NATURE STUDY LESSONS. 79 



This and all the Lady-bugs belong to the faniih- Coccinel- 

 lidae, and they resemble one another so much in shape 

 and general appearance that it will be easy to select them 

 and pin them in a row by themselves. 



When the children were collecting, they were sure to 

 find many shin}^, black beetles with long legs, running 

 through the grass or hiding under stones and rubbish. 

 They are so common and so easily caught, that some are 

 Certain to be found in any collection. Nearly all are shin- 

 ing-black in color, and almost all have the wing-covers 

 ornamented with ridges running lengthwise and rows of 

 pits or punctures between the ridges. In the East there 

 is one Ground-beetle that is brown, but it is shaped like 

 the black ones, and has the ridges and rows of pits, so 

 that it is easil}^ recognized. Another, much larger, called 

 the Searcher, has green or violet wing-covers margined 

 with reddish, and the rest of the body is marked with vio- 

 let, blue, green and copper. Of course, this beetle is 

 greatly prized by young collectors, and so is the Fiery 

 Hunter, another Ground-beetle, a little smaller, but read- 

 ily known by the rows of reddish or copperish-colored pits 

 on the wing-covers. 



Perhaps the children, in their collecting, caught some 

 Tiger-beetles, although it is not an easy thing to do, 

 for they are the most agile of all beetles, and both run and 

 fly remark ibly well. They are beautiful insects, usually 

 of a metallic green or bronze, banded or spotted with yel- 

 low, and are to be found on bright, hot days in dusty 

 roads, beaten paths, and on sandy patches where no grass 

 grows. They are sharp-sighted and alert, flying off just 

 before they can be reached, alighting a rod or two ahead, 

 facing about and watching your approach, ready to fly off 

 again. If there are any in the Coleoptera box, they may 

 be pinned in a row and labeled Cicindelidse. If there is 

 none, they should be remembered as promising rare .sport 



