318 MR HAKDT OH INSECTS 



scarcely exceeding » grain of turnip seed in size, is oblong-egg-shaped, soTne« 

 what flattened, and narrowest towards the head. Iiike other beetles, it t» 

 hard and scaly, and not readily susceptible of injury from the external ap- 

 plication of force. The general colour is a shining black, and the head and 

 second division of the body are of this hue, which would be continuous 

 over the wing cases, but for two pale yellow streaks down each. The last 

 conceal, when in repose, a pair of thin transparent wings, which, along with 

 its leaping povers, supply it with the means of transport. The upper sur- 

 face is prettily polished, and thickly beset with punctures. The ankennw, 

 or horn-shaped organs of the heacl, are black, with their base chestnut ; 

 the joints, shanks, and feet, being sometimes of a tawny hue. The hin- 

 der thighs are remarkably thickened, a structure similar to that of the 

 Kangaroo among quadrupeds; which, from the additional volume and 

 strength of muscle it confers, enables it to take those surprising leaps by 

 which it eludes its enemies.* It does not, however, like a grasshopper, 

 keep up a chase by a continuous leaping; but, usually, at the end of its 

 spring, falls on its back among the herbage, where, being very inconspicu- 

 ous, i't is not discovered till it has recovered the position requisite for tak- 

 ing another bound. Its under side is quite black, and this makes it lesa 

 easy of detection, while thus stationary. In its perfect state as a beetle it 

 is less susceptible of injury from a low temperature than most other insects ; 

 and, although many must perish from this cause, considerable numbers fre- 

 quently survive the winter. I have noticed it in the turnip fields in Decem- 

 ber, and taken it alive under stones near walls in January ; but it is most 

 frequently found in the shelter of hedges or plantations during the incle- 

 ment part of the season, where it may be observed, in the vernal months, in 

 vhe vicinity of its chosen plants. These spring early, considerably before 

 the period for turnip making ; some of them, indeed, are the firstlings of the 

 season ; and, from first to last, keep up an uninterrupted supply of food.f 

 The principal are : Cardamine amara,(B\tter I.^dy's Smock) which occurs 

 in ditches and swamps in many parts of Berwickshire, and, from the injury 

 inflicted on its foliage, is apparently much relished by the insect; C. 

 tylvatica, (Wood Lady's Smock) which grows by the border of most of 

 our gravelly streams ; C pratenm^ (Meadow Lady's Smock, or Bog Pink) 

 a native of marshy groundf ; Nasturtium officinale (Common Water Cress) ; 

 Erifsimum alliaria, (Garlic Treacle Mustard, or Jack by the Hedge) a not 

 unfrequent plant under the shade of hedges and trees in a gravelly soil j 

 Sinapis arvensis, (Wild Mustard) which every one knows as a troublesome 

 weed, and Raphanus Raphanistrnm, (the Runch or Jointed Charlock). 

 Many of these, from the places of their growth, in marshes, and by water 

 courses, on uncultivated grounds, barren banks, and in woods, it is quite 

 impossible to eradicate. The difficulty of this is increased from the seeds 

 containing an essential oil, which preserves them from decay for a protract- 

 ed period ; added to the fact that they have been the denizens of the soil 

 for ages. Certain of them, however, such as the runch and wild mus- 

 tard, fall legitimately under the farmer's control ; and fields where these 

 abound, will more readily be haunted by the turnip beetle, than others from 

 which it can derive no preliminary nutriment. It is quite possible that, 

 in a field in this condition, a double*^ brood may bo on the ground before the 

 turnips are put in. It thus happens in this, as in many other res})ects, that 

 slovenly farming is both personally and generally hurtful ; injurious to 

 the practiser's own interest, and baneful to those who have the misfortune 

 to be placed in his vicinity. Some farmer's arc so well aware of these facts, 

 that they arc able, from observing the amount of damage sustained by the 

 wild plants in spring, to predicate the degree of peril that awaits the ensuing 

 crop ; and to have recourse to such precautionary expedients as may meet 

 the evil threatened. The turnip fields themselves, where the crop is long 

 on the ground, preserve many of the beetles alive ; and the plots kept for 



* Kirhy'« BrHg^wa'T Tpfiqfiflr^ ii 1.90 1)31 i riivt iq. Rritish Fntomolncy. ff^l. ♦►W. 



