COMMON BRITISH INSECTS. 



practically wanting, though an entomologist's eye can 

 always detect them in a rudimentary form. The 

 wings and elytra, together with other portions of the 

 Beetle, will presently be figured and described. 



The changes, or metamorphoses, of the Beetles, 

 though singularly interesting, are not easily seen, as 

 Beetle larvae require food which is, as a rule, not easily 

 procured, and in many cases is so noisome that few 

 persons would like to meddle with it. A great 

 number are carnivorous, feeding upon various living 

 creatures, so that to supply them properly with food 

 is next to impossible ; while, as the majority of them 

 pass two years or more in the larval state, the process 

 of rearing them is tedious as well as difficult. 



All who have bred silkworms, or have been in the 

 habit of watching insects when at liberty, are familiar 

 with the appearance of the three principal forms 

 assumed by the moths and butterflies in their differ- 

 ent stages of growth the caterpillar, with its soft, 

 cylindrical, ringed body, the pupa or chrysalis, 

 covered with a hard, shelly case, and the perfect 

 insect, with its beautiful wings. Now, although the 

 Beetles pass through similar changes, they do not 

 assume similar forms. The larva of the Beetle is, like 

 that of the moth or butterfly caterpillar, soft and 

 ringed, and sometimes so resembles the caterpillar 

 that the two may easily be confounded by anyone un- 

 skilled in entomology. Figures of the larvae will be 

 given in connection with the different species. 



Thus far the Beetle and moth bear some resem- 

 blance to each other, but when they come to assume 

 the pupal form, they are so dissimilar that no one 



