CHAPTER IX. 



LAMEILICORN, OR LEAF-HORNED BEETLES, SOMETIMES 

 CALLED PET ALO CERA. 



In most respects the Pectinicorn and Lamellicorn Beetles re- 

 semble each other, but in many points there are decided distinc- 

 tions. In the first place, the form of the larvoe differs in both 

 these groups, as has been mentioned in the last chapter ; and, in 

 the second place, the antennas are differently constructed. In 

 the Pectinicorns the club of the antennae is formed by comb- 

 like projections, whereas in the Lamellicorns the projections are 

 flat, like the leaves of a fan. The name Lamellicorn is formed 

 from two Latin words, the former signifying " a little flat plate," 

 and the other " a horn." The second name, Petalocera, is Greek, 

 and has precisely the same meaning, i.e. " petal-horned." 



The larvee of the Lamellicorn Beetles are odd-looking creatures, 

 familiar to the practical cultivator who uses spade and fork him- 

 self, but never seen except when turned out of the earth. They 

 are large, fat, smooth, paly-white grubs, always doubled up, 

 and with the hinder end very much larger than the rest of the 

 body. In uncultivated lands it is probable, if not certain, that 

 all these subterranean larvae, perform a necessary and useful 

 office. When, however, land is cultivated, and consequently 

 the arrangements of Nature are altered, the ofBce of the Lamel- 

 licorn insects is altered too, some being doubly useful, while 

 others are definitely injurious. Taking our own country as the 

 locality, and two Lamellicorn Beetles as examples, namely the 

 Cockchafer and the Dor, we find that the former has now 

 become an utter nuisance, destroying the roots of grass in its 

 larval state, and the leaves of trees in its perfect condition; 

 while the Dor Beetles confer singular benefits on the proprietors 

 of pasture lands by seizing on the droppings of the cattle and 



