INSECTS AND DISEASES. 95 
vagaries, in which, without having the power 
to harm, they seem to threaten an attack, 
have caused them to be called dors, that is, 
darers; while their seeming blindness and 
stupidity have become proverbial in the ex- 
pressions ‘blind as a beetle’ and ‘beetle- 
headed.’ After the sexes have paired the 
males perish, and the females enter the earth 
to the depth of six inches or more, making 
their way by means of the strong teeth which 
arm the forelegs; here they deposit their 
eggs. ... From the eggs are hatched, in 
the space of fourteen days, little whitish 
grubs, each provided with six legs near the 
head, and a mouth furnished with strong 
jaws. When in a state of rest, these grubs 
usually curl themselves in the shape of a 
crescent.” These annoying pests live in the 
earth for three years, feeding on the roots of 
roses and other plants, and give no sign of 
their presence till the plant on which they 
feed commences to wither or turn sickly. 
So soon as evidence is given of their ravages, 
the plant should at once be dug around and 
search made for the grub, that his destruction 
may save other plants from death. The grub 
is more fond of the roots of strawberries than 
of any other food, and if these berries are 
grown alongside of roses a careful lookout 
