HABITS OF THE INCA BEETLE. 145 



are, as a general rule, inhabitants of Mexico, though, as we shall 

 presently see, the rule is not without its exception. They feed 

 upon the young leaves of trees, and in the daytime may be 

 seen flying round the trees at some height from the ground. 

 During the early morning they sit among the foliage, resting, as 

 do so many insects, on the under surface of the leaves, so as to 

 be protected as much as possible from sight. The larvae are 

 found in rotten wood, much like those of our own Eose Beetles. 

 One species, Inca lineola, was brought from Africa, having been 

 captured at Sierra Leone by the Eev. D. Morgan. It is quite a 

 small insect, not larger than our common Eose Beetle, but longer 

 and more slender. It is curiously mottled with black, yellow, 

 and grey, and has on each of the elytra a short black line, from 

 which the specific name of lineola, or " little line," has been 

 derived. 







