CiiAv. I J I. . GROUND-BEETLES. 107 



curved bronze-coloured spines, an inch and a half in 

 leng-th, proceeding from the tip of its abdomen. It 

 spins a large web, the monstrous appendages being 

 apparently no impediment to it in its work ; but what 

 their use can be I am unable to divine. 



Coleoptera, or beetles, at first seemed to be very 

 scarce. This apparent scarcity has been noticed in other 

 equatorial countries and arises, probably, from the great 

 heat of the sun not permitting them to exist in exposed 

 situations, where they form such conspicuous objects in 

 Europe. Man}^ hundred species of the different families 

 can be found, when they are patiently searched for in 

 the shady places to which they are confined. It is 

 vain to look for the Geodephaga, or carnivorous beetles, 

 under stones, or an3r\vhere, indeed, in open, sunny 

 places. The teiTestrial forms of this interesting family, 

 which abound in England and temperate countries 

 generally, are scarce in the neighbourhood of Para, in 

 fact, I met with only four or five species ; on the other 

 hand the purely arboreal kinds were rather numerous. 

 The contrary of this happens in northern latitudes, 

 where the great majority of the species and genera are 

 exclusively teiTestrial. The arboreal forms are dis- 

 tingTiished by the structure of the feet, which have 

 broad spongy soles and toothed claws enabling them 

 to climb over and cling to branches and leaves. The 

 remarkable scarcity of ground beetles is, doubtless, 

 attributable to the number of ants and Termites which 

 people every inch of surface in all shady places, and 

 which would most likely destroy the larvae of Coleop- 

 tera. These active creatures have the same functions 



