. Birds of other lands, reptiles, fishes, jointed animals and lower forms; . ars in the trunks ofelm-trees, feeding upon the solid wood. When fully grown, it buries itself in the earth, andconstructs a large cocoon, in which it passes the chrysalis stage of its existence. The perfectbeetle emerges in November, but remains within the cocoon until the following June, In thefemale the jaws are very much smaller than in the male, but are nevertheless more formidableas weapons. The insect may often be seen flying on warm summer evenings. A still larger insect belonging to the same group is the HERC
. Birds of other lands, reptiles, fishes, jointed animals and lower forms; . ars in the trunks ofelm-trees, feeding upon the solid wood. When fully grown, it buries itself in the earth, andconstructs a large cocoon, in which it passes the chrysalis stage of its existence. The perfectbeetle emerges in November, but remains within the cocoon until the following June, In thefemale the jaws are very much smaller than in the male, but are nevertheless more formidableas weapons. The insect may often be seen flying on warm summer evenings. A still larger insect belonging to the same group is the HERCULES BEETLE, found in theWest Indies and tropical America, a male of average size being nearly 5 inches in this beetle the thorax is prolonged into a horn, which is curved downwards, while thehead is produced into a similar horn curved upwards, so that the two look like a pair ofenormous jaws. It has been stated that these horns, both of which are furnished with tooth-like projections, are employed in sawing off the smaller branches of trees, the beetle grasping. photos h M. P Dando, iRigtti!, Pjri TWO BURYING-BEETLES T^ese insects are about an inch in length ; many are blacli, but others haT-e orange-red bands on the iving-cases a bough firmly, and flying round and round in a circle, till the wood is completely cutthrough. This assertion, however, is totally unworthy of credit. An example of the beetle —evidently imported — was recently found crawling on a hedge near Biggleswade. One of the largest of all known beedes is Drurvs Gollvth Beetle, a native of the Gaboon,whose body is almost as big as the closed fist of a man. It appears to feed, while a grub,on the wood of decaying trees, and undergoes its transformation to the chrysalis state in anearthen cocoon, the peculiarit) of which is that a thick belt, or ridge, runs round the this belt is formed is a mystery, as it lies upon the outside, while the grub necessarilyconstructs the cocoon from
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecad, booksubjectfishes, booksubjectzoology
