THE LARGEST LIVING CREATURES 



149 



very narrow. Much broader are the wings of the dull females 

 of the gorgeous Ornithopteras of the East Indies, some of which 

 spread 8 inches. 



The most vivid of all butterflies are the males of the South 

 American Morphos, several of which are very large, 71/2 inches 

 across the wings, equalled in size in the western hemisphere only 

 by the related but much more sombre owl butterflies or Caligos. 



Of the beetles the bulkiest and heaviest are the largest of the 

 elephant beetles of South America; one 

 which Mr. H. S. Barber measured for 

 me was 4 5/8 inches in total length, 

 33/4 inches from end of body to tip of 

 jaws, and 21/8 inches broad. A longi- 

 corn beetle from the Pacific islands, 

 found in Fiji and other places, is the 

 longest of the beetles, 57/8 inches in 

 body length, but only i 3/4 inches 

 across. 



The African goliath beetles are very 

 large, one which I measured being 37/8 

 inches long and 17/8 inches across. 



The well known Hercules beetle, found 

 at Dominica and in many other places in 

 the American tropics, reaches a length of 

 6 3/8 inches, but a considerable part of 

 this is made up of the long projecting 

 horn. From the tip of the jaws to the hinder end of the body 

 it is only 3 1/4 inches, the width being only i 13/16 inches. 



Extremely long front legs are possessed by a curious beetle 

 from tropical America (Acrocinus longimanus). One secured 

 by Mr. Barber measures no less than 13 1/8 inches from clav/ 

 to claw across these extended legs. 



Contrast with these a little beetle which feeds on the spores 

 of fungi {Nano sella fungi) and is less then i/ioo inch in length. 



Italian fleas are commonly assumed to be the fleas par ex- 

 cellence, though some maintain the Californian product is 



Figs. 412-414. 

 Grasshoppers. 



For explanations of the 

 figures see pp. xxiii, xxiv. 



