OF THE DOR-BEETLE. 89 



however, entirely covered with this armour. A portion of the 

 abdomen under the wing-cases or elytra, for instance, where the 

 flexibility of the covering allows of the expansion and contraction 

 necessary for the act of breathing, is constructed of a much softer 

 material. Nevertheless, these softer parts are enclosed in a 

 tolerably firm skin to protect them from injury. Beetles, like the 

 warriors of old, are enclosed in plate armour, that of the beetle 

 being much more skilfully designed and constructed ; and although 

 these insects display an immense variety of form and structure, a 

 certain unity of plan runs through them all. 



To get anything like an idea of the forms of these interesting 

 insects, it will be best to take a few leading types, choosing, as far 

 as possible, the larger species ; and on the present occasion I 

 propose to take the Dor-Beetle as an example of a dung-feeding, 

 fossorial beetle. 



Before commencing to describe the various parts of this 

 insect, it may be well to say a few words as to its name, classifica- 

 tion, etc. The beetle must be familiar to every one, being so 

 frequently seen flying about in the dusk of evening, more particu- 

 larly during the autumn season. In its heavy, lumbering flight, it 

 is not unusual for it to strike individuals in the face. Hence, it 

 has received the name of Dor, or Darer. It is undoubtedly the 

 beetle Shakespeare alludes to when he says, " The shard-borne 

 beetle, with its drowsy hums." I will not in the present paper go 

 into the question as to whether it was shard-born or shard-borne 

 which Shakespeare wrote, but it may be stated that if it was 

 shard-borne — meaning that the beetle in its flight is borne on its 

 shards, or elytra — he was wrong from a naturalist's point of view, 

 as during flight the elytra are merely held up out of the way so as 

 not to interfere with the action of the large membranous wings. 



The form of the antennae at once shows that it belongs to the 

 great family, Lamellicornia — Lamella, a little plate, and cornu, a 

 horn. In this case the club of the antenna consists of three 

 leaves or plates, the middle one of which is partially enclosed by 

 the other two, all three being densely pubescent. It belongs to 

 the genus Geotrtipes, signifying earth-borers. The suitability of 

 this term will be at once seen when the habits of the beetle are 

 stated. 



