Volume 8, Plate VII / Entomology (Insects)

Elater

1. Elater nocti­lucus. Upwards of an inch long and a third broad, uniform obscure blackish brown covered with short light-brown pubescence, the convex thorax produced into conical spines behind and bearing a smooth round yellow spot on each side. The elytra are indistinctly punctured; it ranges over intertropical South America and the West Indies, emitting light so strong from its thoracic tubercles and a thoracic spot in flight that natives use it for illumination.
2. Elater porcatus. Shining black beneath a coating of white or green scales, the head and central thorax more or less green though usually abraded to shining black, the thorax sides whitish. The elytra bear deep paired furrows more or less filled with white scales, giving a lined appearance, the under side and legs green where unexposed; found abundantly in Brazil, Cayenne, and tropical America, almost always on tree trunks, falling to the ground when seized.
3. Elater lineatus. Large and conspicuous, prevailingly black with a fine silky pubescence, the elongate body obtuse at both ends and the antennae black, the head, thorax margins, and a central line clothed with reddish silky pile. The striated black elytra each bear a longitudinal elevated red line turned back at the base, the under side and legs black; it inhabits the same tropical American countries as the preceding and is often found with it.
4. Elater suturalis. Variable in size and markings, with black head and antennae, the head angularly projecting on each side, and a rather long narrow yellow thorax drawn into an acute angle and marked with a broad black central streak. The reddish-yellow elytra bear a broad black band on each side and another along the suture meeting at the apex, the legs and under abdomen reddish yellow; likewise a fairly common native of South America.
5. Elater distinc­tus. A handsome reddish-chestnut species, very glossy and nearly free from pubescence, the head excavated in the middle, the deeply punctured thorax bearing a black central streak. The convex elytra taper behind into a spine-like point and are marked with straight punctured lines and dark-brown bands along the middle and beside the suture, the under side and legs chestnut red; found in South America resting on tree stems.