Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume II.djvu/498

 478 BEFANA BEGONIA eumolpvs, one species of which, E. vitis, in its larva state, commits great ravages in wine countries ; galerucii and altiea, possessed of great jumping powers ; the latter is often very destructive to turnip crops. 17. The clavipalpi are all gnawers, and may be distinguished by their antennas ending in a knob, and by an in- ternal tooth to the jaws ; the body is usually rounded. Some of the genera are erotylus, triplax, agathidium, and phalacrus. The last section, the trimera, have the antenna ending in a compressed club formed by the last 3 of the 11 joints; it contains: 18. Thefungicolce, living chiefly in fungi and dead wood. The principal genus is eumorphus. 19. The aphido- phagi are best represented by the genus oocci- nella, or lady-bird ; these pretty little beetles, more especially in the larva state, live almost entirely on aphides, or plant-lice, and in this way are of immense service. 20. The psela- phii have short truncated elytra ; the species are generally very small, and live on the ground in moist places, and under stones and moss. The types of this, the last family, are the genera pselaphus and claviger. The cole- optera are exceedingly numerous in species. It is by the occurrence of elytra that this order may be at once recognized ; these organs are highly ornamented, and they serve not only to protect the membranous wings, but to shield the body in the dark and dangerous places in which beetles delight to go ; and by their expanded surfaces they assist the heavy spe- cies in their flight, acting both as a sail and a parachute. BEFANA, in Italy, a puppet or doll dressed as a woman, and carried through the streets in procession on the day of Epiphany, and on some other feast days. The name is probably derived from JSpifania, the feast of the Epiph- any. On the day of this feast presents are given to children in Italy, as they are elsewhere on Christmas or New Year's, and the lefana is supposed to bring them. BEG, Bey, and Beglerbeg, titles of honor among the Turks. Beg means lord or commander; the beglerbeg is " the lord of the lords." The sons of a pasha bear this title, and in the army an officer on being promoted to the rank of colonel obtains the title of bey. In the African provinces, the bey is the supreme officer of Tunis and Tripoli. BECAS, Karl, a Prussian painter, born at Heins- berg, near Aix-la-Ohapelle, Sept. 30, 1794, died in Berlin, Nov. 24, 1854. He studied first un- der Philippart, and in Paris under Gros. One of his early works, a copy of the Madonna della Sedia, attracted the attention of the king of Prussia, who appointed him painter to the Prussian court. His productions comprise his- torical, genre, and portrait paintings, of which the most important are "Henry IV. at the j Castle of Canossa," the "Sermon on the | Mount," "Christ on the Mount of Olives," the Lorelei, and the portraits of Humboldt, Schel- ling, Ritter, Rauch, Cornelius, and Meyerbeer. BEGHARDS. I. The popular appellation of a body of religious penitents of the third order of St. Francis of the congregation of Zepperen. They were founded at the convent of Zopperen in the diocese of Liege prior to 1323, and several other houses soon grew up. They were almost all lay brothers, living in community, and carrying on some trade, as weaving, spec- tacle-making, &c. Having few priests in the order, they were at first all governed >y a superior general, who was a secular priest till Pope Nicholas V. directed that he should always be a Franciscan. These Franciscan ter- tiaries incorporated into their body a com- munity founded at Antwerp in 1228 and call- ed Beghards, a name of uncertain derivation. The Franciscan rule and habit were adopted, and the name Beghards was given to the whole body. Difficulties having arisen be- tween the priests and lay brothers, they sep- arated for a time, but were finally reunited under one general. In 1651 the whole body was incorporated by Innocent X. with the congregation of Lombardy. There were similar houses in other parts of the Low Countries, some of which also took the name of Beg- hards. II. A set of fanatics, also called Spirit- ualists, who arose in the 13th century in the Low Countries, and assumed the dress and name of the Franciscan tertiaries, but refused to obey any ecclesiastical authority. A number of enthusiasts of both sexes joined them, and adopting the reveries of Abbot Joachim, they spread in France, Germany, and Italy, creat- ing great disturbances. They were also called Beguins and Beguines. They were condemned in 1300 by Pope Boniface VIII., and by Clem- ent V. in the council of Vienne. BEGHARMI. See BAGHIRMI. BEGONIA, a genus of plants indigenous to Begonia. the East and West Indies and South America, closely allied to the cucvrbitacece according to