in ANIMAL LIFE IN THE TROPICAL FORESTS 289 



form by no means so prominent a feature in the animal life 

 of the equatorial zone as we might expect. Almost every 

 entomologist is at first disappointed with them. He finds that 

 they have to be searched for almost as much as at home, 

 while those of large size (except one or two very common 

 species) are rarely met with. The groups which most attract 

 attention, from their size and beauty, are the Buprestidse and 

 the Longicorns. The former are usually smooth insects of an 

 elongate ovate form, with very short legs and antennae, and 

 adorned with the most glowing metallic tints. They abound 

 on fallen tree-trunks and on foliage, in the hottest sunshine, 

 and are among the most brilliant ornaments of the tropical 

 forests. Some parts of the temperate zone, especially Aus- 

 tralia and Chili, abound in Buprestidse which are equally 

 beautiful ; but the largest species are only found within the 

 tropics, those of the Malay islands being the largest of all. 



The Longicorns are elegantly shaped beetles, usually with 

 long antennas and legs, varied in form and structure in an 

 endless variety of ways, and adorned with equally varied 

 colours, spots, and markings. Some are large and massive 

 insects three or four inches long, while others are no bigger 

 than our smaller ants. The majority have sober colours, but 

 often delicately marbled, veined, or spotted ; while others are 

 red, or blue, or yellow, or adorned with the richest metallic 

 tints. Their antennae are sometimes excessively long and 

 graceful, often adorned with tufts of hair, and sometimes 

 pectinated. They especially abound where timber trees have 

 been recently felled in the primeval forests ; and while ex- 

 tensive clearings are in progress their variety seems endless. 

 In such a locality in the island of Borneo, nearly 300 different 

 species were found during one dry season, while the number 

 obtained during eight years' collecting in the whole Malay 

 Archipelago was about a thousand species. 



Among the beetles that always attract attention in the tropics 

 are the large, horned Copridse and Dynastidse, corresponding 

 to our dung-beetles. Some of these are of great size, and 

 they are occasionally very abundant. The immense horn -like 

 protuberances on the head and thorax of the males in some of 

 the species are very extraordinary, and, combined with their 

 polished or rugose metallic colours, render them perhaps the 

 u 



