222 NATURAL ARRANGEMENT OF INSECTS. 



t07iian(e to feed ujion the same parts of a plant as nourish 

 the Lepidoptera, — namely, the flower. And here another 

 obscure glimpse of interminable relations opens upon us ; 

 for as these two latter groups are pre-eminently typical, 

 so do they draw nourishment from the most perfect part 

 of a plant, which every one knows to be its flowers. The 

 unusual length of limb, again, possessed by the chafers, 

 and (if the fact be true) their partiality for sandy coun- 

 tries, is at once explained by their being the grallatorial 

 beetles, — that is, by their representing the order of wading 

 birds {Grallatores), which course the sands of all ma- 

 ritime countries, and sometimes congregate, like these 

 beetles, in migratory hordes of countless numbers : both 

 groups are remarkably deficient in bright colouring, for 

 both assume the tint of the naked ground. But we 

 must pause ; for, although analogies equally beautiful 

 crowd upon the mind, we are limited to a mere sketch 

 of this inviting subject. Let it be remembered, how- 

 ever, that " natural groups will stand any test;" and that, 

 unless those of the insect world will bear a comparison 

 with such as belong to all other animals, we may be sa- 

 tisfied that there is, in one or the other, some great error 

 to be detected. 



(ip-i.) We must now turn to the other great divi- 

 sion of the lamellicorn beetles, — the Scarabceidcs, or 

 the Petalocera saprophaga of MacLeay. The first or 

 most pervading character which strikes the general ob- 

 server, on looking to this assemblage, is the thick and 

 ungraceful form they possess : this, joined to their 

 dark and sombre hue, and the repulsive aspect which 

 many of them possess, give them, altogether, a most 

 uninviting appearance. Their manners and habits are 

 quite in unison with their general aspect : instead of 

 sporting on flowers, living upon pure and uncorrupted 

 food, and enjoying the brightness of day, the whole of 

 these insects live only upon the ground, where they 

 seek out the decayed and corrupting remains of vege- 

 tables, more especially the excrement of herbivorous 

 animals, in which disgusting food they seem to revel 



