pically campodeiform. Beetles and larvae are frequently
carnivorous in habit, hunting for small insects under stones, or
pursuing the soft-skinned grubs of beetles and flies that bore in
woody stems or succulent roots. Many _Staphylinidae_ are constant
inmates of ants' nests.

MALACODERMATA.--In this tribe may be included a number of families
distinguished by the softness of the cuticle, the presence of seven or
eight abdominal sterna and of four malpighian tubes, and the firm,
well-armoured larva (fig. 15, c) which is often predaceous in habit.
The mesothoracic epimera bound the coxal cavities of the intermediate
legs. The _Lymexylonidae_, a small family of this group, characterized
by its slender, undifferentiated feelers and feet, is believed by
Lameere to comprise the most primitive of all living beetles, and
Sharp lays stress on the undeveloped structure of the tribe generally.

[Illustration: FIG. 15.--Glow-worm. _Lampyris noctiluca_. a, Male; b,
female; c, larva (ventral view). Europe.]

The _Lampyridae_ are a large family, of which the glow-worm
(_Lampyris_) and the "soldier beetles" (_Telephorus_) are familiar
examples. The female "glow-worm" (fig. 15, b), emitting the well-known
light (see above), is wingless and like a larva; the luminosity seems
to be an attraction to the male, whose eyes are often exceptionally
well developed. Some male members of the family have remarkably
complex feelers. In many genera of _Lampyridae_ the female can fly as
well as the male; among these are the South European "fireflies."

TRICHODERMATA.--Several families of rather soft-skinned beetles, such
as the _Melyridae_, _Cleridae_ (fig. 16), _Corynetidae_, _Dermestidae_
(fig. 17), and _Dascillidae_, are included in this tribe. They may be
distinguished from the Malacodermata by the presence of only five or
six abdominal sterna, while six malpighian tubes are present in some
of the families. The beetles are hairy and their larvae well-armoured
and often predaceous. Several species of _Dermestidae_ are commonly
found in houses, feeding on cheeses, dried meat, skins and other such
substances. The "bacon beetle" (_Dermestes lardarius_), and its hard
hairy larva, are well known. According to Sharp, all Dermestid larvae
probably feed on dried animal matters; he mentions one species that
can find sufficient food in the horsehair of furniture, and another
that eats