224 NATTTKAL H1ST0ET OF 



green, with coppery and violet-blue reflections en 

 the sides ; the elytra bright chestnut red ; the legs 

 green, with the under side of the thighs reddish. 

 As with other lucanideous insects, its food consists 

 of the flowing sap of trees, and it is said to frequent 

 the araucarias and other green trees in the island 

 of Chiloe. 



LUCANUS CERVUS, or STAG BEETLE. 



PLATE XVIII. Fig. 2. 



Donovan's Brit. Insects, i. pi. 13 — Lucanus inermis, Don. 

 xii. pi. 400. — Marsh-ant's Entom. Brit. 



In this genus the four terminal joints of the an- 

 tennae are produced on one side ; the eyes are not 

 divided by the margin of the head ; the latter is as 

 wide as the thorax, and in some instances wider ; and 

 the maxillae terminate in a slender lobe without cor- 

 neous teeth. The species figured is the well-known 

 Stag-beetle of this country. It occurs in consider- 

 able plenty in several of the southern counties, but 

 has not been observed in the north of England, nor 

 in Scotland. It is likewise found on the Continent, 

 and the larva is considered by some to be the Cos- 

 sus of the ancient Romans, which is described as a 

 white worm living in the interior of oak trees, and 

 which was much coveted as a delicious food by 

 these refined epicures. The male is about two 

 inches in length, including the mandibles. It is 



