262 OUR INSECT FRIENDS AND FOES 



vary in different localities from a dirty brown to 

 a sooty black. From the toughness of their 

 skin, the larvae often go by the name of 

 " Leather-jackets" in agricultural districts. The 

 larvae change to the pupal stage beneath the 

 surface of the soil, the abdomen of the pupa 

 being furnished with short spines which enable 

 it to push its way upwards until the upper half 

 of its body stands above the surface of the 

 ground. The tough skin of the pupa then splits 

 down the back, and the familiar perfect fly with 

 its long slender legs and two wings makes its 

 escape. 



In the Daddy-longlegs, we have a foe who 

 is very difficult to combat by artificial means, 

 owing to the subterranean life of the larvae. 

 But we have many natural allies who, if 

 encouraged and permitted, would render in- 

 valuable aid in keeping in check the depredations 

 of the Daddy-longlegs' larvae. Rooks, starlings, 

 lapwings, or peewits as they are called in some 

 districts, gulls, and many other birds, devour 

 the Leather-jacket larvae in a wholesale fashion, 

 and will clear the land of these destructive 

 insects far more thoroughly than is possible 

 by any artificial means at our disposal. Indeed, 

 the serious infestation of land is invariably the 

 result of the wanton or thoughtless destruction 

 of these natural foes of the Daddy-longlegs. 



Many members of the great order Coleoptera, 

 the Beetles, cause a vast amount of damage to 

 different crops. Of the harm done by the 

 Turnip Flea Beetle we have already gained some 

 insight. A group of beetles which in some 



