A CURIOUS STRUCTURE. 133 



The most conspicuous part of the insect, however, is the hind 

 leg. There is an old Oriental proverb concerning conceit : "The 

 king sent his horses to be shod, and the Beetle held out his 

 foot." Now, this Beetle looks exactly as if it were offering its 

 foot for some such purpose. The thigh is rounded, thick, and 

 highly polished. The tibia is of a most remai'kable shape, 

 almost conical in form, and looking as if it were made of two 

 hollow cones, one placed within the other. The Greek name 

 Dipelicus, or " double basin," is given to the insect in conse- 

 quence of this singular formation. Three flattened projections 

 are fixed to the second basin, if. we may so call it, and curve 

 over the small tarsus. The general appearance of this part 

 of the leg is wonderfully like the hoof of a cart-horse. The 

 middle pair of legs are formed after a similar fashion, but are 

 .smaller and not so conspicuous. The total length of the Beetle 

 is about two inches. 



The species was first discovered by Dr. Cantor in the island 

 < if Chusan, and is now known to be spread over Java generally. 



We will now take a few examjDles of the Oryctides, that group 

 to which belongs the Orydes nasicornis, which has already been 

 mentioned. The name is taken from the Greek word Onjx, 

 which signifies " a long-horned antelope," and is given to these 

 insects on account of the horny projections of the head and 

 thorax. 



The illustration on the next page represents the insect called 

 Me^aceras rJioriiieus, which was brought by Mr. Bates from Para 

 in South America. 



This is a very solidly-made insect, the thorax alone looking as 

 if it could furnish sufficient material for half-a-dozen Beetles. 

 This portion of the body is not merely developed with horn-like 

 appendages, but is raised with a thick and apparently solid 

 mass, covering over the head, and boldly scooped at the end so 

 as to present the appearance of a pair of stout, blunt horns 

 curving inwards. 



The head is prolonged into a long curved horn, the end of 

 which rises above the points of the thorax. The length of the 

 head-horn is an inch and a half ; the tip of it is widened and 

 scooped, something like the- thorax, but on a much smaller scale. 

 At its base are the eyes, which are nearly but not quite divided 



