%\\t €nmim\ mntomalu0bt. 



Vol. XLIII. LONDON, APRIL, 1911. No. 4 



BEETL?:S FOUND ABOUT FOLIAGE. 



BY F. J. A. MORRIS, TRINITY COLLEGE SCHOOL, PORT HOPE, ONT. 



During my five years or more of collecting, I have captured, on and 

 about foliage, species belonging to eight or ten of the great families of 

 beetles. Some of these have been merely incidental, and I know of 

 nothing in their habits to connect them with the toce or herbaceous plant 

 on which I found them. For instance, there is a species of Lagriid, a 

 family closely related to the Tenebrionidae or Darkling beetles, which I 

 have often taken on ioVinge- -Arf/iromacra ceiiea ; usually the beetle is 

 found feeding in blossoms of the dogwood, occasionally on the foliage of 

 that shrub, but quite often I have seen it on the leaves of the May-apple 

 (Podophyllum peltatum)^ \\\^ New Jersey- Tea (^Cff^^zz/^Z/^/zi- americamis), 

 and the Sweet Fern ( Coinptonia asplenifolia) ; it appears to have a special 

 fondness for this last shrub, and on bright, hot days of July, is often 

 abundant in patches of Sweet Fern. 



So far as I know, it does not eat the leaves, but, contrary to the 

 general habit of the Tenebrionids, it certainly courts bright sunshine. 

 There is an allied genus in Great Britain ( Lagria hirta) said to be found 

 on blossoms and in hedges, which, even in the larval stage, is remarkable 

 for its habit of wandering openly about foliage. Most of the Tenebrionid 

 larvae feed obscurely on vegetable matter, preferably in a dry condition ; 

 probably the best known — in domestic economy — is Tenebrio molitoJ\ the 

 famous meal-worm, wiiich 1 have occasionally had served to me at break- 

 fast in a plate of porridge. 



There are three families of beetles in particular, many of whose mem- 

 bers are extremely fond of sunshire. The Elaters or Click Beetles, their 

 next of kin, the Buprestids or Metallic Wood-borers, and the Cerambycidae 

 or Long-horns. 



I have often captured some of the smaller species of Elaters, chiefly 

 of the genus Corymbites, resting on the upper side of leaves, apparently 

 indulging in the luxury of a sun-bath. Early in May two seasons ago I 



