THE BLAPS. 



305 



engraving, where there is also a nymph on the right hand. The 

 beetles may be seen on the right and on the left side of the 

 engraving. 



The beetles of the genus Blaps are closely allied to those 

 just mentioned. Blaps viortisaga, or the Churchyard Beetle, is 

 the best known species in this country. It hates the lio-ht, 

 is of a deep black colour, and has the power of producing a very 

 offensive smell. It lives upon rubbish of all kinds, and keeps 



THE METAMORPHOSES OF Tcnebrio moUtor. (The Meal Worm.) 



in damp places, and the darkest and most retired spots of caves 

 and grottoes. Almost all country people look unfavourably upon 

 these beetles, and consider them of evil omen. They are very 

 tenacious of life, and there are instances recorded of their 

 having been kept in spirits of wine for many hours without any 

 ill effect. Curiously enough, the larvae have been ejected in great 

 numbers from the human stomach, but how they got there we 

 cannot pretend to say. 



The Cantharidce are well known as the blistering flics, and 



U 



