More Beetles 



The favourite plant was one of the Rubia- 

 ceas, the cheese-rennet {Galium verum), in 

 the stage of young shoots. Various other 

 plants were eaten no less readily on the way, 

 including especially Cichoriaceas such as 

 Pterotheca nemansensis, Chondrilla jtibcea 

 or gum-succory, and cut-leaved podospermum 

 {P. laciniatum) , and Leguminosae such as 

 Medicago falcata, or yellow medick and Tri- 

 folium repens, or white clover. The acrid 

 flavours did not in the least discourage the 

 flock. A Gerard's spurge was met with, 

 trailing its flower on the ground. A few 

 larvse stopped and nibbled the tender tops as 

 eagerly as the clover. In short, the fat crip- 

 pled larva varies its meal greatly. 



Examples abound of insects equally omniv- 

 orous of vegetable substances; there is no 

 need to linger over them. Let us pass on to 

 the exploiters of woody materials. The 

 larva of Ergates faher lives exclusively In de- 

 cayed pine-stumps; the hideous caterpillar of 

 the Moth inappropriately known as the Cos- 

 sus eats into old willow-trees, in company 

 with the i^gosoma. 



These two are specialists. 



The lesser Capricorn, Ceramhyx cerdo, en- 

 trusts her grubs to the hawthorn, the sloe, 

 228 



