COLEOPTERA. 



M3 



male of Geotrupes 

 typhceus (nat. size). 



chafer. The Rutelince have some resemblance in external form to the Melolon- 

 thince, but can in general be easily recognised owing to the difference in length 

 between the two claws of each of their tarsi. The Dynast hue are mostly confined 

 to the warmer parts of the world, and chiefly remarkable on account of the 

 great sexual differences exhibited by the species. In the 

 hercules-beetles {Dynastcs hercules), of the West Indies and 

 Tropical America, the male is sometimes over 5 inches long. 

 The elephant-beetle is a more massive insect, though, having 

 relatively much shorter horns, its total length is not so great. 

 As compared with other species of the subfamily the European 

 rhinoceros-beetle (Oryctes nasicomis), figured on p. 144, is 

 very modest in its proportions. Our next subfamily, the 

 Cetoniince, stands unrivalled amongst the Coleoptera for the 

 loveliness of coloration displayed by many of its species. 

 The goliath-beetles belong to this subfamily. In some of the 

 genera, such as Ceratorrhina and Goliaihas, the males may be recognised by 

 the shape of the head, which is often excavated above, and furnished with hooks 

 or horns, as shown in C. smithi on p. 145. 



The Buprestida', together with the click-beetles (Elateridct), and a few smaller 

 families, constitute the tribe Serricornia. Distinguished chiefly by their serrated 

 or flabellated antennas, the beetles of this tribe agree also in having the tarsi five- 

 jointed, and the prosternum prolonged behind 



and fitting into a cavity of the mesosternum. i:<. •■" 



They are generally of an elongated form, with 



the elytra narrowed from the base to the tip 



and completely covering the abdomen. The 



BuprestidcB have short, serrated antennas, 



composed of eleven joints, which, with the 



exception of three or four nearest the base, 



arc covered on special areas with very 



minute pits supposed to be of an olfactory 



nature ; these areas may be spread over 



nearly the whole of each joint, or confined 



to one side or the end of the joint, and their 



position affords one of the most important 



characters used in the classification of the 



family. The family is divided into three 



principal groups — the Julodince, Cha Ico- 



phorince, and Buprestince. The first group is chiefly restricted to Africa and the 



East Indies. The Ghalcophorince are more widely distributed, and include many 



of the finest species of the family, such as the Euchroma gigantea of South 



America, and the species of Catoxantha found in the East Indies. Ghalcophora 



mariana — figured on p. 145 — occurs in many pine-forests of the Continent, and 



is one of the largest European species. The Buprestince are more numerous than 



the other two groups, and are found in all parts of the world. 



The click-beetles are, as a rule, narrower and more elongated than the 





=53!g 



tllafuUo, male (nat. size). 



