( XX ) 



"It seems to me, on the contrary, that carnivorous insects, 

 preying upon creatures far from brilliant, are not inferior in 

 beauty to flower- and fruit-haunting groups, inhabiting similar 

 climates ; and secondly, that among the flower- and fruit-haunting 

 groups themselves there are abundance of dull, sombre-looking 

 species. 



" To begin with the former proposition : every one must admit 

 that the Cicindelida; are a decidedly carnivorous group, alike in 

 their larval stage and when mature. Mr. Allen himself 

 acknowledges their beauty. If we take C. campestris, probably 

 their most gaily-coloured European species, we find it not merely 

 eschewing fruits and flowers as food, but not seeking its insect 

 prey on or among flowers. Its favourite haunts are sandy and 

 gravelly tracts, where there are no striking flowers to frequent. 

 Nor can it be said to capture, habitually, brightly-coloured insects 

 as its prey. 



" If we turn to the CarahidcE, we find splendid coloration 

 frequently accompanying carnivorous habits. No one can question 

 the beauty of several species of Procerus. In Carabus proper we 

 find certain species, such as C. splendens, hispanus, and rutilans, 

 which, to say the least, equal in brilliant colouring our finest 

 European Cetonias, say Cetonia fastuosa. I have never had the 

 opportunity of studying the habits of the three species I have 

 just named, but I can say that Carabus fastuosus, supcrbus, 

 auratus, auronitens, and nitens agree in their habits and diet with 

 our common British species, such as C. vionills, C. granulatus. 

 Sec, pursuing their prey in the night and at early dawn, and 

 hiding in the day under stones and leaves. I will admit that I 

 have seen C. granulatus come to sugar on the trunk of a tree, and 

 have fid a specimen in captivity on bits of apple. But the most 

 beautiful Carabs inhabit places where fruits are not easily found. 



" One of the cases where Mr. Allen's law most signally breaks 

 down is tl)at afforded by Calosoma sycophanta, generally regarded 

 as the most splendid European coleopteron. The locality where 

 I have observed it in great abundance was a sandy region, bearing 

 a scanty growth of Scotch firs, and where fruits and flowers were 

 alike out of the question. Nor had its prey any striking colora- 

 tion, consisting of the larvae of Lasiocaiiipa pini, with occasionally 

 a few of tliose of Svierlnthus pinastri. Yet in that locality, about 

 fifteen miles north-west of Gorlitz, the Calosoma was quite 



