VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL PRODUCTIONS. 375 
cules beetle ( Dynastes Herculis ) and the harlequin ( Acro- 
dnus, longimanus ) ; the former attains a size of five inches 
in length, and the latter infests the rubber-trees. Another 
beetle — one of the Elateridse (Pyrophorus nyctophorus ) 
— gives a most brilliant and constant light, quite as 
bright as the cacuyo of the West Indies. All through 
the highlands wasp-nests of large size and curious form 
are seen in the trees; ants also build mud-nests in the 
trees and on posts. Many chapters might be written of 
the habits of the Central American ants, which are per¬ 
haps the most abundant of indigenous insects, the little 
“ crazy ant,” which runs rapidly in all directions, seem¬ 
ingly without any object; the zompopos, or leaf-cutters 
(■ (Ecocloma ), whose trains are seen all through the for¬ 
ests, bearing above them the great sail-like fragments of 
leaf they have cut to stock their homes; the comajen 
(white ant), which destroys dead-wood and is intolerant of 
light; the fire-ant; and many others. The zompopos are 
very destructive in the vegetable garden, and indeed 
would quickly destroy a cacao, orange, or coffee planta¬ 
tion if allowed to establish their immense burrow in the 
midst. Some of the burrows are thirty feet in diameter, 
and can only be destroyed by persistent efforts, — fire, 
coal-tar, and carbolic acid being the best agents of de¬ 
struction. 1 The sandflies are almost unendurable along 
the coast at certain seasons, and so are the mosquitoes 
(the genuine Culex mosquito, with striped body and black 
lancet) on the rivers. House-flies are not seen at Living¬ 
ston ; but all through the country the “ botlass ” is a pest. 
A bite by this fly leaves a persistent black spot, sur¬ 
rounded by an inflamed circle. Jiggers, beef-worms, and 
1 See Appendix for account of the habits of the zompopos. 
