32 INSECTS ABROAD. 



gnisliing marks are three rows of deep punctures on each of tlie 

 elytra, the punctures being placed on the fourth, eighth, and 

 twelfth striae, or fine ridges, which run parallel to each other 

 along the whole length of the elytra. In this Beetle the jiunc- 

 tures, although their sides are polished and glittering, are of the 

 same hue as the rest of the elytra. There are similar punctures 

 in Calosoma Indicum, but the elytra are deep chocolate brown, 

 while the punctures are not only polished and glittering, but 

 shine with a golden lustre ; in fact, they look as if each punc- 

 ture had been lined with gold leaf, and then burnished to a 

 mirror-like brightness. 



In some lights these punctures are not seen, and it is scarcely 

 possible with any arrangement of light to see the polished gold 

 on both sides at once. In order to show this peculiarity, the 

 artist has drawn the insect in such a manner that the glittering 

 points are visible on one side, but not on the other. When I 

 first saw these remarkable points, I thought that they must be 

 lined with separate scales, like those of the weevils, but tlie 

 magnifying glass soon showed that these punctures were simply 

 gold-coloured and burnished. The whole of the upper surface of 

 this Beetle is very finely granulated in distinct rows, the stripe, 

 or ridges, being broken up by innumerable transverse depres- 

 sions. As its name implies, this Beetle is a native of India. 



The tribe of Cychrides comes next in order. In England we 

 have but one species of this family, namely, Cychrus rostratus, 

 a Beetle which looks so like a weevil that it is often mistaken 

 for one of these insects. All the Cychrides have their elytra 

 fused together, and the last joint of the labial and maxillary 

 palpi large, flat, triangular, and hollowed underneath. The jaws, 

 or mandibles, are strong, project boldly in front of the head, and 

 are toothed on their interior edges. 



The most curious of these insects is Damaster Uaptoidcs, a 

 rare Japanese Beetle, which is here represented of its natural 

 size. In this genus the mandibles have only one tooth, and that 

 a large one, situated near the base. Each of the elytra is drawn 

 out to a point at the end, and as they gape a little at their tips, 

 the pointed ends are very conspicuous. Altogether, the Ijcetle 

 gives an idea of liaving been once a stout insect, but drawn out 

 when soft, so that it is feeble in comparison with its bulk. 



