NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



also remain dormant throughout the winter months. 

 On the advent of warm weather the eggs hatch and 

 the chrysalides burst, and moths and butterflies emerge 

 to increase the race. 



" Devoured by worms, like Herod, was the town, 

 Because, like Herod, it had ruthlessly 

 Slaughtered the innocents. From the trees spun down 



The canker worms upon the passers-by, 

 Upon each woman's bonnet, shawl, and gown, 



Who shook them off with just a little cry : 

 They were the terror of each favourite walk ; 

 The endless theme of all the village talk." 



Longfellow. 



BEETLES 



Adult beetles and their larvae are almost if not quite 

 equal in their destructiveness to the caterpillars of 

 moths and butterflies. Hosts of species of beetles attack 

 and devour plant life. There are others, however, 

 which are known as carnivorous beetles. These feed 

 voraciously on insect life — largely on the beneficial ant. 



Beetles are grouped under the order Coleoptera. 

 They possess a pair of horny wing-covers known as 

 elytra. They meet in a straight line down the back. 

 Beneath these hard and usually shiny wing-cases are 

 a single pair of transparent wings. The mouth parts 

 are adapted for biting. 



The life history of a beetle is, first the egg, then 

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