4 IIAI*'l'i:i( IX. 



(»inn:i{ I. CoM'ni'TKRA (Continued). 



LONlJICORNES. 



Tiir. LoNuiCDHMLH of I^ATHriLLK ( Etrr.RATA of Wi:«t\vood) desrne « sp«^lnl notice, in 

 cons«-.jiu'iicc of their liabits,nii<l tlu- singular pn«longation of their antennir, which is one 

 of the most ol>vious charnrters of the gnuij). The antenna- are filiform i-r M-tace* -us, and 

 fhxjuently omsiileruhly longer than the whole IxkIj-. The eyes are jteculiar, iu consefjjience 

 uf tiie {><>sitiun of the antenna*, which often apiK-ar to have been implauti-d within them : 

 the eye is therefore said to >>« einorginate, though not strictly S4> ; and it has a renifonu 

 shai«e, when considered indejx-ndently of the I>as4' of the antenna. The body is elongate<l 

 and cylindrical. The elytra are hnmder than the thorax, which they more perfectly encase 

 by their .^ud^len flexure at the shouUler, than is common in other groups. Tlie head is 

 short, and ilriveii into the th'-rax up or nearly to the eyes : their jaws are i«owerful. The 

 |ei;8 are long, and fn-'juently the longest in front. The thorax is cylindrical, and in .'ome 

 sjK'cies the sides are armed with a short ixiinted tulxrcle. The three ImlmiI joints of the 

 tarsi arc cushioned Ix-noath : the fifth is long and slender ; the fourth, small. 



Tlie insectjj of this group c«»me out from various kinds of wood in their perf«-ct state, 

 having inhabited it fmni the first, or from the time of the dejK^ition of the ejcg : they are 

 theref ire usually found in the virinity of wo<k1 and dock yards, or where timber is store<l. 

 It may well 1m> inferred fr»>m these facts that the larva is injurious to the tree it occupies; 

 and the more so, as it i" known to remain in this state for many years. 



Tlie lar^JT are provi<led with six .scaly articulated legs; but they are of little use as 

 organs for locomotion, by reason of their small size : their movements are rather effecte<l 

 by means of the warts or fleshy tubercles situateil along the sides of their Ixxlies. Their 

 bodies are soft, and of a dirty white color. The head is only moderate in size, flat and wide. 



In con.sequence of the long time the larrir are resident in various kinds of wood, there 

 is, thn^mgh commercial intercourse, a tendency to distribute in all countries the l^n-tles of 

 this larce group. A piece of wihxI fmm South America is bn>ught by a ship and thn>wn 

 out iijton some island in the W«>st Indies, or is tmnsporte*! to one of our southern ports. 

 Savannah, Charleston, or even New-York : the in.<ects containetl in the wou<l are lil«>ntted 



