3 68 



CHARACTERS OF INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS 



elytra, agree with the preceding families in their carnivorous 

 habits. Most familiar perhaps in Britain is the Devil's Coach- 

 Horse (Ocypus olens), which has the curious habit of turning up its 



tail when molested (fig. 220). 



The Scarabs rival the 

 ground-beetles in number of 

 species and include many large 

 and handsome forms, distin- 

 guished by characteristic an- 

 tennae, of which the last few 

 joints *are so broadened out 

 that when expanded they look 

 like a small fan. The adults 

 and larvae feed either upon 



Fig. 2 i 9 .-Great Water-Beetle (Dytiscus marginalis) Vegetable SubstanCCS Or OR 



Male to left, and female to right. Part of the fore-foot of dung. Here belongs the lar- 

 male (enlarged) is represented in centre to show the pad and . T> V V. <-U C*. 



suckers with which it is provided. gest British species, the Stag- 



Beetle {Lucanus cervus}, in 



which the mandibles of the male resemble antlers. The largest- 

 known beetles are not very distantly related, and forms com- 

 monly seen in museums are the Hercules - Beetle (Dynastes 



hercules) from tropical Ame- 

 rica, and the Goliath- Beetle 

 (Goliathus Drurei), the male 

 of the former species some- 

 times exceeding 5 inches in 

 length, as against the 3. 

 inches of our Stag -Beetle. 

 One of the commonest Bri- 

 tish dung - beetles is the 



Fig. 220. Devil's Coach-Horse (Ocypus olens) Dumble- Dor ( GeotrUpCS SteV- 



i, Standing with turned-up tail; 2, flying; 3, head enlarged, rnMriu S\ A d 1 1 am ^Vl i n QPP t 

 to show eyes, antenna, and jaws. COTariUS), a , 



of bluish-black colour, often 



seen crawling slowly along country roads. An allied genus 

 includes the Sacred Scarab (Scarabceus sacer) of the Egyptians. 

 The Chafers constitute a large and well-known group of the 

 Scarab Beetles. Common British species are the Cockchafer 

 (Melolontha vulgaris], the green-and-brown Garden Chafer (Phyl- 

 lopertha horticola), and the beautiful golden-green Rose Chafer 

 (Cetonia aurata] (fig. 221). 



