.on tne miaaK 



m 



COLEOPTERA 517 



high veneration by this ancient people. It was placed by them in 

 the tombs with their dead; its picture was painted on sarcophagi, 

 and its image was carved in stone and precious gems. These sculp- 

 tured beetles can be found in almost any collection of Egyptian an- 

 tiquities. 



From the habits and structure of this scarabajid the Egyptians 

 evolved a remarkable symbolism. The ball, which the beetles were 

 supposed to roll from sunrise to sunset, represented the earth; the 

 beetle itself personified the sun, because of the sharp projections on 

 its head, which extend out like rays of light ; while the thirty segments 

 of its six tarsi represented the days of the month. All individuals of 

 this species were thought to be males, and a race of males symbolized 

 a race of warriors. This latter superstition was carried over to Rome 

 and the Roman soldiers wore images of the sacred beetle set in rings. 

 Our common tumble-bugs are distributed among three genera: 

 Cdnthon, Copris, and PkancBtis. In the genus Canthon the middle 

 and posterior tibia; are slender, and scarcely enlarged 

 at the extremity. Canthon Icevis is our most coinmon 

 species (Fig. 620). In Copris and Phanceus the 

 middle and posterior tibias are dilated at the ex- 

 tremity. In PhancBus the fore tarsi are wanting, and 

 the others are not furnished with claws ; the species 

 are brilliantly colored. PhancBus cdrnifex, with its 

 rough copper-colored thorax and green elytra, is one pjg_ 530. 



of our most beautiful beetles, and is our best-known 

 species. It is about 16 mm. in length, and the head of the male is 

 furnished with a prominent horn. In Copris all the tarsi are present 

 and furnished with claws. Copris Carolina is a large, well-known species, 

 which measures more than 25 mm. in length. 



II. The aphodian dung-heetles. — These are small insects, our com- 

 mon species measuring from 4 mm. to 8 mm. in length. The body is 

 oblong, convex, or C3'lindrical in form, and, except in one small genus, 

 the clypeus is expanded so as to cover the mouth-parts entirely. 

 These insects are very abundant in pastures in the dung of horses and 

 cattle, and immense numbers of them are often seen flying through 

 the air during warm autumn afternoons. More than one hundred 

 and fifty North American species have been described; of these, one 

 hundred belong to the genus Aphddius. One of the more common 

 species is Aphodius fimetdrius, which is about 8 mm. in 

 length, and is easily recognized by its red wing-covers. 

 III. The earth-boring dung-beetles. — These beetles 

 are of a rounded convex form (Fig. 621). They differ 

 from all other dung-beetles in having the antennae 

 eleven-jointed, and in the labrum and mandibles 

 being visible from above. This is a small group, only 

 Fi 621 twenty-two North American species having been de- 

 ^^' ■ scribed. The popular name is derived from that of the 

 typical genus, Geotrtlpes, which signifies earth-boring. Those species 

 the habits of which are known, live in excrement. The females bore 



