HANDBOOK OF BEETLES. 



Typhaus Vulgaris, which belongs to the family Geotrupida, 

 has also a short horn in the middle of the 

 forehead ; the male is provided with three 

 horns in front of the thorax, projecting for- 

 wards, and the tibiae are strongly toothed. 



The typical species of Geotrupes are 

 roundish black beetles, often purplish be- 

 neath, which fly about heavily in the 

 evening. They all feed on dung, like the 

 two species last mentioned, which they 

 much resemble, except that they have 

 narrower heads, and no horns on the head 

 or thorax. 



The Aphodiida are also dung-beetles, 

 but are more brightly coloured, many 

 species being reddish or yellowish, or Geotmfes Stercorariu*. 

 black varied with these colours. They are Nat. Size. 



more oval, and much smaller than the other 

 Lamellicornia^ few of the species measuring 

 as much as half an inch in length. The species 

 of Aphoditis are often seen flying about over 

 roads. ^3Lgialia Arenaria, which we have 

 figured, is a blackish insect with undeveloped 

 wings, which frequents sandy places, and is 

 often met with on sandhills near the sea. 



The Cockchafer (MelolonthaVulgaris),\.^\- 

 cal of the family Melolonthida, is a large heavy- 

 looking reddish-brown insect, more or less (Mag.) 



dusted with white ; the thorax is blackish, and the abdomen 

 is black, with stripes of white hairs on the under surface ; the 

 pointed tip of the abdomen projects beyond the elytra. The 

 beetle measures rather more than an inch in length. It is 

 one of our most destructive insects, for its white subterranean 

 larva (which is generally found doubled up) feeds on the 

 roots of grass, and the perfect insect feeds on the leaves of 

 trees. 



Another smaller but almost equally destructive insect is the 

 Small Cockchafer (Phyllopertha Horticola), which belongs to the 

 family Rtttelida. It is bluish or greenish, with reddish-brown 

 elytra, and measures less than half an inch in length. The larva 

 feeds on the roots of plants, and the beetle feeds on flowers. 

 It is called the Buck- wheat Beetle in Germany, where it hangs 

 on the flowers of this plant almost in clusters. 



The Cetoniida, of which we have only a few species in 



D 



