A YOUNG NATURALIST. 151 



farther on, a fallen ceiba had crushed four or five shrubs. The 

 ceiba, Eriodendron anfmduosum, called Pochotl by the Indians, is 

 one of the largest trees known; its fruit, of a pod-like shape, 

 contains a silky down, which possesses a singular property of 

 swelling in the sun. I was pointing out this peculiarity to 

 Lucien, when a formidable buzzing noise met our ears ; a whole 

 flock of Hercules beetles had flown out of a bush and struck 

 heavily against the branches of a tree. Lucien caught one and 

 wanted to hold it down on the ground, but the insect got away 

 from him and continued its flight. 



" Oh ! " cried the boy, " this beetle is stronger than I am." 

 " It is not for nothing that it bears the name of Hercules,'' 

 replied Sumichrast, smiling ; " as you have just found out, it is 

 as remarkable for its strength as for its size. It is a native of 

 Brazil, and is only occasionally found in Mexico." 

 " Do they always travel in flocks like this ? " 

 "No; the occurrence is so rare that I shall make a note of 

 it." 



" I smell something like snuff," said Lucien, sneezing. 

 " It proceeds from the beetles," said Sumichrast. 

 And so powerful was this odour, that it caused Lucien several 

 times to sneeze. This was another fact to note down. 



" Papa, do look at them hanging one on to another, and form- 

 ing something like an immense bunch of grapes. Do they bite 

 with those powerful jaws ? " 



" They are horns which you mistake for jaws; but their arrange- 

 ment quite excuses your error. Look, the upper part of their body 

 is black and poUshed, and their wing-sheaths are a greenish gray, 

 irregularly dotted vnth dark spots." 

 " Here is one which has no horns." 

 " It is a female." 



We were examining with some curiosity all the ways of the 

 insect colony, which was scarcely disturbed by our presence, 

 when Gringalet, who had also taken to sneezing, suddenly set up 

 the most plaintive howl. L'Encuerado had placed on the dog's 

 back three or four beetles, which had buried their claws in his 

 skin. The Indian, surprised at the result of his experiment, 



