430 



Marvels of Insect Life. 



called upon to do such work, and consequently is not fitted with the tools 

 for the purpose. 



There is one other point in which this Insect appears to have borrowed ideas 

 from the bees upon which it preys. In order to avoid fouling their nests, which 

 would probably bring about the destruction of the race, the bee-grub does not 

 void any of its waste, but retains it in the hinder part of its intestines until it attains 

 to the winged condition, when it is either left in the empty chrysalis-skin or dis- 

 charged after leaving it. A similar arrangement is met with in the ant-lions, and 

 here again in the case of the humble-bee fly. 



Stag- Beetles. 



Of the more than three thousand species of beetles that are to be found as 

 inhabitants of these islands, the stag-beetle ^more than all the others has impressed 



Phvlo by] 



Male Stag-Beetles. 



[H. Bast in. 



A series of specimens photographed side by side to show the great variation in size and tlie development of the jaws that is found 

 in this species. The females exhibit a similar range of variation in size. 



itself upon the popular mind. Though it is restricted in its range to the south, 

 the figure of the male often seen in books has become so familiar that most people 

 know its name w^hen they see it for the first time. Here, just one item in the 

 structure has served to make the Insect notorious, and this is the huge development 

 of the mandibles which are reminiscent of the antlers of a stag, and so have suggested 

 a distinctive popular name, which has been accepted and latinized by the learned 

 men who act as scientific sponsors for all living things. In one respect the name 

 is not a good one, because it relates to the appearance of one sex onl}^ : it is the 

 male alone that has this great development of its jaws. Although the female 

 has got a strong pair of these organs, and for food-getting purposes a more practical 

 pair than her mate, they are only in fair proportion to her size, and, therefore, are 

 not noticeable ; so that a novice might easily mistake the two sexes for separate 

 species. In the photograph of the two sexes (page 431) it will be seen that 



* l.ucamis cervu.s. 



