248 INSECT ORDERS 



have vicious fights when one female tries to rob another of a nicely 

 rolled ball of manure. 



9. June bugs. Possibly the most common of all beetles. The larvae 

 are the destructive white grub worms which feed on plant roots. The 

 adults are either brown or green and are attracted to lights on warm 

 summer evenings, often flying into rooms through open windows where 

 they create quite a confusion with their buzzing around and bumping 

 into walls. The adults feed on the leaves of trees or suck the juice from 

 berries. 



V 







Photo by Winchester 



Fig. 17.6. June bugs. These insects spend their larval existence underground as 

 destructive grub worms and the adults do considerable damage feeding on the leaves 



of the trees. 



10. Potato beetles. These small compact beetles eat the leaves of 

 potato and related plants. 



11. Meal worm. The larvae live in stored grain and destroy much 

 valuable food, especially stored meal. Although they are usually very 

 destructive, they are sometimes raised commercially as a food for soft- 

 billed birds. 



12. Blister beetles. The blood of these is poisonous and will raise 

 blisters on human skin. They once were used to make an ointment that 

 would blister a person's chest when rubbed on as a treatment for a chest 



