148 HISTORY OF 



their production, and live as winged insects a year 

 more. To give the history of all these animals, 

 that are bred pretty much in the same way, would 

 be insipid and endless; it will suffice to select 

 one or two from the number, the origin of which 

 may serve as specimens of the rest. I will, there- 

 fore, offer the history of the May-bug to the 

 reader's attention, premising, that most other 

 beetles, though not so long-lived, are bred in the 

 same manner. 



The May-bug or Dorr-beetle, as some call it, 

 has, like all the rest, a pair of cases to its wings, 

 which are of a reddish-brown colour, sprinkled 

 with a whitish dust, which easily comes off. In 

 some years their necks are seen covered with a 

 red plate, and in others with a black ; these, how- 

 ever, are distinct sorts, and their difference is by 

 no means accidental. The fore-legs are very short, 

 and the better calculated for burrowing in the 

 ground, where this insect makes its retreat. It is 

 well known for its evening buzz to children, but 

 still more formidably introduced to the acquaint- 

 ance of husbandmen and gardeners ; for in some 

 seasons it has been found to swarm in such num- 

 bers, as to eat up every vegetable production. 



The two sexes in the May-bug are easily dis- 

 tinguished from each other, by the superior length 

 of the tufts at the end of the horns in the male. 

 They begin to copulate in summer, and at that 

 season they are seen joined together for a con- 

 siderable time. The female being impregnated, 

 quickly falls to boring a hole in the ground, where 

 to deposit her burden. This is generally about 



