BEETLE. 21 



garded by authors as distinct species. The female 

 is destitute both of the frontal and thoracic horn, 

 but in other points resembles the male. 



The Goliah Beetle, Scarabceus Goliathus, is 

 highly remarkable both in point of size and 

 colour: it is larger in body than the preceding, 

 and has a rose-coloured thorax, marked with lon- 

 gitudinal black stripes or variegations, and purple- 

 brown wing-sheaths: the head is divided in front 

 into two forked processes: the limbs are black, 

 and very strong. It is a native of some parts of 

 Africa. A supposed variety sometimes occurs, in 

 which both the thorax and wing-sheaths are of a 

 pale yellowish brown instead of rose-colour, and 

 are marked with black variegations. 



One of the'most common European Beetles is 

 the Cockchaffer, or Scarabceus Melolontha. This 

 insect is extremely familiar in our own island, 

 the larva or caterpillar inhabiting ploughed lands, 

 and feeding on the roots of corn, &c. and the 

 complete insect making its appearance during the 

 middle and the decline of summer. The CockchafTer 

 sometimes appears in such prodigious quantities 

 as almost to strip the trees of their foliage, and to 

 produce mischiefs nearly approaching to those of 

 the Locust tribe. It appears from a paper bv a 

 Mr. Molinenx, printed in the Philosophical Trans- 

 actions for the year 1697, that some particular 

 districts in Ireland were overrun by this insect in 

 a wonderful manner. The account runs as follows. 

 " These insects were first noticed in this kingdom 



O 



in 1688. They appeared on the South-west coast 



