Beetles VJo 



ing other insects, some live on land and some in 

 the water and a few of them are degraded para- 

 sites — that is, dead-beats, insects that live on other 

 insects, not by hmiting and devouring them as do 

 tiger beetles, but living on the bodies of other in- 

 sects as do ticks, fleas, and lice upon the bodies of 

 mammals. 



Those beetles the grubs of which live in rich 

 earth or rotten wood usually make themselves 

 cocoons by collecting the rubbish and bits of wood 

 around them to protect them while they lie in the 

 mummy or pupa state, and some of the larvae of the 

 beetles spin cocoons much the same as do the larvtE 

 of the moths. 



In killing the beetles for your cabinet collec- 

 tion, the cyanide bottle does the quickest work, 

 but it may spoil the color of the pretty red and 

 yellow beetles. Alcohol, however, will kill the 

 beetles and, if they are not kept in the alcohol 

 bottle too long, it will not cause the colors to 

 fade. Some people use a stout cloth insect net 

 and go on a blind hunt by sweeping the grass and 

 bushes with this net and then dumping the con- 

 tents, rubbish and all, into the poison bottle, which 



