BEETLES. 371 



inhabits Madagascar. Its form and the pattern of its coloration, the elytra being black 

 striped with white, recall those of the Chrysomelidae. Its life history is unknown. 



The second sub-family of the Scarabaaidae, the Melolonthinae, have the abdominal 

 stigmata " in part situated on the superior portions of the ventral segments, the last 

 one usually visible behind the elytra." The rows of spiracles diverge slightly. 



In Polyphylla the club of the antennae is many-jointed, and in the males is very 

 large, the third antennal joint is long, the lateral pieces of the metathorax are wide, 

 the anterior 00x03 are not prominent, the last pair of stigmata open in the suture be- 

 tween the fifth ventral segment and the propygidium. P. variolosa, found abun- 

 dantly in parts of the United States, is nearly an inch long, and is brown covered with 

 small irregular patches of white. P.fullo, the largest European May-beetle, frequents 

 sandy plains covered with conifers. Its length is from 1.25 to 1.50 inches, its color 

 chocolate brown, spotted with irregular patches of white scales and hairs. 



Melolontha closely resembles Polyphylla and is represented by quite a number of 

 species in the eastern hemisphere. M. vulgaris, the common May-beetle of Europe, 

 is about an inch long, and the antennal club of the males is composed of seven lam- 

 ellae, while that of the females has only six shorter lamellae. The pygidium is pro- 

 longed into a sharp point. In the common form the antennae, legs, and elytra are 

 brown, the rest of the insect being black, and different parts are more or less densely 

 clothed with fine white scales or hairs. On the lateral parts of the abdominal segments 

 these hairs are so dense as to produce a white triangular spot upon the side of each 

 segment. Varieties are numerous. The metamorphoses of M. vulgaris require three 

 or four years, according to climate, and their appearance in large numbers is periodi- 

 cal. Keiset writes that in 1865 the beetles defoliated the oaks and other trees in parts 

 of France. The next year the young larvae hatched from these beetles devoured the 

 roots of garden vegetables so extensively that the loss in the department of the Lower 

 Seine was estimated at over five million dollars. These larvae passed the winter of 

 1866-7 at about sixteen inches beneath the surface of the ground. A thermometer 

 kept in the ground at the same depth indicated that the larvae must have been frozen 

 during the winter, thawing out again in the spring. In June, 1867, the full-fed larvae 

 pupated about a foot below the surface, emerging as beetles during October and 

 November of the same year. These beetles, however, remained in the ground until 

 April and May of the succeeding year (1868), thus, in France, completing their meta- 

 morphoses in three years. The tufted lark (Alauda cristatd) is said to feed its young 

 almost exclusively with larvae of this and of related lamellicorns, thus doing good ser- 

 vice to agriculturists. 



Lachnosterna differs from Polyphylla in having the lateral pieces of the metathorax 

 narrow and the third antennal joint not elongated. There are many species of this genus 

 on the Atlantic slope of North America, while only two species are known from the 

 Pacific slope. L. fusca (often mentioned as JL. guercina) is very common in parts of 

 the United States and Canada ; it is about 0.9 of an inch long, and of a dark-brown 

 color. The beetle, which is often called the June-bug, 'attacks the leaves of various 

 trees, having a preference for those of plum and cherry. The larva, known as the 

 white grub, lives upon roots, and has habits quite similar to those of Melolontha vul- 

 garis in Europe. Turf is often ruined by larvae of L. fusca associated with other 

 larvae of the genus, and they sometimes cut off strawberry roots. Tiphia inornata, a 

 hymenopterous parasite, has been reared from these larvae. In Europe numerous 

 species of Rhizotrogus, a genus very similar to Lachnosterna, are termed June-bugs. 



