COLEOPTERA. 29 



receive them when they fall, after which, they should be thrown 

 into boiling water, to kill them, and may then be given as food to 

 swine. 



There is an undescribed kind of Phyllophaga, or leaf-eater, 

 called, in my Catalogue of the Insects of Massachusetts,* fraterna, 

 because it is nearly akin to the quercina, in general appearance. 

 It differs from the latter, however, in being smaller, and more 

 slender, the punctures on its thorax and wing-covers are not so 

 distinct, and the three elevated lines on the latter are hardly visi- 

 ble. It measures thirteen twentieths of an inch in length. This 

 beetle may be seen in the latter part of June and the beginning of 

 July. Its habits are similar to those of the more abundant May- 

 beetle or dor-bug. 



Another common Phyllophaga has been described by Knoch 

 and Say, under the name of hirticula, meaning a little hairy. It 

 is of a bay-brown color, the punctures on the thorax are larger 

 and more distinct than in the quercina, and on each wing-cover 

 are three longitudinal rows of short yellowish hairs. It measures 

 about seven tenths of an inch in length. Its time of appearance is 

 in June and July. 



In some parts of Massachusetts the Phyllophaga Georgicana of 

 Gyllenhal, or Georgian leaf-eater, takes the place of the quercina. 

 It is extremely common, during May and June, in Cambridge, 

 where the other species is rarely seen. It is of a bay-brown 

 color, entirely covered on the upper side with very short yellow- 

 ish gray hairs, and measures seven tenths of an inch, or more, in 

 length. 



Phyllophaga pilosicollis of Knoch, or the hairy necked leaf- 

 eater, is a small chafer, of an ochre yellow color, with a very 

 hairy thorax. It is often thrown out of the ground by the spade, 

 early in the spring ; but it does not voluntarily come forth till the 

 middle of May. It measures half an inch in length. 



* In order to save unnecessary repetitions, it maybe well to state, that the Cata- 

 logue, above named, to which frequent reference will be made in the course of this 

 essay, was drawn up by me, and was published in Professor Hitchcock's Report 

 on the Geology, Mineralogy, Botany, and Zoology of Massachusetts, and that two 

 editions of it appeared with the Report, the first in 1833, and the second, with 

 numerous additions, in 1835. 



