BEETLES. 45 



also in the artificial system of Latreille. The Tiger- 

 beetles and the May-beetles belong to one and the 

 same family, which he calls Pentamera, because both 

 have five joints on their feet ; but they are very unlike 

 each other in their forms and in their natural disposi- 

 tion ; the one is carnivorous, the other herbivorous ; the 

 one is useful, the other injurious to vegetation. For 

 these reasons we prefer our natural classification accord- 

 ing to their food, and hence according to their natural 

 disposition. Of the first family, the Carnivorous Bee- 

 tles, we have already spoken, and we proceed to the 

 second family. 



Scavenger Beetles. 



The body of most all of the Scavenger Beetles is 

 very hard, and their feet very strong, adapted for 

 digging. They deposit their eggs in manure, or rotten 

 wood, or carrion, or in the ground, and, in some 

 instances, the grubs (larvae) proceeding from these 

 eggs live several years in these substances before they 

 are metamorphosed into perfect beetles, as in the case 

 with the Stag-beetle. 



In this family we find the largest Beetles, as, for 

 instance, the Hercules of South America, which is five 

 inches long. Many of them also are remarkable for 

 their very singular forms. Upon their thorax or head 

 we generally notice several horns, .which are used to 



