Carabidae

“ The closely allied Ground-beetles (Carabidæ) furnish us with equally interesting and instructive proofs of a migration from Asia. Over 300 species of Carabus are known to science. The number of species inhabiting Asia and Europe are about equal. But the genus does not extend its range to Southern Asia or to South America or Australia. Very few species enter Africa, and only nine North America, of which three also occur in Siberia. The genus is unknown in Madeira, and only represented by three species in the Canary Islands. ”

“ The Carabidæ, or ground carnivorous beetles, are so numerous that we can only notice a few of the more remarkable and characteristic forms. The wonderful Mormolyce of the Indo-Malay sub-region, stands pre-eminent for singularity in the entire family. Thyreopterus, Orthogonius, Catascopus, and Pericallus are very characteristic forms, as well as Planetes and {320}Distrigus, the latter having a single species in Madagascar. There are 80 genera of this family peculiar to the region, 10 of which have only been found in Ceylon. ”

“ Most of the dominant families—such as the Carabidae (ground-beetles) , Scarabaeidae (chafers) , or Curculionidae (weevils) have a distribution as wide as the order. But while some large families, such as the Staphylinidae (rove-beetles) are especially abundant on the great northern continents, becoming scarcer in the tropics, others, the Cicindelidae (tiger-beetles) , for example, are most strongly represented in the warmer regions of the earth, and become scarce as the collector journeys far to south or north. ”

“ I believe that almost the only deviation from the typical state, in insect form, which has been observed to originate, par excellence, from the occasional continuance of undue heat or cold, is curiously enough an organic one,—having reference to the enlargement of the wings. Every entomologist must be aware that a vast proportion of the Coleoptera (especially the Carabidæ) are subject to great inconstancy in their metathoracic organs of flight. ”

“ In April the injurious insects in the Northern States have scarcely begun their work of destruction, as the buds do not unfold before the first of May. We give an account, however, of some of the beneficial insects which are now to be found in grass-lands and in gardens. The farmer should know his true insect friends as well as his insect foes. We introduce to our readers a large family of ground-beetles (Carabidæ, from Carabus, the name of the typical genus) which prey on those insects largely injurious to crops. ”

“ So, by extension, in Carabidae, we can say phallobase hooded (e.g., Lebiini, Pseudomorphini) , phallobase of two parallel sclerotized struts (basal trechines and Andinodontis) , phallobase of two uneven struts (Bembidion) , etc. Kavanaugh (pers. comm.) points out that with struts there is still a connecting membrane surrounding the struts forming a “bulb.” ”

“ I was disappointed in the general aspect of the Coleoptera. The number of minute and obscurely coloured beetles is exceedingly great. 27 The cabinets of Europe can, as yet, boast only of the larger species from tropical climates. It is sufficient to disturb the composure of an entomologist's mind, to look forward to the future dimensions of a complete catalogue. The carnivorous beetles, or Carabidae, appear in extremely few numbers within the tropics: this is the more remarkable when compared to the case of the carnivorous quadrupeds, which are so abundant in hot countries. ”

“ The insects are very scanty; the most plentiful group, the beetles, only furnishing about forty species belonging to thirty-two genera and nineteen families. The species are almost all peculiar, as are some of the genera. They are mostly small and obscure insects, allied either to American or to world-wide groups. The Carabidæ and the Heteromera are the most abundant groups, the former furnishing six and the latter nine species. [113]
The land-shells are not abundant—about twenty in all, most of them peculiar species, but not otherwise remarkable. ”

“ The females in many groups of Dytiscidae bear on the upper surface of the body a peculiar sculpture of various kinds, the exact use of which is unknown; in many species there are two forms of the female, one possessing this peculiar sculpture, the other nearly, or quite, without it. The larvae of Dytiscidae differ from those of Carabidae chiefly by the structure of the mouth and of the abdomen. They are excessively rapacious, and are indeed almost constantly engaged in sucking the juices of soft and small aquatic animals, by no means excluding their own kind. ”

“ The wide geographical range from near the mouth of the Río Amazon at Belém to the black-waters of Pacaya-Samiria Reserve in Perú on the upper Amazon drainage system is unusual for this genus. But as pointed out in the introduction, very small carabid beetles are not collected by any but carabid specialists, and there have been few of those, working the Amazon Basin. ”

“ A pitiful sight is that of the Golden Carabus, or Gold Beetle,21 dying of the sting. Unable to stand on its legs convulsively extended into stilts, the insect tumbles over, picks itself up again, again falls down and [74] again hoists itself to its feet, only to fall once more. The tip of the intestine, with its horny armour, sticks out and swells as though the creature were about to discharge its entrails; the crop belches a black torrent that swamps the head; the golden wing-cases, lifting their cuirass, reveal the poor nudities of the abdomen. Next morning, the tarsi are still quivering. ”

“ This prince of Carabi is the butcher of the caterpillars. He is not to be overawed even by the sturdiest of rumps.
His struggle with the huge caterpillar of the Great Peacock Moth2 is a thing to see once, not oftener: a single experience of such horrors is enough to disgust one. The contortions of the eviscerated insect, which, with a sudden heave of the loins, hurls the bandit in the air and lets him fall, belly uppermost, without managing to make him release his hold; the green entrails spilt quivering on the ground ”

“ Among other burrowing species of this genus we may mention Crabro varius, a rather long and slender insect, black in colour, with yellow spottings about the thorax. It prefers very hard fine sand, such as is found in partially excavated sand-banks, and provisions its burrows with gnats. It is tolerably plentiful.
Our last example of the earth-burrowers belonging to this genus is Crabro Wesmoeli, which chooses similar localities, being mostly found in sand-banks. It carries off flies of different kinds for the food of its young. ”

“ On our return along the sea-shore, we met with several large crabs. One big fellow had caught a snake, and was walking off with it wriggling in his claws, when down pounced a frigate-bird, and carried off both crab and snake together. Whole armies, too, of soldier-crabs, with their shells on their backs, were moving about in search of prey, or looking out for more commodious homes; it being their wise custom not to leave one home until they have found another. When they neglect this precaution, their soft tails are nearly sure to be nabbed by one of their numerous enemies. ”

“ Do the South American Carabi differ more from the other species than do, for instance, the Siberian and European and North American and Himalayan (if the genus exists there) ? If they do, I entirely agree with you that the difference would be too great to account for by the recent Glacial period. I agree, also, with you in utterly rejecting an independent origin for these Carabi. There is a difficulty, as far as I know, in our ignorance whether insects change quickly in time ”

“ Caribou are plagued by warble flies and nostril flies throughout the summer. These beelike insects cause the caribou great annoyance. The warble fly lays eggs on the hair of the legs and underparts of the body. The eggs soon hatch, the larvae penetrate the hide, and move to the back region where they emerge as swollen larvae in the spring. The nostril flies deposit living larvae in the nostrils. The larvae become lodged back in the throat in a mass and the following spring are coughed out; they pupate on the ground, and soon emerge as terrorizing flies. ”

“ Only the younger animals, from one to about four or five years old, are heavily infested; those still older are spared, possibly having learned to guard themselves better against the fly. Curiously enough, the fawns are said to escape this parasitism entirely.
My own observations on the larvae were restricted to a few Caribou specimens in June and in the autumn. As with the Reindeer, the Caribou fawns in their first autumn showed no visible infestation, as I noted in looking over some fresh hides on September 10, and as was noted again in a fawn of September 26. ”

“ From Stereograph, copyright by Underwood & Underwood, New York
[22]
A CARABAO TANDEM IN LUZON
Oh, look at these strange animals with such wide-spreading horns! Do you know what they are? They are named “carabaos,” and are sometimes called “water buffaloes” because they are so fond of the water. Often through the day they go into the rivers or lakes and splash about; and if they are kept too long from their bath they are likely to go mad and become dangerous. They are very powerful animals and are used a great deal in the Philippine Islands in place of horses, to do farm work and draw carts. ”

“ They were marked across the back with alternate striae of silver, and various shades of brown and black, though there were scarce two marked exactly alike. They had a transparent dorsal and two pectoral fins, which were all I observed, and a long thin snout or beak; the mouth was just at the end of it, on the top: some of them were thorny on the back; we caught also some crabs; a very minute blue fish; a black and red insect resembling a flea; a species of Diphyes; a very small kind of polypus; and one or two small jellyfish. A land bird flew on board today. ”

“ There are various kinds of crabs, known as carabi, lobsters, maiæ, paguri, heracleotici, lions, and others of less note. The carabus differs from other crabs, in having a tail; in Phœnicia they are called hippoi, or horses, being of such extraordinary swiftness, that it is impossible to overtake them. Crabs are long-lived, and have eight feet, all of which are 150 bent obliquely; besides which, the animal has two claws with indented pincers. The upper part only of these forefeet is movable: the right claw is the largest in them all. Sometimes they assemble together in large bodies ”

“ But Aristotle, in the fifth book of his Parts of Animals, says, "Of soft-shelled animals the carabi, the astaci, the carides, and others of the same sort, are propagated like quadrupeds; and they breed at the beginning of spring; as indeed is no secret to anybody; but at times they breed when the fig begins to ripen.
Now carabi are found in rough and rocky places; but astaci in smooth ground; neither kind in muddy places: on which account there are astaci produced in the Hellespont and about Thasos; and carabi off Cape Sigeum and Mount Athos. But the whole race of crabs is long-lived. ”

“ They do not take to the water, and are only fitted for drawing sledges and chasing Caribou. They are the only dogs which at all equal the Caribou in speed. As soon as winter's storms and thick ice close the harbors and the spaces between the mainland and the islands, the Caribous are seen moving in great gangs, first to the islands, where, the snow being more likely to be drifted, the animal finds places where the snow has blown away, and he can more easily reach the moss, which at this season is its only food. ”

“ Having confidence in its own strength, the Caracara frequently pursues other birds, especially Vultures and Gulls, which it forces to disgorge their food. It will even engage in sanguinary conflicts with its own species for the possession of prey. Contrary to the habit of most birds in a state of freedom, it remains constantly paired, without, however, having more than one or two broods a year. The Caracara lays two eggs; the nest is generally placed on the ground among brushwood. ”

“ This is the reason why young ladies catch and imprison the fire-flies to watch the war of insect-love, in the hope that they may have human lovers who will dare as much, through fire and flood, as they.
[Pg 50]
THE BATTLE OF THE APE AND THE CRAB.
IN THE LAND where neither the monkeys or the cats have tails, and the persimmons grow to be as large as apples and with seeds bigger than a melon's, there once lived a land crab in the side of a sand hill. ”

“ From the day of its birth, the young carabao is taken possession of by the children, who will fondle and tease it, ride on its back, or slide off over its head or tail. Soon they gain confidence, and find similar amusements with the full grown animals. These huge beasts are often surly or vicious, especially around white men, but they recognize their masters in the little brown folk, and submit meekly to their antics. ”

“ A sausage mill could not chew dried carabao. The milk is watery and poor, but the natives like it very much. The horns are used for handles for bolos, [105] the hoofs for glue, and the bones are turned into carved articles of many kinds. The little calves that go wandering about by the sides of their mothers are so curious and so top heavy, and yet they are strong even when small. Carabao sometimes go crazy, and when they do, they tread down everything in their way. Notwithstanding their ungainly bulk they can run as well as a good horse, and can endure long journeys quite as well. ”