56 



FEBRUARY. 



ful genus are frequently confounded. I would, 

 therefore, advise the young entomologist to ex- 

 amine them with care : they delight in pools 

 having a clayey bottom, and haunt the roots 

 and stems of aquatic plants near the margin. 



Silpha opaca. This rare species is some- 

 times taken in the vicinity of Nottingham, in 

 this and the two following months. 



Coccinella septem-punctata, or Lady-bird, is 

 associated with the remembrance of almost 

 every country ramble, and is welcomed with 

 rapture by every child who has heard the 

 nursery air of 



Lady-bird ! lady-bird ! fly away home : 



Thy house is on fire, thy children will burn ! etc. 



It is an insect that deserves the protection of 

 every gardener and lover of plants, its food 

 being the various species of aphides, those 

 destroyers and disfigurers of our hot-houses 

 and gardens. The whole genus is subject to 

 great variation; so much so, that it is impos- 

 sible to determine the species without carefully 

 collecting couples. 



Tenebrio Molitor. The larvae (commonly 

 called meal-worms) of this domestic beetle form 

 the favourite food of the nightingale when in 

 confinement. - 



