INSECTS. 109 



obelisks and other monuments. 

 Denon,* in his splendid work on 

 Egypt, states that it was an em- 

 blem of wisdom, strength, and 

 industry, and that it occupies the 

 most distinguished place in the 

 temples, not merely as an orna- 

 ment, but as an object of worship. 

 Among the Egyptian antiquities 

 preserved in the British Museum, 

 is a colossal figure of this insect, 

 placed upon an altar, before which 



. f" i v a- M Fig. 87. SACRED BEETLE OF THE 



a pnest is kneeling. Similar EGYPTIANS. 



figures of the insect, but of a 



small size, are frequently found on the breasts of mummies, 

 and were probably worn as amulets. 



All Egyptian travellers speak with surprise of the habits of 

 this beetle, in collecting and rolling about a ball of dung, in 

 which it deposits an egg. A similar custom prevails in one 

 of our native species \Geotrupes vernalis)\ but in districts 

 where sheep are kept, it wisely saves its labour, and inge- 

 niously avails itself of the pellet-shaped balls of dung which 

 these animals supply, and which are admirably adapted for 

 its purpose, t 



Among the beetle tribes are some which are cased in 

 armour of brilliant metallic lustre, and there are species found 

 on vegetables which are splendid objects when their beauties 

 are revealed by the microscope. There is one which, though 

 taken in many parts of Ireland, has not as yet been observed 

 in the northern districts, and which is remarkable both 

 for its beauty and its activity (Cicindda campestris). Its 

 colour is a golden green, with white or yellow spots, and 

 appears particularly rich when the insect is running rapidly 

 along in the bright sunshine of a summer's day. It is one of 

 a family, justly named by Linnaeus the tigers of the insect 

 tribes. " Though decorated with brilliant colours, they prey 

 upon the whole insect race ; their formidable jaws, which 

 cross each other, are armed with fearful fangs, showing to 

 what use they are applicable ; and the extreme velocity with 



* Vol. ii. page GO. 



} Sturm, quoted by Kirby and Spence, vol. ii. page 475. 



