INSECTS. 83 



of the soil ; they are nearly globular, whitish and about one thir- 

 tieth of an inch in diameter, and are hatched twenty (.ays afttr 

 they are laid. The young larvae begin to feed on such tetder roots 

 as are within their reach. 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 con- 

 tinually falling over on one side' or the other. They attain their 

 full size in the autumn, being then three-quarters of an inch long, 

 and about an eighth of an inch in diameter. They are of a yel- 

 lowish white color, with a tinge of blue towards the hinder ex- 

 tremity, 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 turn- 

 ing 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 month of May, by 

 casting off its skin, which is pushed downwards in folds from the 

 head to the tail. The pupa has somewhat the form of the perfected 

 beetle ; but it is of a yellowish white color, and its short stump-like 

 wings, its antennae, and its legs are folded upon the breast, and its 

 whole body is enclosed in a thin film, that wraps each part sepa- 

 rately. During the month of June this filmy skin is rent, the in- 

 sluded beetle withdraws from it its body and its limbs, bursts open 

 its earthen cell, and digs its way to the surface of the ground. Thus 

 the various changes, from the egg to the full development of the 

 perfected beetle, are completed within the space of one year. 



Such being the metamorphoses and habits of these insects, it is 

 evident that we cannot attack them in the egg, the grub, or the 

 pupa state; the enemy, in these stages, is beyond our reach. 

 When they appear as bugs they must be crushed, scalded, or 

 burned, to deprive them of life, for they are not affected by any of 

 the applications usually found destructive to other insects. Expe- 

 rience has proved the utility of gathering them by hand, or of sha- 

 king them or brushing them from the plants into tin vessels con- 

 taining a little water. They should be collected daily during the 

 period of their visitation, and should be committed to the flames, 

 or killed by scalding water. 



