WOLF BEETLES. 



167 



derived their scientific name, which signifies " wolf beetles." Like 

 our Soldiers, they are accustomed to let themselves fall to the 

 ground when alarmed, and simulate death until they think that 

 the danger has passed away. 



The remarkable insect which is shown in the illustration 

 affords a good example of the exotic Lycidoe. Its elytra are very 

 broad and very flat, somewhat like those of the Mormolyce, or 

 Fiddler, which is described on page 39. If the insect be viewed 

 on the under surface, the elytra are seen to be exceedingly thin 

 and almost transparent, with a sort of network texture wrinkled 

 longitudinally, and having the edges slightly rolled over so as to 

 form a narrow, strengthening rim. The head is lengthened, 

 pointed, and turned downwards, so as to enable the insects to 

 reach the flowers which are 

 their legitimate food. The 

 colour of this species, and 

 indeed of nearly all the 

 Lycidse, is orange with black 

 marks. This Beetle is a na- 

 tive of Africa, which is the 

 home of the Wolf Beetles. 

 The elytra are not quite 

 rounded behind, but each is 

 slightly scooped at the top, 

 very much as if a piece had 

 been bitten out of them. It is to this circumstance that the 

 species owes its name of prcemorsm, or <l bitten." 



There are very many species of Lycus, one of which, Lycus 

 Scutellaria, has the elytra scarcely thicker than silver paper, and 

 instead of being scooped at the end, the tips are drawn out into 

 black, flattened projections, very much like the wings of the 

 Swallow-tailed Butterfly. Most of the species show scarcely any 

 difference of shape in the two sexes, but some of them, such as 

 Lycus Bremii, a native of Southern Africa, are extremely different, 

 the male having the elytra wide and flat, while those of the 

 female are not only narrow, but even scooped at the sides. 



Nearly all the Lycidae are foreign insects, but we have two 

 British species, both belonging to the genus Dictyopterus. The 

 best known of them is Dictyopterus Aurora, which is found in 

 Rannoch Wood, Perthshire. It is almost always taken under 



Fig. 76. — Lycus pneinovsus. 



(Orange and black.) 



