262 
NATURAL HISTORY OF 
CHLAMYS MONSTROSA. 
PLATE XXIX. Fig. 3. 
Fabr. Ent. Syst. — Olivier , vi. No. 96, pi. 1, fig. 1, a, b. 
In this singular genus, the thorax rises in the 
middle into a tuberculated protuberance, and is 
produced behind in the form of a triangle ; the su- 
ture of the elytra, except at the base, is armed with 
little teeth, alternating with each other like the cogs 
of a mill-wheel ;* and in certain species the palpi 
are forked. A considerable number of these insects 
are known, and all of them are proper to the new 
world. They are found on leaves, over which they 
walk very slowly, and simulate death w r hen attempt- 
ed to be seized. They appear never to make use 
of their wings, but are usually observed adhering 
to a leaf, and continuing quite stationary. When in 
this posture, they bear a much greater resemblance 
to a piece of withered fungus, or some gelatinous 
substance shrivelled by the sun, than to any living 
creature. The species figured is about five or six 
lines long, of a uniform violet blue, the thorax with 
a somewhat silky gloss, and the elytra much wrin- 
kled, tuberculated, and punctured. The segments 
of the abdomen are drawn within each other like 
the tubes of a telescope, and the penultimate one 
has a deep rounded impression in the middle. 
• Introd. to Ent. iii. 597« 
