COCKCHAFER. 243 



shape figured above, an inch or somewhat more in length, 

 densely covered with down on the breast and more or less 

 throughout. The fore body black, or sometimes reddish 

 brown. Wing-cases and legs red-brown ; the former with 

 five smooth longitudinal ridges, the depressions between 

 them being covered with whitish scales. Abdomen black, 

 with triangular patches of white hairs or scales on each 

 side, and tapering into an elongated extremity. The antennse 

 short, and with the fan or club of six leaves in the female ; but 

 longer, and of seven leaves, in the case of the male. Beneath 

 the elytra or wing-cases the beetles have large and powerful 

 wings ; and in May they may be found hanging half torpid or 

 sluggish beneath the leaves during the day, and coming out 

 on the wing during the evening, when they fly in search of 

 their mates or feed on the foliage of the trees. 



The females very soon after pairing lay their eggs at a 

 depth variously stated as from two to four or about six to 

 eight inches below the surface of the ground, this point xevy 

 likely depending a good deal on the nature of the soil. The 

 eggs are roundish in shape, and whitish or yellowish in 

 colour, and are laid in considerable numbers up to as many 

 as eighty or more in a heap or heaps in the disturbed 

 ground. 



The maggots or larvae may be generally described as large, 

 fleshy grubs (see fig., p. 242), and whitish or yellowish in 

 colour, with the tip of the abdomen of a violet or bluish tint 

 from the excrement showing through the skin ; with strong 

 jaws, three pairs of reddish legs, and usually lying on one 

 side somewhat curved together in the ground. I add the 

 description by the Eev. Canon W. W. Fowler as being 

 serviceable for technical reference : — 



" The larva of Melolontha vulgaris, the Common Cockchafer, 

 has been described by many authors. It is large, thick, and 

 fleshy, of a dirty white colour, with the head ferruginous and 

 shining, and the legs pale ferruginous ; the antennas are a 

 little longer than the mandibles, and are 4-jointed : the 

 anterior pairs of legs are rather shorter than the intermediate 

 and posterior pairs, which are of equal length ; the segments 

 are transversely rugose, and the last is large and apparently 

 divided by a false articulation ; the upper surface of the body 

 is furnished with short upright bristles, and long separate 

 hairs which are intermingled with these. The pupa is rather 

 large, with the abdominal portion slightly curved, but does 

 not present any striking peculiarities."* 



For distinction between the larva of M. vulgaris and Phyllo- 

 pertha horticula, see ante, p. 31. 



* 'British Coleoptera,' Fowler, vol. iv. p. 51. 



b2 



