FAM. 5. CARABIDAE (_Ground-beetles_).—_Clypeus not extending laterally in front of the antennae. Maxillae with the outer lobe destitute of an articulated hook at the tip. Antennae covered (except the basal joints) with a minute pubescence. Hind legs not very different from the middle pair, formed for running, as usual in beetles._ This is one of the largest and most important of the families of Coleoptera, including as it does 12,000 or 13,000 described species. In this country Carabidae are nearly entirely terrestrial in habits, and are scarcely ever seen on the wing; many of the species indeed have merely rudimentary wings; in the tropics there are, however, many arboreal forms that take wing with more or less alertness. The larvae (Fig. 92, A) are usually elongate in form and run freely; they may be known by their tarsi ending in two claws, by the exserted, sharp, calliper-like mandibles, by the body ending in two processes (sometimes jointed) and a tube of varying length projecting backwards. The pupae usually have the hind pair of legs so arranged that the tips of the tarsi project behind, beyond the extremity of the {205}body. The Carabidae are carnivorous and predaceous both as larvae and perfect Insects; they attack living Insects, worms, or other small, soft creatures, but do not disdain dead specimens. Some species of _Carabus_, found in North Africa where snails abound, are specially formed for attacking these molluscs, having the head long and slender so that it can be thrust into the shell of the snail. A few species have been detected eating growing corn, and even the young seeds of some Umbelliferae; these belong chiefly to the genera _Harpalus_, _Zabrus_, and _Amara_. Some species of the abundant genera _Pterostichus_ and _Harpalus_, are said to be fond of ripe strawberries. The most anomalous forms of Carabidae are the Pseudomorphides, a sub-family almost peculiar to Australia, the members of which live under bark, and have but little resemblance to other Carabids owing to their compact forms and continuous outlines. The genus _Mormolyce_ is one of the wonders of the Insect world on account of the extraordinary shape of its members; the sides of the elytra form large crinkled expansions, and the head is unusually elongate. These Insects live on the underside of fallen trees in the Malay Archipelago and Peninsula; no reason whatever can be at present assigned for their remarkable shape.