COLEOPTERA. C07 



duces a plaintive cry which is said to proceed from the head. 

 These sounds are produced entirely by mechanical means, and 

 cannot be considered vocal. 



It is thought by some naturalists that the organ of hearing is 

 situated in the base of the antennae. These are supposed to be 

 also the chief organs of touch. (Plate XV. fig. 4c.) 



Insects seem to possess the sense of smell. The Flesh-fly 

 deposits eggs in the thick fleshy petals of the Carrion-flower, 

 (Stapelia,) deceived by its odor, which resembles tainted meat. 



Many insects, particularly the Coleoptera, which include the 

 Snap-Bug, Elater, and the Fire-fly, Lampyris, are luminous at 

 night. Several North American species of the Sphinx, or Hawk 

 Moth, seem to be phosphorescent, by dim candle-light, or when 

 shaded from direct light. When the light is extinguished, noth 

 ing appears, however, excepting a peculiar reflection. 



Insects are essentially terrestrial, but many, as the Whirligigs 

 or Water-Fleas, (Gyrinus,) swim on fresh water; and some, as 

 the Skippers, (Hydromelrida,) walk with the body raised above 

 it, the tips of their feet touching the surface ; and a genus Halo- 

 bates, (Gr. hah, the sea ; baino, to go,) is seen in the Southern 

 Atlantic, far out from the land. 



The Insects are divided by Kirby and Spence, into twelve or- 

 ders, as presented on the Chart, viz. : 



1. Coleoptera. 



2. Strepsiptera.j 



3. Dermaptera. 



4. Orthoptera. 



5. Tricoptera. 



6. Neuroptera. 



7. Hymenoptera. 



8. Lepidoptera. 



9. Hemiptera. 



10. Diptera. 



11. Aphaniptera. 



12. Aptera. 



FIRST ORDER. COLEOPTERA, (Gr. xoksug, koleos, a sheath; 

 , pteron, a wing.) BEETLES. Mouth mandibulate. 



These insects are almost incredibly numerous, between seventy 

 and eighty thousand species being found in the cabinets of col 

 lectors. In the Royal Museum at Berlin, Prussia, is a single 

 collection of forty thousand species. The singular forms and 

 brilliant colors of many of these insects, the size of their bodies, 

 the solid texture of their integuments, which renders preserva 

 tion comparatively easy, and the nature of their habits, which 

 affords every facility for their capture, have combined to render 

 Beetles objects of peculiar attention and interest to entomologists. 



The upper wings of these Insects are horny or leathery, and 

 shield or sheathe the lower ones ; the metamorphosis is perfect, 



