COLEOPTEROUS INSECTS. 83 



ot the head. One group (Lucanidcz) is distin- 

 guished by the portentous length of their jaws, gar- 

 nished with a formidable armature of angular pro- 

 jections and pointed teeth, bearing some resem- 

 blance to the branching antlers of some kinds of deer, 

 on which account they have been named Stag-beetles. 

 A second (Eusceles of Macleay) is so remarkable for 

 the disproportionate length and thickness of the hin- 

 der legs, that it has been regarded as the representa- 

 tive of a quadruped of similar peculiarity of structure, 

 and has therefore obtained the name of Kanguroo 

 beetle. In an extensive section (Longicornes), of 

 which many of the species are noted for elegance of 

 form and agreeable markings, the antennae are cf . 

 such extraordinary length as to equal in some in- 

 stances four times that of the body ; and they are 

 now and then singularly adorned with fascicles 

 or tufts of long hair. Certain kinds, distributed 

 throughout several different genera, and usually de- 

 signated by the specific term longimanus, are fur- 

 nished with anterior legs of unusual length, greatly 

 exceeding, in relation to the size of the body, those 

 of the Grallatores, or wading birds, and imparting a 

 very grotesque aspect by their strange disproportion. 

 Examples of similar anomalies everywhere present 

 themselves in this Protean race of animals ; but these 

 will suffice to show that 



Nature here 



Wantons as in her prime, and plays at 

 Her virgin fancies. 



