ORDER I."— BEETLES. 23 



however, is done by all the insects, probably enraged at the 

 idea of being made prisoners. 



These Beetles have a cylindrical neck, an oval and flat 

 abdomen, their wing-covers flat, their head thick, with large 

 round eyes, long denticulated jaws, thread-like feelers, and 

 their whole body is ornamented with the most splendid col- 

 ors. They may be seen running upon dry, sandy ground, 

 particularly at noon on sunny, warm days, but when one 

 approaches them they fly away so quickly that it is quite 

 difficult to catch them ; they, however, soon alight again. 

 When taken between the fingers, they discharge from their 

 mouth a brown, fetid liquid, which has the odor of rancid 

 grease. Their strong, pointed, and crossing jaws enable 

 them to kill other insects with ease. 



Their grubs are soft and white, but are provided with 

 powerful jaws, and have the same rapacious nature as their 

 parents. They dig perpendicular holes in the ground, and 

 when driven by hunger come up just so as to have their 

 round heads cover the entrance of their retreat, and here 

 they wait until some insect passes over the hole, when they 

 seize him in a moment and drag him into their cavern. 



The Tiger Beetles, of which there exists many species in 

 the United States varying in color and size, destroy a great 

 multitude of noxious insects, and hence deserve to be re- 

 spected and protected. 



The two species of Tiger Beetles represented in Figs. 1 

 and 2 (Cicindela repanda, and C. sexguttata) were found 

 near Cranston, Ehode Island, upon the sandy plains in the 

 vicinity of the Stonington Railroad, but they are also found 

 in all the Middle, Southern, and Western States of the 

 Union, and with them many other kindred species. 



The Tiger Beetles, or Cicmdelce, belong to a large family 

 called ^'Carabi," which Dr. Bonelly (Mem. de Turin, 1809) 

 has divided into many genera, and after him Professor 

 Latreille (in Cuvier's Regne Animal) into many more ; and 



