252 NATURAL HISTORY OP 



a peculiar and penetrating odour, of which the in- 

 sects are so fond that they seldom fail to be attract- 

 ed by it. The negroes, who often employ them 

 selves in searching f6r the rarer and more beautiful 

 kinds of insects, that they may dispose of them to 

 collectors, avail themselves of this propensity, and 

 sometimes cut down these trees, as the most ready 

 means of obtaining a supply of beetles. It is gene- 

 rally found on the trunk or at the bottom of trees, 

 rarely under the bark, and never on the leaves. 

 Its motions are so sluggish, that it may be said to 

 drag itself along rather than walk. It occasionally 

 takes wing on the approach of evening, but its 

 flight is slow and unsteady, scarcely appearing un- 

 der the guidance of the animal, as it strikes against 

 any object that happens to be in the way, and falls 

 to the ground. A rustling sound accompanies its 

 flight, and it often betrays its retreat by a rather 

 loud noise, which is produced by the friction of the 

 thorax. It varies greatly in size and colour. Spe- 

 cimens from the interior of the country are usually 

 of a much paler tint than such as are obtained in 

 the neighbourhood of Rio Janeiro, and other places 

 towards the coast.* 



The genus Lamia, from which the present tribe 

 derives its name, is constituted by a variety of finely- 

 coloured species, some of which are of considerable 

 size. They are extensively diffused over the earth, 



* Anal, des Sciences Naturelles, torn. xxi. 180. 



