Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S., Regent's Park.
TIGER-BEETLE.
The colouring of this insect is bright green with white markings and coppery legs.
Familiar to almost all is the Purple Ground-beetle, so plentiful in gardens, and easily recognisable by the violet margin to the black wing-cases. It pours out an evil-smelling liquid from the end of the body when handled.
The curious red-and-blue Bombardier, which, when interfered with, discharges a little puff of bluish-white smoke from the tip of the abdomen, accompanied by a distinct report, is also a member of this group. It is found under stones on river-banks, and also on the coast.
Next come the predaceous beetles of the water, of which we have a well-known British representative in the Great Brown Water-beetle. This insect, which is plentiful in weedy ponds, swims by means of its hind limbs, which are modified into broad, flat oars, with a mechanical arrangement for "feathering" as they are drawn back after making each stroke. It flies by night, often travelling for a long distance from one pond to another, and regains the water by suddenly folding its wings and allowing itself to fall from a height. In the female insect the wing-cases are grooved for about two-thirds of their length.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S., Regent's Park.
GROUND-BEETLE.
The beetles of this group are generally of a black or bronzy colour, some species being beautifully metallic.