— 190 — 



mandibles. The creature is aptly characterized by Dr. Leconte as re- 

 sembling no other beetle so much as an insect of an entirely different 

 order — the mole cricket. And yet so wonderful are the operations of 

 nature, that the discovery of the unique life history of this beetle shows a 

 perfect adaptation of each of these discordant parts to the needs of its 

 owner. 'jB 



The tirst specimens were said to have been found in the carcass of a 

 dead liorsi: which perhaps accounts for its original reference to the Si7- 

 fyhidae. Subsequently specimens were found dead upon the ground, and 

 the discovery that an Asiatic beetle somewhat resembling this pupated 

 underground, led to the suspicion that it also might be subterraneanin 

 habit; which suspicion the investigations of M. de Lacerde has practi- 

 cally converted to certainty. Under this hypothesis you can easily under- 

 stand the value of its special adaptation. By the movement of head and 

 mandibles, directed by the powerful muscles of the thorax, it can loosen 

 and push aside the particles of decaying vegetable matter, of which the 

 soil of Brazilian forests is composed, its front legs aiding in the work, 

 while the strong hind legs push the entire body forward through the 

 passage thus partially prepared. Even the extraordinarily developed 

 fringe of hair at the margin of the presternum would have its use in such 

 a process, brushing the membrane clean of all particles of dirt each time 

 the head was retracted within the thorax. If it vvishes to retreat through 

 the hole it has made, the tibiae fit exactly into the femora, and they under 

 the abdomen; leaving the pointed elytra to open the way for the passage 

 of the large bulk of the insect: thus the creature is able to live and travel 

 about for an indefinite period underground, feeding upon the tender 

 roots, and perfectly secure from the attacks of its enemies. And now we 

 can see how Dr. Leconte's theory of the very ancient origin of this beetle 

 is confirmed, fur it is not supposable that such forests as those of Brazil 

 are of recent origin. On the contrary it is well known that portions of 

 the globe were once covered with tropical-like growth, yielding among 

 their roots a soil of softer consistency than we anywhere find now, thus 

 affording ample opportunity for such .'subterranean beetles as H. armatus 

 to gain a living in their own peculiar way. The presumption would 

 therefore be, that their numbers would be proportionally great, and this 

 bone of contention may well be the last living relic of a time when man 

 was not upon the globe. 



To come now to the recent discoveries which have been somewhat 

 anticipated in the last paragraph. The function of the sharply prolonged 

 lateral lobes of the head was unknown until Mr. Sharp's article ex- 

 plained them. I should also say that the capacity of movement con- 

 tained in the head was known to very few. All specimens have been 



