20 BEETLE. 



nearly black, and commonly marked with several 

 small, round deep-black spots, of different sizes: 

 the head and limbs are coal-black: from the upper 

 part of the breast or thorax proceeds a horn or 

 process of enormous length in proportion to the 

 body: it is sharp at the tip, where it curves 

 slightly downwards, and is marked beneath by two 

 or three denticulations, and furnished throughout 

 its whole length with a fine, short, velvet-like pile, 

 of a brownish orange-colour : from the front of the 

 head proceeds also a strong horn, about two thirds 

 the length of the former, toothed on its upper sur- 

 face but not furnished with any of the velvet-like 

 pile which appears on the former. This species 

 is a native of several parts of South America, 

 where great numbers are said to be sometimes 

 seen on the tree called the Mammaea*, rasp- 

 ing off the rind of the slender branches by work- 

 ing nimbly round them with the horns, till they 

 cause the juice to flow, which they drink to 

 intoxication, and thus fall senseless from the tree. 

 This however, as the learned Fabricius has well 

 observed, seems not very probable ; since the 

 thoracic horn, being bearded on its lower surface, 

 would undoubtedly be made bare by this opera- 

 tion. This species, from the large size of all its 

 parts, affords an admirable example of the cha- 

 racters of the genus. It varies much in size, and 

 it may even be doubted whether some of the 

 smaller specimens have not been occasionally re- 



* Mammaea Americana. Lin. MammeeTree. Brott-n Jam, 



