4oa 



OF THE BEETLE AND ITS VARIETIES. 



Hitherto we have been treating of insects with 

 four transparent wings; we now come to a tribe with 

 only two, and these are inclosed in cases when the ani- 

 mal is at rest, though they are capable of being ex- 

 tended when it takes its flight. The principal of these 

 is the beetle, the May-bug, and the cantharis: all these, 

 like the rest of their order, are first produced from 

 eggs, they then become grubs, then a chrysalis, in 

 which the parts of the future fly are distinctly seen ; 

 and, lastly, the animal leaves its prison in full matu- 

 ritv, and tit for ilight. 



■ Of the beetle there are various kinds, but all concur 

 in the common formation of having coverings or cases 

 to their wings, which are necessary to all the species, 

 from their residence being formed beneath the surface 

 of the earth, in holes which, by industry, they burrow 

 many inehes in the ground : there is likewise a great 

 difference in the form, the colour, and the size of these 

 animals, some being scarcely larger than the head of a 

 pin, whilst others are nearly as big as a moderate man's 

 fist. Some of the race are produced in the space of a 

 month, and in a single season pass through all the stages 

 of their existence; whilst others remain in a state of a 

 worm upwards of three years, and during that period 

 commit the utmost devastation upon the root of every 

 plant that is to be found. 



The May-bug, in particular, is so destructive to ve- 

 getation, that, unless they were devoured by birds and 

 hogs, not any thing would thrive; and the farmers in 

 Norfolk are often so completely injured by them, that 

 they are absolutely unable to pay their rents. The fe- 

 male always bores a hole in the earth as a depository for 

 her eggs ; and it is generally three months before they 

 are endowed with animation, or the little grub discovers 



