps up trom eight to twelve little green larvae of the same age, disposing them in beds one above another, in a circular form. After depositing her egg, she closes the mouth of the hole, and destroys the outward scaffolding. The abdomen in others has its first segment narrow and elongat’d in the form of a pear, and the second bell-shaped. Such ιs t hθ genus Eumenes proper, of which E. coarctata, Fab. constructs a spherical nest of fine earth on the stems of P an ts. She fills it with honey, according to Geoffroy, and then deposits an egg. Sometimes the mandibles, scarcely longer than wide, ve a broad oblique truncation at their extremity. The 1 g u a is short, or but slightly elongated. The clypeus is most square. These insects constitute the genus Vespa, γ wasps properly so called. They unite in numerous as- cι atιons, composed of males, females, and neuters. The last two kinds detach particles of old wood or bark with their mandibles, reduce and moisten them to the consistence of a paste resembling paper or pasteboard in its nature, and construct nests containing horizontal combs suspended from above by one or more pedicles; on the inferior side there is a range of vertical cells in the form of hexagonal and truncated pyramids. These cells serve solely as lodgings for the isolated larvae and nymphs. The amount of combs forming the same nest varies; and the nest itself is sometimes open or exposed, sometimes surrounded by an envelope, pierced by a common and almost always central opening, which corresponds with a string of holes for the purposes of internal communication, if the edges of the combs adhere to the inner side of the external covering. These singular constructions are sometimes suspended to the branches of plants in the open air, sometimes concealed beneath the earth or in the hollows of old trees. Their form likewise varies according to the species. The females commence their labours in spring, and in the first place in a state of solitude. In a nest of small dimensions they deposit the eggs of neuters or workers, which, as soon as they are hatched and attain maturity, enlarge the dwelling, and assist in rearing additional members of the body politic. For a considerable time the society consists only of the original founder of the colony, that is, the female parent, and of neuters. Towards the end of summer or beginning of autumn, young males are hatched, along with additional females. But all such larvae and nymphs as have not completed their final metamorphosis before the month of November are murdered by the neuters, and torn from their cells. These destroyers are themselves ere long destroyed, in common with the males, by the first frosts of winter. The latter sex never work. A few females alone survive the rigours of the winter season, and these again, on the return of spring, become each the founder of a new but equally transitory empire. Of the death and desolation which is so soon to overtake their busy race, the genus irritabile is, however, all unconscious during the glad summer days, or those of the fruitful autumn, in which they ply their never-ceasing labours :— So fails, so languishes, grows dim, and dies, All that this world is proud of; and hymenopterous and human kingdoms, alike decay and perish. The polity of wasps, we may observe, is not so exclusively monarchical as that of bees. It partakes rather of the republican order, as many females dwell together in amity during the autumnal season. These Vespae are almost omnivorous. They prey on other insects, on flesh and fruits of every kind, especially when ripe and sweet. They appear to an uninstructed eye as very gluttonous; but their apparent greed becomes more excusable, when wc consider that they are catering, not f<)ζ themselves, but for a numerous and otherwise unprovided offspring. The larvae, in consequence of the peculiar position of the opening of their cells, lie in a reversed position, with their heads downwards. When about to pass into the nympha state, they shut up their cells, and fabricate a cocoon. In several species, that portion of the inner margin of the mandibles which is beyond the angle, and terminates it, is shorter than that which precedes the angle. The central part of the front of the clypeus is pointed. Ί hese belong to the genus Polistes of Lat. and Fab. in which we class P. morio from Cayenne. Its nest is large, in the form of a truncated cone, pierced inferiorly and at one side. It is composed of very thick pasteboard. Here also are [7:9:232] placed the Vespa gallica of Linn, and the V. nidulans of Fab. P. Lecheguana ^[639. Ann. đes Sciences Nat. t. iv. p. 339.] is a species which we owe to Μ. Aug. St Hilaire, who brought it from the interior of Brazil. Its combs contain an excellent honey, resembling in consistence that of our own domestic species, but possessing at times the singular quality of rendering those who eat it furious, or void of reason. It has been known from ancient times that common honey is occasionally possessed of very deleterious properties, arising probably from the nature or condition of the flowers from which it is collected. The naturalist just named, and two men by whom he was accompanied, nearly perished in consequence of eating of the Brazilian honey in its poisonous state. In other wasps the superior portion of the inner margin of the mandibles, or that which succeeds the angle, is as long if not longer than the other portion of that margin. The central part of the front of the clypeus is widely truncated. The abdomen is always ovoid or conical. These constitute the genus Vespa properly so called, of Latreille. The French entomologist here places the V. crabro, Linn., which we call the hornet. (Plate CCXXXH. fig. 18.) It builds its nest in sheltered places, such as barns, old walls, wooden posts, and hollow trees. It is of a roundish shape, composed of coarse materials, and resembles an old leaf in colour. This species devours other insects, and robs bees of their honey. Though a well-known English insect, it has not yet been found in Scotland. The common wasp, V. vulgaris (ibid. fig. 19), forms a somewhat similar nest; but it is composed of finer paper, contains a greater number of combs, and is sheltered in a hole in the earth. V. media, Lat. is intermediate as to size between the two preceding. It hangs its paper dwelling beneath the branch of a bush or tree. The nest of V. holsatica, Fab. is worthy of a brief record. It is almost globular, pierced at the top, and enclosed beneath in a kind of saucer. It is sometimes observed abroad, in barns, or attached to the beams of garrets, and has even been found in hives. It is not unknown in Britain. FAMILY IV.—ANTHOPHILA,^[640. From anêôļ, flower, and φ λct, lover.] Lat. In this, the last family of the stinging Hymenoρtera, we find a peculiar power existing in the two posterior legs,— that of collecting the pollen of flowers.^[641. Latreille remarks that the parasitical species are not possessed of this faculty;—but the form of their legs is essentially t118 same, those parts being merely destitute of the hairs or brushes.] This character distinguishes our present groups from those of every other family of insects. The first articulation of the tarsi of the hinder legs is very large, compressed, and in the form of a square pallet, or of a reversed triangle. The maxillae and the labium are usually very long, and constitute a kind of trunk. The ligula is generally shaped like the head of a lance, or resembles a lengthened filament, of which the extremity is silken or hairy. The larvae are fed exclusively on honey, or the fecundating pollen of flowers. The perfect insects restrict their own diet to the nectareous juices of flowers, and (when Flora’s kingdom has fallen before the approach of winter) to the secretion which they form from these, which we call honey. These Hymenoptera, embracing tlιe great genus Apis of Linnaeus, are divided by Latreille into two sections. Section 1st, Andrenetae, Lat. The genera of this section have the intermediate division of the ligula heart-shaped or lance-shaped, shorter than the sheath, and bent upwards in some, almost straighι in others. They correspond to the Pro-abeilles of Réaumur and Degeer, the Andrenae of Fabricius, and the Me littae of Kirby.^[642. lTpĩila-ßi.jpĩiĩĩh] The Andrenetae are solitary insects, and consist of onl males and females. Their mandibles are simple, or termi nated at most by two dentations. The labial palpi resem ble the maxillary, and the latter have six articulations. The ligula is divided into three portions, of which the lateral are short, and in the form of auricles. The nιajorit> of the females collect the pollen of plants by means of th hairs of their hinder legs, and mixing it with a little honey they thus form a paste for the nourishment of their young They form holes in the ground, frequently even in firmly-trodden places by the sides of roads, or in fields, and o’ considerable depth. In these they place their paste, anc depositing an egg along with it, they close up the entrance with earth. Some have the middle division of the ligula widened at the extremity, almost heart-shaped, and doubled in repose. Such is the genus Hylaeus, Fab. which is now partitioned into two. In the first, or Hylaeus properly so called (Plate CCXXXIL fig. 20), the body is smooth, the second and third joints of the antennae of almost equal length, and the upper wings present only two complete cubital cells. Tin sp√ecies being hairless, do not collect pollen, and seem to deposit their eggs in the nests of other Hymenoptera of this family. In the second genus, Colletes, Lat. the body is hairy, the third article of the antennae exceeds the second in length, and the upper wings present three complete cu∙ bital cells. The females collect their stores from flowers. Such is the Apis succincta of Linn.—“l’abeille dont le nid est fait d’espèces de membranes soyeuses,” of Reaumur.^[643. vi∙ γι¾ .] The male is distinguishable by his more lengthened antennae. The female forms in the earth a cylindrical hole, of which the walls are endued with a gummy liquid, 1 which has been compared to the viscous and shining slime left by slugs on the places over which they have passed. She then forms a number of thimble-shaped cells, apparently composed of the same material, placed end to end, and in a string, and each containing an egg and a suitable 1 portion of paste. Other Andrenetae are distinguished from the preceding by the form of the ligula, which is lanceolate. In some of these, that part is folded on the superior side of the sheath, as in the genera Andrena and Dasypoda of Lat. (Plate CCXXXIÌ. fig. 21). The females of the latter have the first joint of the tarsi very long, beset with lengthened hairs after the manner of a little feather. The upper wings in both these genera have only two cubital cells. The Andrenafiessae of Panzer, common in the environs of Paris, secretes a peculiar kind of honey, black and oily like the grease (cambois) used for carriage-wheels. It has a narcotic odour. In others the ligula is straight, or slightly bent underwards at its extremity. Such are the genera Sphecodes, Halictus, and Nomia, of Latreille. Section 2d, Apiariae, Lat. In this second section of the honey-making Hymθnop-tera the genera are characterized by the middle division of the ligula being at least as long as the mentum or its tabular sheath, and setiform or filamentary. The maxillae and labium are greatly elongated, and form a sort of hŋŋy geniculate and bent beneath while not in action. I he [7:9:233] two first articulations of the labial palpi have generally the form of a scaly and compressed seta, which embraces the sides of the ligula; the two others are very small, and the third is usually inserted near the exterior extremity of the preceding, which terminates in a point. The Apiariae are either solitary, or united in society. A. In the former, which constitute the first principal division, the species consist of only two kinds of individuals, of the ordinary nature of male and female. Each female provides, by her own unassisted efforts, for the preservation of her posterity. The posterior legs are unprovided with the silky down (la brosse) on the inner face of the first articulation of the tarsi; neither do we perceive that particular depression on the outer side of the tibiae, which the French naturalists distinguish as la corbeille, or the basket, and which is so useful in the economy of the workers in certain other genera. That outer side, as well as the corresponding part of the first articulation of the tarsi, is usually furnished with numerous close-set hairs. a. The first subdivision of these solitary Apiariae consists of species in which the second articulation of the posterior tarsi of the females is inserted in the centre of the extremity of the preceding one; the exterior and terminal angle of the latter does not appear dilated or more advanced than the interior. * We shall first signalise a group of genera which have been named Andrenoides, no doubt from the resemblance which they bear to the latest of the preceding genera in their labial palpi, composed of slender linear joints, placed end to end, almost entirely similar to those of the maxillary palpi, and which are six in number. The labrum is always short. The females have no brush on the abdomen; but their posterior legs are clothed or garnished with tufts of hair, which serve them to collect the pollen of flowers. Some have the mandibles narrow, contracted towards the extremity, terminated in a point, and, in common with the labrum, smooth. Such are the genera Sys-tropha, Illig. Rophites, Spinola, and Panurgus, Panzer. Others have the mandibles, in the females, almost spoon-shaped, very obtuse, carinated or grooved, and bidentated at the end. The labrum is very hard, and ciliated above. The antennae are strongly geniculate and filiform. The upper wings have three complete cubital cells, the first intersected by a little transparent line, the second triangular, the third the largest, and receiving the two recurrent nervures. The genus Xylocopa, Lat. (Plate CCXXX∏. fig. 22), resemble large humble-bees. Their body is usually black, sometimes covered in part with a yellow down, and the wings are frequently adorned by brilliant tints of violet, copper, and green. The males of Several species differ greatly from the females. Their eyes are large, and more approximated superiorly. Their anterior legs are dilated and ciliated. The species figured, Jvhich is the Apis violacea, Linn, is one of the best known l ∏ European countries. The female excavates holes in o d wood, divided into several cells, in each of which she eposits an egg, and a portion of paste for the sustenance 0 the future grub. The species are very numerous in foreign countries, and seem to spread over many regions of θ globe. Comparatively few occur in Europe. * * ∏ other genera the labial palpi appear under the form 0 s y setae; the first two articulations are very large, or mu lengthened, compared to the last two, of a scaly con-nce, with the margins membranous or transparent. The maxillary palpi are always very short, and have not unfrcquently fewer than six articulations. The labrum in a great number is lengthened, inclined upon the mandibles, sometimes in the form of an elongated square, sometimes of a lengthened triangle. 1 he group named Dasygastrce by Latreille are remarkable, as their name implies, in this, that the abdomen of the female is almost always furnished with numerous short, close-set hairs, which form as it were a silky brush. The labrum is as long or longer than broad, and of a square form. The rqandibles of the females are strong, incisive, triangular, and toothed. The paraglossae are always very short, in the form of scales, pointed at the end. Of all the genera which compose this group, that called Ceratina approaches most closely to that of which we last figured an example; and, according to Maximilian Spinola, the habits of the females are identical with those of the Xylocopae.^[644. Sθe the article Cerαtine i in the 2d edition of the Nοuυ. Diet, ďĩlist. Nat.] We have several species in Britain. All the remaining Dasygastrae have at most only four articulations to the maxillary palpi, and two complete cubital cells. In the six genera next ensuing, the abdomen is obviously furnished beneath with a silky brush. The species belonging to Chelosto-ma, Lat. and Heriades, Spin, form their habitations in the hollows of ancient trees. In the genus Megachile, Lat. the maxillary palpi are composed of only two articulations, the abdomen is plain above, and susceptible of being raised upwards,—thereby enabling the female to use her sting over her body. This genus contains several singular insects, of which the habits have been well described by Réaumur and other observers.^[645. Mémoire», t. iv.] JZ. muraria is one of the largest of the genus. The female is black, with dark wings tinted with violet; the male is covered with reddish hairs, the terminal segments of the abdomen being black. The former sex constructs her little nest on walls and stones in sunny places. It is made of fine earth worked into a kind of mortar, which drying, becomes very hard and durable. On this account the term mason-bee is applied to this insect, and to several other species of analogous habits. The interior of these nests contains about a dozen cells, in each of which the provident parent deposits an egg and a piece of paste. The perfect insect is not produced till the spring of the ensuing year. Another species, Μ. sicula, Lat. is black and hairy, with the front, the upper part of the thorax, and the legs, bright yellow. The female constructs a hard and spherical nest, of rather more than an inch in diameter, which she attaches to the branches of heath and other plants. This insect occurs both in Egypt and the south of Europe, and was lately noticed in Corsica by Μ. Payraudeau. The habits of other Species of the genus Megachile are very different from those just noted. They are known by the name of leaf-eating bees (Plate CCXXXH. fig. 23), on account of their employing in the construction of their nests perfectly oval or circular pieces of leaves, which they cut out with the most remarkable dexterity. These pieces are conveyed to their straight cylindrical holes, which they previously excavate in the earth, or sometimes in walls, or the decayed trunk of an old tree. They line the bottom of the cavity with these cuttings, and form a thimble-shaped cell (ibid. fig. 27), in which they deposit the honeyed provision on which the larva is destined to feed. After laying an egg, they close the cell by means of a flaŧtish or slightly concave lid, also formed of a portion of leaf. These little cells are repeated one over the other till the hole is filled up. To this division of the genus belongs the Μ. du rosier of Lat. (Apis ceηtuηcularis, Linn.). The genus Lithurgus, Lat. is furnished with four articulations to the maxillary palpi, and the abdomen is depressed above. All the articulations of [7:9:234] the labial palpi are placed cnd to end. The females have a rounded projection in the middle of the head. Such are Centris cornuta, Fab. and an unpublished species from the Isle of France, alluded to by Latreille. In the genus Os-MiA of Panzer the maxillary palpi consist of four articulations, or at least of three very distinct ones, and the abdomen is convex above. The habits of the species have been observed by Réaumur, Degeer, Spinola, and other naturalists. Several are masons, and have frequently two or three horns on the clypeus, which are probably of use in the construction of their nests. These are concealed in the earth, in chinks of walls, door-posts, and old wood, and sometimes even in the shells of snails {Helices). One of the most interesting of the genus is the Osrnia papaveris, which lines its subterranean dwelling with the gorgeous petals of the scarlet poppy. Another, 0. gallarum, takes possession of a fungous gallnut formed by a kind of Cynips which inhabits the oak. The hollow space left by the Cynips being too small, the little bee enlarges it considerably, and polishes the interior. The genus is composed of about thirty species, which seem almost peculiar to Europe. A considerable number occur in Britain. The other genera of this group are Anthidium, Fab., Stelis, Panzer, and Coelioxys, Lat.^[646. See Règne Animal, t. v. p. 350.] The two last-named genera of Dasygastrae resemble the ensuing group in wanting the silky brush, from which it has been presumed that they also coincide with them in being parasitical; but their labrum is parallelogramic, and the mandibles are triangular and dentated. The maxillary palpi are very short and biarticulate. * * * A third group of genera in this subdivision of the (solitary) Apiariae is named Cuculinae. They resemble the preceding in the posterior tarsi, and agree with the concluding genera in the labial palpi being in the form of squamous setae; they also resemble the genera Stelis and Coelioxys in the abdomen being destitute of a silky brush. They are parasitical, and their bodies are almost smooth and coloured like those of wasps, sometimes partially clothed or hairy. The labrum assumes the form of a lengthened and truncated triangle, or is short and almost semicircular. The mandibles are narrow, ending in a point, and at most uni-dentated on the inner side. The paraglossae are often long, narrow, and setiform. The scutellum in several is emarginate or bidentated; in others it is tubercular. These insects correspond to tlιe Nomadae of Fabricius. Several appear in those countries to which they are indigenous, flitting about in spring partly near the ground, or on walls exposed to sunshine. They are then employed in searching for the nests of other Apiariae, in which they, cuckoolike, deposit their eggs. It was in reference to this habit that Latreille named them Cuculinae. The genera are Ammobates, Phileremus, Epeolus, Lat., Nomada, Fab. (Plate CCXXXH. fig. 24), Pasites, Jur., Melecta, Lat., Crocisa, Jur., Oxaea, Klug.^[647. J For the characters of the above genera, see Régne Animal, t. v. p. 352-3; and Kirby's Mοnοgraρhia Apum Angliae. The haunts and habits of the species are noted under their generic titles in the Encyelop. Méth., and the Diction. Class. d'Hist. Nat.] Of these, Nomada is the richest in British species. The genus occurs in Asia, Africa, and America, although the majority are characteristic of, if not peculiar to, Europe. The genus Melecta is not unknown in Britain. b. The concluding subdivision of the solitary bees is characterized by the first article of the posterior tarsi being dilated inferiorly on the outer side, so that the following articulation is inserted nearer to the internal angle of its extremity than to the opposite onc. The outer side of that first angle, as well as the corresponding part of the tibiae, is furnished with thick and close-set hairs, forming, especially in several exotic species, a sort of brush or tuft,— and thence the name of Scopulipedes, bestowed on this division by Latreille. The under part of the abdomen is naked, or at least unprovided with a silken brush. The number of cubital cells is three, with few exceptions, and each of the last two cells receives a recurrent nervure. Sometimes the maxillary palpi consist of from four to six articulations. In a certain number the mandibles exhibit only a single tooth on the inner side. These species fly with great rapidity from flower to flower, and with a buzzing sound. They construct their nests either under ground, or in the clefts of old walls. Several prefer ground which has been cut perpendicularly, and exposed to the sun. Those species in which the two lateral portions of the ligula are as long as the labial palpi, and setaceous, and of which the antennae of the males are lengthened, form the genus Eu∙ cera properly so called (Plate CCXXXH. fig. 25). The male of a British species {Apis longicorηis, Linn.) is black, with the labrum and the anterior extremity of the head yellow; its upper portion, thorax, and two first segments of the abdomen, are covered by a reddish down. The female (at one time described by Fabricius as a distinct species, under the name of Apis tuberculata) has short antennae. The maxilla and labium form at their base a slight projection. The abdomen is marked by grey stripes, with a reddish termination. Several other species occur in Britain. Spinola has detached certain species, of which the maxillary palpi have only five distinct articulations, and the superior wings only two cubital cells. These he names Macrocera. ^[648. The name is objectionable, either on Spinoía s part or Meigen’s (according to whoever used it last) as we observe that the German author, in his Zweiflügeligen Insecten, applies the same title to a dipterous genus.] The Melipodes of Lat. may be defined as American Eucerae, with but four joints to the maxillary palpi, and three cubital cells to the superior wings. In the other Apiariae of this subdivision, the paraglossae are much shorter than the ligula, and always exhibit three cubital cells. In Melitturga and Anthophora, Lat. (of both of which several species are indigenous to Britain), the maxillary palpi have six articulations. In Saropoda, Lat., likewise known among ourselves, the maxillary palpi have only five articulations, and those of the labium are continuous. Lastly, in the genus Ancy-loscelis, Lat., of which the species are native to Brazil, the maxillary palpi offer only four articulations. In others the mandibles have several dentations on the inner side, and the maxillary palpi, as in the preceding genus, have four articulations. Such is the American genus Centris of Fab. Sometimes the maxillary palpi consist of only a single very small articulation, which even becomes imperceptible in certain species. The paraglossae are very short, and the mandibles dentated. Such are the genera Epicharis and Acanthopus of Klug.^[649. See Encyclop. Méth. and other works already named.] B. Our second principal division of the Apiariae is constituted by many interesting insects, such as the garden and humble bees, so remarkable for their peculiar regime, and the gregarious habits of the species, each of which consists of three kinds of individuals—males, females, and neuters, as the workers are often called. The posterior tibiae of these last named are furnished on their external face with a smooth depression called the basket, in w hich they place the pollen [7:9:235] , collected from flowers by means of the silky down or brush with which the inner face of the first joint of the posterior tarsi is provided. The maxillary palpi are very small, and consist of a single articulation. The antennae are geniculate. Sometimes the posterior tibiae are terminated by two spines, as in the genus Euglossa, Lat. (Plate CCXXXIL fig. 26), which has the labrum square, and the false proboscis, or prolonged parts of the mouth, as long as the body. The labial palpi terminate in a point formed by the two other articulations. The species are peculiar to South America. Latreille supposes that we owe to the one which we have here figured [E. dentata), and to that called E. cordata, the green honey so much esteemed in the Antilles. We are still ignorant of the habits of these insects. In the genus Bombus (ibid. fig. 29), the species of which we recognise in this country as humble-bees, the labrum is transverse, and the proboscis obviously shorter than the body. The second articulation of the labial palpi terminates in a point, bearing the two others on its outer side. There are few associations of our childhood more deep and lasting than those connected with the pursuit and capture of these beautiful creatures, some of which are remarkable for their size, and the rich contrast which they exhibit of velvet black and crimson, with bars of brilliant yellow. This splendid attire, however, saves them not from being rudely handled; and we remember the day when an artificial biηk, that is, a little box made of clay, with a piece of glass at one end, and a sprinkling of sugar at the other, contained as many captives in proportion to its size, as the black-hole of Calcutta. But the practice of blobbing was one we never patronized, although we know it is pursued in this country, just as it seems to be, judging from the following quotation, by the youth of the Great Nation :— “Ils sont bien connus des enfans, qui les privent souvent de la vie pour avoir le miel renfermé dans leur corps, et le sucer.^[650. Règne Animal, t. v. p. 357∙] The exciteable genius of a great English poet is roused to a wider range of sentiment and association by the sight of one of these industrious beings. And is she brought within the power Of vision ?—o’er this tempting flower Hovering until the petals stay Her flight, and take its voice away! Observe each wing—a tiny van !— The structure of her laden thigh, How fragile !—yet of ancestry Mysteriously remote and high, High as the imperial front of man, The roseate bloom on woman’s cheek; The soaring eagle’s curved beak; The white plumes of the floating swan; Old as the tiger’s paw, the lion’s mane Ere shaken by that mood of stern disdain, At which the desert trembles.—Humming-Bee! Thy sting was needless then, perchance unknown; The seeds of malice were not, sown; All creatures met in peace, from fierceness free, And no pride blended with their dignity. —Tears had not broken from their source, Nor anguish strayed from her Tartarian den; The golden years maintained a course Not undiversified, tho’ smooth and even; We were not mocked with glimpse and shadow, then Bright seraphs mixed familiarly with men, And earth and stars composed a universal heaven.^[651. Wordsworth’s Vernal Ode.] Be this as it may, the species of the genus Bombus inhabit >ubterra∏ean dwellings, assembled together in social groups amounting to from fifty to sixty individuals, or even in certain cases to between two and three hundred. These unions, owever, differ from those of the honey or garden-bee in this, that they are dissolved, like those of wasps, on the approach of winter. They consist of males, distinguished by the smallness of their size, their feebler heads, their narrower mandibles, terminated by two dentations, and bearded, as we11 as by their frequent difference of colour; of Jemales, which are larger than the other individuals, and have spoon-shaped mandibles; and of workers, of which the mandibles are likewise spoon-shaped, and the size intermediate between the two preceding kinds. Of these workers, Réaumur was the first to distinguish two varieties,-—one comparatively large and strong, the other smaller, but more lively and active. This curious fact was afterwards verified by Huber the younger. According to the observations of the Genevese observer, several of the workers born in spring couple during the month of June with males sprung from a common mother, and soon afterwards deposit eggs, from which, however, males alone are produced. These latter couple with the females which are born towards the end of the season, and which continuing through the winter in a pregnant state, become each the founder of a colony in spring. In the mean time, all the others perish, without excepting even the smaller females. The workers, then, though, in common with those of the garden-bee, often called neuters, are in fact females, but of smaller size than the more regular mothers, and with the productive faculty imperfectly developed. No sooner has the genial influence of spring penetrated the mossy cells where these more ponderous matrons have enjoyed their winter sleep, than they rouse themselves from their repose, and wing their dubious flight in search of the first opening crocus, or other garden flower; or, if remote from man, and destined to boom amid wild uplands or other pastoral wastes, the flowering saughs [Salix caprea), which so often skirt the edges of our mountain streams, and beautify the crystal waters by the reflection of their golden blossoms, afford them a sufficing food. The lover of nature knows how, even among sterile solitudes, a few bright sunny days call into life and beauty many fragrant flowers, not long unvisited by these glad labourers, who ere long settle in some fit abode, and lay the foundations of a future city. The neħts of humble-bees are generally formed beneath the earth, and at a depth of one or two feet. Dry plains, fields, sloping banks, and the sides of hills, are their common localities. These subterranean cavities are of considerable extent, wider than high, and in the form of a dome. The ceiling is constructed of earth and carded moss, carried thither fibre by fibre. The inner walls are plastered over by a coating of coarse wax. Sometimes a simple opening serves as a passage to the foot of the nest; sometimes a tortuous road, of one or two feet in length, leads to the habitation. The bottom of the cavity is lined with a layer of leaves, for the reception of the brood. The female first places in it masses of brown irregular wax, called pâtée by Réaumur, and compared to truffles by that naturalist, on account of their shape and colour. Their cavities arc destined to contain the eggs and larvae. The latter live together in society until such time as they are ready to assume the nympha state; they then separate and spin ovoid silken cocoons, vertically fixed against each other. The nymph is always found in a reversed position, or with the head downwards, like those of the females of the honey-bee; and the cocoons are uniformly pierced at their lower end when the perfect insect escapes from its prison. Réaumur asserted that the larvae fed upon the wax which formed the walls of their habitations; but these, according to Μ. Huber, merely serve as a protection from cold and moisture; and the actual food consists of an ample provι-