110 APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY 



into the ground during hot or dry weather, beyond reach by cultivation. 

 In such cases planting early in the season and forcing the plants ahead by 

 fertilizers and frequent cultivation are helpful. As the underground 

 feeding period of these insects is from 3 to 6 years, proper treatment 

 for a single season will at best give only partial relief, and to obtain the 

 most successful control the special habits of the particular species 

 concerned should be ascertained, and control measures to correspond 

 be adopted. Various methods for the protection of planted seed have 

 been tried but the results have not agreed in all cases and further 

 studies along this line are needed. 



The Elateridse is one of the most important groups of beetles from an 



economic standpoint, and injurious species occur practically everywhere 



in the United States. Several hundred kinds are known in this country. 



Family Scarabseidae (Lamellicorn beetles). This is a very large 



and important family of beetles, containing many pests. The antennae 



in this group have several of the terminal segments 

 large, flattened, and broader on one side, movable 

 but generally carried close together. The insects 

 are stout and rather short in most cases, and 

 the elytra usually do not cover the entire 

 abdomen. 



Based on their habits, two sections of the 

 family can be distinguished: the scavengers 

 which both as larvae and adults feed on decaying 

 matter; and the leaf chafers which as adults 

 generally consume leaves or flowers, and whose 



FIG. 101. Egyptian larvae occur in the ground feeding on roots, or 



carving of a Secarabaeus. , i 



(Original.) m decaying wood. 



The Scavengers, though they may be con- 

 sidered as beneficial, are not of great importance, but some species 

 because of their peculiar habits have ' attracted attention for centuries. 

 The habit referred to is that shown by some of the so-called " Tumble- 

 bugs" in connection with egg laying. A pair of these beetles will to- 

 gether form a little dung into a ball which they then begin to roll over 

 the ground, often for a long distance. Finally they bury it in the 

 ground after an egg has been laid upon it, thus providing partially 

 decomposed food for the larva. The Sacred beetle or Scarabseus of 

 the Egyptians was one of the insects of this group (Fig. 101) and has 

 been preserved in their drawings and carvings as a symbolic record 

 of their beliefs. The leaf chafers form the larger part of the family. 

 Among them are a number of serious pests. 



The June Bugs or May Beetles (Phyllophaga and other genera). 

 This is a group of beetles quite similar both in appearance and habits. 

 The adults are generally dark brown and rather glossy above, from half 



