INSECTS ai-fecti.\h; park anu woodland trees 485 



Owl beetle 

 .l/d/is oculatiis Linn. 



A large, rather stout, hlatk, wliiii-niarkid l)eetlc, 1^2 inches long, bearing two 

 cons])icuous tyelike spots, is frfqucnlly met u iili in decaying wood. 



1 hcrr arc a number of insects broiiulit to the; attention of the ento- 

 mologists from \far to year on account of some peculiarity and such is the 

 case with iliis species. Its conspicuous eyelike spots on the prothorax 

 excite the attention of e\en the most casual observer, and as the beetle is 

 not very common, most specimens oljservetl are captured, and are very 

 likely to find their wa\- into the hands of some entomologist. 



1 his species cannot be considered injurious, since it occurs only in 

 tlecaying wood, and the t)bservations of Dr Lugger would seem to indicate 

 that it can lie classed among our beneficial species. He has found in his 

 own experience that it was impossible to rear the larvae or grubs, unless 

 they were provided with living insects which they soon found and devoured. 



Description. This large snapping beetle ma)' be easily recognized by 

 reference to plate 39, figure 2, which shows it about natural size and repre- 

 sents the ajjpearance of a well marked inciividual. The conspicuous eyelike 

 spots are found only in one other native beetle, a very rare species. This 

 insect is representative of a very large family, members of which possess 

 the power of projecting themselves upward suddenly by the means of a 

 peculiar springing apparatus on the ventral surface. A stout spine on the 

 thorax projects back in a socket in the abdomen and b\- bending its body 

 backwards, the beetle can raise its spine and rest it on the edge of the 

 socket, and then with a sudden muscular exertion, spring it back into the 

 cavity. The result is that the beetle is thrown into the air to a hight sev- 

 eral times its length. This device is apparently for no other purpose than 

 to enable the insect to regain its feet, evidently very usefid, since this beetle 

 and its allies are nearly helpless whenever they fall on their back. This 

 peculiar snapping has led to these insects being called snapping or click 

 beetles, and the entire family, which is composed of a large number of 

 forms, are known to scientists as Elateridae. 



