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THE TIGER BEETLES. 



or Sparklers. These Beetles are represented by several species, among which the common 

 Tiger Beetle {Cicindela catn/pestris) is the most common ami perhaps the most beautiful. 

 Well does this little creature deserve its popular name, lor what the dragon-fly is to the 

 air, what the shark is to the sea, the Tiger Beetle is to the earth ; running with such .rapidity 

 that the eye can hardly follow its course ; armed with jaws like two reaper's sickles crossing 

 each other at the points ; furnished with eyes that project from the sides of the head and 

 permit the creature to see in every direction without turning itself; and, lastly, gifted with 

 agile wings that enable it to rise in the air as readily as a ily or a was}). Moreover, it is 

 covered with a suit of mail, gold embossed, gem studded, and burnished with more than steely 

 brightness, light yet strong, and though freely yielding to every movement, yet so marvellously 

 jointed as to leave no vulnerable points even wdien in full action, and, in fine, such a suit of 

 armor as no monarch ever possessed and no artist ever conceived. True, to the naked or 

 unobservant eye it seems to be but a dully green Beetle with a blue abdomen, but if placed 

 under the microscope, and a powerful light directed upon it, it blazes out with such gorgeous 

 brilliancy that the eye can scarcely endure the glory of its raiment. 



Triamdyla waBdceil. 

 Manticora latipennis. 

 Harpahis cdspicus. 



Lebia crux-minor. 



Cicindela octonotata. 

 Anthia sulcata. 



The typical species which is represented in the illustration is the Eight-spot Tiger 

 Beetle of India. 



The European Tiger Beetle is remarkable for exuding a powerful scent, much resembling 

 the odor produced by a crushed verbena leaf. 



The family Cieindelida, which embraces the group of Tiger Beetles, so called, probably, 

 from their singular markings and stripes, is represented in North America by a number of 

 species. Their habits are terrestrial. During hot mid-summer days they are met with in 

 dirty roadsides, or roadbeds, running or flying so swiftly they are difficult to capture. In 

 the tropics the species are fond of trees. 



An example of a very large genus belonging to this family is given in the engraving 

 under the title of Manticora latipennis, the generic title being given to it because its, 

 great dimensions and ferocious habits are thought to bear some analogy with those of the 

 fabeled Manticora, a beast which the older naturalists were accustomed to describe with great 

 zest, and in an engraving now before me had figured with the face of a human being, with 

 hair carefully parted, six rows of shark's teeth, and a tail armed with a very arsenal of 

 projectile spikes. 



