334 BRECK'S BOOK OF FLOWERS. 



trees and shrubs, garden vegetables and corn, and even the 

 trees of the forest and the grass of the fields, have been laid 

 under contribution by these indiscriminate feeders, by whom 

 leaves, flowers, and fruits, are alike consumed. The unex- 

 pected arrival of these insects in swarms, at their first coming, 

 and their sudden disappearance, at the close of their career, are 

 remarkable facts in their history. They come forth from the 

 ground during the second week in June, or about the time of 

 the blossoming of the Damask Rose, and remain from thirty to 

 forty days. At the end of this period the males become ex- 

 hausted, fall to the ground, and perish, while the females enter 

 the earth, lay their eggs, return to the surface, and, after linger- 

 ing a few days, die also. -The eg^s laid by each female are 

 about thirty in number, and are deposited from one to four 

 inches beneath the surface of the soil. They are nearly glob- 

 ular, whitish, and about one thirtieth of an inch in diameter, 

 and are hatched twenty days after they are laid. The young 

 larvce begin to feed on such tender roots as are within their 

 reach. Like other grubs of the Scarabasians, when not eating, 

 they lie upon the side, with the body curved so that the head 

 and tail are nearly in contact. They move with difficulty on a 

 level surface, and are continually falling over on one side 

 or the other. They attain their full size in the autumn, being 

 then nearly three quarters of an inch long, and about an eighth 

 of an inch in diameter. They are of a yellowish-white color, 

 with a tinge of blue towards the hinder extremity, which is 

 thick and obtuse, or rounded ; a few short hairs are scattered 

 on the surface of the body ; there are six short legs, namely, a 

 pair to each of the first three rings behind the head ; and the 

 latter is covered with a horny shell of a pale rust color. In 

 October they descend below the reach of frost, and pass the 

 winter in a torpid state. In the spring they approach towards 

 the surface, and each one forms for itself a little cell, of an oval 

 shape, by turning round a great many times, so as to compress 

 the earth and render the inside of the cavity hard and smooth. 

 Within this cell the grub is transformed to a pupa, during the 



