BEETLE 



662 



BEGONIA 



Outline and Questions on 

 the Beetle 



I. Variety of Species 



(1) Most numerous of Insects; 150,000 



species 



(2) Over 12,000 species in North Amer- 



ica 



(3) Various sizes, shapes and colors 



II. Distinctive Characteristics 



(1) Strong mouth parts 



(2) Sheath-wings 



(3) Protective, horny covering 



III. Life History 



(1) Complete metamorphosis 



(a) Egg 



(b) Larva 



(c) Pupa 



(d) Fully developed beetle 



(2) Habits 



(a) Food 



(b) Harmful beetles 



(c) Helpful beetles 



Questions 



Why do young collectors find beetles 

 attractive objects of study? 



Why should chHdren be taught not 

 to kill ladybirds? 



What characteristic of beetles is 

 shown in their common name? In 

 their scientific name? 



Sketch the life history of a beetle. 



Why do not birds find beetles desir- 

 able food? 



What shows the adaptability of these 

 insects? 



What is meant by a "complete meta- 

 morphosis" ? 



What European beetle has been 

 brought to America and carefully cul- 

 tivated here? Why? 



About how many species are there in 

 the United States and Canada? 



What great difference is there be- 

 tween the larva existence of a beetle 

 and that of a butterfly? 



Are beetles on the whole harmful or 

 helpful? 



How long does the pupa stay in its 

 cocoon ? 



Name four important species of 

 beetle. 



With how many of those listed here 

 are you familiar? 



Do all species of beetles eat the same 

 kind of food? 



In what country was the scarab 

 looked upon as sacred? 



What peculiar habit has given the 

 burying beetle its name? 



beetles are the ladybird, which feeds upon 

 plant lice and thus saves many a garden plant 

 from destruction, and the European Calosoma 

 beetle, which both as larva and as winged 

 adult preys on the destructive larvae of the 

 gypsy moth. Into certain sections of North 

 America which are particularly troubled with 

 gypsy moths this European beetle has been 

 introduced, and has proved a most effective 

 preventive measure. On the whole, however, 

 beetles do more harm than good. M.S. 



Related Subjects. The best-known species 

 of beetles are treated in these volumes under 

 the following headings : 



Blister Beetle 

 Burying Beetle 

 Carpet Beetle 

 Click Beetle 

 Cockchafer 

 Death watch 

 Grain Beetle 

 Hercules Beetle 



June Bug 

 Ladybird 

 Potato Bug 

 Scarab 

 Stag Beetle 

 Water Beetle 

 Weevil 



BEGIN, bay' zhaN, Louis NAZAIRE, Cardinal 

 (1840- ), a Canadian Roman Catholic 

 prelate, archbishop of Quebec, and created 

 cardinal on May 25, 1914, at the last con- 

 sistory held by Pope Pius X. Cardinal Begin 

 was born at Lewis, Que., attended the sem- 

 inary of Quebec, was graduated from Laval 

 University in 1862, and after two years of 

 study at the French Seminary in Rome was 

 ordained a priest in 1865. He was for sixteen 

 years professor of theology at Laval Univer- 

 sity, and then for four years was the head 

 of the university's normal school. He became 

 bishop of Chicoutimi in 1881 and archbishop 

 of Quebec in 1898. In addition to the dis- 

 tinction which his position gives him, Cardinal 

 Begin is known as a writer on religious topics. 

 Among his books are The Rule of Faith, The 

 Infallibility of the Sovereign Pontiffs and The 

 Catholic Faith. 



BEGONIA, bego'nia, a group of juicy- 

 stemmed herbs which in temperate climates 

 are favorite house plants. Their fleshy, waxy 

 leaves, oddly one-sided, sometimes display 

 beautiful shades of color, and the flowers are 

 often showy. They have a waxy look, also. 

 and those of the common varieties range in 

 color from pink to deep red, one flower often 

 showing several shades. The carefully culti- 

 vated kinds grown in greenhouses sometimes 

 have wonderfully developed flowers, from four 

 to six inches in length and of the deepest 

 orange color. One advantage of begonias as 

 house plants is that they are easily grown 

 from "slips," either leaf or stem cuttings tak- 



