3 o 4 THE RIVER-SIDE NATURALIST. 



TAIL BEETLE (Gcerius olens), easily recognised by the peculiar 

 way it has of sticking up its tail, or rather the hinder part 

 of its body, when disturbed. It emits a very offensive 

 odour, and feeds on carrion ; also on living insects, as 

 the following interesting account by that pleasant writer, 

 the " Amateur Angler," of an encounter with this insect, 

 shows. He says : " As I was hurrying the other day, on 

 fish destruction bent, I was suddenly stopped by a curious 

 adventure on the pavement. One insect had got another 

 by the throat, and was struggling to carry him along from 

 one side of the path to the other ; it was like a puny infant 

 of four trying to carry a fat thirty-pound baby. I touched 

 the murderer with the point of my stick, a little black 

 wretch, something over an inch in length ; he dropped his 



THE DEVIL'S COACH-HORSE, THE SAME, SHOWING THE WINGS. 



victim, a grasshopper quite as big as himself, turned, cocked 

 up his tail, which seemed to have eyes in it, stared at the 

 stick as much as to say, ' Who are you ? Do that again 

 if you dare.' Then he turned again, seized his wriggling 

 prey, and was making off with it. I again gave him a 

 poke. ' Heyho ! ' thinks he, ' there's something up ; I must 

 be off.' He started, leaving the dying hopper on the pave- 

 ment. When he had got a yard away I retired three or 

 four yards ; he stopped, cocked up his perky tail. ' Hey- 

 ho ! ' says he again, ' the coast is clear ; I'm not going to 

 leave that fat grasshopper for nothing.' Then he began 

 circling round and round, gradually nearing, till he was 

 within a few inches, then he stopped, cocked up his tail as 

 usual, and pretended to look surprised, as if he had never 

 seen a grasshopper before in his life. ' Hello ! ' says he, 



