CARIPI 



obtains immunity from their onslaughts by its deceptive 

 resemblance to the sandy surface on which it runs, why 

 is not its sister species endowed in the same way ? The 

 answer is, that the dark-coloured kind has means of pro- 

 tection of quite a different nature, and therefore does not 

 need the peculiar mode of disguise enjoyed by its com- 

 panion. When handled it emits a strong, offensive, 

 putrid and musky odour, a property which the pale kind 

 does not exhibit. Thus we see that the fact of some 

 species not exhibiting the same adaptation of colours to 

 dwelling-places as their companion species does not throw 

 doubt on the explanation given of the adaptation, but is 

 rather confirmatory of it. 



The carnivorous beetles at Caripi were, like those of 

 Para, chiefly arboreal. Some were found under the bark 

 of trees (Coptodera, Goniotropis, Morio, &c.), others run- 

 ning over the slender twigs, branches, and leaves (Cte- 

 nostoma, Lebia, Calophaena, Lia, &c.), and many were 

 concealed in the folds of leaves (Calleida, Agra, &c.). 

 Most of them exhibited a beautiful contrivance for en- 

 abling them to cling to and run over smooth or flexible 

 surfaces, such as leaves. Their tarsi or feet are broad, 

 and furnished beneath with a brush of short stiff hairs, 

 whilst their claws are toothed in the form of a comb, 

 adapting them for clinging to the smooth edges of leaves, 

 the joint of the foot which precedes the claw being cleft 

 so as to allow free play to the claw in grasping. The 

 common dung-beetles at Caripi, which flew about in the 

 evening like the Geotrupes, the familiar * shard-borne 

 beetle with his drowsy hum ' of our English lanes, were 

 of colossal size and beautiful colours. One kind had a 

 long spear-shaped horn projecting from the crown of its 

 head (Phanseus lancifer). A blow from this fellow, as 

 he came heavily flying along, was never very pleasant. 

 All the tribes of beetles which feed on vegetable sub- 

 stances, fresh or decayed, were very numerous. The 

 most beautiful of these, but not the most common, were 

 the Longicornes ; very graceful insects, having slender 

 bodies and long antennae, often ornamented with fringes 

 and tufts of hair. They were found on flowers, on trunks 

 of trees, or flying about the new clearings. One small 

 species (Coremia hirtipes) has a tuft of hairs on its hind 

 legs, whilst many of its sister species have a similar orna- 

 ment on the antennae. It suggests curious reflections 



