32 PLATE XII 
It is fufliciently diftinguifhed in this country by the moveable maxil- 
lz, or jaws, that project from the head; they are of a dark red co= 
lour, and though brighter in fome pectin are rarely of the beau- 
tiful coral appearance Barbut and other authors have defcribed. 
Coleopterous infeéts in general are endowed with amazing ftrength, 
and their arms are equally ferviceable for the affault or defence. The 
antlers of this Beetle are carefully to be avoided by fuch as attempt to 
deprive it of liberty ; with them it ftrips off the bark of oak trees, and 
attaches itfelf firmly to the trunk, thence extracting the liquor. ‘that 
oozes with its tongue. 
They are plentiful in me and July, ia Kent ied Effex, and in 
many other parts of Britain. 
. The females are known by their maxille being much fhorter than 
thofe of the males; they depofit their eggs under the bark of old trees, 
either oak or afh, and the food of the larve, or grubs, is the internal 
fubftance of the trunk, firft reduced to a fine powder; they undergo 
transformation in this cell, and force a pafflage through the bark when 
perfeét beetles. 
PLATE 
