io 4 BEETLES, GRASSHOPPERS, ETC. 



show kindness to the weak and helpless, are 

 virtues of great merit. 



The last of the five-jointed beetles which 

 I can mention is the Eeddish Skipjack 

 (Athous hsemorrhoidalis), Plate VIII., Fig. 8, 

 a chestnut-brown beetle frequently seen in 

 woods and at the edges of fields in Spring. 

 The name 'skipjack' is derived from the 

 peculiar habit of the insects, which, when 

 they happen to fall upon their backs, regain 

 their proper position by springing lightly into 

 the air, somewhat after the manner of a 

 shrimp on the seashore. The destructive 

 wire-worms are the grubs of a species allied 

 to this one. The fireflies of the tropics are 

 members of the same group. 



The Heteromera are a much smaller 

 division of the beetles, although many of the 

 species are interesting. I have chosen the 

 Churchyard beetle (Blaps mucronata), Plate 

 VIII., Fig. 9, as a type. It is dull black, and 

 found in cellars and outhouses. Another 

 species of the genus which is very common 

 in Egypt is said to be cooked with butter and 

 eaten by the women to impart the stoutness 

 of person which is there the standard of 



