FR O G— BEE TLES 



239 



century, but has existed in England from prehistoric times. On the Continent 

 it ascends the mountains up to 9000 feet. In the plains this frog is the first 

 of its kindred to awake from hibernation, when it immediately enters the water 

 for pairing and spawning, leaving it in April for the land, on which it spends the 

 greater part of its life. In autumn it again enters the water, to bury itself in the 

 mud for the winter. On land it progresses in long leaps, on the look-out all the 

 time for the creeping and flying- creatures on which it feeds, and for its numerous 

 enemies. The frog is not a noisy creature, its croak being a sort of grunt, 

 generally uttered singly at long intervals, and then only in the pairing-season. 

 During its summer-life on land it remains silent unless it be suddenly caught by 

 the hind-legs, when it utters a long, plaintive wail. 



Golden Ground- Passing on to the insects, we find numerous species more or less 



Beetle, etc. exclusively inhabitants of the fields, foremost among them being 



many beetles, especially those of the five-jointed section. The ground -beetles of 



1 



,-, 



-^„$H- 



THE GREEN TIliER-BEETLE. 



the family Carabidce, which live mostly on clay-soil, are represented in central 

 Europe by the golden ground-beetle {Gardbvis auratus), a very common species 

 with gold-green wing-covers, blue -black abdomen, and red legs. It feeds 

 exclusively on living animals. Another representative of the same group is 

 the corn-runner (Zabrus gibbus), which is about half an inch long, with a black 

 cylindrical body, pitchy red legs and antenna?, and wing-covers marked by 

 small spots and striations. This beetle does much damage in cornfields, its larva 



eating the leaves, and the full-grown beetle i' ling on the grain. 



The beautiful and swift tiger-beetles (Cicindelidce), which frequent 

 ' dry sandy places, shine like metal on the lower side of their bodies. 

 They fly in jerks and feed on living insects. Their larvae, which dig deep holes in 

 the ground, are as voracious as their parents, and do not even spare their fellows. 



Tiger-Beetle, etc. 



