The Geotrupes: the Public Health 



that struck me long ago, when, to learn a little 

 about the tribes whose history attracted me 

 so greatly, I used to stick rows of Beetles 

 on pins in my boxes. Ground-beetles, Rose- 

 chafers, Buprestes, Capricorns, Saperdae ^ 

 and the rest were collected one by one, after 

 prolonged search. Now and again a lucky 

 find would make my cheeks glow with excite- 

 ment. Exclamations broke from our pren- 

 tice band when one of these rarities was 

 captured. A touch of jealousy accompanied 

 our congratulations of the proud possessor. 

 It was bound to be so; for think: there were 

 not enough to go round. 



A Scalary Saperda, the denizen of dead 

 cherry-trees, clad in deep yellow with ladder- 

 like markings of black velvet; a purply 

 Ground-beetle, edged with amethyst along 

 his ebony wing-cases ; a brilliant Buprestis, 

 wedding the sheen of gold and copper to the 

 gorgeous green of malachite : these were 

 great events, far too infrequent to satisfy us 

 all. 



With the Dung-beetles you can sing a 

 different song ! These are the ones if you 

 want to fill the greediest of asphyxiating- 

 phials to the neck. They, especially the 



1 A genus of Longicorns, or Long-horned Beetles.^ 

 Translator's Note. 



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