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THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



body, thus recovering its natural position ; this unusual movement, 

 together with its curious prominent eye-like spots, combine to make it a 

 constant source of wonder and interest. Since it feeds only on decaying 

 wood, it scarcely deserves to be classed with destructive insects. 



THE STAG BEETLE— Lucanns dayna. 



This is another very common beetle somewhat similar in its habits to 

 the eyed Elater, but very different in appearance. It is a large and 

 powerful insect belonging to the family called Lamellicornes, or leaf-horned 

 beetles, from the leaf-like joints composing their antennae. In tbe male, 

 fig. 8, the upper jaws or mandibles are largely 

 developed, curved like a sickle and furnished 

 internally beyond the middle with a small 

 tooth ; those of the female are much shorter 

 and also toothed. The body measures from an 

 inch to an inch and a quarter in length, exclu- 

 sive of the jaws, and is of a dull mahogany 

 brown color. The head of the male is broad 

 and smooth, that of the female narrow and 

 roughened with punctures. The insect appears 

 during the months of July and August, is very 

 vigorous on the wing, flying with a loud buzzing 

 sound during the evening, when it frequently 

 enters houses to the alarm of nervous occupants. It is perhaps scarcely 

 necessary to remark that it is not in any way venemous, and it never 

 attempts to bite without provocation. 



The female lays her eggs in the crevices of the bark of trees, especially 

 near the roots. The larvae live in decaying wood and are found in the 

 trunks and roots of various kinds of trees, particularly those of old apple 

 trees ; they are also found in old cherry trees, willows and oaks. They 

 are said to be six years in completing their growth, living all the time on 

 the wood of the tree, reducing it to a coarse powder resembling sawdust. 

 The mature larva is a large, thick, nearly cylindrical whitish worm, with a 

 horny-looking head of a reddish brown color, dark mandibles and reddish 

 legs. The body is curved when at rest, the hinder segments being brought 

 towards the head. 



When the larva has attained full size it remains in its burrow and 

 encloses itself in an oval cocoon formed of fragments of wood and bark, 



Fig. 8. 



