LAGENARIA LAMELLICORNES. 



21 



The order is divisible into two families . 

 I. Ci/amidtc (Ovalia, Latreille). Having the body 

 oval, with transverse segments, and contain- 

 ing the single genus CYAMUS, which see ; and 

 2. Caprcllidic (Filifurmia, Latreille). Having the 

 body long and slender, and the segments 

 longitudinal. See CAPBELUD^E. 

 LAGENARIA (Schreber). A genus of creeping 

 annuals, natives of India, called, from the shape of 

 the fruit, the "bottle gourd." They belong ;to the 

 natural order Cucurbitacete, and of course are closely 

 allied to the common gourds, melons, cucumbers, &c. 

 The shells of the fruit are converted into many 

 kinds of vessels for domestic uses. They may be 

 raised on hot-beds, in this country, as a curiosity, if 

 required. 



LAGERSTRCEMIA (Linnaeus). A genus of 

 beautiful flowering shrubs, natives of India. Class 

 and order Polyandria Monogyma, and natural order 

 Salicaiifc. Generic character : calyx in six divi- 

 sions, with two bractea at the base ; lobes distinctly 

 sinuated ; petals six, and clawed, inserted into the 

 throat of the calyx ; stamens inserted into the tube of 

 the calyx ; filaments filiform ; anthers oval and in- 

 cumbent ; capsule surrounded by the calyx, three to 

 six-valved, three to six-celled, containing winged 

 seeds. This, the L. Indica, is one of the most orna- 

 mental shrubs of its native country. They flower 

 frequently in our stoves, though but feebly. They, 

 however, flower beautifully if planted in the open air, 

 against a south wall, and securely defended against the 

 frost of winter. They are increased by cuttings. 



LAGRIA (Fabricius). A genus of coleopterous 

 insects, belonging to the section Heteromcra, sub- 

 section Trad/elides, and family MelandryiddS, of Leach, 

 but forming, according to Latreille, the type of a dis- 

 tinct tribe, Lagriarice, having the body elongated, 

 narrowed in front, with the thorax sub-cylindric or 

 square, the antennae simple, filiform, or gradually 

 thickened, and inserted in a notch in the eyes, with 

 the last joint longer than the preceding, especially in 

 the males, the tibia? narrow, and the fourth joint of 

 the tarsi bilobed ; the body is soft, and the elytra 

 flexible. They reside in hedges and woods, and 

 counterfeit death on being touched. There is only a 

 single British species, Lagria hirta, which is very 

 common in the early summer month. 



LAMBERTIA (Smith). A genus of New Hol- 

 land evergreen shrubs, named in honour of A. B. 

 Lambert, Esq., V. P. Lin. Soc. of London. They 

 belong to the fourth class of Linnaeus, and to the na- 

 tural order Proteaccce. Generic character : involu- 

 crum coloured, one to seven-flowered ; receptacle 

 plain and naked ; calyx tubular and four-cleft ; 

 stamens inserted in the clefts ; four scales below the 

 germen, either distinct or united ; stigma awl-shaped ; 

 folliculus one-celled ; seeds margined. The Lamber- 

 tias are treated as green-house plants, potted in light 

 sandy loam and moor-earth, are impatient of too 

 much water, and may be propagated by cuttings 

 planted in sand. 



LAMELLIBRANCHIATA. De Blainville's 

 third order of the third class of malacology. The 

 molluscs constituting this order are formed, in many 

 respects, similar to the Acepkalophora ; but their 

 branchiae are shaped like large semicircular leaves 

 symmetrically disposed on both sides of the animal's 

 body ; two pairs on either ; their position is between 

 the abdomen and the mantle ; the mouth is large, and 



transversely placed between two lips, terminated by 

 sub-branchial appendages. 



The shell of these animals invariably consists of 

 two parts or valves placed on either side of the body, 

 lying more or less upon each other, and closed or 

 opened by means of a ligament and adductor muscles. 



LAMELLICORNES (Latreille). A very exten- 

 sive tribe or subsection of coleopterous insects, belong- 

 ing to the section Pentamera, and corresponding with 

 the Linnsean genera Scarabccus and Lucanus. In 

 this group, which was placed by Linnaeus and Fabri- 

 cius at the head of the insect tribes, are comprised 

 some of the most gigantic species, such as the hercules 

 and elephant beetles. The various species figured in 

 our plate of BEETLES, together with the cockchaffer, 

 rosechaffer, shardborne beetle, and a vast number of 

 others to which no ordinary names have been assigned, 

 are also lamellicorn beetles a term indicating the 

 principal character of the subsection, derived from 

 the structure of the antennas, which are always short, 

 composed of nine or ten joints, and always terminated 

 by a club generally formed of the three last joints, 

 which are in the form of narrow plates laid one against 

 another like the leaves of a book, capable of opening 

 to a considerable width ; sometimes, however, the 

 joints of the club of the antennae are much more 

 numerous ; and in others the outer plates of the club 

 are so shaped that they form a sort of box, within 

 which the central plate is shut up. These organs are 

 inserted in a deep excavation beneath the lateral 

 margins of the head. The body is generally ovoid, 

 oval, or rounded ; the outer edge of the anterior tibiae 

 is toothed ; and the joints of the tarsi, except in some 

 males, are entire, and unprovided with cushions on 

 the under surface ; the interior part of the head is 

 often produced into a shield over the mouth ; and the 

 mentum is occasionally very large, entirely closing 

 the mouth from beneath. The mandibles, in certain 

 of the dung-feeding species, offer a peculiarity not to 

 be observed in any other coleopterous insects, that of 

 being membranous. The males generally differ very 

 greatly from their partners in the extraordinary horns 

 with which the head and thorax are often provided, 

 of which some examples will be seen in our plate of 

 BEETLES, and in our article DYNASTES, wherein the 

 figure of D. Hercules has accidentally been turned 

 with the back downwards. It is a curious circum- 

 stance, that these cornuted male insects are generally 

 of a much larger size than the females, whereas in 

 the generality of insects the contrary is the case. 



As regards their size, the singularity of their forms, 

 and the brilliancy of colour of many of the species, 

 they are amongst the most conspicuous of the beetles. 

 It is, however, only to those species which feed upon 

 living vegetable substances in their final state that 

 the last remark may be applied, since many of the 

 species which feed upon vegetable matter in a state 

 of decomposition, and especially such as frequent the 

 excrement of animals, are generally of a dark brown 

 or black colour. Some exotic coprophagous species 

 are, however, as splendidly coloured as the phyllo- 

 phagous species. From the large size of many of 

 these species, and especially of those inhabiting tro- 

 pical climates, it must be evident that they must be 

 eminently serviceable in clearing away decomposing 

 vegetable matter, in which the larva? in general reside. 

 These larvae are thick fleshy grubs, having the body 

 long, semicylindric, transversely rugose, of a dirty 

 white colour, with the head armed with powerful jaws 



