32 

 LIFE HISTORY AND HABITS. 



The beetle appears in May and June and flies in the 

 evening. The female lays her eggs in the ground, 

 choosing dry soil, and deposits them to a depth of often 

 8 inches. The ova are creamy white and about the size 

 of a hemp seed. The grubs are creamy white, thick and 

 fleshy, the tail end being swollen into a semi-transparent 

 bladder-like sac, the head is large and horny with strong 

 jaws and there are six jointed legs in front. They lie in 

 a curved position and when mature reach if inches in 

 length. Three years are passed in the soil before they 

 become mature. When full grown they burrow deep 

 into the earth and form an oval chamber, in which they 

 change to the pupal condition. The beetles hatch out 

 some little time before they escape from the soil. Thus 

 we get these chafers appearing every fourth year. 



The Summer Chafer (Rhizotrogus solstitialis). 



The small or summer chafer also attacks Roses. 

 It is much smaller, only being two-thirds of an inch 

 long and of a general reddish-brown colour and slightly 

 hairy (Plate V., Fig. 4). It appears in June and July. 

 The grubs are very similar to the former, but smaller, 

 and can be told by the different sculpturing on their 

 mandibles. The grubs live two years. 



The Garden Chafer (Phyllopertha horticola). 



This is quite a different beetle from both the former 

 and in parts of Britain, notably Wales, is more frequent 

 than either of the preceding on Rose bushes. It varies 

 from a little under to a little over half-an-inch in length. 

 The front part of the body is metallic greenish colour, 



