COLEOPTERA. 



M3 



male of Geotrupes 

 typhosus (nat. size). 



chafer. The Rutelince have some resemblance in external form to the Melolon- 

 thince, but can in general be easily recognised owing to the difference in length 

 between the two claws of each of their tarsi. The Dynastince are mostly confined 

 to the warmer parts of the world, and chiefly remarkable on account of the 

 great sexual differences exhibited by the species. In the 

 hercules-beetles (Dynastes hercules), of the West Indies and 

 Tropical America, the male is sometimes over 5 inches long. 

 The elephant-beetle is a more massive insect, though, having 

 relatively much shorter horns, its total length is not so great. 

 As compared with other species of the subfamily the European 

 rhinoceros-beetle (Oryctes nasicornis), figured on p. 144, is 

 very modest in its proportions. Our next subfamily, the 

 Cetcmiince, stands unrivalled amongst the Coleoptera for the 

 loveliness of coloration displayed by many of its species. 

 The goliath-beetles belong to this subfamily. In some of the 

 genera, such as Ceratorrhina and Goliathus, the males may be recognised by 

 the shape of the head, which is often excavated above, and furnished with hooks 

 or horns, as shown in C. smithi on p. 145. 



The Buprestidce, together with the click-beetles (Elateridce), and a few smaller 

 families, constitute the tribe Serricornia. Distinguished chiefly by their serrated 

 or flabellated antennae, the beetles of this tribe agree also in having the tarsi five- 

 jointed, and the presternum prolonged behind 

 and fitting into a cavity of the mesosternum. 

 They are generally of an elongated form, with 

 the elytra narrowed from the base to the tip 

 and completely covering the abdomen. The 

 Buprestidce have short, serrated antennae, 

 composed of eleven joints, which, with the 

 exception of three or four nearest the base, 

 are covered on special areas with very 

 minute pits supposed to be of an olfactory 

 nature ; these areas may be spread over 

 nearly the whole of each joint, or confined 

 to one side or the end of the joint, and their 

 position affords one of the most important 

 characters used in the classification of the 

 family. The family is divided into three 

 principal groups — the Julodince, Chalco- 



phorince, and Buprestince. The first group is chiefly restricted to Africa and the 

 East Indies. The Chalcophorince are more widely distributed, and include many 

 of the finest species of the family, such as the Euchronia gigantea of South 

 America, and the species of Catoxantha found in the East Indies. Chalcophora 

 mariana — figured on p. 145 — occurs in many pine-forests of the Continent, and 

 is one of the largest European species. The Buprestince are more numerous than 

 the other two groups, and are found in all parts of the world. 



The click-beetles are, as a rule, narrower and more elongated than the 



Polyphylla fullo, male (nat. size). 



