We see frequently on roads the Staphylinus olens (Figs. 463 and 464), which, when it finds itself attacked, raises its abdomen, and thrusts out two little whitish bladders, which pour out a volatile liquid. Its larva lives under stones, and its habits are the same as those of the adult insect. It is very carnivorous, and very active, and often attacks those of its own kind. The Staphylinus hirtus ([Fig. 466]) resembles at a distance a humble-bee, on account of its long yellow hairs. The Staphylinus maxillosus ([Fig. 465]) has black and white hairs. The genera Pselaphus and Claviger, akin to the above, contain little insects which live as parasites in the nests of ants. The Pselaphus Heisii ([Fig. 467]), less than a line long, lives on the débris of reeds, on the borders of marshes.
Fig. 464.—Staphylinus (Ocypus) olens.
The Claviger foveolatus ([Fig. 468]) is met with in the nest of a little yellow ant, which takes as much care of it as of its own progeny, because the Claviger secretes a liquid very much appreciated by ants, who are continually occupied in licking its back.
| Fig. 465.—Staphylinus maxillosus. | Fig. 466.—Staphylinus hirtus. |
| Fig. 467.—Pselaphus Heisii (magnified). | Fig. 468.—Claviger foveolatus (magnified). |
The Dermestidæ attack by preference the tendons and the skins of carcases. A few of the insects of this family are the plague of our collections and the furriers. They devour a quantity of dry substances—skins, feathers, catgut, hair, objects made of tortoise-shell, the dried bodies of insects, &c. Some other Dermestidæ feed on animal matter still fresh: such is the Bacon Beetle, Dermestes lardarius ([Fig. 469]), which is to be met with in some dirty pork-shops. It is black, with the base of its elytra tawny and marked with three black spots. The larvæ are covered with a russety hair; they eat bacon, skins, and also attack each other. The perfect insect does no damage. Like all the Dermestidæ, it counterfeits death when handled. The Dermestes vulpinus, of a tawny grey, injures furs; and the Hudson's Bay Company, whose storehouses in London were infested by this insect, offered a reward of £20,000 for a means of destroying this insect. The furriers have also cause to dread the Attagenus pellio ([Fig. 470]), whose larva, covered with yellowish hairs, has at its extremity a sort of broom, which assists it in moving.