532 THE MUSK BEETLE. 
tacle almost unapproached in splendour. They are mostly slow in their 
movements, not quick of foot, and many being wholly wingless. 
The most brilliant of the Weevils are to be found in the typical family 
Curculionidz, to which belong the well-known Diamond Beetles, in such 
request as objects for the microscope. : : 
The maggots that are so frequently found in nuts, and which leave so 
black and bitter a deposit behind them that the person who has unfortunately 
tasted a maggot-eaten nut is forcibly reminded of the D.ad Sea apple, with 
its inviting exterior and bitter dusty contents, also belong to the Weevils, and 
are the larve of the NUT WEEVIL (Balaninus nucum). All the members of 
the genus are remarkable for the extraordinary length of the snout, at the 
extremity of which are placed the small but powerful jaws. 
WE now come to the Longicorn Beetles, so cailed on account of the extra- 
ordinary length of the antennz: in many of the species. These insects are 
NUT WEEVIL. 
(Magnified.) 
BLOODY-NOSE 
BEETLE. 
well represented in England by many species, the best known being the 
common Musk BEETLE. 
The beautiful beetles of which the common Musk Beetle is an excellent 
example, vary considerably in size ; some being several inches in length, while 
some are hardly one-quarter of an inch long. The extreme length of their 
antennz is the most conspicuous property, and by that peculiarity they are 
at once recognized. 
A small moth, Adela de Geerella, possesses the same peculiarity. The 
length of the moth is about a quarter of an inch, and the length of the 
antennze more than an inch anda half. The antennz wave about with 
every breath of air, as if the insect had become entangled in a spider's web, 
and escaped with some of the loose threads floating about it. 
The Musk Beetle is a large insect, common in most parts of England. It 
is extremely common at Oxford. and is found in old willow-trees, with which 
Oxford is surrounded. Its peculiar scent, something resembling that of roses, 
often betrays its presence, when its green colour would have kept it concealed. 
When touched, it emits a curious sound, not unlike that of the bat, but more 
resembling the faint scratching of a perpendicularly-held slate pencil. Its 
pee bores deep holes in the trees, which are often quite honeycombed by 
them. 
As in the preceding family, the Longicorn Beetles pass their larval state in 
wood, sometimes boring to a considerable depth, and sometimes restricting 
