269 



LADYBIRD BEETLES. 



Family Coccinellidse. 



(Plate 34, I.) 



TJiese beetles are very characteristic in form — 

 tliey are more or less rounded, the head, thoi-ax, 

 and abdomen fitting very closely; the head is con- 

 cealed by the thorax. The feet have only four 

 joints and appear to have but three : the third joint, 

 however, is so very small as to escape being readily 

 seen even with a lens. These beetles are very con- 

 spicuous, usually Avith bright colours; they are pro- 

 tected from enemies — such as birds — by having 

 a distasteful fluid in the body which thus saves 

 them from attack. They are great favourites with 

 children, who sing to them the well-known rhyme 

 ** Ladybird, Ladybird, fly away home." Ladybirds 

 I are free from enemies to a remarkable extent; they 

 ■j multiply very rapidly, and in most cases are friends 

 ! to the agriculturist and gardener, for they are car- 

 nivorous, feeding on aphides, scales, etc. The eggs 

 are placed vertically in groups (Plate 34, Fig. 4). 

 The larvae (Plate 34, Fig. 1) are very active grubs 

 and seem to be always hungry; they seize aphides 

 and soon suck them dry, leaving only the skins. The 

 larva of the common garden ladybird (Leis con- 

 forniis) is dark-coloured (due to hairs or projec- 

 tions), with two orange-coloured transverse bars in 

 the upper part of the bQ(iy, Th.Q l?irva of the ladybird 



