THE BEETLE. 



821 



we have just been giving a description; like 

 them, all other beetles are bred from the egg, 

 which is deposited in the ground, or so ne- 

 times, (hough seldom, in the barks of trees ; 

 they change into a worm ; they subsist in that 

 state by living upon ihe roots of vegetables, 

 or the succulent parts of the bark round them. 

 They generally live a year at least before they 

 change into an au relit-; ; in that stale th<y are 

 not entirely motioniesc, nor entirely swaddled 

 up without form. 



It would be tedious and endless to give a 

 description of all ; and yet it would bean un- 

 pardoimble omission not to mention the par- 

 ticularities of some beetles, which are singul ir 

 rather from their size, their manners, or their 

 for nation. That beetle, which the Americans 

 call the Tumble-dune;, particularly demands 

 our attention ; it is ali over of a dusky black, 

 rounder than those animals are generally 

 found to be, and so strong, though not much 

 larger than the common black beetle, that if 

 one of them be put under a brass candlestick, 

 it will cause it to move backwards and for- 

 wards, as if it were by an invisible hand, to 

 the admiration of those who are not accus- 

 tomed to the sight ; but this strength is given 

 it for much more useful purposes than those of 

 exciting human curiosity, for there is no crea- 

 ture more laborious, either in seeking subsis- 

 tence, or in providing a proper retreat for its 

 young. They are endowed with sagacity to 

 discover subsistence by tiiHr excellent smelling, 

 which directs them in (lights to excrements 

 just fallen from man or beast, on which they 

 instantly drop, and foil unanimously to work 

 in forming round balls or pellets thereof, in 

 the middle of which they lay an egg. These 

 pellets, in September, they convey three feet 

 deep in the earth, where they lie till the ap- 

 proach of spring ; when the eggs are hatched 

 the nests burst, and the insects find their way 

 out of the earth. They assist each other with 

 indefatigable industry, in rolling these globu- 

 lar pellets to the place where they are to be 

 buried. This they are to perform with the 

 tail foremost, bv raising up their hinder part, 

 and shoving along the ball with their hind 

 feet. They are always accompanied with 



fa) The crepitating Beetle has a very singular method 

 of defending itself, and annoying its enemies. When- 

 ever it is touched it makes a report, not unlike the dis- 



other beetles of a larger size, and of a more 

 elegant structure and colour. The breast of 

 this is covered with a shield of a crimson 

 colour, and shining like metal ; the head is of 

 the like colour, mixed with green, and on the 

 crown of the head stands a shining black horn, 

 bended backwards. These are called the 

 kings of the beetles : but for what reason is 

 uncertain, since they partake of the same dirty 

 drudgery with the rest. 



The Elephant-Beetle is the largest of this 

 kind hitherto known, and is found in South 

 America, particularly Guiana and Surinam, 

 as well as about the river Oroonoko. It is of 

 a black colour, and the whole body is covered 

 with a very hard shell, full as thick and as 

 strong as that of a small crab. Its length, 

 from the hinder part to the eyes, is almost four 

 inches, and from the same part to the end of 

 the proboscis, or trunk, four inches and three 

 quarters. The transverse diameter of the 

 body is two inches and a quarter, and the 

 breadth of each elytron, or case for the wings, 

 is an inch and three-tenths. The attennae, 

 or feelers, are quite horny ; for which reason 

 the proboscis, or trunk, is moveable at its in- 

 sertion into the head, and seems to supply the 

 place of feelers. The horns are eight-tenths 

 of an inch long, and terminate in points. The 

 proboscis is an inch and a quarter long, and 

 turns upwards, making a crooked line, ter- 

 minating in two horns, each of which is near 

 a quarter of an inch long; but they are not 

 perforated at the end like the proboscis of 

 other insects. About four-tenths of an inch 

 above the head, or that side next the body, is 

 a prominence or small horn, which, if the 

 rest of the trunk were away, would cause this 

 part to resemble the horn of a rhinoceros. 

 There is indeed a beetle so called, but then 

 the horns or trunk has no fork at the end, 

 though the lower horn resembles this. The 

 feet are all forked at the end, but not like lob- 

 sters' claws." 



To this class we may also refer the Glow- 

 worm, that little animal which makes such a 

 distinguished figure in the descriptions of our 

 poets. No two insects can differ more than 

 the male and female of this species from each 



charge of a musket in miniature ; and this discharge is 

 accompanied with a blue vapour highly acrimonious and 

 pungent. 



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