The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-08-26
BEETLES.

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the most important in the insect world.
In burning sandy plains, in tropical
jungles, in fresh green fields. in boys
and swamps-wherever there is a bit
of earth or water-there are beetles of
of one kind or another, following out
the instincts assigned to them by
nature.
The beetle known as the sacred
scarabGus was held in great veneration
by the ancient Egyptians, and is carved
in great profuslOn on their tombs.
Small gold and porcelain figures of the
scarabGus. which were strung on neck
laces, and used in other ways for per-
sOnal ornaments, have also been found
in Egyptian sarcOphagi.
The way the redscarabPusd deposits
its eggs is a wonderful exhibition Of
animal instinct. First collecting an
ample supply of the material which the
young larvae will need for food, she
places her eggs in the middle of it.
She then rolls it into lump, and starts
with it on a voyage of discovery. She
works backward, pushing the ball con-
tanning her eggs behind her, until she
finds soil in which she can burrow and
conceal her precious burden. It's said
to be for this popularity that the
scarab9us was veneratedby the ancient
Egyptians The lump of earth con-
tanning the eggs was considered an
emblem of fruitfulness, and the devotion
of the scarabeus, which would lose its
life rather than its precious eggs.
was thought to symbolic the exceeding
love of the Creator toward men.
The tiger-beetles, of which there are
many varieties, are one of the most
important branches of the family.
They have great hooked jaws, formed
to seize the small insects upon which
they live. They can not exist in very
cold countries, and they are rarely
found in cultivated land, as they prefer
burrowing in loose, sandy soil, where
their little homes are not in danger of
being disturbed by the gardener S
spade. A remarkable tiger beetle is
the gold-cross of India, which has a
deep velvety black body, and a golden
mark on its wings in shape like 4 St.
Andrews cross. The prevailing colOrs
of the tiger-Deetle are black, green and
blue, but there isa little Brazilian mem
Der of the family of glistening
metallic crimson. 1t has very long
legs, and prefers climbing among the
foliage to living ON the ground, like
most varieties of the tiger-beetle. Its
movements are very quick. 1t will
pounce. likelightning on fly, which can
rarely escape the grasp of this formid-
I able enemy.
\ very curious beetle is the bombar-
der, brown creature with green gloss
on its wings. 1t carries little bomb-shell,
which it uses asaweapon of defensewhen
disturbed by an enemy. It's very
sociable little bug, and will gather in
a crowd under big fiat stones in damp
places. If the stone is suddenly over
turned, the bombardiers at once begin
a cannonade like the explosion of grain
of gunpowder, and throw out puff of
whitish vapor resembling smoke. The
bombardiers of South America, China,
and other warm countries, are much
larger than those found in England, and
the fluid they eject, which causes the
tiny explosion, is capable of making a
black stain, and leave an unpleasant
burning sensation upon the hand OF any
one trying to capture them.
A large number of the beetle family
is found in Nicaragua. 1t is about five
inches long, and is called the big
bodied elephant. 1t is black in color,
but appears of a acknowledgements, as
it is entirely covered with a thick, soft
I fur, something like the down on a but
| terily's wing, which rubs off very easily,
and shows the scaly black surface be-
meath. The big-bodied elephant is
armed with formidable black horn,
forked at the end, which curves upward
like the horn of white rhiuOceros.
Certain species of the elater beetles
are familiar to every school-boy. ElateI
signifies striking or bounding. Boys
will know better what is meant by an
elater beetle if they are told that it is
the same thing as a skip-jack, or snap
ping-bug. If this beetle is laid on its
back, its legs are unable to reach to
either side and gain foot-hold, and il
cannot roll over. 1t accordingly goes
through a gymnastic movement. Curl
ing its legs closely to its body, it arches
itself little, and suddenly springs into
the air, landing ON its feet. in which
position it is again master of itself.
The most remarkable among the
elater beetles is the cuculio, or FREELY,
of the tropics. 1t is a very common
looking dark brown beetle in the day.
time, the two beads, one on each side
of its head, which at night are so lu
minous and beautiful, being dull white.
But wait until night comes, and ther
what countless pairs of tiny yellow
green lanterns are flying over the fields
and creeping about among the foliage
Bows and girls in Cuba make cages o
stout reeds, and I'LL them with cuculios
If the cage is hung in a dark room the
4 LIGHT from the cuculios is strong enough
to enable one to read print, if the bool
is held near the cage. There is also ;
small place underneath the body iron
which this singular beetle emits light
but the effect is not so beautiful as tina
of the two beads on the head. If tn
cuculiO is disturbed by being shaken il
its cage, or in any other way, the ligh
it throws out intensifies until it is fairl,
dazzling.
These beautiful beetles may easily b
brought across the ocean in their it'll
ages. and if guarded from cold all