A GICAXTIC BEETLE. 101 



extent of colour is so great, that scarcely any two specimens are 

 exactly alike. Some, for example, have the elytra nearly all 

 black, some are almost entirely brown, and some have scarcely 

 any black about them. It has already been mentioned that in 

 the Lucanidte the males are liable to extreme variation in size, 

 and it is rather remarkable that in this genus the females are 

 principally varied in colour. This Beetle inhabits China and 

 Northern India, and it is thought tliat certain well-marked 

 varieties occur within certain geographical limits, as is the case 

 v/ith the Chinese Tiger Beetle. 



Fig. 46. — Odoiitolabiis Cuvera. 

 (Black and vvaiiii yellow.) 



There are several acknowledged species of the genus, the 

 largest of which is Odontolahris dux, a really gigantic insect. 

 Not only is it four inches in length, but it is broad, sturdy, and 

 thick-set, and must be enormously powerful. When I first saw 

 the splendid specimen in the British Museum, it recalled to my 

 mind a saying of a well-known German physiologist, who occu- 

 pied the table next to mine in the dissecting-room. " Af;h," he 

 muttered, sotto voce, " I wish a peetle so pig as a lopster." The 

 incident had almost been forgotten, when the sight of this 

 splendid insect recalled it to my mind, and I could not help 



thinking that if Dr. C could only have possessed the insect 



before it was pinned and dried, his desire for "a peetle so pig as 



