Beetles

Cicin­dela auru­lenta

Fig. 1

Fabricius, Syst. Eluth. p. 239, No. 38.—Dejean, Spec. Génér. vol. i. p. 46.

The ordinary length of this insect is about seven lines and a half. The upper lip, which projects very little, is yellow, somewhat dusky at the base and sides. The mandibles are deep black, and marked with a yellowish spot at the base. The palpi and four lowest joints of the antennæ are greenish bronze, occasionally changing into blue; the remaining joints of the latter are dull black. The head is striated between the eyes, that is, marked with slightly impressed longitudinal lines, and of a fine green colour variegated with blue. The thorax is narrow, greenish blue, with two large patches of golden green. The elytra are duller than the other parts of the body, the colour bluish green, glossed with golden yellow at the base and margins, and each marked with four spots of yellowish white, of which that next the shoulder is very minute, and the third somewhat crescent-shaped. The under side of the body and legs are variegated with blue and green, and of a very brilliant lustre. This species inhabit? Java, and other Asiatic islands. It likewise occurs in China; and the individual figured was found so far to the west as the British possessions in India.

The tribe which next Assents itself to our notice is of very great extent, including a vast assemblage of species which differ considerably from each other in appearance and habit. They are named Carabici by modern authors,—a term which corresponds to the old and comprehensive genus Carabus of Linné. They are readily distinguished from the preceding tribe by the structure of the lower jaws, which terminate simply in a hook without any articulation. The form of the typical or characteristic kinds is handsome; and although the prevailing hue is obscure, not a few of them are ornamented with colours of great brilliancy. The head is usually somewhat triangular, and borne horizontally or slightly inclined; the thorax more or less heart-shaped and truncated, with a longitudinal impressed line in the middle; and the abdomen is long and oval, having a considerable degree of convexity both above and below. The legs are generally long and powerful, and most of the species run with great rapidity; but few of them fly well, and no inconsiderable number are entirely destitute of wings. The organs of the mouth are very fully developed, demonstrating a decidedly carnivorous disposition; but the mandibles are never furnished with such prominent teeth as those of the Tiger-beetles.

Many of these insects are characterized by having the hinder extremity of the elytra truncated or cut across; and they seldom completely cover the abdomen, but leave a small portion of its apex exposed. Such as exhibit a formation of this kind constitute the section Truncatipennes. Some of the species have attracted much attention in consequence of a very singular means they employ to repel the attacks of their assailants. The majority of carabideous insects secrete an acrid and caustic fluid, which, when irritated, they discharge with considerable force. But in the kinds alluded to (belonging chiefly to the genus Brachinus), the fluid is so volatile, that when it is propelled by the insect it immediately evaporates with a detonating sound, so that the discharge seems to consist of blue smoke, which is of a peculiarly disagreeable and penetrating odour. These bombardiers, as they are named by the French, can fire a considerable number of volleys before their ammunition is exhausted. The largest kinds inhabit tropical and other warm countries; but a few extend pretty far to the north, there being several indigenous to France and the south of England.

To the section with truncated elytra belongs also the genus Anthia (a name originally applied by Aristotle to a kind of fish), which, however, does not well exemplify the distinctive feature of this subdivision, as the elytra are sinuated rather than truncated at the extremity. It is known by having the terminal joint of the external palpi somewhat cylindrical and truncated, or in the shape of a reversed cone; by the want of a tooth in the notch of the mentum; and by the elongate-ovate form of the elytra. The species are confined to certain districts of Asia, and the African continent. Even the southern shores of Europe, of which the vegetable and animal productions become strongly assimilated to those of Africa, have not hitherto afforded any examples. They delight in an arid and sandy soil, in which they form shallow excavations, and lie in wait for their prey. In manners, and even in the figure of their bodies, they bear a greater resemblance to the beetle named Broscus cephalotes, found abundantly on the sandy shores of the sea in many places both in England and Scotland, than to any other British insect. They partake of the form which prevails among beetles accustomed to burrow in the soil, and which is best exemplified in the Scarites and Clivinæ, or mole-beetles, as they are sometimes called, which live chiefly beneath the ground. The head is very thick and strong, fitted to make its way through a resisting medium, and the thorax is attached to the abdomen by a narrow neck-like portion, which admits of the anterior part of the body being easily turned in a lateral direction, and therefore answers the same purposes as the flexibility of the vertebral column in moles and other burrowing quadrupeds. The hinder part of the body is considerably wider than the anterior, a circumstance never observed in burrowing beetles properly so called, as it would materially impede the insect’s progress through its cylindrical excavations. The species figured is

Anthia decem­guttata

Fig. 2

Fabricius, Syst. Eleuth. p. 221.—Carabus decemguttatus, Oliv. iii. 35, pl. 23, No. 16.

The general colour of this species is dull black. The eyes are brown, and the antennæ incline to the same colour, but the four lowest joints are more or less thickly covered with whitish down on the under side. On each side of the thorax anteriorly there is a small white spot. The elytra are marked with a few deep grooves, which are pretty densely clothed with whitish down; this, however, is frequently rubbed off, and in the bottom of each groove there appear two rows of small impressed points, and a longitudinal ridge between them. Each elytron has five spots of white down, but some of these are often obliterated (as in the example figured). The under side of the body and legs are of a more shining black than the other parts, and the thighs are sometimes brown.

This insect varies greatly in size, colour, and even in the relative proportion of its parts, and it has in consequence been described under several different names. It is found in the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good Hope, where it appears to be very common.

The genus Carabus properly so called is distinguished by having the upper lip simply notched or bilobed, by the tooth in the middle of the mentum being entire at its apex, and by the joints of the anterior tarsi being dilated in the males. The antennæ are nearly filiform, or become gradually somewhat more slender towards the outer extremity. The external palpi terminate in a joint considerably wider than the others, and forming a kind of triangle. The thorax is heart-shaped and truncated, the mandibles have a single tooth at their base, and the wings are not adapted for flight. In a few very large and remarkable European species the anterior tarsi have been found to present no appreciable difference in the two sexes, and these have accordingly been formed into a distinct genus under the name of Procerus. The latter are among the largest carabideous insects with which we are acquainted. They are of a uniform black colour on the under parts of the body, but tinged with green or blue above. They seem chiefly to inhabit the mountainous districts of the eastern and southern parts of Europe, the Caucasus, and Asia Minor. The species represented is

Procerus Tauricus

Fig. 3

Carabus Tauricus, Pallas.—Carabus scabrosus, Fisher Entomographie de la Russie.

This fine insect is little short of two inches in length. The colour of the upper surface is a fine blue, inclining sometimes to green. The thorax is nearly twice the width of the head, truncated before and behind, and somewhat heart-shaped; the surface rough and granular. The elytra are oval and convex, covered with large tubercular points, which are arranged nearly in straight lines. The under side of the thorax and the sides of the abdomen are tinged with greenish blue; the other parts, as well as the legs, are black.

The insects to which the generic appellation of Carabus is now restricted is of very considerable extent, including about 170 well-ascertained species. They are generally of considerable size, and most frequently of a dark colour, glossed with blue or purple. Many of them, however, are of the brightest metallic hues, and deserving of being ranked among the most ornamental of European beetles. Such are C. rutilans, an inhabitant of the Pyrenees, and our own C. nitens, found in heathy districts, where the soil is formed of peat, in many parts of Scotland and the north of England, which scarcely yields to any exotic insect in the brilliancy of its lustre. The principal seat of the Carabi is within the temperate zones; they become rare in very warm countries, and seem to disappear altogether within the tropics. They are most abundant in the old world, but a few have likewise been observed in the northern and southern extremities of America. Britain possesses about sixteen species, and half that number has been ascertained to inhabit Scotland.

Carabus Hispanus

Fig. 4

Fabricius, Syst. Eluth. p. 171.—Olivier, iii. 35, p. 22, No. 14, pl. 1, fig. 9.

This species varies in length from ten to fifteen lines. The surface of the head is of a fine blue inclining to violet, with the anterior part black; it is rather deeply punctured, and marked with irregular wrinkles. The antennæ are black, and the eyes brown. The thorax is nearly heart-shaped, a good deal contracted behind, similar in colour to the head, and likewise rough with punctures and wrinkles: there is also an impressed line down the centre. The scutellum is black. The elytra are of an elongate-oval form, covered with impressed points which have a tendency to run into lines, three of which are pretty distinctly formed: they are of a bright copper-colour, glossed on the exterior edges with violet, and having a very high degree of lustre. The under parts of the body and the legs are glossy black.

This splendid insect occurs in mountainous districts in the south of France, usually frequenting the banks of small rivulets which flow down the sides of hills.

Carabus auratus

Fig. 1

Fabricus, Syst. Eleuth. p. 175.—Olivier, iii. 35, p. 32, No. 30, pl. 51, fig. 5, a, b, c.—Dejean, Spec. Génér. p. 111.

The colour of the upper side is green, glossed with golden yellow. The head is faintly punctured, and there are two longitudinal impressions between the antennæ. The organs of the mouth, and the four lowest joints of the antennæ, are reddish. The thorax is marked like the head, and has a longitudinal line down the middle, and a transverse impression on each side near the posterior angles. The elytra are oval and convex, each of them with three elevated ridges, the spaces between which are covered with small raised points, making them appear somewhat granulated. The under parts of the body are black, the anterior part slightly tinged with green. The legs are rust-red, and the tarsi brown. The ordinary length is about an inch.

This is a very common insect throughout France, where it is known by the name of le Jardinier; but it becomes rare as we advance northward, occurring very seldom in Germany and Sweden, A few instances are recorded of its having been taken in Britain, but it must be ranked among the rarest of our indigenous beetles.

Carabus clath­ratus

Fig. 2

Fabricius.—Olivier.—Gyllenhal, Insec. Suecica, p. 67.—Dejean, Spec. Génér. p. 108.

This species is about an inch in length. It is of an oblong-ovate form, and wider in proportion to its length than most other species of the genus. The colour is dark brassy, varying considerably in shade in different individuals. The head and thorax are very faintly punctured, and the latter has the hinder angles very little produced. Each elytron has three elevated lines, and a triple series of rather deep excavations, which are of a golden-yellow or copper colour, united by an oblong tubercle rather indistinctly formed. The outer edge of the elytra is slightly sinuated at the apex in both sexes. The under side of the body and the legs are black. This was esteemed till lately one of the rarest kinds of the British Carabi. Although very scarce in England, it is now however ascertained to be pretty copiously distributed over the Western and Northern Highlands of Scotland. Throughout the southern division of the country, the most common species of the genus are C. catenulatus, C. hortenais, and C. violaceus; but as we advance northwards the two latter gradually become scarce, and their place is supplied by C. glabratus and C. clathratus. Of these two, the former is the most abundant in the northern counties of Scotland, and the elevation at which it is found on the mountains shows it not to be abhorrent even of a more northern climate. The latter occurs in considerable numbers in the northwest district of Sutherlandshire, and, next to C. glabratus, is the most common species, C. catenulatus becoming scarce, and the specimens small and dwarfish, which may be assumed as an indication of its having nearly reached the natural limit of its extension in a northern direction.¹¹

The genus Tefflus, which was first constituted by Dr Leach, differs from the two preceding genera in having the labrum or upper lip entire or without any notch. It includes only a single species, which has been named after a celebrated naturalist of Vienna.

Tefflus Megerlei

Fig. 3

Carabus Megerlei, Fabricius, Syst. Eleuth. p. 169.—Dejean, Spec. Génér. ii. p. 21.

This insect is seldom much short of two inches in length. It is entirely of a uniform glossy black colour, except the eyes, which are yellowish. The outline of the thorax approaches to a hexagonal form; the surface is thickly covered with deep punctures, which run together and render it very rough; the margins are slightly elevated, and there is a faint line down the centre. The elytra are elongate-oval and very convex, each of them having seven longitudinal ridges, which unite at the extremity: in the bottom of the furrows between these ridges there is a row of small tubercles. It inhabits Senegal and the coast of Guinea.

The genus Calosoma is chiefly distinguished from the true Carabi, to which it is very closely allied, by possessing wings; by the third joint of the antennæ, which is considerably longer than the others, and somewhat sharp on its outer edge; by the mandibles being destitute of teeth; and by the form of the thorax, which is somewhat transverse, that is, wider than long, and equally rounded on the sides. The form of the elytra likewise differs, as they approach more to a square shape than is usual among the carabideous tribes. Both as larvæ and in their perfect form, these insects prey upon other species of their own class. The grubs, which resemble a small black worm, take up their abode in the nests generally of the processionary moth (Lasiocampa Processionea), and devour the caterpillars in great numbers. When in a state of repletion and inactivity from excessive gluttony, they are sometimes attacked and devoured by the smaller individuals of their own fraternity. Although this genus is not extensive, the species are very widely distributed. In Europe they range from Sweden to the shores of the Mediterranean; several occur in Senegal and at the Cape of Good Hope; and a considerable number inhabit America and the eastern regions of Asia. The only kinds known as British are C. inquisitor and that which we have figured: the latter is

Calo­soma syco­phanta

Fig. 1

Fabricius, Syst. Eleuth. p. 212.—Carabus sycophanta, Olivier, iii. 35, p. 42, No. 43, t. 3, fig. 31.

It does not exceed ten or eleven lines in length, the figure on the plate being somewhat enlarged. The colour of all parts of the body except the elytra is violet-black, sometimes slightly glossed with green. The head and thorax are covered with minute punctures and irregular transverse wrinkles; the former having two deep longitudinal impressions between the antennæ, and the latter a faint line down the centre. The scutellum is black, and nearly smooth. The elytra are of a rich green, glossed with golden yellow; in shape somewhat like a shield, and marked with closely placed striæ, which have small punctures in the bottom, and a row of rather large and remote punctures on the fourth, eighth, and twelfth interstices.

This insect is of frequent occurrence of all the middle and southern countries of Europe, but it becomes scarce in the north. Few instances are recorded of its having been observed in Britain, and an indigenous specimen is consequently regarded as a valuable acquisition by collectors. Mr Kirby mentions that one was taken at Aldborough in Suffolk, by Dr Crabbe, the celebrated poet; another by a young lady at Southwold, which is now in the cabinet of W. J. Hooker, Esq.; and a third by a boy at Norwich, crawling up a wall, which was purchased of him by S. Wilkin, Esq.

Elphrus riparius

Fig. 2

Cicindela riparia, Linn.—Donovan’s British Insects, vol. ix, p. 301.

The above figure represents this beautiful insect as it appears under a very high magnifier. The colour of the body is brassy green, with coppery reflections. The head and thorax are very thickly punctured, and the latter has a short deep groove in the middle. The elytra are very thickly covered with minute punctures, and each is ornamented with four rows of rounded spots, rather faintly marked, which are purple in the centre, and surrounded with a ring of a metallic lustre. The spaces between these ocellated spots are very little elevated, except one near the middle of the interior row. which is large, somewhat square, and very highly polished. The under side of the body and legs a; e bronzed green, except the base of the thighs and greater part of the tibiæ, which are pale reddish yellow. This insect is of frequent occurrence in most parts of Britain. The genus derives its name from a Greek word, referring either to the nature of the place which the species frequent, or to the activity of their motions.¹² It is distinguished by the antennæ gradually becoming a little thicker towards the extremity; by the thorax being at least as long as broad, and nearly of the same width as the head; by the large and very prominent eyes; and by having the four first joints of the anterior tarsi slightly dilated in the males. It contains only a few species, some of which bear such a strong resemblance to each other, as to countenance the conjecture that they may be mere varieties. They frequent marshy places, and the margins of lakes and ponds, running about with remarkable celerity during the heat of the day. They are most prevalent in the northern parts of Europe, the more common kinds becoming scarce in the south, and two or three not extending further than the northern extremity of Germany. There is one species found in America.

Mor­molyce phyl­lodes

Fig. 3

Hagenbach, Novum Coleop. Genus.—Dejean, Spec. Gén. t. v. part ii. p. 714.—Latreille, Regne Anim. t. iv. p. 400.

This insect is so peculiar in its form and structure, that it is difficult to determine what place it ought to occupy in a systematic arrangement. It possesses little in common with the genera associated with it by the continental naturalists, except the elongation of the third joint of the antennæ. In its flat and dilated elytra, it bears considerable resemblance to certain neuropterous species of the genus mantis, which are remarkable for their likeness to the withered leaves of trees. It is this circumstance that has suggested the above specific name, which is expressive of resemblance to a leaf. The head and thorax are narrow and elongated, and the latter has a dilated portion on each side which is scolloped on the outer edge. The abdomen is likewise rather narrow, and the portion of the elytra which covers it, is somewhat convex, reticulated, and marked with a double series of rather large impressions; the portion of the elytra projecting beyond the abdomen is very broad and flat, and is somewhat waved on me surface. The tibiæ are crooked, and the anterior pair have a deep notch near the apex. The general colour of the insect is blackish brown, and it is somewhat shining. It is liable to great variation in size, some of the specimens which we have seen, among an extensive series in the possession of James Wilson, Esq. measuring three and a fourth inches in length, and an inch and a half across the elytra, while others do not exceed two inches in length and one in breadth. It is a native of Java, and seems to occur in considerable plenty in some parts of the country.

Dytiscus dimi­diatus

Fig. 1

Bergstraesser Nomenclatur, pl. 7, fig. 1.—Curtis’ Brit. Ent. iii. pl. 99.

The colour is brownish black tinged with green. The antennæ and upper lip are yellow, and there is a triangular or crescent-shaped spot of rust red on the forehead between the eyes. The thorax is widely margined on each side with yellow, and a broad stripe of the same colour runs along the whole of the external margin of the elytra: the surface of the latter is very smooth in the males, and each is marked with three rows of punctures. The under side of the body, and the legs, are yellowish, with the sutures of the breast black. The lobes of the sternum, which afford very distinctive characters in this group, are obtuse in the present species.

It has occurred at Cambridge, and in some other parts of England.

There is another group of aquatic beetles, the species of which, although much inferior in size to those just described, are still more fitted to attract attention by their numbers, brilliant appearance, and interesting manners. These insects constitute the genus

Gyrinus natator

Fig. 2

Linn.—Fabricius.—De Geer, Insect. iv. xiii. 4 (fig. not visible), 19 355.

This species, of which we have given a greatly enlarged representation to show the form of the legs, is nearly three lines long, of an ovate form, blue black, with a metallic lustre, and highly resplendent. The thorax is marked with three transverse lines on each side, of which the anterior one is punctured and runs parallel with the margin, the second is continued across the disk, and the posterior one abbreviated arid bent forward. The scutellum is triangular, narrow, and elongate. The elytra are rather convex, the margin turned in at the sides and of a yellowish colour beneath, and the surface of each marked with eleven striae or longitudinal lines composed of minute punctures. The breast is pitch red, and the terminal segment of the abdomen, together with the legs, is of a ferruginous hue.

The following lively account of the manners of this species is given by a popular writer.

Water, quiet, still water, affords a place of action to a very amusing little fellow, which, about the middle of April, if the weather be tolerably mild, we see gamboling upon the surface of the sheltered pool; and every schoolboy, who has angled for minnows in the brook, is well acquainted with this merry swimmer in his shining black jacket. Retiring in the autumn, and reposing all the winter in the mud at the bottom of the pond, it awakens in the spring, rises to the surface, and commences its summer sports. They associate in small parties of ten or a dozen, near the bank, where some little projection forms a bay, or renders the water particularly tranquil; and here they will circle round each other without contention, each in his sphere, and with no apparent object, from morning until night, with great sprightliness and animation; and so lightly do they move on the fluid, as to form only some faint and transient circles on its surface. Very fond of society, we seldom see them alone, or, if parted by accident, they soon rejoin their busy companions. One pool commonly affords space for the amusement of several parties; yet they do not unite or contend, but perform their cheerful circlings in separate family associations. If we interfere with their merriment they seem greatly alarmed, disperse, or dive to the bottom, when their fears shortly subside, as we soon again see our little merry friends gamboling as before. This plain, tiny, gliding water-flea seems a very unlikely creature to arrest our young attentions; but the boy with his angle has not often much to engage his notice, and the social active parties of this nimble swimmer, presenting themselves at these periods of vacancy, become insensibly familiar to his sight, and by many of us are not observed in after life without recalling former hours, scenes of, perhaps, less anxious days; for trifles like these, by reason of some association, are often remembered, when things of greater moment pass off and leave no trace upon the mind.¹⁴

Cyclous vittatus

Fig. 3

This insect exemplifies an exotic group, very closely related to the Gyrini, but offering so many minute modifications of structure as to warrant their separation into a distinct genus. The most obvious difference is the want of an apparent scutellum in Cyclous, the great size of the body, and the length of the anterior legs. The species figured is about nine lines long and five broad. The colour is bluish black, slightly glossed with purple, and having faint coppery reflections; the whole surface highly polished and resplendent. During life the purple and blue form pretty distinct bands on the elytra, especially towards the sides. The under side of the body is pitch brown, the natatory legs paler: the fore-legs are very long, and of a brownish-black colour. It was received from Java.

Three principal or typical forms prevail among beetles of strictly aquatic habits, to one or other of which nearly all of them may be regarded as referrible. Two of these have just been described as characterising the families Dytiscidæ and Gyrinidæ, and we shall now proceed to point out the distinguishing marks of the third. Many of the species of which it is composed formed a part of the great Linnæan genus Dytiscus, but they differ so essentially from the insects to which that term is now applied, that Latreille, in his systematic arrangement, has removed them to a great distance from their former associates. Most other naturalists, however, have to a certain extent preserved the connection, owing to the affinity that arises from their inhabiting the same element, and presenting some points of resemblance in structure. The most striking character is the great length of the maxillary palpi, which are often considerably longer than the antennæ—a circumstance which has led the group to be distinguished by the name of Palpicornes. The antennæ usually consist of nine joints, which become larger towards the upper extremity, and are connected by a filament, which has the appearance of passing through them. The genus most deserving of notice, is that first established by Dr Leach under the name of Hydroüs. It is known by having the labrum entire, the posterior claws bifid, the elytra narrowing gradually behind, and the great size of file teeth on the internal edge of the mandibles.

Hydrous piceus

Fig. 4

Dytiscus piceus, Linn.—Hydrophilus piceus, Fab.—Hyd. piceus, Curtis’ Brit. Ent. v. pl. 239 (from which the accompanying figure is taken).

The ground colour is black, inclining to olive, and the margins of the elytra are faintly tinged with green and purple. The antennæ and organs of the mouth are reddish. Each wing-case is marked with eight dotted lines, and the alternate interstices with an irregular series of dots. The breast is clothed with yellowish hair, and there are several yellow spots on each side of the abdomen. The legs are of a pitchy colour, with the extremity of the tarsi, and the hairs with which they are fringed, reddish brown.

This is the largest aquatic beetle inhabiting Britain, and, indeed, with the exception of the Stag-beetle, it may be considered the most bulky of our indigenous Coleoptera. It is common in the southern parts of England, but becomes rare in the north, and has not been observed in any part of Scotland. In its perfect state it is by no means so rapacious as the Dytisci, sometimes even feeding on vegetable substances; but the larva is of such destructive and blood-thirsty propensities that it is known in France by the name of ver-assassin. In that early condition it resembles a large soft worm, of a somewhat conical form, provided with six feet, and having its large scaly head armed with two formidable jaws. The head moves with such freedom in all directions, that it can readily seize small shell-fish and other molluscæ floating on the surface, without altering the horizontal position of the body maintained in swimming; and it is even bent backwards, and devours its prey more conveniently by using the back as a kind of support. These larvæ swim with facility, and have two fleshy appendages at the tail, by means of which they suspend themselves at the surface with their head downwards when they have occasion to respire.¹⁵ The female beetle spins a silken bag for the reception of her eggs, similar to that which may at any time be seen attached to a dark-coloured spider (Lycosa saccata) of common occurrence under stones, and interesting for the maternal solicitude she shows in protecting her embryo progeny. In this receptacle they are left to swim about till they are hatched.

Staphy­linus eryth­rurus

Fig. 1

It is about an inch and a half in length, of a black colour, rather smooth and glossy, with the two last segments of the abdomen rust red. The mandibles are very large, and armed with strong teeth on their internal edge. The head, which is large and square, having the surface thinly punctured, is united to the thorax by a short neck. The thorax is nearly half an oval, and considerably narrower than the head and elytra. The latter are rather thickly punctured, and have a narrow longitudinal ridge on each side of the sutural line. The abdomen is black, with the two apical segments deep red, and fringed on the sides with hair. The under side of the body, and the legs, are black.

The individual from which the above figure is taken was obtained from North America.

Xantho­linus fulgidus

Fig. 2

Staph. fulgidus, Paykull.—Othius fulgidus, Leach, Stephens.—Olivier, iii. No. 42, pl. 4, fig. 34, a, b, c.

This genus includes such brachelytrous insects as are of a linear shape, with the head and thorax in the form of an elongated square, the antennæ placed near each other at the base, and in general suddenly bent, or geniculated, as it is called, and having the greater number of the joints somewhat granular or cup-shaped. The legs are rather short and strong, and the anterior tarsi very slightly or not at all dilated. The species, of which we have given a magnified figure, is of frequent occurrence in most parts of Britain and the north of France. The head is oblong-ovate, of a glossy black colour, punctured on each side, and having a transverse series of three or four remote punctures between the eyes. The thorax is nearly of the same colour as the head, with a few small punctures in each side, among which three larger ones are observable. The elytra are of a deep red, shining, punctured, and clothed with short hairs. The abdomen is black, the terminal segment, as well as the under side of the body, pitch-red. The legs, antennæ, and the organs of the mouth, are light-red.

Boli­tobius atrica­pillus

Fig. 3

Stauhylinus atricapillus, Fabrlcius, Olivier, in. No. 42, pl. 4, fig. 39, a, b.—Tachinus atricapillus, Gravenhorst, Monog. Microp.

This generic group was first separated by Dr. Leach from the genus Tachinus of Gravenhorst. It includes about twenty small species, which appear to be found only in Europe and North America. They are known by having the body narrowed at both ends, the thorax nearly as long as wide, the anterior part of the head rather produced, and the four posterior tarsi considerably lengthened. They are ornamented with strongly contrasted marks of red, pale yellow, and blue black; and the surface is remarkable for its high polish. All the species feed on mushrooms, boleti, &c., and seem most partial to them when in a putrescent state. B. atricapillus, of which we have given a magnified figure from Olivier’s Entomologie, inhabits Britain, France, and most of the northern and middle countries of Europe. It varies from three to four lines in length, and is of a glossy black on the head, with the mouth and palpi reddish. The thorax is glossy red, without punctures, except on the sides: the elytra bright bluish black, with a pale crescent-shaped mark at the base of each, and three faint punctured lines along the disk; the abdomen shining red, with the two last segments black. The legs and four lowest joints of the antennæ are pale red, the six following joints of the latter black, and the terminal one pale red.

The only other genus of this family now to be illustrated has been named Zirophorus. Its distinctive characters are, the depressed body, the teeth on the outer edge of the anterior tibiæ, the transverse head (i. e. wider than long), square thorax, attached to the abdomen by a kind of narrow peduncle, and the size of the mandibles, which rather exceed the length of the head, and are deeply dentate at the extremity. All the species, not exceeding seven in number, are natives of America and the great islands on the east of Asia. They invariably live under bark in a state of decomposition, a process which they greatly hasten by perforating it with numerous holes, and making it pervious to air and moisture. The most common species is Z. scoriaceus;¹⁷ that which we have represented bears considerable resemblance to it, and is named

Ziro­phorus exaratus

Fig. 4

Zirooph. exaratus, Dejean.

The length is about nine lines. It is of a uniform black colour, very smooth and shining, the tarsi alone and the hairs on the antennæ and legs, being brown. The mandibles are slightly curved upwards at the tip, and furnished with two or three large angular projections or teeth. The head, which is very short and wide, has a deeply impressed line down the middle, meeting at right angles a transverse one behind the head. The thorax and elytra are nearly of equal width, the surface flat, very smooth and shining, and the former having a line down the middle. The abdomen is very narrow, and fringed with brown hairs, the terminal segment conical. The under parts of the body and legs are black and shining; the anterior tibiæ armed with small teeth on the outer edge. The tarsi are brown or pitch-red. Inhabits Brazil, occurring not unfrequently.

Buprestis chrysis

Fig. 1

Buprestis chrysis, Oliv. 32, pl. 2, fig. 8, a, d, e.—Bup. sternicornis, De Geer.—Bup. sternicornis, Var. Linn.—Sternocera chrysis, Esch. Dejean.

The body of this species is very stout and convex anteriorly, and the elytra taper towards the hinder extremity. The antennæ are of a blackish colour, and rather shorter than the thorax. The head and thorax are of a brilliant golden green, and the latter is sculptured with numerous excavated dots, rather of large size, which have ash coloured hairs in the bottom. Each elytron bears three small teeth at the hinder extremity; the surface, although thickly covered with minute punctures, is smooth and glossy, and of a uniform deep chestnut colour, occasionally with a greenish gloss towards the base. The under side is of a brassy green, very highly polished, and the terminal segment is usually margined with chestnut colour; the legs are of the latter hue. The sternum has a strong conical projection directed downwards.

This insect was once regarded as a variety of the following species, from which it differs in several important characters. It is a native of the East Indies, in some parts of which it appears to be rather common.

Buprestis sterni­cornis

Fig. 2

Oliv. 32, pl. 5 6, fig. 52, a.—Sternocera sternicornis, Esch. Dejean.

This fine species is rather of smaller size than the preceding, but very similar to it in form and sculpture. The colour of the whole body is bright green with copper-colour and golden reflections, the antennæ and tarsi alone being blackish. The thorax is very convex, and has its hinder margin produced in the centre in the form of a triangle; the surface is thickly covered with large and deeply impressed punctures. The elytra are pretty thickly marked with minute punctures, and numerous rounded impressions, variable in size, which are filled with ash-coloured scales; one of these placed at the base of each elytron is larger than the rest. At the apex of each elytron there are two small teeth, and another on the external edge at a small distance from them. The sternum is produced into a strong spine, and is bent downwards. Likewise an inhabitant of the East Indies.

Buprestis bicolor

Fig. 3

Buprestis bicolor, Fab.—Catoxantha bicolor, Dejean.

This is the largest and one of the most beautiful species of the splendid tribe to which it belongs. It seems to have been very little known to Entomologists of the old school, since it is not figured, and seldom alluded to, in any of their works. The specific name bicolor has no doubt been applied to it on account of the striking contrast between the colour of the upper and under side. The former is deep brassy green, very smooth and glossy; the latter is light brownish yellow. The head has a deep groove down the middle, and the greater part of it is occupied by the eyes, which are of a deep chestnut colour. The thorax is small and depressed, thinly covered with minute punctures, and having a calosity at each of the hinder angles, marked with a pretty large triangular spot similar in colour to the under side of the body. The elytra are very long, and rather convex, punctured anteriorly, each of them having four slightly elevated lines running along their whole length, and a short oblique one near the suture at the base: the colour is brilliant brassy green, with faint coppery reflections towards the sides, and a large transverse spot of yellowish white on each, placed a little behind the middle. The wings are of a deep smoke brown, finely glossed with blue. The under parts of the body are yelliowish brown, and very glossy; some of the incisures, and a large spot between the middle and hinder legs, are nearly black. The legs are shining green, and have a very fine pubescence, which is likewise observable on the sides of the breast. It is a native of Java, but by no means common.

Buprestis amœna

Fig. 4

Kirby, Linn. Trans. xii. 381.

This species is of the most brilliant blue, inclining to green when seen in certain directions, and having a yellow band across the elytra towards the apex. The thorax has no groove in the centre. The elytra are somewhat furrowed; the outer edge is serrated, two of the serratures forming acute teeth on each side of the suture at the hinder extremity. Both the upper and under side of the abdomen are brilliant blue. It is a native of Brazil and other tropical countries of America.

The second division of the Sternoxes forms the family of the Elateridæ. The latter bear a considerable resemblance to the insects of the former family, but are much less convex in their general form, narrower and more elongate, and have the hinder angles of the thorax prolonged into a strong triangular point like a spine. They are likewise distinguished by possessing the power of leaping to some height into the air when they happen to fall on their back—a provision not required by the Buprestidæ, probably because the more rounded form of their bodies enables them without difficulty to regain their natural position. The legs of the Elateridæ are so short and slender, that without some property of this kind they would be as unable to recover their standing as a reversed tortoise. The spring is produced by bending the head and thorax backwards, and suddenly forcing the projecting point into the hole designed to receive it,—while the action is assisted by the pressure of the elastic elytra and other parts of the body against the plain of position. This operation is attended with a sharp snapping noise, which has caused these insects to be termed click-beetles, in addition to the names of skipjacks and spring-beetles, by which they are likewise known in England.

We are but imperfectly acquainted with the metamorphoses of these insects, and the larvæ of most of them appear to be unknown. The individual described by De Geer (E. undulatus) is long and cylindrical, provided with short antennæ, palpi, and six feet. Its body consists of twelve scaly segments, of which the posterior forms a circular plate, furnished with two blunt points curving inwards: underneath there is a large fleshy protuberance, which seems to serve the office of a foot. The grub so well known in this country by the name of wireworm is the larva of a kind of Elater (E. obscurus). It is of a very slender form (as will be seen by the accompanying figure), but so tough and horny that it can resist a considerable degree of pressure without injury. It is said to continue five years in the larva state, and during that time it lives in the earth, devouring the roots of various kinds of corn and vegetables.

The damage it occasions in this way is so considerable, that sometimes entire fields of corn are destroyed by it. The larva of the fire-fly, we are informed by Humboldt, feeds on the roots of the sugar-cane, and of ten proves very destructive to that plant in the West Indian islands. Several insects of this family are remarkably distinguished by the power of emitting a bright phosphoric light, which renders them exceedingly beautiful and conspicuous objects among the dark foliage of tropical woods, and when the shades of night have fallen upon the forests. This luminous property, which has procured for them the name of fire-flies, they possess in common with several other coleopterous species, named glow-worms, which belong to a different section, and therefore fall to be considered in a subsequent part of the volume. Besides these two groups, there is another, still more remarkable, known under the English generic appellation of Lantern-flies. In these insects the seat of the luminous matter is an elongated projection from the head, in the form of a rostrum or snout, which is dilated in one of the species (Fulgora lanternaria) into a figure not unlike a mitre, and in others is fantastically adorned with knobs and spines; through this organ the light is suffused in a lambent effulgence of considerable brilliancy. These insects however, belong to the order Hemiptera, and their history does not fall within the scope of the present notice.

The species of fire-fly that affords the finest exhibition of this interesting phenomenon, is named

Elater nocti­lucus

Fig. 1

Pyroporus noctiluca, Dejean.

It is upwards of an inch long, and one third of an inch broad. The colour is a uniform obscure blackish brown, and the body is everywhere covered with a short light-brown pubescence. The thorax is pretty convex, and there are two small depressions (at least in one of the sexes) on the surface before the middle; the hinder angles are produced into a strong conical spine, and between the hinder angle and the middle there is placed on each side a smooth convex round spot of a yellow colour. The elytra are indistinctly marked with rows of small punctures, which are most obvious at the base. The under parts of the body, as well as the legs, are brownish black, and covered with pubescence of a somewhat lighter hue.

This insect is pretty widely distributed over the intertropical countries of South America, and the West Indian islands. When it walks or is at rest, the principal light which it emits issues from the two yellow tubercles placed at the lateral margins of the thorax; but when the wings and elytra are expanded in the act of flight, another luminous spot is disclosed in the hinder part of the thorax. This luminosity is so considerable, that it is often employed in the countries where it prevails as a substitute for artificial lights. A single insect is sufficient to enable a person to decipher the smallest written character, and when several are brought together, their light is said to suffice for all the ordinary evening occupations of an Indian’s dwelling. They are employed for many useful purposes; the Indians are said to have formerly used them instead of flambeaux in their hunting and fishing expeditions, and when travelling in the night they were accustomed to fasten them to their feet and hands. Another important service is rendered by these insects in destroying the gnats and mus-quitoes, which abound in tropical countries to the incessant annoyance of the inhabitants. Like most other animals of nocturnal habits, the fire-flies are attracted by strong light, and the Indians avail themselves of this circumstance to obtain them for the purposes above mentioned. The mode in which they are taken, and several curious particulars re specting their appearance anduses, are thus quaintly described by an old author:—

Pietro Martire, in his Decades of the New World says,

Whoso wanteth cucuij, goeth out of the house in the first twilight of the night, carrying a burning fire-brande in his hande, and ascendeth the next hillock, that the cucuij may see it, and hee swingeth the fire brande about, calling cucuius aloud, and beateth the ayre with often calling and crying out cucuie, cucuie. Many simple people suppose that the cucuij, delighted with that noise, come flying and flocking together to the bellowing sound of him that calleth them, for they come with a speedy and headlong course; but I rather thinke that the cucuij make haste to the brightness of the fire-brande, because swarmes of gnattes fly into every light, which the cucuij eat in the very ayre, as the martlets and swallowes doe. Some cucuius sometimes followeth the fire-brande, and lighteth on the grounde; then is he easily taken, as travellers may take a beetle if they have need thereof walking with his wings shut. In sport and merriment, or to the intent to terrify such as are afrayed of every shadow, they say that many wanton wild fellowes sometimes rubbed their faces by night with the fleshe of a cucuius, being killed, with purpose to meet their neighbours with a flaming countenance, as with us wanton young men, putting a gaping vizard over their face, endeavour to terrify children, or women who are easily frighted, &c.

During the splendour of a tropical sunshine—

—the long, sunny lapse of a summer day’s light
Shining on, shining on—

the sombre hues of the fire-flies attract but little attention amidst the infinite variety of living beings of more imposing form and attractive manners that people to overflowing these prolific lands, while every lesser light is lost in the effulgency of “redundant day.” But no sooner do the lofty and umbrageous trees begin to throw their shadows across the landscape, than occasional specks of light are seen to flit amidst the growing obscurity. As the darkness increases, these become more numerous; they mount into the air and shoot athwart the gloom like igneous meteors, and when the underwood is disturbed they rise in such numbers that they spangle the air as with a thousand stars. The brilliancy of this spectacle, so far transcending any similar appearance witnessed in temperate climates, seldom fails to excite the admiration of an European traveller. Its effect on some British visitors has been thus described:

————Sorrowing, we beheld
The night come on; but soon did night display
More wonders than it veiled; innumeroua tribes
From the wood-cover swarmed, and darkness made
Their beauties visible; one while they streamed
A bright blue radiance upon flowers that closed
Their gorgeous colours from the eye of day;
Now motionless and dark, eluded search,
Self-shrouded; and anon, starring the sky,
Rose like a shower of fire.¹⁹

An appearance alike remarkable for its singularity and beauty, is well fitted to afford imagery to the poetry and figurative oratory of the natives of the countries where it prevails; and if a learned Greek could suppose the hum of an obscure beetle to be the voice of the gods speaking to mankind,²⁰ it need less excite our wonder that some savage nations, unacquainted with the causes of natural phenomena, and so prone to consider “holy light” as a divine effulgence, should have regarded even the more obscure manifestations of a supposed celestial principle with superstitious veneration, and imagined these illuminated beings to be the appointed vehicles for conveying the souls of the departed to their final resting place.

The following extract contains an account of the introduction of a few fire-flies into Britain:—

Mr Lees having been struck with the beauty of the fire-fly on his arrival in the West Indies, and becoming desirous to keep them alive, made several attempts during his residence at the Bahamas; but was unable to succeed in his object, until he learned from a lady, that the cage containing the insects should be daily immersed in cold water. This is rendered necessary from their natural habitation being in swampy meadows, where, during the day, they probably lie concealed in the wet herbage. Perhaps the introduction of damp moss into the cage (which ought to be made of wood, and not glued together) might be more natural and salutary to the insects. The Elaters feed upon the sugar-cane, and should the larvæ do so likewise, which is more than probable, from their being xylophagous, they must do incredible mischief to the planters, as they are produced in abundance in the West Indian islands, and are very generally distributed over them. Mr Lees having taken some sugar-cane to sea with him to feed the beetles upon, he observed that they readily broke the wood away with their mandibles to obtain the saccharine matter on which they fed; and after his stock was consumed, he gave them brown sugar, by which means they were kept alive the whole of their voyage, from June to the middle of September.

The insect, when roused and in perfect vigour, seems to be completely saturated with the luminous secretion, since the back, when the elytra and wings are expanded, has a phosphoric appearance; and there is a strong light at the base of the abdomen, where the posterior coxae are attached, which being apparent only in some, I thought might be peculiar to one sex, but its absence was more probably caused by a languid state of the animal. The light is far more beautiful in colour, and greater in power, than the mild secretion of the glow-worm; and the substance, if removed from the beetle immediately after death, will remain luminous like phosphorus, on the objects on which it is placed.

It is to be hoped that others will be induced to bring these insects over alive earlier in the season; for there can be little doubt that they would live through a warm summer in this climate. I do not despair therefore of seeing our fair countrywomen at home, as well as abroad, employing these living gems to add to the splendour of their attire. At the Havannah they are collected and sold for ornamenting the ladies’ head-dresses at evening parties, when they’ are, I understand, generally confined under gauze which covers the head, and from among the ringlets of hair these terrestrial stars shine forth with all their beauty.²¹

Elater porcatus

Fig. 2

Fabricius.—Olivier, ii. No. 31, pl. 7, fig. 74.—Chalcolepidius porcatus, Esch.—Dejean.

The body of this insect is of a shining black, but it derives its superficial colour from a coating of scales, which are either white or green. The head and central portion of the thorax are more or less green, but the scales are usually abraded, when they appear shining black; the sides of the latter are whitish. The elytra are marked with deep furrows, which approximate in pairs, and are more or less filled with white scales, making the surface appear as if lined with white. The under parts of the body, and the legs, are green, except where the black surface is exposed by the scales being rubbed off.

Found in considerable abundance in Brazil, Cayenne, and other parts of tropical America. It is almost always found on the trunks of trees, and falls to the ground when the hand is extended to seize it.

Elater lineatus

Fig. 3

Fabricius.—Olivier, ii. No. 31, pl. 6, fig. 63.—Hemirhipus lineatus, Latreille, Dejean.

The prevailing hue of this large and conspicuous insect is black, and the surface is covered with a fine pubescence, which gives it a silky gloss. The body is elongate, and rather obtuse at the two extremities. The antennæ are black. The head, outer margin of the thorax, and a line down the middle, are covered with silky pubescence of a reddish colour. The elytra are striated, black, with a longitudinal elevated line of red down the middle of each, which is turned backwards at the base. The under side of the body, and the legs, are black.

An inhabitant of the same countries as the preceding species, and often found in company with it.

Elater suturalis

Fig. 4

Fabricius.—Olivier, ii. No. 31, pl. 1, fig. 3, a, b, c, d.—Elater angulatus, Drury’s Illustrations, iii. pl. 47, fig. 5.

This species is liable to considerable variation both in size and markings. The head and antennæ are black, and the former has an angular projection on each side anteriorly. The thorax is rather long and narrow, and is produced on each side before the middle into an acute angle: the colour is yellow, with a broad streak of black down the centre; and occasionally there is a rounded spot of black placed between the dorsal line and the lateral projections. The scutellum is black. The elytra are reddish yellow, with a broad band of black on each side, and another along the suture, which meet at the apex, and gradually become narrower at the opposite extremity, scarcely extending to the base. The legs and under side of the abdomen are reddish yellow, the latter with two longitudinal streaks of black.

Likewise a native of South America, where it appears to be pretty common.

Elater distinc­tus

Fig. 5

Pericalus distinctus, Herbst.—Pericalus acuminatus, Dejean, Cat.

This handsome species is of a reddish chestnut colour, very glossy, and almost free from pubescence. The head, which is excavated in the middle, and the two lower joints of the antennæ, are reddish, the remaining joints of the latter dusky. The thorax is deeply punctured, especially towards the sides and has a black streak down the middle. The elytra are rather convex, and taper to the hinder extremity, where they are produced into a kind of spine; the surface marked with straight punctured lines, a dark-brown band along the middle of each elytron, and another on each side of the sutural line. The under side and legs are chestnut red.

Found in South America, and often observed, according to M. Lacordaire, along with several of the species already described, resting on the stems of trees.

Elater melano­cephalus

Fig. 1

Fabricius.—Olivier, ii. No. 31, pl. 4, fig. 36, a, b.—Melanoxanthus melanocephalus, Esch. Dejean.

This insect, of which we have given a greatly enlarged figure from Olivier, bears some resemblance to the indigenous species E. balteatus. The antennæ and head are black. The thorax is reddish, very smooth and shining, and there is an oblong spot of black extending from the head rather beyond the middle. The elytra are reddish, with the hinder extremity black, the surface marked with punctured lines. The under side and legs are red, the extremity of the abdomen being more or less suffused with dusky black. It is a native of the East Indies.

The section of the Serricornes, formed by species with a somewhat flexible integument, comprehends the interesting family of glow-worms, or Lampyridæ. It corresponds to the undivided genus Lampyris as constituted by Linnæus. The species may be known by having antennæ approximating at the base, the head small and nearly concealed by the projecting edge of the thorax, and the body depressed or very slightly convex. In the male the eyes are so large as to occupy almost the whole head. The penultimate joint of the tarsi is always divided into two lobes, and the claws are simple; that is, without teeth or other appendage. But these insects are best known by the remarkable property which many of them possess of diffusing a phosphoric light, a peculiarity which has suggested a name for them in every country where they occur. Only one species, L. noctiluca, is to be found in Britain. It is abundant in some of the southern counties of England, but occurs very seldom in Scotland, although it has been noticed in several places in the southern division of that country. One of the most interesting of those indigenous to Europe, is named

Lampyris Italica

Fig. 2

Lampyris Italica, Linn.—Olivier, Entom. ii. No. 28, p. 18 17, pl. 2, fig. 12, a, b, c, d.—Lampyris australis, Fab.—Coliphotia Italica, Dejean.

This is one of the smallest luminous insects with which we are acquainted, the ordinary length not exceeding three lines and a half. The prevailing hue is blackish brown. The thorax and scutellum are reddish yellow, pretty deeply punctured and pubescent, and the former has sometimes a dusky spot in the centre. The elytra are somewhat rough with numerous and rather deeply impressed punctures The breast and legs (with the exception of the tarsi) are yellow, and the abdomen dusky black, with the two terminal segments white, slightly tinged with yellow.

This species is very abundant throughout the southern parts of Europe, particularly in Italy, where it is named Lucciola. Contrary to what is observed in the British Glow-worm, both sexes are provided with wings. When the insect either perches or creeps little light is therefore perceptible, but it becomes obvious as soon as the wing-cases are opened for flight. It is not however constant, but has a kind of scintillating appearance, recurring at every other instant, as if disclosed by the opening of the wings at each successive expansion. When the insect is laid upon its back, a position from which it cannot easily recover itself, the light is steady and unvarying. It is of considerable intensity in a single insect, and when three or four are brought together, it is sufficient to render the smallest objects around quite visible. It is apparent in the twilight, but is not fully displayed till the darkness is confirmed. It then becomes a phenomenon of some interest and beauty, as the insects are so numerous and active that their luminous tracks through the air can be traced in all directions,

Upward and downward, thwarting and convolved; and they spangle the shrubs and herbage with Innumerable radiant points. Their appearance and effect in the neighbourhood of Genoa, is thus described by Sir J. E. Smith:—

On the eve of St John Baptist, the great festival of Genoa, the town was brilliantly illuminated; while along the purple coast to the west, the last rays of the setting sun still trembled on the hills, and the moon arose in the east. To these three contrasted lights was added the singular effect of the innumerable flying glow-worms, darting their momentary splendour through all the streets, gardens, and rooms. We used frequently to catch these little insects, and entangle them in the ladies’ hair and head-dresses, a decoration the women in some countries adopt themselves. A lady of Genoa told me a singular anecdote of some Moorish women of rank, taken prisoners by the Genoese, and detained for a ransom. They were lodged in a villa out of the town, and visited, during their stay, by several families. A party going to see them one summer’s evening after a hot day, were surprised to find all their doors and windows close shut, and themselves in the utmost terror and distress. They had conceived an idea that these luminous flies were the disturbed souls of their relatives. The common people of Genoa too suppose them to be of a spiritual nature, and to come out of the graves of course they are beheld with abhorrence.²²

Lampyris Latreillii

Fig. 3

Kirby, Linn. Trans. vol. xii. 387, pl. 21, fig. 4.—Selas Latreillii, Dejean.

This insect may be regarded as representing a pretty numerous group of glow-worms confined to the tropical parts of America, and differing considerably in structure from the European species. Some of them are the largest of their tribe, and they contribute more than any other to embellish the nights of the torrid zone, as. the light which they emit is of considerable splendour, and their flight higher in the air and longer sustained than in the other kinds. They pass the day in a state of inactivity, and are usually found on the trunks of trees, clinging to the bark or concealed in its fissures.

The species represented, which Mr Kirby has dedicated to Latreille, Entomologorum facile princeps, is about twelve to thirteen lines in length. The body is ovate, and of a dull black colour. The antennæ of the male consist of ten joints, all of which, except the radical and terminal ones, emit a long, compressed, flexible branchlet from each side: in the female the antennæ are eleven jointed, and deeply serrated on both sides. The thorax is of a pale brownish yellow, marked with three blackish spots, of which the central one is longest and somewhat triangular. The elytra are very thickly covered with minute punctures; the colour blackish, except the outer margin, the suture, and a broad streak extending from each shoulder rather beyond the middle, which are of a light yellowish brown. The wings are black. It is found in Brazil and other intertropical countries of South America.

The genus Lycus is distinguished by having the snout longer than the hinder part of the head, and the antennæ serrated. The elytra are often remarkably dilated at the sides, and usually reticulated on the surface. They are likewise enlarged at the hinder extremity, and rounded, particularly in the females.

Lycus festivus

Fig. 4

Lampyris festiva, Donovan’s Brit. Ins. xvi. pl. 544.

The length of this insect is about three lines and a half The colour is a tawny orange, with the apex of the elytra, a spot on the middle of the thorax, and the under side of the body and legs, brownish black. Each elytron has four elevated lines, the spaces between which are deeply punctured. It is said by Donovan to have been found in England, but is considered a doubtful native.

Mala­chius margi­nellus

Fig. 5

Fabricius.—Olivier, ii. No. 27, pl. 3, fig. 18, a, b.

This insect affords an example of the family Melyridæ, which is characterised by short and filiform palpi, mandibles notched at the point, a narrow elongated body, undivided joints in the tarsi, and claws furnished with a single tooth. The genus Malachius²³ generally has the joints of the antennæ a little produced on the inner side; the thorax is wider than the head, and has a vesicle, capable of being dilated and contracted, beneath each of the anterior angles. The radical joints of the antennæ are often irregular in the male. The species are numerous, amounting to more than a hundred, but only fifteen of these occur in Britain. They are chiefly European, but a few are found in every quarter of the world. The species above referred to (which is represented as it appears under a powerful magnifier) is a native of France and England. It is of a brassy-green colour, with the sides of the thorax and tips of the elytra of a blood red. The under parts of the body and legs are likewise green, and the antennæ black.

Another tribe of malacodermatous insects constitute the family Tillidæ of Dr Leach. Its principal characters are found in the beautiful species which we have selected to represent it. It was first described by Mr Kirby, under the name of

Priocera variegata

Fig. 6

Kirby, Linnæan Trans. xii. p. 392, pl. 21, fig. 7.

In this genus the upper lip is emarginate, the terminal joint of the maxillary palpi compressed and oblong, while the same joint in the labial palpi is hatchet shaped; the body is convex, and the thorax much contracted behind. The colour of the only species known is brownish black on the body. The head and thorax are deeply punctured, and the antennæ are somewhat reddish. The elytra are of a fine red, with four large quadrate yellow spots, one on each shoulder, and two behind the middle forming a band, with several small yellow spots in the space between: behind the yellow band there is another of a brown colour, and the apex is unspotted. The legs are dusky black. It is a native of Brazil.

Necro­phorus humator

Fig. 1

Silpha Humator, Olivier.—Marsham’s Entom. Brit.—Donovan’s British Insects, ii xv. pl. 537, fig. 1.

This species is entirely of a brownish-black colour, except the three last joints of the antennæ, which are orange yellow. The head and thorax are very faintly punctured, and the surface of the latter is rather unequal. The elytra are. more deeply punctured; each of them with three slightly elevated lines, and a tubercle towards the hinder extremity near the outer angle. The breast is clothed with yellow hairs, and those on the legs are of the same colour. It is frequently met with in England and Scotland, and most of the northern countries of Europe.

Necrodes littoralis

Fig. 2

Silpha littoralis, Linn.—Marsham.—Curtis’ Brit. Ent. vii i. 334.

In this genus the antennæ are considerably longer than the head, but shorter than the thorax, thickening gradually from the fifth joint to the apex. The thorax is nearly orbicular, and the mandibles have a tooth near the middle. The only species found in Britain is that referred to above. It is entirely of a black colour, with the three terminal joints of the antennæ orange yellow. There are three elevated lines on each elytron, the spaces between which are very thickly punctured: the second line is angulated a little behind the middle, and connected with the third by a tubercle. The hinder thighs are very thick, and dentate on the under side. It is found on the shores of the sea and the banks of rivers, under sea-weed, carrion, &c. occurring not unfrequently.

Silpha quadri­punctata

Fig. 3

Linn.—Donovan.—Marsham.—Silpha 4-maculata, Samouelle’s Useful Compend. pl. 2, fig. 7.

This genus, us originally constituted by Linnæus, was of great extent, and included both the preceding genera, besides several others. In its modern application it comprehends such insects as have the antennas slightly compressed, and thickening gradually from the seventh joint to the apex. The body is nearly in the form of a shield, depressed or very slightly convex, and the thorax is semicircular, with the anterior part truncated or very obtuse. The species feed chiefly on decaying animal matter, and are of great service in freeing the surface of the earth from putrid substances which might otherwise infect the air. Owing to the reason formerly assigned, few or none of these creatures are found in tropical countries. They are chiefly confined to the temperate regions of America, and to Europe. Upwards of thirty kinds are named in our entomological catalogues, and about a dozen of these inhabit Britain. S. quadripunctata, one of the most ornamental of the tribe, is not unfrequent in France and England and has been found in Scotland as far north as Sutherlandshire. It is black and shining, with the sides 6f the thorax and elytra pale yellow, the latter with two rounded spots of black on each. The length is from five to six lines.

Anthre­nus scroph­ulariæ

Fig. 4

Fabricius.—Byrrhus scrophulariæ, Linn.—Anth. Scroph. Olivier, ii. No. 14, pl. 1, fig. 5, a, b.

This insect scarcely exceeds two lines in length, the accompanying figure is therefore magnified to show its structure and markings with greater distinctness. The head is black, and sometimes has a small white spot on the forehead. The antennæ are reddish near the base, but black towards the tip. The thorax is black, with the sides whitish, and the hinder edge frequently of a deep-red colour. The elytra are black, with three bands of white, which are interrupted towards the suture: the latter is deep red. The under side is clothed with white scales, and the legs are brownish black. It occurs in Britain and almost every country of Europe. The larvæ feed on dried animal substances, and are sometimes very destructive in museums, by attacking the skins of preserved specimens. The perfect insects frequent flowers, a circumstance to which the generic name bears reference.

Hister Reni­formis

Fig. 5

This genus is readily recognised by the peculiar form of the body. It is almost square, and the elytra are short and truncated at the extremity. The legs are contractile, that is, they are short and compressed, and capable of being drawn close to the body. The lower joint of the antennæ is very long, and forms an angle with the upper portion which terminates in a rounded knob. All these insects are of small size, and find their nourishment in cadaverous and excrementitious matters. The outer covering is very rigid, and when the legs are contracted, they can bear a great degree of pressure without injury. When alarmed, they lie perfectly still, and often deceive their enemies by simulating death with great accuracy and perseverance. About 120 species are known to entomologists, and of these upwards of 30 inhabit this country. The species figured as an example, is of a glossy black colour, with two spots of red on the elytra. The latter have two or three longitudinal ridges, and are rather thickly punctured at the sides. The under side of the body and legs are likewise black, the latter dentate on their outer edge. It is found in various parts of Europe.

Sacred Egyptian Beetle

Ateuchus Sacer.—Fig. 1

Scarabæus sacer, Linn.—Fabricius.—Olivier, Entom. pl. 8, fig. 59, a, b.

The colour is entirely black, and the surface rather shining, except the elytra, which are somewhat obscure. The anterior part of the head is rough with shallow punctures, and there are two small approximating tubercles placed in the middle of the forehead between the eyes. The thorax is somewhat convex, marked with numerous minute points anteriorly, and entirely surrounded by a narrow margin, which is crenulated behind. The elytra are usually more obscure than the other parts of the body, and without any other impressions on their surface than a few scattered punctures. The anterior tibiæ are armed with four long teeth on their outer edge, and the posterior pair are slightly bent inwards. All of them are pretty thickly clothed with fine hairs.

This species is very common in all the southern countries of Europe, especially in those that lie along the shores of the Mediterranean. It likewise occurs in the east, and seems to be diffused over all Africa, from Egypt to the Cape of Good Hope.

This renowned insect has been singularly exempted from the obscurity and neglect which have fallen to the lot of most of its tribe. It was one of those “creeping things” to which the Egyptians paid divine honours, and appears to have constituted one of the favourite deities of that remarkable people. If it enjoyed an inferior degree of veneration to the snake-devouring Ibis, it certainly far surpassed in virtue the sacred leeks and onions, from which Juvenal takes occasion to congratulate the nation on account of the number and dignity of its gods:

Porrum et caepe nefas violare, et frangere morsu.
O sanctas gentes, quibus haec nascuntur in hortis
Numina!

It was consecrated to the sun, and representations of it are of frequent occurrence in their hieroglyphical writings; it was likewise sculptured on their rings, bracelets, necklaces, and other ornaments, and even enclosed in their coffins along with the embalmed bodies of the dead. As typical of the luminary which is the fountain of light and heat, and the source of all abundance, it came likewise to be regarded as the emblem of fertility; and we are informed by Dr Clarke that it is eaten by the Egyptian women, even at the present day, under the idea that it is of efficacy for this purpose. As natural objects were regarded with religious veneration in Egypt, either in consequence of their being of utility to the inhabitants,²⁴ or because they were conceived peculiarly adapted to symbolize some higher nature, and bring it by means of its representative more immediately under the influence of the senses, we are likely to find in one of these causes the reason of this species being raised to such distinguished honours.

Many of the Scarabæidæ or larger kinds of dung-chafers, exhibit some very remarkable instincts informing a proper nidus or receptacle for their eggs, and providing for the welfare of their progeny. This is witnessed to a certain extent in the common dor or clock (Geotrupes stercorarius)—an insect whose “drowsy hum” falls so often on our ear during a walk in the country in the stillness of an autumnal twilight—which digs a cylindrical hole in the earth, often of considerable depth, and conveys a small quantity of dung to the bottom, in which she deposits her eggs. But the habits of the group now under consideration, which is extensively diffused over Africa and the south of Europe, but has no representative in Britain, are greatly more fitted to attract attention. These insects, like our own Geotrupidæ, or earth-borers, as the term signifies, likewise deposit their eggs in dung; but each egg is placed in the centre of a small ball or pellet carefully prepared for this purpose. When the pellet is dry, it has generally to be transported to a considerable distance, that it may be buried in a deep hole previously dug for its reception. To a creature so imperfectly provided with members that can be employed as instruments of prehension, the conveyance of an object of some size must obviously be a task of considerable difficulty. Unable to raise the load from the ground, its only resource is to roll it along the surface; but instead of using its head for this purpose, as some birds are said to do when obliged to remove their eggs from one place to another,²⁵ the beetle has recourse to its opposite extremity, and pushes the pellet backwards with the tip of its abdomen and hind legs. When the surface of the ground is unequal the labour is greatly increased; both the beetle and its charge sometimes tumble over a declivity, or it may be seen struggling, like the Sisyphus of heathen mythology, to push its ball to the summit of an eminence that obstructs the line of road. But when an obstacle of this kind occurs to an individual, his associates never fail to hasten to his aid, and their united efforts are generally successful.

The incessant and arduous labour which these insects undergo, led the Egyptian priests to regard them as symbolical of the labours of Osiris or of the Sun. A singular account of them is given by some ancient authors, particularly H. Apollodorus and P. Valerianus. All these Scarabæi, according to the former of these authors, have thirty fingers, corresponding to the number of days which the sun takes to traverse each sign of the zodiac. There are three distinct kinds of them; the first, or scarabæus properly so called, presents the appearance of rays, and has on that account been consecrated to the sun. All the individuals of this scarabæus are of the male sex: when the insect wishes to produce others, it seeks for the dung of cattle, and forms it into a ball—the figure of the world; this it rolls with its hind feet, going backwards, and in the direction from east to west, as the world is so conveyed by its movements. The scarabæus buries this ball in the earth, where it remains concealed for twenty-eight days, a period equal to a lunar revolution, during which the young scarabæus becomes animated. On the 29th day, which the insect knows to be that of the conjunction of the moon with the sun, and of the birth of the world, it opens the ball and throws it into the water. The animals which then issue from it are the scarabæi. It is for these reasons that the Egyptians, when they wish to designate a being produced by itself, or to express the idea of a birth, a father, the world, &c. represent a scarabæus.

The thirty fingers mentioned in the above account are no doubt the joints of the feet or tarsi, which being five to each of the six feet, amount exactly to that number. The rays alluded to are represented by the six teeth or angular projections of the head, a character which is often expressed with great accuracy on the Egyptian monuments and engraved stones. As the male of this species, contrary to what is observed in the generality of coprophagous beetles, scarcely differs in external appearance from the female, and appears to share with her the labours requisite for the preservation of their race, it is not surprising that the Egyptians, at a period when such erroneous notions prevailed regarding the generation of the lower animals, should have imagined that there was only one sex, and that they should have preferred to consider it as the one which has most privileges attached to it, or, as grammarians call it, the more worthy gender Admitting the doctrine of spontaneous generation, it was necessary, according to their principles, that the insects should disinter their balls and bring them into contact with water, as that element was conceived to produce, with the concurrence of heat, all those animals that were without living progenitors.²⁶

In more recent times the industrious habits of these little insects appear sometimes to have excited nearly as much admiration as they did in Egypt. In the earliest entomological work published in Britain,²⁷ remarkable for the extent of its cumbrous erudition, the species of which we speak, or another closely allied to it, forms one of an extensive series of figures, a few of which bear some resemblance to the objects they are designed to represent, and several folio pages are devoted to the exposition of its virtues and uses both to our minds and bodies. This invaluable beetle, according to the author of that work, stimulates us to the acquisition of every good quality; for although nothing but a crust, it yet surpasses us in numerous virtues, and invites us to modesty, temperance, labour, magnanimity, justice, and prudence:

etiamsi nihil sit nisi crustum, variis tamen virtutibus nos vincit, et ad modestiam, temperantiam, laborem, magnanimitatem, justitiam, prudentiamque incitat atque impellit.

It teaches us humility by living contented in its stercorareous abodes, and delighting in them more than in the perfume of roses! So fortunate is it in renewing its youth every year, that there can be little doubt that man himself would willingly share in its privileges! It is guilty of no crime in using the dung of animals for its own purposes, since agriculturists and others do the same, and probably were led to the practice by observing the scarabæus! We greatly err if we despise the animal for employing this material; for so highly was it esteemed in ancient times, that, according to the testimony of Macrobius, the term Sterculeus was given to Saturn as an honorary cognomen! &c.—The medical virtues of this admirable insect are eulogized in a similar strain, and several recipes are given, which are said to have been of wonderful efficacy.

These insects are frequently alluded to by ancient authors under the various names of Coprion, Cantharus, and Heliocantharus. Messrs Kirby and Spence say,

It should seem from the name, derived from a word signifying an ass, that the Grecian beetle made its pills of asses’ dung; and this is confirmed by a passage in one of the plays of Aristophanes, the Irene, where a beetle of this kind is introduced, on which one of the characters rides to heaven to petition Jupiter for peace. The play begins with one domestic desiring another to feed the cantharus with some bread, who afterwards orders his companion to give him another kind of bread, made of asses’ dung.²⁸

Various insects of similar habits are found in different quarters of the world, and they form a favourite subject of observation with travellers. One of these abounds in America, where it is known by the name of the Tumble-Dung Beetle. An interesting account of its proceedings is given by a writer on Carolina. He says,

I have attentively admired their industry and mutual assisting of each other in rolling their globular balls from the place where they made them to that of their interment, which is usually the distance of some yards, more or less. This they perform breech foremost, by raising their hind parts, and forcing along the ball with their hind feet. Two or three of them are sometimes engaged in trundling one ball, which, from meeting with impediments on account of the unevenness of the ground, is sometimes deserted by them. It is, however, attempted by others with success, unless it happens to roll into some deep hollow or chink, where they are constrained to leave it; but they continue their work by rolling off the next ball in their way. None of them seem to know their own balls, but an equal care for the whole appears to affect all the community. They form these pellets while the dung remains moist, and leave them to harden in the sun before they attempt to roll them. In their moving of them from place to place, both they and the balls may frequently be seen tumbling about over the little eminences that are in their way. They are not, however, easily discouraged; and, by repeating their attempts, usually surmount the difficulties.

They find out their subsistence by the excellency of their noses, which direct them in their flight to newly fallen dung, on which they immediately go to work, tempering it with a proper mixture of earth. So intent are they always on their employment, that, though handled or otherwise interrupted, they are not to be deterred, but immediately on being freed, persist in their work without any apprehension of danger. They are said to be so exceedingly strong and active as to move about, with the greatest ease, things that are many times their own weight. Dr Birchell was supping one evening in a planter’s house of North Carolina, when two of them were conveyed, without his knowledge, under the candlestick. A few blows were struck on the table, and, to his great surprise, the candlesticks began to move about, apparently without any agency; and his surprise was not much lessened when, on taking one of them up, he discovered that it was only a chafer that moved.²⁹

Another writer, evidently in relation to one of these beetles says,

An insect of the size of a May-bug, is of the greatest utility in so hot a climate; it is the scavenger and dustman of the whole country. It labours with indefatigable industry to collect all the filth that might infest the air, and makes small balls of it, which it hides very deep in holes which it has dug in the earth. It breeds in sufficient numbers to keep the town and the villages clean.³⁰

The next genus which has been selected to illustrate the lamellicorn tribe of beetles is named

Ontho­phagus Dillwynii

Fig. 2

Onthoph. Dillwynii, Kirby.—Steph. Illus. of British Entomology, vol. iii. 174, pl. 18, fig. 6.

This insect is closely allied to the better known species named O. nuchicornis. It has been found near Gravesend, and in the neighbourhood of Swansea, by L. W. Dillwyn, Esq. after whom it was named by Dr Leach. It is of a brassy-black colour, and more or less covered with fine short hairs. The thorax is thickly covered with minute granulations, and there are two tubercles towards the middle, and two others, one on each side, near the margin. The elytra are of a dull greyish yellow thickly clouded with black, and marked with longitudinal lines or striæ. The under parts of the body and legs are black, slightly tinged with a metallic lustre. The male has an elongate, slightly nutant, horn on the hinder part of the head; the female has two elevated cross ridges, which are somewhat arched. The length of the insect is about three or three and a half lines.

The next important genus that presents itself to our notice, was established by Mr Macleay in his valuable work on the lamellicorn Coleoptera, and is named

Phanæus lancifer

Fig. 3

Scarabæus lancifer, Fab.—Linn.—Olivier, Entom. vol. i. No. 3, pl. 4, fig. 32.

This conspicuous insect is about an inch and a half long, and upwards of an inch broad. The body is very thick and massive, and the half of it at least is occupied by the thorax. The head is black, and armed with a long, recurved, angular horn; the clypeus or anterior portion is furnished with two distinct projecting teeth. The colour of all the upper side, except the head, is a fine violet, with greenish reflections in certain lights, especially on the elytra. The thorax is deeply excavated or concave, and dilated at the sides anteriorly; the hinder part rises into a broad quadrate prominence, which has its sides reflexed, and a pretty deep notch cut out of the middle of its anterior edge, as if to receive the occipital horn when bent backwards. The elytra are rather deeply furrowed, and rough with transverse elevations and tubercles. The under parts are shining black, slightly tinted with violet, and fringed with short hairs. The anterior tibiæ have four strong teeth on their outer edge.

Phanæus carnifex

Fig. 4

Scarabæus carnifex, Fab.—Drury’s Illus. of Insects, i. pl. 35, fig. 3, 4, 5.—Olivier, i. p. 135, pl. 6, fig. 46, a, b.

In this finely coloured species the head is of a golden green, and armed with a long slender black horn which is curved backwards. The thorax is large, flattened above, and terminates on each side behind in an acute angle; the sides golden green, the disk bright copper-colour, and rather rough. There is a small impressed mark on each side, rather before the middle. The elytra are of a beautiful green, sometimes glossed with blue; the surface rather rough, and marked with several raised lines. The under side and thighs are brilliant bronzed green; the other parts of the leg black. Found in various countries of North America, in considerable plenty.

The genus Geotrupes³¹ has antennæ with the three last joints dilated and transverse, forming a lamellate club, as in the following figure.

The mandibles stand out from the head, and are notched at the apex. The eyes are divided by the margin of the head, and touch the thorax. The latter is as broad as the elytra, and very convex. The elytra are short and oval. Ten different kinds are met with in Britain. That represented is the most common in the northern parts of this country; it is named

Geotrupes ster­corarius

Fig. 5

Scarabæus stercorarius, Linn.

It is entirely black above, tinted on the margins with violet or brassy: the thorax is without punctures on the disk, but has a few impressed points towards the sides, and a short line in the middle behind. The elytra are marked with deep striæ, the spaces between which are smooth and somewhat convex. The under side and legs are steel blue, glossed with purple or green in a very beautiful manner.

Scarabæus Tityus

Linn. Syst. Nat. p. 542.—Olivier, i. No. 3, p. 9, pl. 4, fig. 31, and pl. 10, fig. 31, b, c.—Say’s American Entom. i.

This insect is about two inches in length: the prevailing colour glaucous, inclining to grey. The head is black, and armed with a strong horn which is curved backwards. The thorax is variegated with black and grey, and has three horns projecting from its anterior part, one in the centre slightly curved downwards and hairy on the under side, and two lateral ones which are short and acute. Elytra glaucous-grey, with numerous large spots of black. The under side of the body, and legs, are wholly black.

The female is without horns, and differs from the other sex in the colour of the elytra.

Inhabits Carolina, Virginia, and other North American states. Mr Say, from whose handsome work on American Entomology the accompanying figures have been taken says,

It is so extremely rare in Pennsylvania, that the late Rev. F. V. Melsheimer, the parent of Entomology in this country, and a very industrious collector, found but two individuals in eighteen years. An instance has however occurred, in which the appearance of a considerable number of them occasioned no little surprise in the neighbourhood where they were discovered. A mile or two south of Philadelphia, and near the river Delaware, an old cherry-tree was blown down by a violent current of wind, and my informant saw the remains of numerous individuals, in and about the cavity of the tree laid open by the shock of its fall. That there might be no mistake, he exhibited the thorax of a male he had chosen from the mutilated fragments. I think it highly probable that the Tityus is more especially a native of the southern states, as my friend Mr J. Williams presented me with several specimens in high preservation, collected by himself in Maryland, and from them the drawings for the annexed plate were made.

Scarabæus macropus

Fig. 1

Kanguroo beetle, Shaw’s Naturalist’s Miscellany, ccclxxx. 4.

This very remarkable-looking insect was first made known to the public by Mr Francillon, who is supposed to have received it from South America. The individual which he described appears to be the only one that has occurred, and it is now said to be preserved in the rich cabinet of Mr Macleay. Until the discovery of the insect next to be described, there was no lamellicorn beetle that bore much resemblance to it; but that species partakes in some measure of its peculiar characters. Of these, the most singular are the length of the hinder legs, and the extraordinary thickness of the thighs, which exceeds any thing that is observed in such as exhibit a structure of this kind. The whole of the upper surface is smooth, and of a bright green colour, and the under side is golden yellow and copper coloured. The antennæ and tarsi are brownish black.

Chryso­phora chryso­chlora

Fig. 2

Melolontha chrysochlora, Latr.—Voy. de MM. Humb. et Bonpl. ii i. 15, 1 fem. 2 male.

Latreille assigns as the distinguishing marks of this genus, which was first proposed by Count Dejean, the great size of the hinder legs, the thickened hinder thighs, and the curved tibiæ, which terminate in a strong projecting point at the internal angle. It contains only two or three species, of which that above referred to is the most remarkable. It was discovered by MM. Humboldt and Bonpland in Peru. It is of a brilliant green on the upper side, but on the under parts of the body coppery red is the prevailing hue. The thighs and posterior tibiæ are of the latter colour; and the tarsi, which have the joint that bears the claws very large and club-shaped, are brownish. The elytra are thickly covered with large excavated points, but the head and thorax are comparatively smooth. The female is much smaller, and the hinder thighs are not so thick as in the male. Like the common Cockchafer, this species lives in society, and was sometimes observed in great numbers by the distinguished travellers who first brought it to Europe.

Rutela pulchella

Fig. 1

Kirby, Linn. Trans. xii. p. 405, pl. 21, fig. 10.

This genus includes such insects as have the hinder thighs scarcely differing in the two sexes; the scutellum rather small, and the pointed process of the sternum short, and not reaching to the insertion of the forelegs. The terminal joint of the maxillary palpus is large and ovate. The body is of an oval form. The species given as an illustration of this generic group is a native of Brazil. It is about eight lines and a half in length, of a fine yellow colour inclining to green. The thorax is green in the middle, and yellow on the sides and anterior edge. The elytra are thickly covered with small punctures, which have a tendency to form lines: the colour is yellow, with the region of the scutellum, and a curved band behind the middle, green.

Macraspis fucata

Fig. 2

Cetonia fucata, Fabr.—Cetonia quadrivittata, Olivier.

The most obvious character in this genus is that which has suggested the name,³² viz. the great size of the scutellum, which equals at least a third of that of the elytra. The projecting point of the sternum reaches to the insertion of the anterior legs, and in many instances extends beyond that point. The form of the body is in general shorter and more rounded than in Rutela. The species amount to near thirty, and they are confined to the tropical regions of the New World. The most common in the interior of Brazil is M. clavata, which is often observed in the morning, suspended in great numbers to the leaves of trees, around which they fly during the day, and consume the flowers. The species figured has the same habits, but it is much rarer, and appears later in the year. It is about ten lines in length, of a deep black colour, very highly polished on the surface, and thickly covered with very minute punctures. The thorax is margined with deep yellow, and there are two broad stripes of the same colour on each wing-case, which unite behind.

Melolontha Fullo

Fig. 3 and 4

Scarabaeus Fullo, Linn.—Donovan’s Brit. Insects, iv. pl. 112.

The genus Melolontha,³³ of which the common Cockchafer affords a familiar example, has antennæ consisting of ten joints, with five or seven of the uppermost produced into thin leaflets in the male, while in the females only four (sometimes six) are a little produced. All the claws are of equal size, and terminate in a simple point, with a small tooth on the under side near the base. As constituted by the older Entomologists, it formed a very extensive genus; but in its present restricted acceptation, it scarcely includes more than a dozen species. Of these, by far the most common is M. vulgaris (common Cockchafer), which occurs abundantly in many parts of England, Ireland, and the Continent, but is comparatively rare in Scotland.³⁴ The perfect insect subsists on the leaves of trees, out in the state of grub it consumes the roots of grass and other herbaceous plants. Its ravages, both in the early and final stage of its life, have often been described, and are unhappily better known than any efficient remedy of easy application. The beautiful species represented (fig. 3, male; fig. 4, female) is either not of such destructive propensities, or, what is more probable, too limited in numbers to accomplish much mischief. In this country especially, it is of very rare occurrence, and as the few examples that have occurred were generally found on the seashore, it has been questioned whether its appearance ought not to be ascribed to accidental causes, rather than to its being strictly a native of this country. It is nearly an inch and a half in length, of a dark-brown colour, having the whole upper surface irregularly marked with patches and spots of white. There is a pretty regular line of white down the middle of the thorax, and another, less regular, on each side of it. The antennæ and legs are reddish brown. It is found occasionally in France, and in the more southern countries of Europe.

Cetonia fascicularis

Fig. 1

Scarabæus fascicularis, Linn.—Drury’s Illus. pl. 33, fig. 2.—Olivier, ii i. No. 6, pl. 11, fig. 108.

The head, scutellum, and thorax of this beautiful insect are deep black and shining: the latter with four deeply impressed longitudinal lines, which are filled with very minute white scales. The elytra are of a fine deep green, not shining, the surface somewhat rough and corrugated. The under side of the body is thickly clothed with tawny hairs, disposed in tufts round the sides of the abdomen. The legs are black. It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope.

Cetonia Macleayi

Fig. 2

Kirby, Linn. Trans. xii. p. 408, pl. 21, fig. 11.

This insect is depressed, very smooth and shining, of a golden green, approaching to emerald green. The head and antennæ are black, and the thorax has a large discoidal spot of the same colour, which is narrowed in front. The elytra have a large quadrate spot of black on each side of the scutellum, and there are two others towards the apex which nearly meet and form a broad band. The tibiæ and tarsi are of a chestnut colour, and the segments of the abdomen are margined with black.

Mr Kirby says in the paper above referred to, which has supplied us with the annexed figure,

This beautiful insect was brought from Manilla by Mr Simon Davidson, Surgeon in the Royal Navy, who purchased several of them in a shop, where its elytra, and those of some splendid Buprestes, were sold as ornaments for ladies head-dresses.

Cetonia discoidea

Fig. 3

Cetonia velutina, Olivier, ii i. pl. 12, fig. 114.

The length of this species is between seven and eight lines. The head, thorax, and scutellum are velvet black, and unspotted. The elytra are likewise velvet black, with the whole of the base red, except the region of the scutellum; the outer margin is of the latter colour from the shoulder to a little beyond the middle, where there is a broad band of red interrupted at the suture. The under parts and legs are shining black. It is found at the Cape of Good Hope.

Cetonia Austra­laisiæ

Fig. 4

Schyzorhina Australasiæ, Kirby.—Dejean’s Catal.

This curiously marked species is a native of New Holland. The surface is depressed, and remarkably smooth and glossy. The anterior part of the head is yellow, with two small spots of black. The head from before the eyes, and the thorax, are black; the latter having a stripe of yellow running along the sides and front, a line of the same down the middle, and an arched stripe across the base, which is not united with the others: there is a small spot of black in the yellow margin before the middle. The scutellum is black, with an oblong patch of yellow. The elytra are deep chestnut-red, approaching to black at the apex, with two curved lines of yellow down the middle of each, which are attenuated behind, and generally united to a cross stripe of the same colour, from the suture: there is also a stripe of yellow round the hinder margin of each wing-case, which terminates before the middle, where it is dilated into a triangular spot with the apex directed inwards. The under side is black, curiously variegated with yellow. The legs are chestnut-red, the hinder thighs striped with yellow.

Gymnetis nervosa

Fig. 5

This genus is easily distinguished from Cetonia, by having the thorax produced in the middle behind into an angle which occupies the place of the scutellum. About fifty different kinds are known, by far the greater part of which belong to tropical America. The species named nervosa is entirely of a reddish-brown colour, having the upper surface variegated with linear and angular patches of black. The under side and legs are black.

Gymnetis marmorea

Fig. 6

The prevailing colour is fine yellow, the surface polished and shining. The whole body is variegated with black markings, arranged in a manner somewhat similar to those in the preceding species, but having a greater tendency to run together and form patches. The under parts of the body, and the legs, are deep black and very glossy. It is a native of Brazil.

Chiasog­nathus Chiloensis

Fig. 1

Tetrophthalma chiloensis, Lesson’s Illus. de Zoologic, pl. 24.—Chiasognathus Grantii? Cambridge Phil. Trans. iv. pl. 9 and 10.

This singular genus is characterised by the length of the mandibles, which equals or exceeds that of the whole body, and by the extraordinary elongation of the lowest joint of the antennæ, which is ornamented with a tuft of hairs at its tip. it was established by Mr Stephens on an insect received from the island of Chiloe, and its characters published in the Cambridge Philosophical Transactions for 1831.³⁵ More recently M. Lesson has figured an insect which obviously belongs to the same genus, although he has thought proper to distinguish it by a new name. Indeed it is extremely probable that it is the same species as that described by Mr Stephens; but as it differs in a few minute particulars, it will be better in the mean time to retain its distinctive name. Lesson’s insect is represented by the accompanying figure. The mandibles are bronzed green; the head violet blue; the thorax green, with coppery and violet-blue reflections on the sides; the elytra bright chestnut red; the legs green, with the under, side of the thighs reddish. As with other lucanideous insects, its food consists of the flowing sap of trees, and it is said to frequent the araucarias and other green trees in the island of Chiloe.

Stag Beetle

Lucanus cervus.—Fig. 2

Donovan’s Brit. Insects, i. pl. 13.—Lucanus inermis, Don. xii. pl. 400.—Marshan’s Entom. Brit.

In this genus the four terminal joints of the antennæ are produced on one side; the eyes are not divided by the margin of the head; the latter is as wide as the thorax, and in some instances wider; and the maxillæ terminate in a slender lobe without corneous teeth. The species figured is the well-known Stag-beetle of this country. It occurs in considerable plenty in several of the southern counties, but has not been observed in the north of England, nor in Scotland. It is likewise found on the Continent, and the larva is considered by some to be the Cossus of the ancient Romans, which is described as a white worm living in the interior of oak trees, and which was much coveted as a delicious food by these refined epicures. The male is about two inches in length, including the mandibles. It is entirely of a brownish-black colour, the surface shining and thickly covered with small punctures. The female is considerably less, the mandibles are quite short, and the head is proportionally much smaller.

Mr Waterhouse says,

I believe it has been supposed by several writers, that the mandibles of the stag-beetle are designed for perforating the bark of trees, and thus causing the sap to flow, on which the insect is said to feed; but I do not recollect ever seeing this confirmed on positive authority. During the past summer I kept a stag-beetle alive for several weeks: I allowed him to bite my finger with his mandibles, which he did with great strength and perseverance for some seconds; and immediately, on relaxing his hold, applied alternately one of his antennæ, and the galea of his maxillae, to the indentation, as if to ascertain whether any moisture was flowing from the wound. The stag-beetle has a small patch of golden coloured hair near the base of the fore leg, the use of which, I believe, has never been pointed out;—it is evidently for the purpose of cleaning the antennæ, which, after touching saccharine fluids, become sticky. The insect does this in the most adroit manner, bending back the antenna and placing it beneath the leg, and then drawing it out slowly. The specimen which I had became after a time tame and playful, sometimes amusing himself by tossing about a ball of cotton with his horns. He was very fond of sugar moistened, and the juice of raspberries.³⁶

Horia maculata

Fig. 1

It is about sixteen lines in length, of a uniform reddish-yellow colour, with seven spots of black on each wing-case, six of which are arranged in pairs, and the seventh occupies the apex. The mandibles and antennæ are shining black, and the legs are of the same colour, except the base of the thighs, which is the same as the body. According to the observations of Lansdown Guilding, this insect deposits its eggs in the nest of the carpenter-bees (chiefly in that of Xylocopa Teredo), and when the larvæ are excluded, they consume the food which the bee provides for its proper offspring. It is not rare in the vicinity of Rio Janeiro and other parts of tropical America, and is usually found under the bark of trees. It moves but slowly both when walking and flying, and when handled emits a yellowish liquid from its mouth of a peculiar odour.

Meloe variegatus

Fig. 2, Female

Donovan, ii. pl. 67.—Linn. Trans. xi. 37, pl. 6, fig. 1, 2.—Meloe scabrosus, Marsham.—M. mayalis, Olivier.

This and the following genera are two of the most conspicuous in the tribe of Cantharidæ, or blistering beetles, many of which are so much celebrated for their vesicatory properties. The group is well distinguished by the hooks of the tarsi, which are so deeply divided that they appear double. The present genus is destitute of wings, and the elytra are of an oval or triangular form, the one overlapping the other at the base, and they diverge widely from each other at the tip. They leave a considerable portion of the abdomen uncovered, especially in the female, which has that part of the body unusually large. The most singular circumstance in the natural history of these insects, is the supposed parasitical nature of the larvæ, which are said to adhere to the bodies of flies and bees, and to live upon their juices, which they extract by suction. But the observations on which this opinion is founded are far too inconclusive to establish its truth. They are characteristic of European countries, the greater number occurring in Spain and Britain. Among the latter is the species figured, which is of a brassy lustre, variegated with tints of purple and violet. The thorax and elytra are dark copper colour, glossed on the sides with violet; the former covered with punctures, and the latter with small tubercles which often run together and make the surface rough. The abdomen is likewise rough; the colour dark green, with the hinder margin of the segments coppery and violescent. The under side is golden colour and purple; the legs black, inclining to violet. It is the most beautiful of the genus, and is found in the South of England, but not frequently. The most common species is M. proscarabæus.

Blister Beetle

Cantharis Vesicatoria.—Fig. 3

Meloe vesicatorius, Linn.—Lytta vesicatoria, Fab.

This is the well-known Blister-beetle, or Spanish fly. It is entirely of a golden green, with the antennæ black. The head has a deeply impressed line in the middle behind, and the surface of the thorax is rather unequal. The elytra are corrugated like the surface of a piece of leather, and two or three raised longitudinal lines are observable on each. The length is from six to ten lines. According to Latreille, they appear in France about the period of the summer solstice, and are found in greatest abundance on the ash and lilac, on the leaves of which they feed. In Spain, where they are rather more plentiful than in other parts of Europe, they are usually collected for commercial purposes in the month of June, when they assemble in order to pair. They are shaken from the branches of the shrubs which they frequent, and received in sheets spread on the ground. They are killed by being held in hair sieves over the fumes of vinegar, and afterwards dried, either by exposure to the sun, or by being placed on hurdles covered with cloth or paper in a well-ventilated apartment. The blistering property has been ascertained to reside in a peculiar principle, on which chemists have bestowed the name of Cantharadine.

Cantharis Nuttalli

Fig. 4

Lytta Nuttalli, Say’s American Entomology.

Head and thorax deep green tinted with golden yellow, the latter with unequal scattered punctures, a longitudinal line in the middle, and another across the base. The elytra are deep red or purple with a golden gloss, the surface rough; having two slightly elevated lines along the disk of each, and another near the margin. The under parts of the body are bright green, the legs, antennæ, and palpi nearly black.

The American Entomologist, to whom we have been indebted for the accompanying figure says,

This noble species, which far surpasses the far-famed Vesicaforia, has, I understand, been labelled in a British cabinet with the name I have here adopted, in honour of Mr Thomas Nuttall, who discovered it. It seems to be limited to the western region. In company with Major Long, I observed it, for the first time, near the base of the Rocky Mountains. Avery numerous flock had there taken possession of the few diminutive bushes that occurred within the space of a hundred yards, every spray of which was burdened with their numbers. After passing this limited district, not an individual was seen during the remainder of the journey. On the recent expedition of the same officer to the river St Peter, I obtained but a single specimen, which was found one evening at an encampment in the North-West Territory.

The genus Apoderus is distinguished by the length of the neck, which is united to the thorax by a kind of rotula. The rostrum is short and thick, and somewhat widened at the extremity. The species are generally of small size, but many of them are ornamented with agreeable colours.

Apoderus longicollis

Fig. 1

Olivier, v. No. 81, pl. 1, fig. 25.—Attelabus longicollis, Fabr. Syst. Eleuth.

The ordinary length is between four and five lines. The colour of the upper parts of the body is reddish yellow, the under side of a paler hue. The neck is remarkably long, and brownish black. The elytra are very convex behind, marked with punctured lines, and numerous impressed points of a considerable size. It is found in the East Indies.

Apoderus gemmatus

Fig. 2

Olivier, v. No. 81, pl. 1, fig. 16.—Attelabus gemmatus, Fabr.

The figure in the accompanying plate represents this insect considerably enlarged, its natural length seldom exceeding three lines. The colour is rust-red inclining to yellow, the antennæ black. The thorax and elytra are pretty thickly covered with black tubercles, of which several of those on the elytra are rounded, and arranged in rows. The under side and legs are pale yellow. It occurs in the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope.

Apoderus ruficollis

Fig. 3

Olivier, v. No. 81, pl. 1, fig. 15.—Attelabus ruficollis, Fabr. Spec. Insect.

The head of this species, which is said to be a native of Siberia, is reddish in front and black behind; the antennæ are of the latter colour, with the base red. The thorax is red and unspotted. The elytra are smooth and shining, of a fine blue, faintly marked with punctures which form indistinct lines. The under side of the abdomen is black, with the margin reddish. The legs are of the latter colour. It is between two and three lines long.

In the genus Rhynchites the head is inserted into the thorax as far as the eyes, and the rostrum is a little enlarged at the extremity. The abdomen is nearly square. About seventeen different kinds inhabit Britain, and many of these are insects of great beauty, especially R. Bacchus, which is found chiefly in the county of Kent.

Rhynchites populi

Fig. 4

Curculio populi, Linn. Degeer.—Attelabus populi, Fabr.

In this well-known species the body is smooth and shining, of a golden-green or bluish tint on the upper side, and dark violet colour beneath; the antennæ and tarsi black. The elytra are rather irregularly punctured. In one of the sexes there is an acute spine on each side of the thorax, projecting forwards. The ordinary length of the insect is nearly three lines. It is found on poplar and birch trees, in England and on the Continent of Europe.

Rhynchites pubescens

Fig. 5

Attelabus pubescens, Fabr.

The body is rather more elongate in proportion to its breadth than in the preceding species. The whole body is of a deep violet colour, and clothed with rather long hairs. The snout is shorter than the thorax, and, together with the antennæ, black. The elytra are marked with regular punctured lines. The legs are the same colour as the body, but the tarsi are black. Length three lines. It inhabits France. Germany, and England.

Rhynchites collaris

Fig. 6

Antribus collaris, Fabr. Syst. Eleuth.

The body of this small insect is covered with short pubescence: the snout is rather long, depressed at the apex, and of a black colour, as well as the antennæ. The thorax is very smooth, and reddish: the elytra deep blue, pretty regularly striated: the under side and legs black. Found in Carolina.

The very remarkable genus Brentus has filiform antennæ, occasionally with the last joint thickened the rostrum very long and advanced the whole body unusually narrow, and the penultimate joint of the tarsi bilobed.

Brentus anchorago

Fig. 1

Curculio Anchorage, Linn.—Degeer, Mem. Insect. v. 273 274.

Body very narrow and elongate, shining black; the markings differing a little in the two sexes. In the male the head has a groove in front, which is wanting in the female. In the latter the thorax is somewhat contracted in the middle, and in both sexes it has a groove extending from the middle to the base. The elytra are scarcely wider than the base of the thorax, deeply grooved near the suture, and marked with punctured lines on the sides, each of them with two narrow lines of reddish yellow. The anterior thighs are furnished with a small tooth on the under side. Like all the other species of the genus, this insect lives under bark, and is often found on the stems of old trees congregated in hundreds.

Rhina Barbi­rostris

Fig. 2

Latreille, Hist. Nat. des Crust, et des Ins. 11, p. 102.—Curculio barbirostris, Fabr.

The species given as an example of this genus which may be briefly characterised by the elongate shape of the terminal joint of the antennæ, and the length of the fore legs is found at the Cape of Good Hope. It is entirely of a black colour, except the hairs on the rostrum, which are reddish yellow. The rostrum or snout is longer than the thorax, trifid at the point, and tuberculated above. The thorax is rough with deeply impressed punctures, and bears yellowish hairs on the sides and beneath. The elytra are marked with closely placed lines of deep square punctures, the spaces between which have a few short hairs. The anterior legs are much longer than the others, and all the tibiæ are armed with a few remote spines.

Although now much restricted in its application, the genus Curculio still contains a great variety of species. In all of them the penultimate joint of the tarsi is deeply bilobed, and the antennæ are composed of eleven joints, of which the three last form a club. The grooves on the sides of the rostrum, for receiving the antennæ, are oblique, and converge towards each other on the under side. Many of the species are of large size, and such as frequent the foliage of trees are often adorned in the most sumptuous manner. This is particularly the case with several South American kinds, which are covered with a coating of scales of the most sparkling brilliancy, equal to the “illumination of all gems.” These are accordingly highly prized by collectors, a single specimen of C. regalis having been once sold at Paris for L.23 sterling. The British weevils that present most analogy to these favoured creatures belong to the genera Phyllobius and Polydrusus; but though of great beauty, their comparatively small size renders them less striking.

Curculio Cuvierii

Fig. 3

Geonemus Cuvierii, Guerin, Voyage de la Coquille.

Of a fine green colour, with a stripe of black down the middle of the rostrum and thorax. The elytra are suddenly narrowed at the apex, and have a band of black in the centre of each, which does not reach the extremity. The under side and legs are green.

Curculio Geoffroyii

Fig. 4

Geonemus Geoffroyii, Voyage de la Coquille.

Brilliant green, glossed with violet. The rostrum has a narrow impressed line down the middle, and there is a similar one in the centre of the thorax. The elytra are striated, and marked with four cross bands of deep black, of which the second from the base and that next the apex are abbreviated, and the third dilated on each side of the suture. This and the preceding species were obtained in a recent French voyage of discovery round the world.

Curculio vittatus

Fig. 5

Fabricius, Ent. Syst.—Linn. Syst. Nat.

Rostrum and thorax black, the surface smooth and shining: elytra with punctured lines, a broad white stripe at the side of the suture, a broader one of a red colour in the middle of each, and a third narrower than the others, towards the outer margin: the apex greyish: the legs and belly black; the sides of the latter white or greenish. The longitudinal stripes vary considerably in tint; the central one is generally rose-colour, and the outer one is frequently greenish. The insect occurs in Jamaica, and others of the West Indian islands.

Curculio spha­celatus

Fig. 6

Herbst. Colcopt., vi. pl. 67, fig. 12.—Olivier, v. No. 83, pl. 20, fig. 253.

The antennæ, rostrum, and thorax, are black; the latter, with the sides and four spots on the back, white. The elytra are likewise black, irregularly punctured, and marked with two or three spots, composed of yellowish scales, which are very irregular both in form and colour, often running together and forming large patches. The body beneath, and the legs, are black, more or less covered with white scales. Found in St Domingo, and elsewhere.

Curculio Latre­illii

Fig. 1

Cyphus Latreillii, Schænherr.

This beautiful insect is entirely of a light green glossed with golden yellow, and of great brilliancy. The thorax has a groove down the middle. The elytra are prominent at the shoulders, marked with punctured lines, and having several rounded tubercles which are brownish or golden-yellow. It is a native of Brazil, and, like most of its brilliant allies, is invariably found on trees, principally those of the genus Mimosa. It is named in honour of the celebrated French entomologist.

Curculio sexdecim­punctatus

Fig. 2

Linn. Syst. Nat. p. 618, No. 92.—Fabr. Ent. Syst.

The whole body is of a fine blue, a colour very seldom observed in this tribe. The thorax is generally marked with four, sometimes with five black spots, and there are six others on each wing-case, of which two at the suture, a little behind the middle, are somewhat crescent-shaped and united. The under side is blue spotted with black; the antennæ are of the latter colour. A native of South America.

Curculio myrmo­saurius

Fig. 3

Rhigus myrmosarius, Schoenherr.

Black, densely clothed with long black hair. Head and thorax unspotted; elytra with a streak across the base, and several large spots of reddish yellow on each, two of which approximate at the suture, a little behind the middle, and form a heart-shaped spot. Legs brownish. It is found in South America.

Curculio brunneus

Fig. 4

The body of this insect, which belongs to the modern genus Rhigus, is entirely reddish brown, and marked with numerous small black spots. The elytra are acute at the apex, and the legs are black. Not having met with any description which could be regarded as applying to this species, we have distinguished it by the above specific name. It was received from Brazil.

The genus Calandra is known by its nine-jointed antennæ, inserted at the base of the rostrum, with the two last joints forming a mass. It contains many conspicuous insects, several of which have attracted, the attention of agriculturists by the injury they occasion to corn and other vegetables. The best known in Europe is C. granaria, one of the smallest of the genus, the larva of which takes up its abode in the interior of a grain of corn, and speedily consumes it. Many large and remarkable kinds are found in tropical countries, where they dwell by preference in the interior of monocotyledonous plants. The most common is C. Palmarum, of which the larva, known by the name of verpalmiste, is esteemed a delicious food. It is so abundant in Guiana, that shortly after a palm-tree is cut down, especially the Maripa palm, which furnishes the chou-palmiste, of which a great quantity is consumed in the colony, crowds of these insects may be seen collected upon its stem, and occupied in penetrating into its interior.³⁸ The species represented is rather larger than the Palm-weevil, and is named

Calandra heros

Fig. 5

Fabr.—Olivier, v. No. 83, pl. 28, fig. 410.

The rostrum is black and cylindrical, with a small recurved piece on each side at the apex. The thorax is brownish black, clothed with a velvety pubescence. The elytra are likewise velvety, but of a browner hue than the thorax, much shorter than the abdomen, and slightly striated on the surface. The under parts of the body, and the legs, are black, the anterior tibiæ somewhat curved on the interior edge. It inhabits the East Indies.

Prionus cervi­cornis

Olivier, 66, pl. 2, fig. 8, a, b. Cerambyx cervicornis, Linn.—Merian. Surin., pl. 48.—Macrodontia cervicornis, Lepel. et Serv.

Although this insect is surpassed in size by one or two other species of Prioni, it is the most remarkable of the larger kinds, owing to its conspicuous projecting mandibles, and the curious markings of the elytra. The prevailing colour of the head and thorax is rust-brown; the former bears two elevated longitudinal lines, and the latter has three strong acute spines on each side, the two anterior ones being rather remote from each other, and the margin between them dentate. The mandibles often exceed the length both of the head and thorax they are strong, and bent towards each other, especially at the tip; their internal edge is deeply serrated, and one of the teeth near the middle is considerably longer than the rest: they have likewise a strong tooth or salient angle on the outer edge towards the anterior extremity. The elytra are dark brown, variegated with numerous longitudinal stripes of reddish yellow, which are often interrupted, and united with each other. The under parts of the body, and the legs, are of a ferruginous colour; and the latter are without spines. This species varies much in size, some of the specimens which we have seen measuring upwards of five inches, while others do not exceed two and three quarters. It is an inhabitant of Brazil and Cayenne, where it is universally known by the name of Mouche scieur de long. This appellation refers to a very peculiar habit which the insect is recorded to practise. It is said to seize a branch of a tree or shrub between its long and powerful mandibles, and to fly round the enclosed twig till it has succeeded in sawing it off. M. Lacordaire says,

Although I have not my self been a witness of this occurrence, I am inclined to believe it, both because I have been assured of its truth by individuals worthy of credit, and because I have seen on several occasions branches cut in the manner alluded to, and bearing the evident marks of mandibles which must have belonged to an insect of the size of this species.

A like practice has been noticed in a large species of Oncyderes found in Brazil; and it is conjectured that similar observations will soon be made in relation to others of the long-horned beetles. The larva of F. cervicornis is said to live in the wood of the Gossampinus, and is frequently used as an article of food.

Prionus corti­cinus

Fig. 1

The body of this species is rather depressed. The head and antennæ are brown, the former having a deep furrow between the eyes, and a dense tuft of hair in front covering the base of the mandibles. The thorax is brown, having a few tubercles in the middle, and several spines on the sides, of which that next the hinder angle is longest. The elytra are elongate, and nearly of equal width throughout their whole length; they are of a brown colour, and have a small spine at the apex of each. The under side of the body, and the legs, are brown. It is a native of Cayenne.

The tribe of Cerambycidæ bears a considerable resemblance to the preceding in the general appearance of the body; but they differ in having mandibles of ordinary size, and nearly alike in the two sexes. The eyes are notched on the inner side, and partly surround the base of the antennæ;—and the latter are at least as long as the body. The upper lip is very large, and occupies the anterior portion of the head. This tribe is of great extent, but a very small proportion of the species occur in Britain, their characteristic localities being in warm countries. They are much esteemed by collectors for their handsome proportions, and the beautiful combination of colours with which many are adorned. Some are remarkable for emitting a strong odour of roses, especially that named moschatus, which occurs in considerable abundance on willow-trees in the vicinity of London. In C. phyllopus, a native of Brazil, this scent is so strong that it is felt in walking through the woods to a great distance. They are usually found in woods and on the trunks of trees, being very rarely seen on flowers, and they appear to derive their chief nourishment from the sap that exudes from the stems. The species figured as an example of this tribe is named

Lophono­cerus barbi­cornis

Fig. 2

Cerambyx barbicorriis, Olivier, iv. No. 67, pl. 7, fig 48.—Linn. Fab.

This genus is chiefly distinguished by the circumstance from which it derives its name,⁴⁰ viz. the fascicles or tufts of hair with which several of the intermediate joints of the antennæ are garnished. The species represented has the five lowest joints thickly clothed with these hairs, which are of a black colour; the apex of the joints and the six naked ones at the extremity are yellow. The head and thorax are also yellow, the latter having a few spots of black on the sides, which are armed with a strong spine and several tubercles. The elytra are variegated with black and reddish yellow. The middle of the abdomen is yellow, and the legs are entirely of that colour. It is a native of Cayenne, and not of Asia, as erroneously stated by Linnæus and Fabricius.

The next important tribe of the long-horned beetles that presents itself to our notice, is that named Lamiariæ, in which the head is nearly vertical, the palpi almost filiform, and terminating in an oval joint, which tapers to a point. The outer lobe of the under aws is narrowed at the extremity, and curved upon the inner one. The most remarkable insect belonging to the tribe is that named

Harlequin Beetle

Arcocinus longimanus.—Fig. 1

Cerambyx longimanus, Linn.—Prionus lorrgimanus, Fab.—Olivier, iv. No. 66, pl. 3, fig. 12, pl. 4, fig. 12.

It is distinguished generically by having a moveable tubercle on each side of the thorax terminating in a spine. This is certainly one of the most singular of coleopterous insects, whether we regard the proportions of its parts, or the curious colouring and variegation of the body. The figures on the elytra, formed of strongly contrasted colours, are so regularly drawn that they may be conceived to be the result of some artificial process. As the wings of several moths and butterflies are inscribed with characters representing with great accuracy letters of various languages, and figures corresponding with several dates of the Christian era, these grotesque delineations in like manner seem to resemble, as has been remarked of them, certain hieroglyphic symbols pourtray art by the mysterious hand of nature. Its party-coloured dress has caused the insect to be very generally known by the name of Harlequin Beetle.

The ground colour is black, and the whole surface is clothed with a dense silky pubescence. The antennæ are about twice the length of the body, and of a black colour, except the base of the joints, which is greyish. The head is ornamented with two triangular patches of red, and two lines of the same hue are placed in the centre of the thorax, which converge in front: from each side of the thorax behind there projects a strong spine, which can be moved in different directions at the will of the insect; and two others, of small size, and incapable of motion, issue from the back, one towards each side. The elytra are variegated with undulated lines and angular figures of red and grey: towards the base the surface is pretty thickly covered with impressed points, interspersed with small black shining tubercles; and each elytron bears an acute spine on the shoulder, and two others at the hinder extremity. The under parts are likewise covered with silky pubescence, but it is of a grey colour. The thighs are smooth and black, each of them surrounded by a red ring near the apex. The anterior thighs and tibiæ are of great length, the latter much incurved at the tip, where they are armed with a spine, and covered with small points and granulations on the under side; these parts in the other legs are smooth, and more or less ash-coloured. This insect is of frequent occurrence in Brazil, Guiana, and other tropical countries of America. It is known to the natives by the name of Mouche bagasse, a term taken from a free which has lately been described under the botanical appellation of Bagassa Guyanensis. The wood of this tree is of a bright yellow, and when it is felled, there issues from it a white viscid juice of a peculiar and penetrating odour, of which the insects are so fond that they seldom fail to be attracted by it. The negroes, who often employ them selves in searching for the rarer and more beautiful kinds of insects, that they may dispose of them to collectors, avail themselves of this propensity, and sometimes cut down these trees, as the most ready means of obtaining a supply of beetles. It is generally found on the trunk or at the bottom of trees, rarely under the bark, and never on the leaves. Its motions are so sluggish, that it may be said to drag itself along rather than walk. It occasionally takes wing on the approach of evening, but its flight is slow and unsteady, scarcely appearing under the guidance of the animal, as it strikes against any object that happens to be in the way, and falls to the ground. A rustling sound accompanies its flight, and it often betrays its retreat by a rather loud noise, which is produced by the friction of the thorax. It varies greatly in size and colour. Specimens from the interior of the country are usually of a much paler tint than such as are obtained in the neighbourhood of Rio Janeiro, and other places towards the coast.⁴¹

The genus Lamia, from which the present tribe derives its name, is constituted by a variety of finely-coloured species, some of which are of considerable size. They are extensively diffused over the earth, and a considerable number occur in Europe. Only two kinds appear to inhabit Britain.

Lamia subo­cellata

Fig. 2

Cerambyx subocellatus, Olivier, iv. No. 67, p. 69, pl. 2, fig. 12, a, b.

The colour of the body is brownish black, and it is covered with dense silky pubescence. A broad stripe of yellowish white runs along the middle of the head, and is continued down the centre of the thorax; the latter is armed with an acute spine on each side. The elytra are marked with numerous rounded spots of yellowish white, which are variable in size.

Lamia ornata

Fig. 1

Cerambyx ornatus, Olivier, iv. No. 67, pl. 4, fig. 24, a, b.

The head of this pretty insect is golden yellow, glossed with green about the eyes, and having two black lines anteriorly. The thorax is of the same colour as the head, and has two narrow cross bands of black: the hinder margin green. The elytra are yellow, marked with regular patches of black which are surrounded with green; the suture and hinder extremity of the elytra are of the latter colour. The middle of the abdomen and the legs are glossed with green. It is said to be a native of Africa.

Lamia formosa

Fig. 2

Olivier, iv. No. 67, pl. 20, fig. 153.

In this insect the head is black, with the front rust-red, the thorax black, having a large red spot on each side; the elytra are likewise black, with two broad bands of red interrupted at the suture, and a few white punctures towards the hinder extremity, which is itself red. The legs are black, spotted with white at the base.

Lamia tricincta

Fig. 4

This very fine species is about an inch and a half in length. The antennæ are steel-blue, with dense tufts of hair on the third, fourth, and fifth joints. The head and thorax are covered with short depressed hairs of a brassy green or bluish tint; the latter has two small tubercles on each side. The elytra are similar in colour to the thorax, the back usually somewhat shining, and the whole surface is thickly punctured: there are three remote bands of black composed of soft hairs, and having the appearance of velvet, the hairs of the anterior band longer than in the others, and frequently forming a considerable tuft towards the suture. The under side of the body and the lower half of the thighs are closely covered with depressed hairs of a deep and beautiful red; the other parts of the leg are steel-blue, glossed with green above. An extensive series of specimens have lately been procured from Java.

Of the last tribe of the long-horned beetles, termed Lepturidæ, the example figured is named

Desmocerus cyaneus

Fig. 3

Stenocorus cyaneus, Fabr.—Olivier, iv. No. 69, pl. 3, fig. 26.

It is of a dark-blue colour, somewhat shining, roughly punctured and pubescent. The head has a longitudinal groove, and there is a similar impression down the centre of the thorax; the latter is in the shape of a truncated cone, with the hinder angles very acute, and almost forming a spine. The anterior half of the elytra is yellow, the other dark blue, with violet reflections. The under parts of the body, and the legs, are dark blue. It is said to inhabit India and other eastern countries of Asia.

The fifth family of tetramerous beetles, according to the system of Latreille, comprehends the genus Sagra, which has the palpi terminated by an oval joint, the thorax cylindrical, and the antennæ filiform, with the four lowest joints shorter than the others. The hinder thighs are very thick, especially in one of the sexes. The species are confined to Africa, the island of Ceylon, and China.

Sagra Buquetii

Lesson’s Illustrations de Zoologie, pl. 30.

The male is about thirteen lines long and six broad. The surface of the body is perfectly smooth and polished, of a brilliant green, with purple and coppery reflections of the highest resplendency, especially on the elytra. The hinder thighs are remarkably long and thick, and armed beneath with a few acute teeth; the hinder tibiæ are garnished with long rust-red hairs. The female does not exceed eleven lines in length. The body is not so much narrowed behind as that of the male; the thighs of the hinder legs are oval, and the tibiæ naked. It inhabits Cochin China, and is probably synonymous with S. Boisduvalii (Dejean), of which we have seen a multitude of specimens from Java.

The Cassidæ, or Tortoise-beetles as they are sometimes called, are chiefly remarkable for a habit which they practise in common with several allied kinds, that of covering their bodies, when larvæ, with their own excrements. In order to enable them to do this with facility, they are provided with a forked process issuing from the anal extremity, which can be turned upwards, and laid along the back. Upon this they deposit their excrement, and support the load in such a manner as to cover the body. This singular covering is probably designed to shelter the tender body of the larva from the air and sun, and at the same time to conceal it from birds. The outer shell of the perfect beetle considerably overlaps the body, and the legs can be drawn completely within it. The species are very numerous, and many of them highly ornamental, as will be seen from the adjoining figures.

Cassida bicornis

Fig. 1

Fabr. Ent. Syst.—Olivier, vi. No. 97, pl. 4, fig. 59.

The colour of this insect is bluish green, except the antennæ, which are black with the radical joints bronzed. The thorax has two or three small impressions; and the elytra, which are punctured, have a long obtuse spine projecting sidewise from each shoulder. It occurs in Cayenne, Surinam, and other parts of America.

Cassida scalaris

Fig. 2

Fabr. Syst. Eleuth.—Olivier, vi. No. 97, pl. 4 6, fig. 94.

Thorax rounded anteriorly, yellow, with a portion of the middle red, in which are two yellow points. The scutellum is red. The elytra are pale yellow, with three broad longitudinal black stripes, of which that on the suture is broken into square spots, and the lateral ones have each a square piece separated from the apex. The under parts are yellow. Said to be found in Sumatra.

Cassida micans

Fig. 3

Fabr. Syst. Eleuth.—Olivier, vi. No. 97, pl. 5, fig. 83.

In this insect the antennæ are yellow, with the two last joints black; the thorax yellow, and nearly transparent; the elytra yellowish brown on the disk, a stripe of that colour extending to each of the anterior angles, and two others from the hinder extremity across the dilated margin, which, as well as the under parts of the body, is pale yellow. Found in Java.

Cassida echinata

Fig. 4

Fabr. Syst. Eleuth.—Olivier, vi. No. 97, pl. 5, fig. 86.

This curious species has the thorax very much dilated on each side into a thin foliaceous membrane, which is dentate round the margin. A similar expanded portion, likewise dentate on the edge, surrounds the elytra; the latter have the anterior half green, and the hinder part reddish brown. The under side of the body is dull yellowish red. Like the preceding species, it is a native of Java.

Cassida perforata

Fig. 5

Fabr. Syst. Entom.—Olivier, vi. No. 97, pl. 4, fig. 58.

The colour is yellowish red, dull above, but shining beneath. The thorax is short and transverse, the sides drawn out into a kind of spine. The elytra are nearly triangular, the basal angles advanced on each side of the thorax in the form of an acute point; and there is an oval perforation observable near the base of each. It is found in the tropical parts of America.

Cassida luctuosa

Fig. 6

Olivier, vi. No. 97, pl. 4, fig. 54.

Head and thorax black, the latter short, and terminating in an acute point at each of the hinder angles. The elytra are likewise black, with all the outer edge, a small portion of the suture, and a short line near the middle of each, reddish; the under side and legs are also of that colour. It is found at Surinam.

Cassida six-pustulata

Fig. 1

Fabr. Syst. Entom.—Olivier, 97, pl. 3, fig. 36.

This well-known species is bluish green above, and shining black beneath. The elytra are gibbous on the back, the surface thickly punctured, and each of the wing-cases marked with three spots of red. It is found in Brazil, where it is rather common.

Clythra hirta

Fig. 2

Fabr. Syst. Eleuth.—Olivier, No. 96, pl. 2, fig. 18.

The head, thorax, and scutellum, as well as all the under parts of the body, are blue, and covered with rather long ash-coloured hairs. The elytra are brownish red, with three black spots on each, one on the shoulder and two others behind the middle. It occurs in Barbary.

Chlamys monstrosa

Fig. 3

Fabr. Ent. Syst.—Olivier, vi. No. 96, pl. 1, fig. 1, a, b.

In this singular genus, the thorax rises in the middle into a tuberculated protuberance, and is produced behind in the form of a triangle; the suture of the elytra, except at the base, is armed with little teeth, alternating with each other like the cogs of a mill-wheel;⁴² and in certain species the palpi are forked. A considerable number of these insects are known, and all of them are proper to the new world. They are found on leaves, over which they walk very slowly, and simulate death when attempted to be seized. They appear never to make use of their wings, but are usually observed adhering to a leaf, and continuing quite stationary. When in this posture, they bear a much greater resemblance to a piece of withered fungus, or some gelatinous substance shrivelled by the sun, than to any living creature. The species figured is about five or six lines long, of a uniform violet blue, the thorax with a somewhat silky gloss, and the elytra much wrinkled, tuberculated, and punctured. The segments of the abdomen are drawn within each other like the tubes of a telescope, and the penultimate one has a deep rounded impression in the middle.

Doryphora tessellata

Fig. 4

Olivier, v. No. 91, pl. 1, fig. 6.

This genus is well discriminated from the other chrysomelinæ by the character which has suggested the name,⁴³ viz. the long conical horn projecting from the breast. The species are peculiar to South America, in some countries of which they are much more numerous than the chrysomelæ properly so called. They are usually observed walking slowly on the leaves of plants, and they permit themselves to fall to the ground when one approaches. When handled they discharge from the mouth a yellow liquor of a fœtid smell. The species above referred to, is very convex, smooth, and glossy. The head and thorax are glossy black, with a brassy lustre, and without punctures. The elytra are punctured, of a yellow colour, with five cross rows of large quadrate black or brown spots, that next the apex consisting of only two. The under side and legs, as well as the outer margins and suture of the elytra, are black. The length is nearly nine lines.

The only remaining family of the tetramerous beetles that requires to be noticed, is named Clavipalpi, on account of the large size of the terminal joint of the maxillary palpi. It includes only a few genera, some of which consist of small insects with a hemispherical body, which they have the power of contracting into a ball. The larger kinds, which do not possess this property, are chiefly referrible to the genus Erotylus of Fabricius. The latter well exemplify the distinctive character of the family, as the last joint of the maxillary palpi is unusually large, transverse, and attached by the middle to the stalk of the palpus, bearing considerable resemblance to a hammer. The species are numerous, amounting to nearly one hundred and thirty; and they occur chiefly in the tropical countries of America, if indeed they are not confined to these regions. They are said to frequent leaves, and are observed flying about in the woods during the day. They are solitary in their habits, with the exception of E. sphacelatus (Fab.), which is usually found congregated in considerable numbers on the trunks of fallen trees. The species figured is not rare. It is named

Erotylus histrio

Fig. 5

Fabr. Ent. Syst.—Olivier, v. No. 89, pl. 2, fig. 12, a, b.

It is about an inch long; the head, antennæ, and thorax black; the elytra, which are very much elevated in the middle, are likewise black, with irregular bands formed of yellow confluent spots; two of these spots, one on the shoulder of each elytron, and another at the apex, are reddish; the surface is marked with dark impressed points, which form irregular lines anteriorly. The under side and legs are black. The markings vary much, in some instances the black bands on the elytra being almost obliterated.

Spheniscus eroty­loides

Fig. 6

Kirby, Linn. Trans. xii. pl. 22, fig. 4.

This genus was established by Mr Kirby on an insect from Brazil, very closely related to Helops. The head and thorax are black and shining, the latter sparingly punctured. The elytra are very gibbous in the centre, marked with punctured lines, of a pale-yellow colour spotted with black, and having a broad band over the middle, and the apex black. The under side and legs are likewise black. The figure of this insect has been accidentally placed among the tetramerous insects, but it belongs to the heteromerous section, as will be seen from the number of joints in the tarsi.

Alurnus marginatus

Fig. 1

The Alurni have antennæ of equal thickness throughout their whole length, with the second joint shorter than the following, and they are directed forwards; the body is oblong; the head not concealed within the thorax, and the mandibles are furnished with only two or three teeth. A. marginatus is very common in Brazil, and always frequents the leaves of plants. It is of a dull brownish-black colour above, with the sides of the thorax, outer edge of the elytra, and the suture, margined with blood-red. The head, and all the under parts of the body, are likewise of that colour, the apex of the thighs, the tibiæ, and tarsi, being black.

Eumolpus cupreus

Fig. 2

The Eumolpi differ from the allied genera in having mandibles of ordinary size, and the second joint of the antennæ much shorter than the following. The species are pretty numerous, and many of them are insects of great beauty. They are usually found on the leaves of plants, sometimes associated in considerable numbers. This is the case particularly with E. fulgidus, one of the largest kinds and the most common in Brazil. The species represented is a native of America. The head, thorax, and scutellum, are greenish blue, of a very beautiful tint, especially when moistened. The elytra are closely but distinctly punctured, of a rich coppery red glossed with green. The under side and legs are bluish green, the latter somewhat pubescent towards the foot

The extensive genus Chrysomela is characterised by the body being ovate and very convex,—by the antennæ thickening slightly towards the apex,—and by the dilated and somewhat hatchet-shaped terminal joint of the maxillary palpi. The name, which signifies an apple of gold, has been suggested by the rounded form and rich colouring of the species. In the last particular, they are not inferior to any of our native insects many of them being embellished with agreeable combinations of scarlet, azure, and golden green, with a high degree of lustre. They are strictly herbivorous; and as many of them are gregarious in their habits, they sometimes occasion much injury to herbaceous plants, by stripping them of their leaves. About thirty different kinds inhabit this country; of these perhaps the most beautiful is named

Chryso­mela cerealis

Fig. 3

Linn. Syst. Nat.—Fabr. Syst. Entom.—Donovan’s Brit. Insects, iv. pl. 115.

It is of a brilliant coppery red above, with parallel stripes of blue along the thorax and elytra. The under side of the body and the antennæ are usually brownish, at other times inclining to purple. The wings are of a fine scarlet colour. It is found on the common broom, and is not uncommon in some parts of the Continent. In this country it is very scarce, and was long regarded as a doubtful native; but the recent occurrence of several examples in Wales has removed all uncertainty on this point.

Chryso­mela fatuosa

Fig. 4

Linn. Fabr.—Donovan’s Brit. Insects, vi. pl. 194.

Brilliant golden green, with the suture and a stripe along each elytron violet blue. The length is about three lines. It is found on the White Dead Nettle (Lamium album), and occurs not unfrequently both in England and Scotland.

Œdion­ychis cincita

Fig. 5

Œdionychis is one of the sub-genera into which the extensive genus Haltica of Linnæus has recently been divided. The species are distinguished from most other tetramerous beetles, by the thickened hinder thighs, by which they are enabled to leap to a considerable height into the air. Most of them are of small size, but they are finely coloured, and very destructive in their habits. The species named cincta is of a yellow colour on the head, thorax, and scutellum. The elytra are violet blue, shining, with a band of white across the middle, which widens at the suture. The under side and antennæ are pale yellowish red, the legs being of a similar colour, except the hinder thighs, which are bluish. It occurs in St Domingo.

The fourth general division of the Coleoptera, named Trimera, includes the kinds with three joints in all the tarsi. As an example of this division, which is comparatively of limited extent, we have figured a beautiful species of the well-known genus Coccinella.

Cocci­nella vigintiduo-punctata

Fig. 6

Donovan, Brit. Insects.

It is entirely of a light-yellow colour, having five black spots on the thorax, and eleven on each elytron. It is of frequent occurrence in England.