176 REPORT UPON COTTON INSECTS. 



They, without doubt, served a good purpose in assisting the thorough fer- 

 tilization of the flower. This beetle is about three-quarters of an inch in 

 length, with black head, eyes, legs, and antennae. The thorax and wing- 

 cases are orange-yellow, with a large dark spot in the center of the thorax, 

 and a broad black stripe down the center of each wing-case, thus leaving 

 a narrow margin of orange-yellow all around. The yellow-margined sol- 

 dier-beetle (Chauliognatlms marginatus] was found by Mr. 

 Glover to take the place of the Pennsylvania soldier-beetle 

 in Florida. This insect (Fig. 26) is about half an inch in 

 length, and may be distinguished from the former species 

 by the head and lower part of the thighs being orange. The 

 harm done by the adults is slight, if any, and the good 

 3? ' * " accomplished by the larvae is probably considerable. We 



FIG. 26. c. mar- have no definite report of their having been observed to 

 giuatus. destroy either the eggs or the young of the cotton-moth, 

 yet from their well-known proclivities they probably do so, and from the 

 numbers in which the adults occur, we can readily suppose that no 

 small amount of good is done in this way. At all events, the soldier- 

 beetles should not be destroyed. 



LADY-BIRDS, OR LADY-BUGS (Coleopt., family CoccinelMae.) The 

 "lady- birds" are better known, perhaps, than any other family of beetles. 

 They are small, round, and hemispherical, usually red, yellow, or black, 

 with spots of one or the other of these colors. All are carnivorous ex- 

 cept Epilaclma. The eggs are usually long, yellow, and oval, and are 

 laid in patches, often in the midst of a group of plant-lice, which the 

 newly-hatched larvae greedily devour. The larvae (see Fig. 29) are long, 

 soft-bodied, rather pointed toward the end, and are quite active. The 

 jaws are small and inconspicuous. They are often quite gaily colored, 

 and covered with scattered tubercles, spines, or tufts of hair. They attain 

 their full growth in three to four weeks. When about to transform to 

 pupae they attach themselves by the end of the body to a leaf or twig, 

 and either throw off the old larva skin, which remains around the tail, 

 or retain it around the pupa for a protection. The pupa (Fig. 27), is 

 small and rounded, simulating the true beetle. The perfect insect comes 

 forth in about a week. The larvae feed upon plant-lice and other small 

 insects, of which they destroy immense numbers. The adult beetles 

 also destroy other insects, although in lesser number than the larvae. 

 Quite a number of species of the lady-birds arc found in 

 the cotton fields doing good work, a few of the most com- 

 mon of which we figure and briefly describe. 



Coccinella novemnotafa, Herbst. (Fig. 27 and pupa), is 

 light yellowish-red in color, and may at once be distin- 

 guished by the nine black spots upon its wing-covers, ar- 

 FIG. 27. Cocci- ranged as shown in the figure, four upon each wing-cover, 

 nella 9-notata. tue two ^^^ ones \ )e mgthe larger, and one in front on the 

 middle line. Coccinella munda (Fig. 28) is a smaller species of precisely 



