MELOE PROSCARABiEUS. 203 



none; legs compressed; posterior tarsi 4 -jointed; 

 anterior and middle tarsi with three joints ; abdomen 

 very large and soft. 



Spec. Char. Black ; head and thorax punctated ; elytra 

 rugose ; antenna, sides of the head, thorax, and feet 

 violaceous. 



Mcloe proscarabams ; Syst. Nat. Gmcl. i. 2017; Fair. Syst. Ent. 259; Oliv. Ent. 



iii. 45, 5, t. 1, f. 1 5 Marsh, Eni. Brit. i. 481, 1 ; Leach, Trans. Lin. Soc. xi. 



p.4fi, t.7. 

 Le Proscarabee ; Canterelle ; Scarabee onctueux des marechuux, Fr.; Der 



Zwitterkufer ; Maywurm, Gcr. ; Oliebillen, Dan.; Majl,a S ge, Swcd. ; 



Maslianka, liuss. 



The Oil-beetle is found very frequently in spring, in our meadows 

 and pastures, creeping slowly ; and feeding on the leaves of the 

 violet, anemone, hound's -tongue, and on the different species of 

 Ranunculus. I have frequently taken it on Hampstead Heath, and 

 in sand-pits near the seven-mile stone, on the lower road to Wool- 

 wich. The body is entirely of a black colour, the antennae, sides of 

 the head, and feet, arc tinged with violet. The head is inflected and 

 gibbous, the antennae moniliform, the thorax somewhat cordate ; 

 and the elytra soft, rugose, and much shorter than the abdomen. 

 The female, when distended with eggs, is more than double the 

 size of the male. — Fig. (a) represents the antennae of the male ; 

 (b) antennae of the female. 



This insect, when touched,^ exudes an acrid fluid, of an oily 

 consistence, and of an orange colour, from each joint of its legs, 

 which is a powerful rubefacient, and was formerly celebrated for its 

 supposed efficacy in chronic rheumatism, applied to the parts in the 

 form of an embrocation. It has been likewise recommended as a 

 diuretic in dropsies, and on the continent, particularly in Germany, 

 as a remedy in hydrophobia. The late King of Prussia (Frederick 

 the Great) purchased the nostrum from the discoverer for a valu- 

 able consideration, as a specific against this terrible malady ; and 

 in 1781, it was inserted in sect. ii. of the Disp. Boruss. Brand. 

 According to this publication, twenty-five of these animals that 



