470 



THE CHRYSOCHROA. 



prolonged into a stout and sharp spur, not unlike that on the leg of most gallinaceous 

 birds. The object of this curious modification is not known. 



The .POLYPHEMUS BEETLE is an example of the family termed Dynastidae, or 

 powerful beetles, on account of their enormous size and strength. They are the 

 giants among insects ; for although many others exceed them in length or width, these 

 creatures are so stoutly made, that any other insect becomes dwarfed when placed by 

 their side. 



In this family, the males are remarkable for the strange and often grotesque horny 

 processes which are developed from the head and thorax, the females being destitute of 

 these ornaments. Most of the Dynastidae inhabit tropical regions, only a very few 

 species being found in Europe. They are generally night fliers, ascending to consider- 

 able elevations, and during the day they hide themselves in holes in the earth, in hollow 

 trees, or similar situations. Their food seems to be nearly, if not wholly, of a vege- 

 table nature. 





:... 

 CMRYSOPMORA. Chrysophora chrysochlora. POLYPHEMUS BEETLE.-Chelorhlaa Polyphemus. 



PASSING by one or two families of more or less importance, we arrive at the Bupres- 

 tidae, a family of beetles remarkable for the extraordinary gorgeousness of their tints, 

 almost every imaginable hue being found upon these brilliant insects. 



They are found in many portions of the globe, but, as is generally the case with 

 insects, their colors take the greatest intensity within the tropics. They fly well, and 

 seem to exult in the hottest sunshine, where the bright beams cause their burnished 

 raiment to flash forth its most dazzling hues. They are, however, slow of foot, and, 

 when alarmed, have a habit of falling to the ground with folded limbs, as if they were 

 dead. 



The species that is given in the illustration is one of the finest of this splendid 

 family. The sides of the thorax are covered with little round pits, something like the 

 depressions on the head of a thimble, and are of a fiery copper hue. The head and 

 middle of the thorax are light burnished blue, like that of a well-tempered watchspring, 

 and the elytra are warm cream-colored, diversified with a patch of deep purple blue at 

 each side, and another at the tip. The CHRYSOCHROA is a native of India. 



The larvae of this family are wood borers, and there is a curious account by 

 Mr. Marsham of an insect of this family (Buprestis splendens), which suddenly 

 made its appearance out of a desk which had remained in one of the Guildhall offices. 



