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Show 454 lNSJo~CTA. B. lr£vigata, Fab. T~is species might constitute a particular subgenus. Its body is inuch shortet· than that of the others and extremely convex or gibbous. The antenncc are granose from the fourth joint. The anterior tibicc ~erminate in a stout point or spine formed by a spur. It is stated by Fabricius that the T.urkish women inhabiting Egypt, where the Insect is very common, eat the Blaps aulcata, cooked with butter, in ordet• to become fat. The same author also says that it is used as a remedy for the hcad-ach, and the I sting of a Scorpion( 1 ). There, all the tibire arc angular with longitudinal ridges; the two anterior are wider and strongly dentated exteriorly. The thorax is dilated anteriorly, cordiform, an? w' dely truncated. GoNoPus, Lat. The third joint of the antenncc is elongated and cylindrical as well as the two or three following ones; those which succeed are granose; the last is ovoid and somewhat longer than the penultimate. The anterior margin of the head is concave, and the mentum forms a transverse square. The inferior side of the thighs is trenchant with a sulcus; the two anterior are furnished with a tooth, and the four posterior tibire are narrow, arcuated, and somewhat dentated; the tarsi are glabrous(2). The other Insects of this tribe, with similar legs in both sexes, differ from the preceding in their mentum, which occupies trans· versely the greater portion of the under part of the head, and has the form of a heart truncated inferiorly or at base. The thorax is always transversal, emarginate or concave before and arcuated late·' rally, either trapezoidal and widest posteriorly, or strongly dilated laterally and nanowed towards the posterior angles. The labrum is emarginated. Most of these Insects are cinereous, and live on the ground in sandy localities. · Sometimes the thorax is widened before, or near the middle of its sides, and narrowed posteriorly. The base of the jaws is exposed. In HETERosoEus, Lat. We observe two stout teeth on the outer side of the four first tibire, -one in the middle, and the other terminal. .The posterior extremity (1) The nlaps gages, sulcata of Fabricius. See the Catal. de Ia Coli., &c., of Count Dejean. (2) Blaps fibiali.~, Fab. COLEOPTEltA. 455 ofthe prresternum is prolonged, laminiform, flattened, and received into an emargination of the mesosternum. The body is oval, ancl rounded at bot~ ends; the , lateral edges of the thorax are strongly arcuated, and s1mply narrowed near the posterior angles. The an~ ennre are slightly and gradually enl ~rged towards the extremity(l). ).\'honLA, Herbst. I , • 1 J The antennre terminated by a little globuliform club 'c~mposecl of . the three last joints; they can be received into cavities underneath the sides of the thorax, which are extremely thick and rounded(2). In SooTINus, Kirb. The antennre ~re also terminated by a little club, but in which the • two las.t joints are almost confounded; they arc not susceptible of being received into ' particular cavities. The thorax is dilated· oe-fore( S). . · · . , I Sometimes the thorax is almost trapezoidal, gradually ar'cu.ated throughout the whole extent of its lateral edges, and is not abruptly narrowed posteriorly. The mentum covers the base of 'the inaxillre; The two last joints of the antennre are united in a small club·. Such are the As~nA, Lat.( 4) Next come Blapsides, \Vith an oval and.'slightly elongated body, in which the lateral curve of the elytra is nat•row, a~d extends but little underneath; in which the thorax is always rtransversai, almost square or trapezoidal, and the lateral edges arcuated; imd which are still more remarkable for 'the sexual difference' in ' their tarsi, the two or four anterior ones being most dilated in ' the males( 5 ). '1 • • • • : , • , ~ • • J • ; These Insects frequent sandy localities. Thertwo anterior tibia: are'usually wider, dilated triangularly at the extremity, and fitiea for digging. ' . r (1) Pimelia dentipes, Fab.; Platynotus reticulatus, ejusd. ;-Pimelia obscura, Oliv.; Insects from the Cape of Good Hope. ' (2) Platynotus serratus, Fab. · (3) Scatinus crenicollis, Kirb., Lin. Trans. XII, xxi, 14, a subgenus peculiar to South America. · . . (4) Lat., Gener. Crust. et Insect., II, p. 155. See the Catalogue, &c., otDejean, P· 65 . . The Platynotus undatus of Fabricius differs but little from the .11. griaea. That author is, I think, mistaken as to its habitat.'-Plat. lawigatw, Id. (S) The inferior surface of these tarsi is usually silky or furnished with a brush. |