﻿THE LAMELLICORNES, OR '^CHAFERS." 123 



inost inhabitants of our southern counties; the male, 

 with branching antlers or jaws, being often seen sailing 

 in a ponderous way round oak-trees in its search for the 

 female, or blundering in flight along country lanes about 

 July, especially towards evening. The males have been 

 noticed fighting for the possession of the other sex, whose 

 mandibles are very small, and which may be sometimes 

 observed upon pathways, on her back, sprawling out her 

 legs in empty air, having dropped from her leafy perch. 

 This species is not peculiar to the oak, but is found 

 sometimes on willow ; the specimens reared from the 

 latter tree being smaller than the oak-fed examples. It 

 is, however, a well-known fact, that great differences in 

 size are always found in species of which the larvse feed 

 on wood; owing to the many variations to which they 

 are subject, from the good or bad quality, or too great 

 or too little moisture, of their food, and the long period 

 during which they remain in the larval state. 



Some of the males of this species are very large, and 

 have the head very square and massive, with mandibles 

 of great length and thickness and bearing strong teeth ; 

 others, however, are smaller than the general run of the 

 female, and possess narrow heads, with comparatively 

 slight, simple jaws. It is supposed that the insect uses 

 its powerful mandibles for abrading young twigs, etc., — 

 applying its tufted ligula afterwards to the juice flow- 

 ing from the bruise. I possess an old male who has 

 evidently worn down the apex of his jaws evenly and 

 gradually by some such habit. Instances have been 

 recorded, nevertheless, of members of this family at- 

 tacking other beetles, and also caterpillars. Mr. G. R. 

 Waterhouse (Ent. Mag. vol. ii. 59) has recorded the 

 fact of his having kept a stag-beetle alive for some time. 



