COLEOPTERA. 121 



Cantharis vittata* or striped Cantharis. It is of a dull tawny 

 yellow or light yellowish red color above, with two black spots 

 on the head, and two black stripes on the thorax and on each 

 of the wing-covers. The under side of the body, the legs, and 

 the antennae are black, and covered with a grayish down. Its 

 length is from five to sbc tenths of an inch. In this and the 

 three following species the thorax is very much narrowed 

 before, and the wing-covers are long and narrow, and cover 

 the whole of the back. The striped Cantharis is comparatively 

 rare in New England; but in the IMiddle and Western States 

 it often appears in great numbers, and does much mischief in 

 potato-fields and gardens, eating up not only the leaves of the 

 potato, but those of many other vegetables. It is one of the 

 insects to which the production of the potato-rot has been 

 ascribed. The habits of this kind of Cantharis are similar to 

 those of the following species. 



There is a large blistering beetle which is very common on 

 the virgin's bower ( Clematis Virg-iniana), a trailing plant, which 

 grows wild in the fields, and is often cultivated for covering 

 arbors. I have sometimes seen this plant completely stripped 

 of its leaves by these insects, during the month of August. 

 They are very shy, and when disturbed fall immediately from 

 the leaves, and attempt to conceal themselves among the 

 grass. They most commonly resort to the low branches of 

 the Clematis, or those that trail upon the ground, and more 

 rarely attack the upper parts of the vine. They also eat the 

 leaves of various kinds of Ranunculus or buttercups, and, in 

 the Middle and Southern States, those of Clematis viorna and 

 crispa. This beetle is the Cantharis marginata of Olivier, or 

 margined Cantharis. It measures sLx or seven tenths of an 

 inch in length. Its head and thorax are thickly covered with 

 short gray down, and have a black spot on the upper side of 

 each; the wing-covers are black, with a very narrow gray 

 edging; and the under side of the body and the legs are also 

 gray. 



The most destructive kind of Cantharis, found in Massa- 



* Lytta vittata, Fabricius. 



16 



