3088 



THE JOINTED ANIMALS 



those giants of their race, the elephant and goliath beetles, which are nearly as big 

 as a man's fist, and the still larger titan from South America, which is sometimes 

 quite half a foot long, and scarcely less broad in proportion. Even within the 

 limits of a single species beetles are not always of a nearly uniform size; and it is 

 not uncommon to find that in certain species some individuals may be very much 

 larger than others, frequently two or three times as large, and occasionally even as 

 much as five times. In their external form beetles also afford the most striking con- 

 trasts; and the differences of form are not confined to the general shape but extend 

 to nearly all parts of the body. The head especially varies to a great extent both 

 in its shape and in the direction which it takes. It is somewhat ring-like behind, 

 when it fits more or less deeply into the cavity of the prothorax. The part between 

 the eyes and the prothorax may be as wide as or even wider than the rest of the 

 head, or may be abruptly or gradually narrowed behind to form a sort of neck. In 



CARNIVOROUS BEETLES AND THEIR PREY, 

 i. Carabus nemoralis; 2. Calosonta sycophanta; 3. Carabus auratus, and larva. (All natural size.) 



most beetles this part of the head is rather short, but its length varies; and there is 

 one remarkable species from the Philippines which presents a most comical appear- 

 ance owing to the extraordinary length of its neck. This species belongs to a group 

 of leaf-rolling beetles, and doubtless finds its long neck extremely useful. The fore 

 part of the head is most variable in shape, and though generally short is in some 

 beetles quite out of all proportion in its length. In the weevils it is prolonged in 

 the form of a rostrum or snout, which is sometimes much longer than all the rest of 

 the body. What is called the "front" of the head frequently faces upward, being 

 on the same plane, or nearly so with the occiput or posterior part of the upper sur- 

 face. But in many beetles the fore part of the head is bent down, so that the front 

 looks forward; and sometimes even to such an extent that the mouth is drawn back 

 against the prothorax, and the front of the head looks downward. The lower or an- 

 terior part of the front of the head is called the clypeus, and to this usually by 



