FOES AND FRIENDS OF THE PLANT 195 



BEETLES 



If we watch a ladybird about to fly, we see two hard 

 shiny covers lifted up from its back. From under 

 these come two soft transparent wings which unfold 

 and spread out ready for flight. Presently it flies, and 

 the moment it alights, the delicate wings are drawn 

 under the hard covers and tucked in out of harm's 

 way. The hard covers are really a pair of wings. They 

 are for the protection of the wings which do the flying. 

 This is so with all beetles. They really have two pairs 

 of wings, like moths and butterflies, but use one pair 

 for flying, the other for protection. 



If you look at the head of a beetle, you see that it- 

 has not a long tongue like a butterfly or moth. Instead, 

 it has strong jaws, with which to bite and gnaw. The 

 eggs laid by the beetles hatch out into worms (often 

 called grubs), which sometimes look very much like 

 those of butterflies and moths. After eating and grow- 

 ing for a time the worm or grub turns into a pupa. This 

 does not have a cocoon, as some moth pupas do. The 

 pupa finally changes into a beetle. 



Wire worm. When you dig in the ground, youjpften see 



brown worms looking like bits of rusty wire. This is the wire- 

 worm, which feeds on the roots of plants for a year or more 

 before becoming a beetle. The beetle is known as the click 

 beetle or snapping beetle, because when it is placed on its back 

 it springs into the air with a snap and comes down right side up. 



