GARDEN CHAFER. 31 



grass in parks and pastures, and in orchards, and on orna- 

 mental lawns, also at the roots of corn and a variety of crops, 

 and though with care and knowledge something may be done 

 towards getting rid of the beetles, yet any means of destroying 

 the maggots without also destroying the grass, at the roots of 

 which they harbour, are (so far as we know at present) next 

 to impossible to carry out. 



The Eose Chafer grubs are very like those of the Cockchafer 

 i n appearance, though much smaller, and (like them) when 

 at rest they lie for the most part on their sides, with the head 

 and tail curved towards each other (see figure, p. 29). They 

 are whitish or somewhat yellowish in colour, and fleshy, with 

 chestnut or ochreous-coloured head, furnished with somewhat 

 rusty-coloured jaws, darker at the tips, and have a pair of 

 moderately long legs on each of the three segments im- 

 mediately succeeding the head, and the hinder extremity of 

 the body is somewhat swelled, and has the appearance of 

 being of a lead colour, from the food within showing through 

 the skin. 



When disturbed the maggots can straighten themselves, 

 and use their legs for walking with some rapidity, and creep 

 along (when I have timed the rate of progress by the seconds- 

 hand of my watch) at from five to six inches in about half a 

 minute. From the very great resemblance of this maggot to 

 that of the Cockchafer [Melolontha vulgaris) there is difficulty 

 in distinguishing between the two kinds whilst they are still 

 of the same size ; afterwards, as the Cockchafer grub grows 

 to fully four times the size of that of the Eose Chafer, the 

 distinction is plain. For those, however, who wish to be able 

 to identify the two kinds of larvpe with certainty for scientific 

 purposes, the fullest descriptions are available in the work 'De 

 MetamorphosiEleutheratorum Observationes,' by I. Schiodte, 

 from which, through the kind assistance of Mr. W. Hatchett 

 Jackson, M.A,, of Keble College, Oxford, who was good enough 

 to translate and tabulate the distinctive points for me, I give 

 below the differences between the two. kinds of larvae.* 



* " Larva of Phijllopertha horticola. — Vertical suture of head a very fine line. 

 Epistoma broader by half than it is long. Third joint of antennre of same 

 length as the first joint. Tibias of legs twice as short as femora. Claws of legs 

 increasing in size in the successive jiairs. Abdomen cylindrical though some- 

 what clavate. Anal valves obscurely marked off ; lunate in shape. Spiracles 

 orbicular. 



" Larva of Melolontha vulgaris. — Vertical suture of head deeply countersunk 

 for a short space behind the epistoma, its margins somewhat raised. Epistoma 

 three times as broad as long. Third joint of antennje nearly one-third shorter 

 than first joint. Tibim of legs one-fourth shorter than femora. Claws of legs 

 diminishing very greatly in size in successive pairs, most markedly and 

 abruptly in those of third pair. Abdomen clavate. Anal valves sharply marked 

 off ; upper valve triangular, lower valve trilobed. Anterior spiracles short 

 ovate, posterior orbicular." 



