OCR Text |
Show 308 INSECTA. PELEOiuM, Kirby. Last joint of the exterior palpi sccu~·i~orm; ligula short; bodyob. long, narrowest before; the four fit·st JOints of the anterior tarsi or the males in the form of a reversed triangle, furnished with brushes beneath; the fourth is bifid. The species of this and the following subgenus at·e peculiar · to South America(!). There, the emat·gination of the mentum presents a tooth; the mandibles are usually small and moderate in the others. The labrum is entire or but slightly emarginate. Some of them approach Pelecium in their exterior palpi, which are also terminated by a larger securiform joint, or one in the form of a reversed triangle. Their head is always small, and the thorax ot·bicular or trapezoidal. CYNTHIA, Lat.-olim Microcep!talua, Id. The first joints of the anterior tarst of the males in the form ora reversed triangle and forming the palette: they are provided with a brush underneath, and the fourth is bifid. The head and the mandibles are stouter in proportion than in the ensuing subgenus. The exterior pal pi are less elongated but more compressed at the end. The body is oval, with a trapezoidal thorax wider posteriorly, plane, bordered, and sulcated longitudinally(2). P ANAG.iEus; Lat. The palette of the tarsi peculiar to the males formed of the two first joints only. The head is very small compared to the body, and the eyes globular. fhe mandibles, maxillre and ligula are also very small. The thorax is most generally suborbicular(3). In the following subgenera, which tet·minate this section, the ex· terior palpi are filiform; the last joint of the maxillary palpi is almost cylindrical, and that of those attached to the labium, oval or almost like a reversed and elongated cone. The first subgenus, the (1) Pelecium cyanipes, Kirby, Lin. Trans. XU, xxi, 1. (2) A subgenus founded on certain spe~ies from llrazil which have the ap· pearance of the .Obax, Bonelli. (3) Oambus crux-major, Fab.; Clairv., Entom. Ilelv. IJ, xv;-Oara/ntsnotulatw, Fab.,-Oychrus rejlexus, Fab.; Oliv., Col. HI, 35, viii, 77;-0arabus angulatw, Fab.; Oliv., lb., vii, 76;-Panagee d quatre taches, Cuv., Reg. Anim. IV, xiv, 1. See the article Panagee, Encyc. Method., and the Species, Dej., IT, P· 283, et seq. COLEOPTERA. 309 LoRIOERA, Lat., Is very remarkable. The antennre are setaceous and curved, with the second and four following joints shorter than the last, and furnished with fasciculi of hail·s. T'he mandibles are small. The maxill:c al'e bearded externally. The labial palpi are longer than those of the maxillre. The eyes are very prominent. The thorax is nearly ot·bicular or cordiform, and widely truncated, with its posterior angles rounded. The three first joints of the anterior tarsi are dilated in th~ males( 1 ). PATnonus, Meg. The antennre straight, filiform, without the fasciculi of hairs, the fourth and following joints equal and almost cylindrical: the mandibles of an ordinary size; the labrum forming a transverse square, with the anterior edge straight. The length of the labial pal pi does not exceed that ot' those attached to the maxillz. The thorax is cordiform and truncated, with the posterior angles acute. The two first joints of the anterior tarsi are alone dilated in the males. The eyes are less prominent than in the preceding subgenus, and the neck is not so narrow(2). We will now pass to those Carabici whose antet·ior tibire have no emargination on the intct·nal side, or which present one that begins close to their extremity, or that does not extend on their anterior face, and forming a mere oblique and linear canal. The ligula is often extremely short, terminated in a point in the middle of its summit, and accompanied by pointed paraglossre. The mandibles are robust. The last joint of the exterior pal pi is usually larger, compressed into the form of a reversed triangle, or securiform in some, and almost into that of a spoon in others(3). The eyes are prominent. The elytl'a are entire or simply sinuous at their posterior extl'emity. The abdomen, compared with the other parts of the body, is voluminous. They are generally large Insects, are ornamented with brilliant metallic colours, run very fast, and are extremely carnivo- (1) Loricera amea, Lat.; Oarabus pilicornis, Fab.; Panz. Faun. Insect. Germ., XI, 10; Oliv., Col. III, 35, xi, 119; Dej. Spec. II, p. 293. (The only species of the genus. .11m. Ed.] (2) Carabus rujipes, Fab.; 0. excavatus, Payk.; Panz. Ih. XXXIV, 2. Two other species are mentioned by Count Dejean in his Species, one from Portugal, the other from North America. (3) It is frequently more dilated in the males-a fact very evident in Procerus. |