THE CAPRICORN-BEETLES. 
93 
The antennae are long and tapering, and generally curved 
like the horns of a goat, which is the origin of the name 
above given to these beetles. The body is oblong, approach- 
ing to a cylindrical form, a little flattened above, and taper- 
ino- somewhat behind. The head is short, and armed with 
powerful jaws. The thorax is either square, barrel-shaped, 
or narrowed before ; and is not so wide behind as the wing- 
covers. The legs are long ; the thighs thickened in the 
middle ; the feet four-jointed, not formed for rtipid motion, 
but for standing securely, being broad and cushioned beneath, 
with the third joint deeply notched. Most of these beetles 
remain upon trees and shrubs during the daytime, but fly 
abroad at night. Some of them, however, fly by day, and 
may be found on flowers, feeding on the pollen and the 
blossoms. When annoyed or taken into the hands, they 
make a squeaking sound by nibbing the joints of the thorax 
and abdomen together. The females are generally larger 
and more robust than the males, and have rather shorter 
antennae. Moreover, they are provided with a jointed tube 
at the end of the body, capable of being extended of drawn 
in like the joints of a telescope, by means of which they 
convey their eggs into the holes and chinks of the bark of 
plants. 
The larvae hatched from these eggs are long, whitish, 
fleshy grubs, with the transverse incisions of the body very 
deeply marked, so that the rings are very convex or hunched 
both above and below. The body tapers a little behind, and 
is blunt-pointed. The head is much smaller than the first 
ring, slightly bent downwards, of a horny consistence, and 
is provided with short but very powerful jaws, by means 
whereof the insect can bore, as with a centre-bit, a cylindri- 
cal passage through the most solid wood. Some of these 
borers have six very small legs, namely, one pair under each 
of the first three rings ; but most of them want even these 
short and imperfect limbs, and move through their bur- 
rows by alternate extension and contraction of their bodies, 
