REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 293 



all carnivorous. The larvae of ChauUognathtis are long, slender, flattened, 

 tapering toward tlie ends, active, with large jaws. They are usually 

 blackish, with pale S])ots at the angles of the segments. ChauUognathus 

 Pennsylvanicus (Plate XII, fig. 4) was found by Mr. Glover to be so 

 plentiful in the cotton fields near Columbia, S. 0., that four to six might 

 be taken from one bloom alone. They seem to feed entirely upon the 

 pollen or nectar of the flower, and would so busily engage themselves 

 in feeding as scarcely to notice the approach of mankind. When issuing 

 from the flower they would nearly always be so covered with masses of 

 pollen as scarcely to be recognizable. They, without doubt, served a 

 good purpose in assisting the thorough fertilization of the flower. This 

 beetle is about three-quarters of an inch in length, with black head, eyes, 

 legs, and antennae. The thorax and wing-cases are orange-yellow, with 

 a large dark spot in the center of the thorax, and a broad black stripe 

 down the center of each wing-case, thus leaving a narrow margin of 

 orange-yellow all around. The yellow-margined soldier-beetle {ChauU- 

 ognathus marginatus) was found by Mr. Glover to take the place of the 

 Pennsylvania soldier-beetle in Florida. This insect (Plate XII, fig. 3) 

 is about half an inch in length, and may be distinguished from the lae- 

 ter species by the head and lower part of the thighs being orange. The 

 harm done by the adults is slight, if any, and the good accomplished by 

 the larvae is probably considerable. We have no definite report of their 

 having been observed to destroy either the eggs or the young of the 

 cotton-moth, yet from their well-known proclivities they probably do so, 

 and from the numbers in which the adults occur, we can readily sup- 

 pose that no small amount of good is done in this way. At all events, 

 the soldier-beetle should not be destroyed. 



Lady-birds, or Lady-bugs {Coleopt, family GoccinelUdae). — The 

 " lady-birds " are better known, perhajjs, than any other family of beetles. 

 They are small, round, and hemispherical, usually red, yellow, or black, 

 with spots of one or the other of these colors. All are carnivorous ex- 

 cept Upilachna. The eggs are usually long, yellow, and oval, and are 

 laid in patches, often in the midst of a group of plant-lice, which the 

 newly-hatched larvae greedily devour. The larvae (see fig. 29) are long, 

 soft-bodied, rather pointed toward the end, and are quite active. The 

 jaws are small and inconspicuous. They are often quite gaily colored, 

 and covered with scattered tubercles, spines, or tufts of hair. They attain 

 their full growth in three to four weeks. When about to transform to 

 pujiae they attach themselves by the end of the body to a leaf or twig, 

 and either throw off the old larva skin, which remains around the tail, 

 or retain it around the pupa for protection. The pupa is small and 

 rounded, simulating the true beetle. The perfect insect comes forth ia 

 about a week. The larv^ae feed upon jilant-lice and other small insects, 

 of which they destroy immense numbers. The adult beetles also destroy 

 other insects, although in lesser numbers than the larvae. Quite a num- 

 ber of species of the lady-birds are found in the cotton-fields doing good 

 work, a few of the most common of which we figure and briefly describe. 



Goccinella novemnotata, Herbst. (Plate XII, fig. 8, and pupa), is light 

 yellowish-red in color, and may at once be distinguished by the nine 

 black spots upon its wing-covers, arranged as shown in the figure, four 

 upon each wing-cover, the two hind ones being the larger, and one in front 

 on the middle line. Coccinella munda (Plate XII, fig. 7) is a smaller 

 species of precisely the same color, but without any spots upon the wing- 

 cover. Its thorax is black, with two small light si)ots. Eippodajnia con- 

 vergers (Plate XII, fig. G) resembles the ])receding in general ground 

 color. It is larger and more elongated. On the wing-covers are thir- 



