OIL BEETLE. 
GENERIC CHARACTER. 
Antennae moniliform, or resembling a string of beads, with 
the last articulation of an oblong oval form. 
Thorax roundish. 
Elytra soft and flexible. 
Head inflected and gibbous. 
SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 
Meloe proscar a bases. M. corpore violaceo. Linn. Syst. Nat. 
Gmel. 1. 2017 . 
Body of a violet colour. 
Cantharis proscarabjeus. Degter 
Ins. 5. p. 3 1 . t. 1 . f. 1 . 
Oil Beetle. . . . Schatff. Icon. pi. 3. f. 5 . Shaw Gen. 
Zool. 6. p. 104. pi. 37 . 
This beetle derives its name from a property which 
it has of exuding several small drops of oil from the 
joints of its legs, and from some other parts of the 
body, on being handled. The account which Dr. Shaw 
has given of this insect is nearly as follows : It is 
frequently found near an inch and a half in length ; 
is of a violet-black colour, especially on the antennae 
and limbs : in the female the wing-sheaths are re- 
