182 INSECTS AT HOME. 



their b)Jies being thickly clothed with variously coloured 

 scales. The present species is one of the prettiest of them, 

 although its colours are not brilliant. The upper part of the 

 body is covered with ashen-grey scales, the elytra being striated 

 and punctated, with very narrow and delicate white longitu- 

 dinal streaks. Beneath, it is pure white. This seems to be 

 rather a local insect, but is found plentifully in certain spots, 

 of which Darenth Wood is one. It frequents plants of the 

 vetch tribe, and has been taken on the broom. 



We now come to a strange genus of Weevils, strange in their 

 forms, and strange in their ways. They are all very tiny 

 Beetles, rarely more than the tenth of an inch in length, and 

 generally much less. The femora of the hind legs are ex- 

 ceedingly thick and strong, and the Beetle uses them for leap- 

 ing, an exercise which it pursues with wonderful agility. 



From this peculiarity, the genus is named Orchestes, a word 

 which signifies ' leaper.' One of these Beetles, Orchestes fagi, 

 a name which may be translated as ' beech-hopper,' is repre- 

 sented on Woodcut XIX. Fig. 2, its head is shown at Fig. 6, 

 and its hind leg at Fig. c. 



Small as are these Beetles, they are able to do a vast amount 

 of harm, not so much in their perfect as in their larval state. 

 The larvae of this genus are long and flat, as is necessary for 

 their mode of life. They burrow into the leaves of various 

 trees, penetrating between the upper and under layer of the 

 leaf, and feeding on the ' parenchyma,' a soft green substance 

 that lies between tliem. Mr. Curtis mentions some observa- 

 tions which he made on the habits of the insect which we have 

 taken as our example : — 



'In 1832, Lord Farnham informed me that the beech-trees 

 on his estate in Cavan, Ireland, had for the last three or four 

 years suffered, not only in appearance, from the leaves being 

 partially blighted by a species of these insects, Orchestes fagi^ 

 in June and the beginning of July, when they assumed an 

 autumnal appearance, but the general health of the trees 

 seemed to be considerably impaired. It appeared that, on the 

 bud opening, it was immediately occupied by the Orcheistes, 

 which perforated the leaves, and to so great an extent that 

 scarcely a tree escaped. 



