. Coleoptera. Beetles. 376 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARTHROPODS. is ahvnvs coveretl by the elytra, aiitl the beetles are usually somewhat elongate. Althouiih the si)ecies belonging to this family are generally nearly monocolorous — usually shatles of brown in temperate regions — in tropical species the colors are often o-reater in number. Some of the species have stridtilating organs. The larvie of the Lucanida* resemble closely those .of the SearabiTjidiv; they live in decaying wood, on the juices of which the imagos also feed. In Lucanus the mentum is entire, and covers the ligula and maxillse, the
. Coleoptera. Beetles. 376 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARTHROPODS. is ahvnvs coveretl by the elytra, aiitl the beetles are usually somewhat elongate. Althouiih the si)ecies belonging to this family are generally nearly monocolorous — usually shatles of brown in temperate regions — in tropical species the colors are often o-reater in number. Some of the species have stridtilating organs. The larvie of the Lucanida* resemble closely those .of the SearabiTjidiv; they live in decaying wood, on the juices of which the imagos also feed. In Lucanus the mentum is entire, and covers the ligula and maxillse, the antennse are sjeniculate, the eyes emarginate, the anterior tibise toothed on the outer edge. X. duma, from the eastern part of Xorth America, varies from to inches in length. It is of a dark chestnut-brown in color, and the mandibles of the male, as is usual in species of L\icanus, are much enlarged, and have a single tooth on the inner side. L. elaphus, whose mandibles are branched in the male, and often of an inch long, is called, on account of its antler-like mandibles, the stag-beetle. It closely resem- bles L. cerims, the European stag-beetle, which latter is, however, somewhat larger. The larvae of Lucanus , which inhabit dead wood, have six well-developed legs, an- tenna of four joints, and the anus in a longitudhial cleft. Differing from Lucanus, in having an emarginate mentum, are the species of Pas- sahis, which are numerous in some tropical regions, but of which only one is found in the United States. This species, P. comutus, is flattened, cylindrical in form, about inches long, and of a very dark-brown color. Its surface is highly jiolished, the prothorax being smooth, the elytra striate. Tliese beetles, with their M'hite larvae, are often found in great numbers in half-decayed logs, and when taken between the fingers emit a peculiarly delicate squeaking sound. Their larvae arc readily recognized by their very poorly developed jiosterior leg
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcollectionbiodiversity, booksubjectbeetles, bookyear1884
