INSECT ORDERS 



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animal in order to get at it from underneath and, in the course of time, 

 the carcass of the animal will sink below the surface of the ground. 



5. Larder beetles. These are found in stored cured meat and cause 

 great loss. They sometimes get in insect collections and do great dam- 

 age to the dried insects. 



6. Click beetles. These are large elongated beetles some of which 

 have what appears to be two huge eyes on the thorax. They get their 

 name from their habit of suddenly clicking the joint between the thorax 



Photo by Winchester 



Fig. 17.5. A click beetle. This interesting insect has the habit of snapping itself 

 suddenly at the connection between the thorax and abdomen so that it throws itself 

 several inches in the air when disturbed. It also uses this method to right itself when 

 turned on its back. The large "eyes" on the thorax are not the real eyes. They are 



on the small head in front. 



and abdomen when they get on their back. This throws them several 

 inches in the air and they try to land on their feet. 



7. Fireflies. These are also called lightning bugs because of their 

 habit of giving out flashes of light from the ventral surface of their ab- 

 domen as they fly at night. Some of the larvae also give out light and 

 are called glowworms. 



8. Tumble bugs. These collect manure and roll it into a ball and 

 push it to a hole in the ground and lay their eggs with it. Thus, the 

 larvae will be able to feed on it when they hatch out. They sometimes 



