284 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



Phtto h H-: p. Dandt^ F.Z.S. 



GROUND-BEETLE 



The beetles of thh gfoup are generally uf 



a black or bronzy colour^ some species 



being beautijully metallic 



wing-cases. It pours out an evil-smelling liquid from the end 

 of the body when handled. 



The curious red-and-blue Bombardier, which, when interfered 

 with, discharges a little puff of bluish-white smoke from the tip of 

 the abdomen, accompanied by a distinct report, is also a member 

 of this group. It is found under stones on river-banks, and also 

 on the coast. 



Next come the predacious beetles of the water, of which we 

 have a well-known British representative in the Gre.at Brown 

 Water-beetle. This insect, which is plentiful in weedy ponds, 

 swims by means of its hind limbs, which are modified into broad, 

 flat oars, with a mechanical arrangement for "feathering" as they 

 are drawn back after making each stroke. It flies by night, often 

 traveling for a long distance from one pond to another, and 

 regains the water by suddenly folding its wings and allowing 

 itself to fall from a height. In 

 the female insect the wing-cases are 



grooved for about two-thirds of their i 



length. 



This beetle must not be con- 

 founded with the still larger BLACK 



Water-beetle, which belongs to another group. This fine insect, 



which is not predacious in the perfect state, is locally plentiful 



in ditches, and is in great request as an inmate of the fresh- 

 water aquarium. The hind limbs are not modified for swimming 



purposes. 



Next in order come the CdCKTAlLS, so called from their 



curious habit of turning up the end of the bod}' when alarmed. 



To this group belong most of the tiny " flies " which cause such 



severe pain when they find their way into the eyes. Some 



species, however, attain to a considerable size, the well-known 



Devil's Coach-horse being full_\- an inch in length. The great 



, majority are sca\'engers, being 



found in carrion, manure, and de- 

 caying \-egetable matter. A few, 

 however, are lodgers in the nests 

 of ants, by whom they appear to 

 be regarded as pets and treated with the utmost kindness. 



The next group includes the curious insects popularly 

 known as BURYING-BEE TLE.S, which inter the bodies of small animals 

 in the ground, scooping out the earth from underneath them by 

 means of their broad and powerful heads, and shovelling it back 

 when the carcases have sunk to a sufficient depth. The eggs 

 are laid in the carrion thus buried. Most of these beetles are 

 distinguished b_\- broad blotches or bars of orange on the wing- 

 cases, but one common British species is entirely black. 



Allied to these, and very similar in habits, are the Fl.\T 

 BURVING-BEETLES, of which there are about a dozen British species. 

 In the best known of these the thorax is dull red in colour, and 



BLACK WATER-BEETLE t^g black wing-cases are curiously wrinkled. Another species is 



A shining black speces longer, narroiver, j-eddish vcllow in colouT, with two round black spots On each 



and more coni-ex than the Lrreat ' 



Bro-ivn fyjier-beede wliig-case. It is found on oak-trees, and feeds upon caterpillars. 



Photo by It', p. DjnJo, F.Z.S. 

 ReC'tnt"'- Fdrk 



GREAT BROWN 



WATER-BEETLE (MALE) 



j4 large oli've-brQivn ipecteSy about an 



inch in lengthy and nearly half as 



broud. The -zvin^-casei of the 



female are groo'ved 



Photo oy iV. P. D^ndo^ F.Z.S. 

 Rtgfnt'i Park 



