ANIMALS OF THE DUNES 



155 



they live are too severe for any but the hardiest of their enemies. 

 The willows are quite free from the willow cone gall. One leaf- 

 eating beetle, Disonycha quinquevittata (Fig. 151), is common on 

 them. It is about one- third inch 

 long, yellow with black stripes. 

 There are some aphids on the cher- 

 ries but the ladybird beetles and 

 syrphus flies keep them well in check. 

 Several snout beetles of the genus 

 Sphenophorus (Fig. 152) are very 

 common on the grasses. The larvae FlG - *S* A snout beetle, 

 feed on the roots of the bunch grass s P hen P horus - 

 and on the roots of sedges in nearby swales. Gnats and flies that 

 apparently breed down at the shore lodge on these grasses in large 



FIG. 153. Nest holes of bank swallows 



numbers. One of the flies has a vigorous bite. The tor- 

 mented camper in this region may derive some satisfaction 

 from watching the swift darting flight of several species of 

 dragon flies that hunt over and among the clumps of grass 

 and devour many of these flies and gnats. (See next 

 chapter.) 



