ELEMENTARY ENTOMOLOGY 



body, curved, wrinkled, more or less clothed with hairs, and with 

 the tip segment of the abdomen enlarged. Of the scavengers, the 



tumble-bugs are well known, as they 

 are often seen rolling balls of manure 

 along the roadside, which are finally 

 buried and in which the eggs are 

 laid. The fat grub feeds within this 

 ball until ready to pupate. The fa- 

 mous sacred scarabaeid was held in 

 high veneration by the ancient Egyp- 

 tians, who placed it in their tombs 

 and carved it on sarcophagi, stones, 

 and gems. With the first spring 

 days one encounters swarms of little 

 brown, black-spotted beetles which 

 fill the air. They belong to numer- 

 ous species of the genus Aphodiiis, the larvae of which develop in 

 manure and are often found in the dung of horses and cattle in 

 pastures. Some of the scavengers make burrows in the soil under 



FIG. 214. A dung-beetle (Apho- 



dius granarius Linn.). (Greatly 



enlarged) 



(After Forbes) 



; 



FIG. 215. May-beetle (Lachnosterna sp.), showing larva (or white grub), 



pupa, and adult. (Natural size) 



(After Linville and Kelly) 



