COLEOPTERA. 
I 43 
chafer. The Rutelince have some resemblance in external form to the Melolon- 
thince, but can in general be easily recognised owing to the difference in length 
between the two claws of each of their tarsi. The Dynastince are mostly confined 
to the warmer parts of the world, and chiefly remarkable on account of the 
great sexual differences exhibited by the species. In the 
hercules-beetles ( Dynastes hercules), of the West Indies and 
Tropical America, the male is sometimes over 5 inches long. 
The elephant-beetle is a more massive insect, though, having 
relatively much shorter horns, its total length is not so great. 
As compared with other species of the subfamily the European 
rhinoceros-beetle ( Oryctes nasicornis), figured on p. 144, is 
very modest in its proportions. Our next subfamily, the 
Cetoniince , stands unrivalled amongst the Coleoptera for the 
loveliness of coloration displayed by many of its species. 
The goliath-beetles belong to this subfamily. In some of the 
genera, such as Ceratorrhima and Goliathus, the males may be recognised by 
the shape of the head, which is often excavated above, and furnished with hooks 
or horns, as shown in C. smithi on p. 145. 
The Buprestidoe, together with the click-beetles ( Elateridoe ), and a few smaller 
families, constitute the tribe Serricornia. Distinguished chiefly by their serrated 
or flabellated antennae, the beetles of this tribe agree also in having the tarsi five- 
jointed, and the prosternum prolonged behind 
and fitting into a cavity of the mesosternum. , 
They are generally of an elongated form, with 
the elytra narrowed from the base to the tip 
and completely covering the abdomen. The 
Buprestidce have short, serrated antennae, 
composed of eleven joints, which, with the 
exception of three or four nearest the base, 
are covered on special areas with very 
minute pits supposed to be of an olfactory 
nature; these areas may be spread over 
nearly the whole of each joint, or confined 
to one side or the end of the joint, and their 
position affords one of the most important 
characters used in the classification of the 
family. The family is divided into three Polyphyiia fulio , male (nat. size), 
principal groups — the Julodince, Cltalco- 
phorince, and Buprestince. The first group is chiefly restricted to Africa and the 
East Indies. The Chalcophorince are more widely distributed, and include many 
of the finest species of the family, such as the Euchroma gigantea of South 
America, and the species of Catoxantha found in the East Indies. Chalcopliora 
mariana —figured on p. 145 — occurs in many pine-forests of the Continent, and 
is one of the largest European species. The Buprestince are more numerous than 
the other two groups, and are found in all parts of the world. 
The click-beetles are, as a rule, narrower and more elongated than the 
male of Geotrupes 
typhosus (nat. size). 
