(;HOLP LAMKI.LUORNES. 63- 



The Lamkllicornks rcceivfd tlicir iiauiu IVuin tlic siructure of lluir aiil«iiiicr ; the 

 extremity being a lamiuatcd knob, composed of three or more leatlike lamina*, which open 

 and sliut somewhat like the leaves of a book. The first division of this group consists of 

 the ScARABiDKs, tile lirst section of which are named Coprtjphagi,hom the kind of f(X)d on 

 whicii they subsist : they feed upon and live in ordure, or excrements of all kinds. The 

 ancients gave the name pilluliiria to certain sjiecies which have the curious instinct of 

 rolling the excrement into halls with their hind feet, and in which tluy have deposited 

 their eggs : when the ball has ac(juired a sullicient dcgice of solidity, it is pu^hed into a 

 hole previously prepared for its recei'liou. 



A f ireign species, the Atcuchus saiei; was an object of religious veiieralii>n and worship 

 among the ancient Kgyptians. NVith them it was s} mbolical of the world, the sun, and the 

 warrior : of the world, livrn the globular sha]ic of its balls, and p« rhaps also from the 

 progeny they contained ; of the sun, from the angular projections from its head in tlie 

 form of rays : the six legs have five tarsi each, and hem c th( y represented the days of 

 the mouth. The idea of the courageous warrit>r was imbibed fniu the supposition that the 

 species were all males. '1 he Human soliliei> wore its image on their signets ; and it is said 

 that it is still a custom witli the Egyptian women to <at them, to render themselves pro- 

 lific : as the sun is the source of all fertility, so the eating of this symbol would impart 

 to them the same desirable quality. When we reilcct a moment upon the attention which 

 these curious insects pay to their ofl'<pring,and the intense emotion they exliibit in rolling 

 their balls, a work which they prosecute until overcome by exhaustion, it is not at all 

 surprising tha^ the ancients shouM have made ihein s\mbolic;!l of the highest order of 

 qualities. 



The Coprii- Carolina ch'Sely resembles the >ynii)olical beetle of the ancients, just referred 

 to. The (ienus Conus makes its alxnle beneath the fresh excrement <>f the cow ; and hence 

 its hills of dirt are common in pastures, b} nadsides, and other places where the cow is 

 kept. This insect, however, never rolls a regular ball, but collects a quantity into an ir- 

 regularly shaped mass. The tiuc pi/ltilnria belong to the Genus Geotbupes, and a few- 

 other allied genera. 



The larva of the Gkotrupk.s resembles that of th(> Mkloi.ontha, being of a dirtj" while 

 color. Soft, and, when not engaged in feeding, it lies coiled in a semicircle : they have 

 six scaly feet and a scaly head. Subsisting at fir>t upon the magazine of food which the 

 mother has provided in the ofl'ul in which they are enveloped, they afterwards penetrate 

 into the earth, and leed ujion roots. It requires a }ear or two for their perfection : they 

 are then transformed into nymphs; and another year passes, before they are ready to 

 become perfect insects. 



The Lamki.i.icornfs consist of ten families, each presenting some peculiaiity in the 

 antenn.T, mandibles or maxilhe, by due attention to which the student will be able to 

 determine the position an unknown iii-e< t may cm up}. Tlie fii>t of these ten families is 



