101 



INSECTS ABEOAD. 



alopster" would have been gratified. The colour of this large 

 insect is wholly black, except a slight edging of golden down on 

 the front and hinder edge of the tliorax, and a coating of similar 

 down on the inside of the tibioe of the four liinder legs. 



The Beetle which is shown in the accompanying illustration 

 is, though not so large as the preceding insect, a very conspi- 

 cuous species, on account of its splendid metallic colouring. The 

 colour is not easily described, for the green and red vary su 

 much according to the light in which the insect is viewed, that 

 the Beetle may with equal truth be called green glossed with 

 red, or red glossed with green. The head is very large, and the 

 thorax comparatively small. The antennae, jaws, and legs are 

 long in proportion to the size of the body. The club of the 

 antennffi possesses four joints, and each jaw has several small 



(Red, glossed witli gold-green.) 



teeth near the tip, and two much larger teeth placed so as to 

 divide the jaw into three tolerably equal portions. 



The colour of the jaws is very beautiful, and arranged in a 

 rather singular manner. As far as I can make out by careful 

 examination, the original hue is metallic red, with a tinge of 

 brown. But their whole surface is covered with a multitude of 

 punctures, and the interior of each puncture is deep, shining 

 green. Thus the reader will see that if lighted from above, 

 when the interior of the punctures becomes illuminated, the green 

 predominates over the red ; whereas, if the light falls on the 

 insect from the side, the interior of the punctures is thrown into 



