Beetles 193 



their captors. Butterflies and millers are far too 

 delicate to handle, but beetles, with the possible 

 exception of the carrion beetles and the soft-bodied 

 oil beetles, possess none of these disadvantages. 



Beetles are six-legged insects, and, with few 

 exceptions, they have a pair of thick, horny front 

 wings which are of no use while flying, but when at 

 rest act as covers for the hind-wings, fitting to- 

 gether like the shell of a turtle. Beetles also have 

 mouth parts for biting and chewing. 



Beetles, like butterflies, start as a worm-like 



creature, then go into the mummy state, from which 



they emerge as beetles. Fig. 169 shows a beetle 



as an insect with six legs; it also shows the wings 



extended and the fore-wings, which form the 



sheath and give the name to the family, are spread 



apart. To the right or east of the beetle is a sketch 



showing the under side of one from which the legs 



have been removed. To the west or the left are 



the legs, in the southwest corner of the drawing 



are the mouth parts, in the southeast corner is a 



sketch of my hunting knife in its sheath; this is to 



show what a sheath is. The knife I thrust in the 



sheath from the top down, the beetle folds its wings 



over its body then shuts its sheath down on them. 

 13 



