COLEOPTEKA. 155 



or imago. Care, however, must be taken in using 

 this Hquid, as it is explosive when mixed with air, 

 while being evaporated, and also poisonous. It is, 

 however, extensively used, and with proper precau- 

 tions it can be employed more effectively than any- 

 thing else, especially in large collections. 



COCCIXELLID.E. 



The ^'lady-birds," or "lady-bugs" (Fig. 94), are 

 common, and are great favorites with young 

 children. Their small round bodies with 

 little, short legs, their brilliant spots and 

 pretty patterns, make them attractive insects 

 in spite of the disagreeable odor which they 

 sometimes give out as a means of protec- 

 tion. They pass through an indirect metamorphosis 

 like other beetles. The larva is provided with three 

 pairs of legs, and when ready to transform, fastens 

 itself by its abdomen to a branch, leaf, or some other 

 object. 



GYRINID.E. 



If these water-beetles are kept in the schoolroom, 

 their rapid circular movements on the surface of the 

 water, which have given them the name of whirligigs, 

 their motionless resting-periods, and their power of 

 diving to escape from danger, can all be observed. 

 When seen from above they do not appear at times 

 to' have locomotive organs, yet, when looked at from 

 below, the legs are broad and paddle-hke. These 

 insects can look downward into the water and upward 



