A WIDE FIELD 99 



the beetle, with my thread and needle.' 

 Those who speak in this way are not aware, 

 or forget, that there are between three and 

 four thousand different sorts of beetles in 

 this country, and tens of thousands abroad, 

 particularly in the tropics. Indeed, we can- 

 not guess how many there may be, for there 

 are vast regions in which little or no 

 collecting has been done. 



It will readily be supposed that it is no 

 light task to undertake the study even of 

 our British species. The Order includes 

 many insects, which are not popularly called 

 beetles, such as the glow-worms, Spanish 

 flies, skipjacks, weevils, turnip flies, and lady- 

 "birds. Per contra, we must remember that 

 the black beetle of the kitchen is not 

 a beetle, but a cockroach. Some method 

 has to be adopted to subdivide the mass, 

 and accordingly the species have been 

 gathered into divisions and subdivisions, 

 which my space will not allow me even to 

 name. I shall, however, mention the four 

 groups into which they are primarily divided. 



If you look at the figures of beetles shown 

 on Plate VIII., you will observe that every 



