FAM. 27. PHALACRIDAE.—_Body very compact; elytra entirely covering it; apical joints of antennae rather broader, usually long; front coxae globular; posterior coxae contiguous; abdomen with five visible ventral segments; tarsi five-jointed, fourth joint usually small and obscure._ This family consists entirely of small Insects: the tarsal structure is very aberrant, and is also diverse, so that the student may without careful observation pass the Insects over as having only four-jointed tarsi; their structure, so far as the front two pairs are concerned, being very nearly that of many Phytophaga. The larvae live in the heads of flowers, especially of the flowers of Compositae. Having bored their way down the stems, they pupate in earthen cocoons. Heeger[115] says that he has observed in favourable seasons six generations; but the larvae die readily in unfavourable seasons, and are destroyed in vast numbers when the meadows are mowed. Seven years ago very little was known as to the family, and the list of their species scarcely amounted to 100, but now probably 300 are described. They occur in all parts of the world; we have fourteen in Britain. [Illustration: Fig. 111—_Olibrus bicolor._ Europe. A, Larva (after Heeger); B, perfect Insect.] FAM. 28. NITIDULIDAE.—_Antennae with a three-jointed club; all the coxae separated, and each with an external prolongation; tarsi five-jointed, the fourth joint smaller than any of the others; abdomen with five visible plates._ These Insects are numerous, about 1600 species being at present known; in many of them the elytra nearly or quite cover the hind body, but in many others they are more or less abbreviated; in this case the Insects may be distinguished from Staphylinidae by the form of their antennae, and the smaller number of visible ventral segments. The habits are very varied, a great many are found on flowers, others are attracted by the sap of trees; some live in carcases. We have about 90 species in Britain; several forms of {232}the genera _Meligethes_ and _Epuraea_ are among the most abundant of our beetles. Most of what is known as to the larvae is due to Perris; several have been found living in flowers; that of _Pria_ haunts the flower of _Solanum dulcamara_ at the junction of the stamens with the corolla; the larva of _Meligethes aeneus_ sometimes occasions much loss by preventing the formation of seed in cultivated Cruciferae, such as Rape. These floricolous larvae grow with great rapidity, and then leave the flowers to pupate in the ground. The larva of _Nitidula_ lives in carcases, though it is not very different from that of _Pria_. The larva of _Soronia_ lives in fermenting sap, and has four hooks curving upwards at the extremity of the body. The curious genus _Cybocephalus_ consists of some very small, extremely convex Insects that live in flowers in Southern Europe; they have only four joints to the tarsi. The perfect Insects of the