246 HEMIPTERA. 



tender herbaceous plants cannot be treated in this way, but 

 may sometimes be revived, when suffering from these hidden 

 foes, by free and frequent watering with soapsuds. 



Plant-lice would undoubtedly be much more abundant 

 and destructive, if they were not kept in check by certain re- 

 doubtable enemies of the insect kind, which seem expressly 

 created to diminish their numbers. These lice-destroyers 

 are of three sorts. The first are the young or larvae of the 

 hemispherical beetles familiarly known by the name of lady- 

 birds, and scientifically by that of Coccinella. These little 

 beetles are generally yellow or red, with black spots, or, 

 black, with wliite, red, or yellow spots ; there are many kinds 

 of them, and they are very common and plentiful insects, 

 and are generally diffused among plants. They live, both in 

 the perfect and young state, upon plant-lice, and hence their 

 ^ services are very considerable. Their young are 

 j small flattened grubs (Fig. 93) of a bluish or 

 \Xj blue-black color, spotted usually with red or yel- 

 f^Ki low, and furnished with six legs near the fore 

 I part of the body. They are hatched from little 

 yellow eggs, laid in clusters among the plant- 

 lice, so that they find themselves at once within 

 reach of their prey, which, from their superior strength, 

 they are enabled to seize and slaughter in great numbers. 



In July, 1848, a friend sent to me a whole brood of 

 lady-bird grubs, which, being found upon potato-vines, were 

 thought by some of his neighbors to be the cause of the 

 rot. In a few weeks the grubs were transformed to beetles, 

 p^ 94 about as big as half a pea, and having nine 



"> black dots on their dull orange-colored wing- 

 ^A^ shells. Hence they derive their name of 

 \j) Coccinella novemnotata, (Fig. 94, pupa and 



imago, and Plate II. Fig. 4,) the nine-dot- 

 te d Coccinella. It need hardly be added, 

 that these little insects were wholly innocent 

 of all offence to the plants, upon which, when infested with 



