COCKCHAFER. 



99 



Only too familiar to many of us is the common 

 COCKCHAFER (Melolontha vulgaris}. The insect is so 

 well known that a detailed description is scarcely 

 necessary. The peculiar bent projection at the end 

 of the abdomen is worthy of notice, as are the rows of 

 triangular white spots along its sides. There is a 

 greyish down on the breast, and the elytra are covered 

 with a yellowish down. Unless the insect have quite 

 newly emerged from the pupal state and been handled 

 very carefully, the down is sure to be rubbed off, and 

 the beauty of the specimen greatly impaired ; so that 

 a really perfect specimen even of so common a Beetle 

 is worth preserving. 



The life history of this insect demands a brief 

 notice. The female deposits her eggs in the ground , 

 where in due time they 

 are hatched, and straight- 

 way begin to feed upon 

 the roots of grass, which 

 form the chief part of 

 their diet. They remain 

 in the ground for three 

 years, continually de- 

 stroying grass roots, and 

 increasing to a wonder- 

 ful size ; so large and 

 fat, indeed, that their 

 tightened skin seems 

 scarcely able to hold its 

 contents. The quantity of roots consumed by one of 

 these insects is very great ; and in some places they 

 have so completely destroyed the grass, that the turf 



Melolontha vulgaris, larva (thre 

 parts grown). 



