55^ THE STUDY OF INSECTS. 



viduals of this species were thought to be males, and a race 

 of males symbolized a race of warriors. This latter super- 

 stition w^as carried over to Rome, and the Roman soldiers 

 wore images of the Sacred Beetle set in rings. 



Our common tumble-bugs are distributed among three 

 genera : Cantkon, Copris, and Phanceiis. In the genus Can- 

 thon (Can^thon) the middle and posterior tibiae are slender, 

 and scarcely enlarged at the extremity. CantJwn Icevis (C. 

 laeVis) is our most common species (Fig. 675). In Copris 

 (Co^pris) and Phanceus (Pha-nae'us) the middle 

 and posterior tibiae are dilated at the ex- 

 tremity. In Phanceus the fore tarsi are want- 

 ing, and the others are not furnished with 

 claws ; the species are brilliantly colored. 

 YiG.. 6^^7 Phanceus cariiifex (P. car'ni-fex), with its rough 

 copper-colored thorax and green elytra, is one of our most 

 beautiful beetles, and is our best-known species. It is 

 about two thirds inch in length, and the head of the male is 

 furnished with a prominent horn. In Copris all the tarsi are 

 present and furnished with claws. Copris Carolina is a large 

 well-known species, which measures more than one inch in 

 length. 



II. The Aphodian (A-pho'di-an) Dung-beetles. — These 

 are small insects, our common species measuring from one 

 sixth to one third inch in length. The body is oblong, 

 convex, or cylindrical in form, and, except in one small 

 genus, the clypeus is expanded so as to cover the mouth- 

 parts entirely. These insects are very abundant in pastures 

 in the dung of horses and cattle, and immense numbers of 

 them are often seen flying -through the air during warm 

 autumn afternoons. More than one hundred North Amer- 

 ican species have been described ; of these seventy belong 

 to the genus Aphodius (A-phoMi-us). One of the more 

 common species is Aphodius fiinetarius (A. fim-e-ta^ri-us), 

 which is about one third inch in length, and is easily recog- 

 nized by its red wing-covers. 



