The Ergates; the Cossus 



decorative subject would find an exquisite 

 model here. And this gem moves. At the 

 least disturbance, it fidgets about on its back, 

 very much like a Gudgeon laid high and dry 

 on the river-bank. Feeling itself in danger, 

 the terrified creature strives to make itself 

 terrifying. 



Next day, the nymph is clouded with a 

 faint smoky tint. The work of a final trans- 

 formation begins and is continued for a fort- 

 night. At last, towards the end of July, the 

 nymphal garment is reduced to shreds, torn 

 by the movements of the stretching and wa- 

 ving limbs. The full-grown insect appears, 

 clad in rusty-red and white. The colour 

 soon becomes darker and gradually changes 

 to black. The insect has completed its de- 

 velopment. 



I recognize it as the naturalists' Ergates 

 faber, which, translated into the vernacular, 

 means '^the journeyman blacksmith." If 

 any one knows why this long-horned Beetle, 

 this lover of old pine-stumps, is called a 

 working blacksmith, I will thank him to tell 

 me. 



The Ergates is a magnificent insect, vying 

 with the Great Capricorn in size, but with 

 broader wing-cases and a slightly flatter body. 

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