LuCANIDjE - 



-INSECT3.- 



-LUCANUS. 



219 



projections on the head and thorax, as in the great 

 Hercules beetle and the even more extraordinary 

 Asserador Hewitsoni (see fig. 95). The females are 

 small and without any projections. 



In Europe Oryctes nasicornis is a common insect, 

 found in the larva state in tan-pits and dung-heaps It 

 continues four or five years in that state. In this 

 country we have no member of this family. 



In Brazil and the East Indies the Dynastidie attain 

 enormous size ; for instance, that gigantic Elephant 

 beetle called Megasoma elephas, is some inches long, 

 and wide in proportion. It is found in Venezuela and 

 Columbia. The Megasoma Actmon, or Actseon beetle,* 

 is another large species common in Brazil and Guiana. 

 In some of the West Indian Islands the long-horned 

 Hercules beetle {Dynastes Hercules) is not uncom- 

 mon. It has been also named the Rhinoceros 

 beetle in some popular books. In the males tlje 

 thorax projects in front into a long curved horn, 

 which extends far beyond the bead, and has a 

 strong tooth-like projection on the under side, 

 fiinged with a brush of brownish-yellow hairs. 

 Tlie head has a long horn also, shorter by far 

 than that on the thorax, but bending up towards 

 it and toothed on the upper side. The uses of 

 these processes to the insect are unknown. 



Oryctes Maimon is a species indigenous to the 

 United States. It is of a deep blackish chestnut 

 hue, and is highly polished. The thorax in the 

 male is armed with three horns, one in front and 

 one on each side. Mr. Gosse in one of his letters 

 from Alabama, gives an instance of its great 

 strength of body. He says, " When the insect 

 was brought to me, having no box immediatel}' 

 at hand, I was at a loss where to put it until 

 I could kill it ; but a quart bottle full of milk 

 being on the table, I clapped the beetle for the 

 present under that, the hollow at the bottom 

 allowing him room to stand upright. Presently, 

 to my surprise, the bottle began slowly to move 

 and glide along the smooth table, propelled by 

 the muscular power of the imprisoned insect, and 

 continued for some time to perambulate the sur- 

 face, to the astonishment of all who witnessed it. 

 The weight of the bottle and its contents could 

 not have been less than three pounds and a half; 

 while that of the beetle was about half an ounce, 

 so that it readily moved a weight one hundred 

 and twelve times exceeding its own.""(" To give 

 a better notion than figures can convey, Mr. 

 Gosse supposes a lad of fifteen imprisoned under 

 the great bell of Saint Paul's, whieli weighs twelve 

 thousand pounds, and moving it on a smooth 

 pavement by pushing within. 



Family— LUCANID.® {Stag-beetles). 



Jlany of the Beetles of this family are of large size. 

 Tlie males have often very large jaws furnished with 

 snags, like a stag ; hence their English name. 



• Acta?on was turned into a stag for looking at Diana ; the 

 bonis began to bud from the head. 

 t Letters from Alabama, p. 1C7. 



On Plate 1 there are three species represented, the 

 male sex being selected on account of the characteristic 

 mandibles. Fig. 7 shows the Chiasognathus Grantii 

 — a fine South American beetle. The late amiable 

 James Francis Stephens first described this curious 

 beetle. It is a native of the island of Chiloe, where it 

 appears to be not common. Its eyes are each divided 

 by a ridge of the head, so that there seem to be four ; 

 hence a French naturalist named it Tclraopldhalmus. 

 Fig. 9 represents our Stag-beetle (Lucanus Cemis) 

 common in the counties of Surrey and Kent, &c. The 

 females seem scarcer than the males. Fig. 10 repre- 

 sents Cladognathus Parryi, a species very common in 

 Silhet. In the Lucanidse the antennie are geniculate 

 or elbowed, the first joint being long and the other ten 



Fig. 96. 



Lucanus du.T 



shorter, the club having the four, five, or six last joints 

 produced inside, so as to have a pectinated appearance. 

 The tibijE are generally toothed or spined, these teeth 

 helping them greatly in climbing. 



It is in the evening that the Stag-beetles fl\', although 

 the Lampriince, metallic green and purple Australian 



