THE SCARABiEIN^. 223 



with the greatest delight ; within this, or in little suh- 

 terranean caves immediately heneath, which they exca- 

 vate with their fore-feet, do these impure creatures pass 

 the day, — only quitting their retreats to fly abroad after 

 the sun has run its course, and the night has begun. 

 These nocturnal habits, however, are not universal ; for 

 some, as the true Scarab^in^ of warm countries, and 

 the Aphodince of this country, may be seen abroad in 

 the heat of the day ; but they are always in search of 

 the same disgusting food, — shunning the sweets of Flora, 

 as if they were, to them, poison. A few, however, 

 prefer nourishment of a less offensive nature : the large 

 DynastincE subsist entirely upon rotten wood, and take 

 up their stations in the hollows of decayed trees, where 

 both the larva and perfect insect may be found. But 

 these are only slight modifications of the same habits ; 

 for the whole family live entirely upon decayed vege- 

 table matter, in different stages of decomposition: and 

 although some few, as certain Anthophagi, and several 

 of the foreign Scarabaince, are partially ornamented 

 with metallic colours, yet the general hue of the whole 

 of these insects is different shades of black, and dark 

 brown. 



(195.) The structure of these insects is as peculiar 

 as their general appearance and habits. The body is 

 short, thick, and clumsy ; the thorax so large, as gene- 

 rally to be of the same size ; while the legs are much 

 more spinous than those of the Cetoniadce. Their great 

 characteristic, however, is to be found in the construc- 

 tion of their feet. As the legs of the Cetoniades are so 

 admirably ada])ted for clinging to plants and branches, 

 so are those of the Scarahaidce for walking upon the 

 ground ; although their motion and progress, on such 

 occasions, is neither graceful nor active. The tarsi are 

 universally very short and slender, — often, indeed, nearly 

 obsolete ; and although, in some of the divisions, the 

 five joints are of the same shape, and even present 

 much of the same relative proportion to each other as 

 those of the Cetoniadce, yet they are, collectively, inva- 



