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Show 420 INSECT A.. ~remity, and its margin ciliated. All the tarsial crotchets are en. tire( 1 ). There, an axillary piece-the same obset·ved in that place in Cetonia, or the epimera of M. Audouin-fills the space comprised between the posteriot· angles of the thorax and the exterior angles of the base of the elytra. 0METIS, Lat.(2) The genus Melolontha of Fabricius will fJrm our fourth and fifth sections. 'fhe fourth, that of the PnYLLOPHAGI, is composed _of Scarabreides that closely approach those of the two last subgenera; but the mandibles are covered above by the cpistoma, and concealed beneuth by the maxillce; their outer sitle is alone exposed, without however overlapping; their outer side presrnts none of the sinuses or denta· tions observed there in Rutela and other analogous subgenera. The anterior edge of the labt·um is exposed; it is sometimes in the form of a reversed and wide triangle, and most ft·equently transversely Jaminiform, and emat·ginated in the middle. The number of the antenna} joints is not constant and varies from eight to ten; the same remark applies to those of the club, and in several, with res. pcct to this, the two sexes differ greatly. The ligula is entirely covered by the mentum, or incorporated with its anterior face, and the elytra are completely joined along the whole of the suture, cha· racters which distinguish these Insects from those of the fifth sec· tion. The family of the Anoplognathides of M. Mac Leay, and some other subgenera closely allied to some of those in the preceding sec· tion, will compose our fit·st division. The epistoma is thickened anteriorly, and either alone or with the labrum fot·ms a verticaLfacet in the figure of a reversed triangle, the point of which rests on the mentum. The latter is sometimes almost ovoid, densely pilose, with the extremity either rounded or truncated and unemarginate; some· times it forms a transverse square, with the middle of the superior rnat·gin prolonged into a tooth, simple or emarginate. fhe maxilloe of some at·e terminated by a coriaceous or membranous lobe that is densely pilose, edentate, or with but very small teeth, situated near the middle of the inner side; those of others are entirely corneous, (1) See Rutela, Encyc. Method., and Hor. Entom. (2) Rtttela cetonioidea, Encyc. Method. ;-Rutela cemta, Germ.;-.Bnisoplia hi8· trio.'l Dej., but with antenn~ of nine joints. This subgenus seems to connect these and the preceding Insects with the Ce· toni ill:. COLEOPTERA. 421 rtsemble mandibles, and are either truncated, or obtuse and entire at the end, or terminated by two or three teeth. Tbos~, in which the mentum is almost ovoid and very hairy and . ,bose maxillce terminate in a similal'ly pilose, triangular lobe, ~ithollt teeth, or with but very small ones situate~ near the middle of its inner margin, form two subgenera( 1 ). PAoHYPus, Dej.-Geotrupes, Melolontlta, Fab. The antennce of the males are composed of but eight joints, of which the five last form the club. The mandibles are in the form of very thin, triangular, elongated leaflets, and arc entirely concealed, as is also the labrum. The terminal lobe of the maxillce is very small, 'scarcely distinct, and without teeth. The mentum is extremely prominent, projects forwards, and is rounded on the summit. The terminal joint of the pal pi is the longest of all, and nearly cylindrical. The pody is thick, the epistoma semicircular, concave above; and distinguished posteriorly from the vertex by a transverse · carina. The thorax of the males is excavated and a1·med anteriorly with a horn; the four posterior tibice are strong, deeply incised transversely, with their extremity widened and crowned with a range of 1ittle spines; the spurs are large. The tarsi are long, slender, pilose, and terminated by two small equal and simple hooks. With the exception of the antennre and the form of the epistoma, this subgenus approximates ml.!ch nearer to Oryctes than to Melolontha( 2). AMBLYTEREs, Mac Leay. The antennce consist of ten joints, the three last forming the club • . The labrum is exposed and lobate. The mandibles are strong and scaly. The maxillary lobe is of a moderate size, and its inner side armed with corneous teeth. The middle of the superior extremity of the mentum is slightly prolonged and truncated, the angles rounded and bearing the pal pi; their last joint is ovoid, the same of the maxillre is much elongated and very cylindrical. The scutellum is large(3). (1) The sternum presents no projection whatever. (2) Geotrupes excavatus, Fab., the male; Melolontha cornuta, Oliv., Col., f, 5, vii, 74, a, b, the male; Scarab. canditk, Petag., Insect. Calab ., I, 6, a, b, tbe male; a black va1•iety also, observed in Corsica by M. Peyrandeau, and subsequently in Sicily by M. Lefevre;-.M. atripliua, Fab., a female of another species. (3) Mac Leay, Hor. Entom., I, p. 142. This gentleman says nothing about the crotc~ets of the tarsi, nor sexu:~.l differences. From the description of the species |
