THE BEETLES: COLEOPTERA 



45 



habit of forming and rolling about a pellet of manure for 

 food for themselves or their larvae. We have several species 

 of these beetles in the United States, but the best known of 

 the group is the sacred beetle of the Egyptians (Ateu'chus 

 sa'cer, Fig. 28), the Scarabseus of the ancients, figures of 

 which are found carved in stone on the monuments of an- 

 cient Egypt. These beetles played an important part in the 

 symbolism of the Egyptians, to whom they typified the 



Fig. 28. The sacred scarab. (X 2) 

 A, beetle with ball of manure ; B, scarab carved in stone 



world and the sun, — the former on account of their round 

 pellets, the latter on account of the projections on the head, 

 which were likened to the rays of the sun. 



The Japanese Beetle. One of the best examples that we 

 have of the rapid spread of a newly introduced pest is that 

 of the Japanese beetle (Popil'lia japon'ica). Introduced 

 into this country about 1916, probably on the roots of an 

 imported plant, by 1924 it had spread over an area of more 

 than a thousand square miles. Like the June beetle the 

 adult feeds above ground upon the foliage of trees and 

 shrubs, and the grub attacks the vegetation beneath, feed- 

 ing upon the roots. It is a well-known fact that a destruc- 

 tive animal like the Japanese beetle produces much more 



