CHAP. VI.] 



BEETLES. 



249 



and some of the Elateridaa 1 and Lamellicorns exhibit hues 

 of green and blue, that rival the deepest tints of the eme- 

 rald and sapphire. 



Scavenger Beetles. Scavenger beetles 2 are to be seen 

 wherever the presence of putrescent and offensive matter 

 affords opportunity for the display of their repulsive but 

 most curious instincts ; fastening on it with eagerness, 

 severing it into lumps proportionate to their strength, and 

 rolling it along~m search of some place sufficiently soft in 

 which to bury it, after having deposited their eggs in the 

 centre. I had frequent opportunities, especially in tra- 

 versing the sandy jungles in the level plains to the north 

 of the island, of observing the unfailing appearance 

 of these creatures instantly on the dropping of horse 

 dung, or any other substance suitable for their purpose ; 

 although not one was visible but a moment before. 

 Their approach on the wing is announced by a loud and 

 joyous booming sound, as they dash in rapid circles in 

 search of the desired object, led by their sense of smell, 

 but evidently little assisted by the eye in shaping their 

 course towards it. In these excursions they exhibit a 

 strength of wing and sustained power of flight, such as is 

 possessed by no other class of beetles with which I 

 am acquainted, but which is obviously indispensable 

 for the due performance of the useful functions they 

 discharge. 



The Coco-nut Beetle. In the luxuriant forests of 

 Ceylon, the extensive family of Longicorns live in de- 

 structive abundance. Their ravages are painfully fami- 

 liar to the coco-nut planters. 3 The larva of one species 



1 Of the family of Elaterida, one 

 of the finest is a Singhalese species, 

 the Compsosternus Templetonii, of an 

 exquisite golden green colour, with 

 blue reflections (described and figured 

 by Mr. WESTWOOD in his Cabinet of 

 Oriental Entomology, pi. 35, f. 1). In 

 the same work is figured another 

 species of large size, also from Ceylon, 



this is the Alaus sordidus. WEST- 

 WOOD, 1. c. pi. 35, f. 9. 



a Ateuchus sacer ; Copris sagax ; 

 C. capucinus, &c. &c. 



3 There is a paper in the Journ. of 

 the Asiat. Society of Ceylon, May, 

 1845, by Mr. CAPPER, on the ravages 

 perpetrated by these beetles. The 

 writer had recently passed through 



