506 



THE MICROSCOPE. 



by means of a gummy substance, that it might be easier 

 opened at any other part than at this toothed edge. As 



soon as the young- 

 are hatched, and 

 have quitted the 

 egg, they emit a fluid 

 from their mouths, 

 by which is softened 

 the cement that 

 united the two lay- 

 ers of the capsule 

 together, and thus 

 contrive to open the 

 door of their prison- 

 house. 



Melolontha vul- 

 garis, Cockchafer, 

 being very abundant 

 in our island, it has 



Fig. 260.-Jffc and Female Blatta Orientate. receiyed ft var iety of 



names in different parts of the country ; as the brown tree- 

 beetle, blind-beetle, May-bug, chaffer, May-bob, or oak- 

 web, jack-horner, jeffry-cock, and acre-bob. Its larva is 

 soft and grey, with the head and legs protected by a 

 horny covering of a yellow-brown colour. While in the 

 larva state, which continues for a space of two or three 



Fig. 261. Melolontha Vulgaris, Cockchafer. 



years, it devours the roots of corn, grass, and other 

 vegetables. 



Their eggs are laid in small detached heaps, beneath the 

 surface of some clod ; and the young, when first hatched, 

 are scarcely more than one-eighth of an inch in length, 



