THE BEETLES 



3107 



typhceus. 

 (Natural size. ) 



horns projecting from the prothorax. The plant-feeding or phytophagous sub- 

 families belong to the second division of the Scarabceidce, In these the ligula is 

 consolidated with the men turn, and the abdominal spiracles are placed, some in the 

 connecting membrane between the dorsal and ventral plates, the others on the sides 

 of the ventral plates. One of our most familiar insects, the common cockchafer, 

 gives a good idea of the general form and style of coloration 

 prevailing in the subfamily Melolonthince , while in habits also it 

 resembles other species of the same group. As examples of 

 some of the other Melolonthince we figure Polyphylla fullo , one of 

 the finest European species, which, though not indigenous to 

 Britain, has occasionally been found on the south coast, and 

 on p. 3108 Rhizotrogus solstitialis, a common British insect, 

 commonly known as the summer chafer. The Rutelince have 

 some resemblance in external form to the Melolonthince , but 

 MALE OF Geotrupes can in genera i b e easily recognized owing to the difference 

 in length between the two claws of each of their tarsi. The 

 Dynastince are mostly confined to the warmer parts of the world, 

 and chiefly remarkable on account of the great sexual differences exhibited by the 

 species. In the hercules' beetles (Dynastes hercules}, of the West Indies and 

 tropical America, the male is sometimes over five inches long. The elephant 

 beetle is a more massive insect, though, having relatively much shorter horns, its 

 total length is not so great. As compared with other species of the subfamily the 

 European rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes nasicornis), figured on p. 3108, is very modest 

 in its proportions. Our next subfamily, the 

 Cetoniina, stands unrivaled among the Cole- 

 optera for the loveliness of coloration dis- 

 played by many of its species. The goliath 

 beetles belong to this subfamily. In some of 

 the genera, such as Ceratorrhina and Golia- 

 thus, the males may be recognized by the 

 shape of the head, which is often excavated 

 above, and furnished with hooks or horns, as. 

 shown in C. smithi on p. 3109. 



The Buprestidce, together with the click 

 beetles (JElateridte) ^ and a few smaller fami- 

 lies, constitute the tribe Serricornia. Disting- 

 uished chiefly by their serrated or flabellated 

 antennae, the beetles of this tribe agree also 

 in having the tarsi five jointed, and the 

 prosternum prolonged behind and fitting into 

 a cavity of the mesosternum. They are gen- 

 erally of an elongated form, with the elytra narrowed from the base to the tip and 

 completely covering the abdomen. The Buprestidce have short, serrated antennae, 

 composed of eleven joints, which, with the exception of three or four nearest the 

 base, are covered on special areas with very minute pits supposed to be of an 



Polyphylla fullo, male. 

 (Natural size.) 



