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Show 4~8 INSECTA, have small depressed mandibles, as if divided longitudinally· two parts, the m· ner o f w h't c l1 1· s mem b ranous, and the other co tnto rne. ous; there are no sensible dentations at their superior extremit The labrum is concealed, or but little apparent(!). The maxi/ have frequently but small dentations. The body is short, depresse: and wide; the elytra are narrowed posteriorly on the outer side. Th; two last tarsi. usu~lly have hut. ~ne hook; in tl.10sc where they all have two-D~crama-the first JOint of the anteriOr tarsi is prolonged inferiorly, and presents on the inner side a stout, hooked tooth. M. Leon Dufour remarks that the digestive canal of the Hopli~ is much shorter than that of the Cetonire. The chylific ventricle is smooth and flexuous. The small intestine is shorter than in Melolontha, and frequently presents an ovoid inflation at its origin. It is followed by an elongated colon, destitute of valvular anfractuosities. The rectum is separated from it by a well mat·ked collar. The organs of generation hardly differ from those of Melolontha. DxouANIA, Lepel. and Serv. Two equal and bifid hooks to all the tarsi, the first joint of the two anterior ones prolonged inferiorly into a hooked tooth; the body very smooth and without scales; the scutellum tolerably large; two stout spines at the extremity of the four posterior tibire; the inferior extremity of the two last tibire dilated. These Insects inhabit Brazil(2). HOPLIA, Illig. A single hook to the two posterior tarsi; the two of the others unequal and bifid; extremity the four last tibire crowned with small spines, none of which is perceptibly longer than another. The body is nearly square or almost semicircular, and the thighs of the two posterior legs are moderately inflated, their tibire long, straight, and without a hooked tooth at the extremity. H. formosa, Illig.; Melolonthafarinosa, Fab.; Oliv.,Col., I,s, ii, 14, a, c. Nine joints in the antennre; the body entirely co· vered with brilliant silvery scales, the upper ones reflecting a violet blue tint; the lower ones somewhat greenish or gilt.This most beautiful of all the known species is common in the south of France along the banks of brooks and rivers. ( 1) In the latter of the preceding subgenera this part also, viewed from before, merely presents a linear, transverse edge, either entire or slightly emarginated in the middle. (2) Encyc. M6thod., article Scarabei'dea. 429 The antennre of some others are composed of ten joints( 1 ). The MoNOOHELEs, Illig., Only differs from Hoplia in the epistoma, which forms a triangle truncated at the anterior extremity, and in the two posterior legs, of which the thighs are very large and the tibire short, with a stout hooked tooth at the extremity(2). Certain Scarabreides, closely allied to the last of the preceding section, and which were at first united with them in the genus Melolontha, out in which the paraglossre, or two divisions of the ligula, project beyond the superior extremity of the mentum, and where the elytra gape or are slightly remote on the side next the suture, at their posterior extremity, which is either narrowed into a point or rounded, form a fifth section, that o£ the ANTHOBII. The antennre are composed of nine or ten joints, the three last of which alone form the club in both sexes. The lobe terminating the maxill::e is frequently almost membranous, silky, penicilliform, coriaceous, and dentated along the inner edge 'in others. The labrum and mandibles are more or less solid in proportion as they are more or less exposed. The Anthobii live on flowers or leaves. In some, the mandibles and labrum are salient, and all the tarsi have two entire and equal hooks. The antennre consist of ten joints; the maxillary palpi are rather larger neat· the end, the last joint short or but slightly elongated and truncated; the mandibles are cot·neous. Some of these Insects inhabit. the north of Africa and other countries situated on the Mediterranean; most of the others are found in the higher portions of western Asia. In these, the first joint of the antenna! club is concave and encases the others. In GLAPHYRus, Lat. The inner edge of the mandibles is dentated, and the outer forms an acute angle; the antenna! club is almost ovoid; the teguments are firm and the posterior thighs inflated. The maxillary palpi are much longer than the others, with the last joint longer than the preceding one. The inner lobe of the maxillre is dentiform, the (I) See Latr., Gener. Crust. et Insect., II, p. 115. (2) Encyc. Method., art. Scarabei'dea. |