252 
NATURAL HISTORY OF 
a peculiar and penetrating odour, of which the in- 
sects are so fond that they seldom fail to be attract- 
ed by it. The negroes, who often employ them- 
selves in searching for the rarer and more beautiful 
kinds of insects, that they may dispose of them to 
collectors, avail themselves of this propensity, and 
sometimes cut down these trees, as the most ready 
means of obtaining a supply of beetles. It is gene- 
rally found on the trunk or at the bottom of trees, 
rarely under the bark, and never on the leaves. 
Its motions are so sluggish, that it may be said to 
drag itself along rather than walk. It occasionally 
takes wing on the approach of evening, but its 
flight is slow and unsteady, scarcely appearing un- 
der the guidance of the animal, as it strikes against 
any object that happens to be in the way, and falls 
to the ground. A rustling sound accompanies its 
flight, and it often betrays its retreat by a rather 
loud noise, which is produced by the friction of the 
thorax. It varies greatly in size and colour. Spe- 
cimens from the interior of the country are usually 
of a much paler tint than such as are obtained in 
the neighbourhood of Rio Janeiro, and other places 
towards the coast.* 
The genus Lamia, from which the present tribe 
derives its name, is constituted by a variety of finely- 
coloured species, some of which are of considerable 
size. They are extensively diffused over the earth, 
* Anal, des Sciences Naturelles, tom. xxi. 180. 
