66 BRITISH INSECTS 



is very short, is accomplished in the autumn, and the 

 perfect insect remains quietly in the cocoon through- 

 out the winter and spring, emerging in June or July 

 of the succeeding year. We have two smaller species 

 of Lucanida in Britain, but the mandibles of their 

 males are not conspicuously developed. 



The second Lamellicorn family 1 includes the chafers, 

 dung-beetles, and rose-beetles. The most familiar 

 example is the cockchafer, or " May-bug," 2 a hand- 

 some insect, but unfortunately very destructive. The 

 larvae consume the roots of grass and cultivated crops, 

 and the adults eat the leaves of oaks and other trees. 

 The antennae of the male exhibit the " lamellated " 

 character in a marked degree, and are worthy of 

 close examination. The clubbed part is composed of 

 seven pieces, whereas in the female the corresponding, 

 but much smaller, plates number only six. 



The well-known rose-beetle 3 by no means confines 

 itself to the flower whose name it bears, but attacks 

 and devours the leaves and blossoms of many plants, 

 including raspberries and strawberries, while it has 

 been known to strip whole rows of broad beans and 

 currant bushes. The larvae occasionally devour living 

 roots, but they seem usually to feed on decaying 

 vegetable matter, and may often be found in heaps of 

 leaf mould. They form compact, oval cocoons of 

 earth or wood-chips before changing to the pupa. It 

 is interesting to note that a closely allied rose-beetle 4 

 is found in ants' nests. 



The dung-beetles 5 are of considerable economic im- 

 portance. Probably the best known is the " dumble- 



1 Scarab&ida , 2 Melolontha vulgaris. 



3 Cftonia aurata. * C. floricola. 



6 A sub-family of the Scarabaidce. 



