SCALES OF A BEETLE. 209 



The present species inhabits Southern Africa, and is perhaps 

 the hest example of the whole family. 



The colour of the insect is rather dull black, with the excep- 

 tion of some spots on the elytra which will presently he described. 

 The rostrum, or fore part of the head, is thick, stout, and much 

 widened towards the end, and the upper surface is deeply 

 wrinkled. The thorax is rather curiously formed. In the centre 

 and in front there is a projecting portion, something like a horse- 

 shoe, or rather like the under-surface of a horse's foot, even the 

 "frog" being represented with wonderful fidelity. Then come 

 two small pear-shaped projections, side by side, and then a 



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Fig. 101. — Brachycerus imperialis. 

 (Black, red spots.) 



number of little pustules. On either side, the thorax is covered 

 with small rounded projections, one of which is very large and 

 elongated, so as to resemble a sharp horn. 



The elytra are rather glossy and covered with very minute 

 pustules, which become greatly larger towards the tips, which 

 are much turned downwards. On each of the ehytra there are 

 eight rows of round, reddish spots, slightly depressed. If the 

 insect be placed under a microscope, the reddish colour is seen 

 to be produced by a number of little oval bodies, very much 

 like grains of red corn or rice, which are fixed to the elytra by 

 one end, and lie nearly flat upon each other. They are set 

 much in the same way as the scales of the Diamond Beetle, but 



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