46 SNAPPING-BEETLES. 



The larvae of the click-beetles live in the ground and in de- 

 caying wood; they sometimes eat other insects found in similar 

 places. These larva? have been named "wire-worms,' a name 

 that well describes the form and hardness of their bodies. They 

 are long, narrow, worm-like, very even in width, decidedly hard, 

 and of a brownish or yellowish white color. Resides a stumpy 

 projection on the last joint, acting as a sort of prop for the long- 

 abdomen, they have only the usual three pairs of jointed legs in 

 front. Nor do they need long legs, as they live well hidden in the 

 ground or in rotten wood. They are mostly vegetable feeders, 

 and there are but few cultivated plants which they do not injure. 

 What makes it worse is the fact that they are so well hidden, and 

 that they cause most injuries at a time when the plants are still 

 young and tender ; in fact, even seeds are frequently destroyed 

 before they have germinated. In this way fields of corn and other 

 grain are more or less frequently destroyed by wire-worms, and 

 as we have over 500 species of such noxious beetles in the United 

 States alone, the damage caused by them is not slight. A few of 

 these wire-worms are, however, somewhat beneficial, as they hunt 

 for and eat wood-boring larvae. 



The larva of one of our largest species, the Eyed Elater, 

 (Alans culatus "Linn.) , is one of the few which largely subsists 

 upon other insects ; at least all the larvae kept by the writer in 

 decaying wood would soon perish if not provided with living in- 

 sects, which were soon discovered by these cannibals and de- 

 voured. The large, yellowish-brown larva of the Alans trans- 

 forms to a pupa, and later into a most striking beetle (Fig. 54), 

 black in color, the elytra covered with fine lines and flecks of 

 white scales arranged in ridges. But the most remarkable mark- 

 ings are a pair of large velvety-black spots, encircled with white, 

 upon the pro-thorax, which spots are frequently mistaken for 

 eyes ; the true eyes are, of course, situated at the usual place on 

 each side, of the head, and are rather small. 



Such wire-worms as live in the ground, and which feed upon 

 the roots of plants, sometimes causing great losses to cereals and 

 to other cultivated plants, as the strawberry, are exceedingly dif- 



