The Living Animals of the World, Volume II: Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians, Fishes, Jointed Animals, Molluscs, etc.

The order is again divided into several smaller groups, first among which stand the predaceous beetles of the land. Of these the common English TIGER-BEETLE is a familiar example. It is found on sandy and its bright green wing-peaty heaths, and may be known at once by cases, marked with white spots, and the metallic blue of the abdomen, The legs are coppery. It flies with great swiftness in the hot sunshine, taking to wing as readily as a blue-bottle fly, and feeds entirely upon other insects,

Another representative of the group is rich golden green in colour, with coppery reflections. It is only an occasional visitor to Britain, Photo by W. P. Dando, but abounds in France and Germany, F.Z.S., Regent's Park. where it feeds upon the caterpillars of the famous Processionary Moth, TIGER-BEETLE. and is largely instrumental in checking their ravages in the great The colouring of this oak forests. green is bright Familiar to almost all is the insect with PURPLE GROUND-BEETLE, so plentiful and coppery white markings in gardens, and easily recognisable legs. by the violet margin to the black 681 83

wing-cases. It pours out an evil-smelling liquid from the end of the body when handled. The curious red-and-blue BOMBARDIER, which, when interfered with, discharges a little puff of bluish-white smoke from the tip of the abdomen, accompanied by a distinct report, is also a member of this group. It is found under stones on river-banks, and also on the coast. Next come the predaceous beetles of the water, of which we have a well-known British representative in the GREAT BROWN WATER-BEETLE. This insect, which is plentiful in weedy ponds, swims by means of its hind limbs, which are modified into broad, flat oars, with a mechanical arrangement for "feathering" as they are drawn back after making each stroke. It flies by night, often travelling for a long distance from one pond to another, and regains the water by suddenly folding its wings and allowing itself to fall from a height. In Photo by W. P. Dando, f.Z.S., the female insect the wing-cases are Regent's Park. grooved for about two-thirds of their GROUND-BEETLE. The beetles of this group are generally length. of a black or bronzy colour, some species This beetle must not be con- being beautifully metallic. founded with the still larger BLACK WATER-BEETLE, which belongs to another group. This fine insect, which is not predaceous in the perfect state, is locally plentiful in ditches, and is in great request as an inmate of the fresh-water aquarium. The hind limbs are not modified for swimming purposes. Next in order come the COCKTAILS, so called from their curious habit of turning up the end of the body when alarmed. flies " which cause such To this group belong most of the tiny " severe pain when they find their way into the eyes. Some species, however, attain to a considerable size, the well-known

Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S., DEVIL'S COACH-HORSE being ' fully an inch in length. The great Park. Regent's

GREAT BROWN majority are scavengers, being

WATER-BEETLE (MALE). found in carrion, manure, and de-olive-brown A about large species, an caying vegetable matter. A few, ininch half as length, broad. and nearly The wing-cases of the female are grooved. however, are lodgers in the nests of ants, by whom they appear to be regarded as pets and treated with the utmost kindness.

The next group includes the curious insects popularly known as BURYING-BEETLES, which inter the bodies of small animals in the ground, scooping out the earth from underneath them by it backmeans of their broad and powerful heads, and shovelling when the carcases have sunk to a sufficient depth. The eggs are laid in the carrion thus buried. Most of these beetles are distinguished by broad blotches or bars of orange on the wing-cases, but one common British species is entirely black.

Allied to these, and very similar in habits, are the FLAT species.BURYING-BEETLES, of which there are about a dozen British . Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S., In the best known of these the thorax is dull red in colour, and Regent's Park. the black wing-cases are curiously wrinkled. Another species is BLACK WATER-BEETLE. narrower, black species, longer, shining convex than the Great Browareddish yellow. in Colour, With tWO round black Spots On each andA more wing-case. It is found on oak-trees, and feeds upon caterpillars, water-beetle.

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The LEAF-HORNED BEETLES are distinguished by the fact that the terminal joints of the antennae lie one upon another like the leaves of a book. In many cases they can be expanded at will into a broad fan-like club. The well-known STAG-BEETLE of Great Britain is a representative of this group. It is a somewhat local species, being plentiful in some parts of the country, and entirely unknown in others. The grub lives for several years in it buries itself inthe trunks of elm-trees, feeding upon the solid wood. When fully grown, the earth, and constructs a large cocoon, in which it passes the chrysalis stage of its existence. The perfect beetle emerges in November, but remains within the cocoon until the following June. In the female the jaws are very much smaller than in the male, but are nevertheless more formidable as weapons. The insect may often be seen flying on warm summer evenings. is the HERCULES BEETLE, found in the A still larger insect belonging to the same group West Indies and tropical America, a male of average size being nearly 5 inches in length. In this beetle the thorax is prolonged into a horn, which is curved downwards, while the head is produced into a similar horn curved upwards, so that the two look like a pair of enormous jaws. It has been stated that these horns, both of which are furnished with toothlike projections, are employed in sawing off the smaller branches of trees, the beetle grasping

Photos by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.] [Regent's Park.

TWO BURYING -BEETLES.

These insects are about an inch in length; many are black, but others have orange-red bands on the wing-cases. till the wood is completely cuta bough firmly, and flying round and round in a circle, through. This assertion, however, is totally unworthy of credit. An example of the beetle evidently imported was recently found crawling on a hedge near Biggleswade.

One of the largest of all known beetles is DRURY'S GOLIATH BEETLE, a native of the Gaboon, whose body is almost as big as the closed fist of a man. It appears to feed, while a grub, its transformation to the chrysalis state in anon the wood of decaying trees, and undergoes earthen cocoon, the peculiarity of which is that a thick belt, or ridge, runs round the middle. How this belt is formed is a mystery, as it lies upon the outside, while the grub necessarily constructs the cocoon from the inside. Several living examples of this beetle were exhibited in the summer of 1898 in the Insect-house of the Zoological Gardens in the Eegent's Park, ofwhere they remained for five or six weeks, feeding on the flesh of melons. A photograph this beetle will be found in the Coloured Plate.

is The common COCKCHAFER belongs to another division of the same group. This insect extremely injurious, as the grub lives for three years or more underground, feeding on the is onlyroots of various cultivated plants. The perfect beetle appears in May and June, and too plentiful almost everywhere. A month or so later its place is taken by the SUMMER CHAFER, or JUNE BUG, which may often be seen flying in hundreds round the tops of

of the World684 The Living Animals

low trees soon after sunset, while the smaller COCH-Y-BONDDHU the " Cocker-of the angler often appears about bundy " the same time in hundreds of thousands. The beautiful

ROSE - BEETLE,

too, with its bright golden-green wing-cases marked with wavy whitish lines, may often be seen sunning itself in roses or on the blossoms of

Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S., pinks.The s Regent's Park. fa m o u

EGYPTIAN SKIPJACK BEETLE.

The larvae of this family are known as SCARABjEUS IS Wire-worms. also a member of this group. It is remarkable not only

Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.] [Regent's Park. for the sacred character attributed to it MALE STAG-BEETLE. by the ancient Egyptians, but also for its The males are often 2 inches long; the females have comparatively small curious habit of rolling along balls of dung jaws. until it can find a soft spot in which to bury them. When the egg hatches, the grub feeds upon the dung, the quantity provided being exactly sufficient for its requirements. The common DOR BEETLE of Great Britain is allied to this insect; it tunnels down to a depth of 14 or 15 inches beneath a patch of excrement, and lays its egg at the bottom of the burrow.

The SKIPJACK BEETLES,

parents of the well-known Wire-worms, which cause so much mischief by feeding upon the roots of cultivated crops, represent another group. These beetles owe their popular title to their singular method of re-gaining their feet when they happen to roll over upon their backs. Their bodies being very smooth and polished, and their legs very short, they cannot recover' their footing in the York. ordinary manner. On the lower Photo by L. H. Joutel] HERCULES BEETLE FLYING. from the thorax,part of the body, however, is a The most remarkable feature about this insect is its huge horn-like projection known as which is nearly as long as the rest of its body.highly elastic spine,

Sheath'Winged Insects 685

"the mucro," which lies in a sheath. When the beetle falls over, it arches its body into the form of a bow, resting only upon the head and the extreme tip of the abdomen, removes the is that the centralspine from its sheath, and then drives it sharply back again. The result part of the body strikes the ground with such force that the insect springs into the air to a height of 2 or 3 inches. Then, turning half over as it falls, it alights on its feet.

The FIRE-FLY of the tropics belongs to the same group. The luminosity of this insect proceeds from two different parts of the body, a brilliant yellowish-green light shining out through two transparent window-like spots on the thorax, while an orange glow is visible on the lower surface of the abdomen. The exact cause of the light is unknown, as is also the manner of its control by the insect. The same may be said of the common English GLOW- WORM, in which the light proceeds from the lower surface of the hind part of the body. The male of this insect is winged; the female is grub-like in appearance and wingless. The grub itself, which may be found in autumn, is also luminous, and feeds upon snails. Another group includes a very large number of beetles of very varying character and appearance. Among these are the OIL-BEETLES, so called from their habit of exuding small drops of an oily liquid from the joints of their limbs when handled. The eggs are laid in batches of several thousand in holes in the ground, and the little long-legged grubs, on emerging, clamber up the stems of flowers, and hide themselves among