182 INSECTS ABROAD. 



are flattened at the top, and dull black. They are tlien suddenly 

 folded over so as nearly to cover the sides, and are then 

 polislied, shining black, of a steely character. The legs are 

 entirely covered with pale yellow down, and contrast boldly 

 with the shining black of the body. In some species the body 

 is large, round, and thick, and upon it are scattered a number 

 of long yellow hairs, which give the insect a sort of bee-like 

 aspect. 



It is said that in one of the allied species the female has 

 a round, hard, granulated spot on the middle of the second 

 segment of the abdomen, and that by striking this upon any 

 hard substance she produces a sound which seems to attract the 

 male. I very much doubt, however, whether this hard spot be 

 used for such a purpose. In the first place, it would be no easy 

 matter to strike hard enough to produce a sound which the male 

 is likely to hear ; and, in the second, such sounds appear to be 

 always produced by the male insect, such, for example, as the 

 grasshoppers, crickets, cicadae, and the like. 



The family of the Amarygmidai is represented by the remark- 

 able insect which is shown in the illustration on the next page, 

 and which has been hitherto undescribed. It is found in Southern 

 Africa. At first sight it looks wonderfully like a cockroach, its 

 long and comparatively .slender legs stretching far from the body 

 just as do those of a cockroach, and the long, slender antenna? of 

 the male having a very blatta-like aspect. So great is the deve- 

 lopment of the limbs, that, whereas the entire length of the 

 insect is only an inch and a quarter, the hind legs measure 

 very nearly two inches in length. The generic name, Eiqjczus, 

 signifying " well-footed," refers to the great length of limb. 



The legs are black, and profusely punctured. The reader will 

 notice that the length of the leg is chiefly owing to the develop- 

 ment of the tibiae, which are slender and slightly curved. Those 

 of the first and second pairs of legs are clothed with dense golden 

 pile, while those of the hind pair of legs are entirely plain. The 

 object of this down is quite a problem to entomologists. It can 

 liardly be meant for mere ornament, inasmuch as it often appears 

 on the under side of the insect. It certainly must serve some 

 definite purpose, though at present that purpose is unknown. 



If it appeared always in one part of the body, S(jme conjecture 



