MRS. COATES'S JSATH. 67 



precisely the same as in swimming, and both legs being 

 used simultaneously. If the surface be perfectly 

 smooth, such as a plate or a piece of glass, the insect 

 only spins round and round, and after a short time 

 seems to be seized with despair, and lies perfectly 

 motionless. 



Though the beetle can do no harm, and may be 

 taken in the hand without fear, I do not recommend 

 indiscriminate handling, and this for two reasons. In 

 the first place it is wonderfully strong, and has a way 

 of forcing itself backwards through the hands, so that 

 a double-headed spike at the base of the swimming- 

 legs is apt to prick the fingers rather smartly. In the 

 next place when held it ejects a whitish fluid, which 

 issues from the junctions of the head, the thorax, and 

 the abdomen, and which has a strong and very un- 

 pleasant odour. 



The larva or grub of this beetle is quite as formid- 

 able and ferocious as the perfect insect which it does 

 not in the least resemble. It is long-bodied, the body 

 swelling out in the middle, and tapering gradually to 

 the tail, at the end of which are a couple of diverging 

 fringed leaflets, which are attached to the respiratory 

 organs. The head is large and broad, and armed with 

 a pair of exceedingly long and sharp jaws, curved like 

 a reaper's sickle, and having a very sickle-like aspect. 

 The legs are long and slender, and the colour is a pale 

 brown. It moves by two modes of progression. It 

 can use its legs for walking, and does so when it is 



F 2 



