1838. HOUSE— No. 72. 65 



by attaching a long thread to one of the hind legs of the common 

 Melolontha, and then leave it to fly, without suffering it to es- 

 cape. Being thus restrained, its motions are confined to a circle, 

 and these gyrations afford much pleasure to the little tormentors. 

 De Geer further tells us, that the country children carry on a trade 

 in these insects with the children of cities, and that he himself, when 

 a boy, had purchased many of them. The same custom exists in 

 the vicinity of Paris, and the children accompany the gyrations of 

 the Melolontha, by the French called Hanneton, with a song or in- 

 cantation, the burthen of which is " Hanneton! vole, vole, voW — 

 " Hanneton ! fly away, fly away, fly away." Those who have read 

 the popular novel called Torhiil, may remember that these were the 

 words fi-equentiy sung by the volatile Fiench servant. Thus are we 

 led to observe a curious coincidence in the puerile sports among re- 

 mote nations, while tracing the antiquity of a name. 



The Melolonthae are known in England by the names of dorrs or 

 chaffers, and in this country, by those of dorr-bugs and may- 

 beetles. They are characterized by having the body oblong, oval, 

 and convex, the mouth covered above by a thin plate, beneath which, 

 are situated the antennae, consisting of ten joints, the terminal ones 

 united by the end to a common centre, and expanding like the leaves 

 of a book ; the thorax more or less transversely quadrate or trapezo- 

 idal ; the elytra convex above, not embracing the sides of the body, 

 and leaving the posterior extremity exposed. The middle part of 

 the fore legs is armed with 2 or 3 lateral teeth ; and each foot, con- 

 sisting of five small joints, is terminated by two strong claws or 

 nails, furnished beneath with a small tooth or double point. The 

 powerful and corneous jaws are admirably adapted for tearing and 

 bruising the leaves of vegetables on which these insects live in 

 their perfect state ; their double or toothed claws support them se- 

 curely upon the foliage ; and their strong and dentated legs, being 

 constructed for digging in the ground, indicate the place of their 

 metamorphoses. 



The general habits and transformations of the common cock-chaf- 

 fer of Europe, will elucidate those of the whole genus, which are 

 nearly the same. 



This insect devours the leaves of trees and shrubs. Its duration 

 



