826 INSECTA—CANTHARIS...TUMBLEDUNG. 
lurk in clusters, and seldom quit the tree till they have devoured all its 
verdure. 
Their duration, however, is but short, as they never survive the season. 
Of all the beetle kind this is the most numerous, and therefore deserves 
the chief attention of history. Like them, all other beetles are bred from 
the egg, which is deposited in the ground, or sometimes, though seldom, in 
the barks of trees; they change into a worm; they subsist in that state 
py living upon the roots of vegetables, or the succulent parts of the bark 
around them. 
THE .CANTHAR IS? 
Is of the beetle kind, whence come cantharides, well known in the shops by 
the name of Spanish flies, and for their use in blisters. They have feelers 
like bristles, Hexible cases to the wings, a breast pretty plain, and the sides 
of the belly wrinkled. Cantharides differ from each other in their size, 
shape, and color; those used in the shops also do the same. The largest in 
these parts are about an inch long, andas much in circumference ; but others 
are not above three quarters of an inch. Some are of a pure azure color, 
others of pure gold, and others again have a mixture of pure gold and azure 
colors; but they are all very brilliant, and extremely beautiful. These 
insects, as is well known, are of the greatest benefit to mankind, making a 
part in various medicines conducive to human preservation. They are 
chiefly natives of Spain, Italy, and Portugal; but they are to be met with 
also about Paris in the summer time, upon the leaves of the ash, the poplar, 
and the rose-trees, and also among wheat, and in meadows. 
THE TUMBLEDUNG! 
ParticuLARLY demands our attention; it is all over of a dusky black, 
rounder than those animals are generally found tobe, and so strong, though 
not much larger than the common black beetle, that if one of them be put 
under a brass candlestick, it will cause it to move backwards and forwards, 
as if 1t were by an invisible hand, to the admiration of those who are not 
accustomed to the sight; Lut this strength is given it for much more useful 
purposes than those of exciting human curiosity, for there is no creature 
more laborious, either in seeking subsistence, or in providing a proper retreat 



1 Cantharis vesicatoria, Lin. 2 Ateuchus volvens, Lin. 
