238 OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS. 



out ; nor, on the supposition of their having 

 worked deeper (being full-fed and ready to undergo 

 their metamorphosis), was there any apparent in- 

 crease of numbers of the perfect insect when mid- 

 summer arrived. 



When flakes of grass are torn up beneath which 

 these grubs are at work, the latter are found lying 

 upon their sides, with the abdomen coiled upon 

 itself; and it appears to be in this position that they 

 feed, eating their way along from root to root. In 

 the above instance, they were observed continuing 

 their havoc in this manner till the 18th of November ; 

 after which they retired from the surface, and went 

 deeper into the ground, and were no longer seen. 



These grubs (or one of a very similar kind) are not 

 unfrequently destructive in the kitchen -gar den, 

 attacking particularly the young lettuces of autumn 

 growth, which are intended to stand the winter. 

 Wherever this is the case, the plants wither and die 

 without any apparent cause, till they are pulled up ; 

 when they often separate just at the crown of the 

 root, where the grub may be found actively at work, 

 and which part it seems particularly to select. 



WHITE has observed^ that glow-worms appear to 

 " put out their lamps between eleven and twelve, 

 and to shine no more for the rest of the night." 

 This is certainly not always the case ; as some which 



* Lampyris noctiluca, Linn. f Nat. Cal. p. 118. 



