50 



ZOOLOGY 







closely applied plates. This family includes many very 



large insects. We can separate it into two groups, - - the 



scavengers and the leaf-chafers. 



The scavenger lamellicorns, commonly known as tumble- 

 bugs, live in the dung of horses and cows, which they form 



into balls and roll long distances 

 (Fig. 49). The dung-rolling habit 

 has long excited interest ; indeed, 

 among the Egyptians it was a 

 source of superstition. So high 

 was the veneration of this people 

 for this their sacred beetle, that 

 they reproduced it in their paint- 

 ings and sculpture. The ball of 

 dung is really intended for the dep- 

 osition of an egg, and it is rolled 

 by both males and females to a hole 



in the ground which has been dug in a safe place for its 



reception. 



The leaf-eating lamellicorns include the May-beetles or 



"June-bugs' (Lachnosterna 1 ) which are attracted by 



lamplight at night. They enter with a 



busy humming sound, soon come in violent 



contact with the wall or a piece of furni- 

 ture, and fall heavily to the floor. They 



feed at night upon the foliage of trees and 



shrubs. Another common species is the 



rose-bug, 2 which bears the name Macro- 



dactylus 3 subspinosus. It is destructive to 



the blossoms and young fruit of grapes, 



FIG. 49. Copris, a tumble- 

 bug. Nat. size. Photo, by 

 W.^H. C.P. 



n sheep's wool ; arepvov, the chest. 

 2 Fig. 50. 3 /^a/epos, large ; 



finger. 



FIG. 50. Macro- 

 dactylus, the 

 rose-bug. Nat. 

 size. Photo, by 

 W. H. C. P. 



