Masterpieces of Science 



a small common wasp of the genus Odynerus, 

 that Mr. Bates informs us he was afraid to take 

 it out of his net with his fingers for fear of 

 being stung. Had Mr. Bates's taste for insects 

 been less omnivorous than it was, the beetle's 

 disguise might have saved it from his pin, as 

 it had no doubt often done from the beak of 

 hungry birds. A larger insect, Sphecomorpha 

 chalybea, is exactly like one of the large metallic 

 blue wasps, and like them has the abdomen 

 connected with the thorax by a pedicle, render- 

 ing the deception most complete and striking. 

 Many Eastern species of Longicorns of the 

 genus Oberea, when on the wing exactly re- 

 semble Tenthredinidse, and many of the small 

 species of Hesthesis run about on timber, and 

 cannot be distinguished from ants. There is 

 one genus of South American Longicorns that 

 appears to mimic the shielded bugs of the genus 

 Scutellera. The Gymnocerous capucinus is one 

 of these, and is very like Pachyotris fabricii, 

 one of the Scutelleridas. The beautiful Gymno- 

 cerous dulcissimus is also very like the same 

 group of insects, though there is no known 

 species that exactly corresponds to it; but this 

 is not to be wondered at, as the tropical Hemip- 

 tera have been comparatively so little cared 

 for by collectors. 



The most remarkable case of an insect of 



another order mimicking a beetle is that of the 



Condylodera tricondyloides, one of the cricket 



family from the Philippine Islands, which is 



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