39 



Cerambyx, Linneus. 



The long-horned beetles may be remarked as 

 insects almost unrivalled in size ; indeed, they are 

 only surpassed in magnitude by some few of the 

 Mantidee; as to variety of form, they are not very 

 remarkable, having generally cylindrical bodies, and 

 delicately attenuated limbs. Their antennae are 

 sometimes pectinated, offering a considerable differ- 

 ence with regard to their structure. The thorax and 

 elytra are frequently armed with spines, and from 

 the presence or absence of armature, many of the 

 genera have derived their names ; nearly the whole 

 of the family, in their earlier stages, exist in timber, 

 under the form of white worms closely resembling 

 maggots, the head being usually yellow or brown. 

 In the Old World as well as the New, their grubs 

 have afforded a rich repast to the civilized epicu- 

 rean, and no less dainty relish to the African Bush- 

 man ; they are eaten also, at the present day, by 

 white and black people in various parts of the 

 world. f^The grub of Prionus Coriarius is generally 

 believed to have been the Cossus of the Romans. 

 The Makokko beetle is highly rated as a luxury 

 in Surinam. The Montac worm is a favorite at the 

 Mauritius. In Africa, the larva of Omacantha Gigas 

 when roasted, forms an article of food ; and in Asia, 

 various species of Lamiadae, are eaten by the natives 

 of Travencore and Ceylon. It is not by yielding 

 food only that these insects are serviceable to man ; 

 they are in tropical countries extremely useful — they 



