INSECTA. 115 



fly by night from one pool to another, and feed ravenously 

 on putrid substances. 



The Great Swimmer (hydrophilus piceus) is more 

 than an inch and a half in length, of shining black; the 

 forelegs, mandibles, and feelers, which are knobbed, are 

 brown. These beetles swim and dive with great dexter- 

 ity, fly well, but run badly. The female has, under the 

 abdomen, two spinnerets, with which she fashions a cell or 

 case for her eggs ; with this provision her care is ended, 

 for, safely hidden within their silken boat, they float 

 lightly over the smooth or stagnant waters which they 

 inhabit until the time that nature calls them forth. 



2. PARASITE BEETLES. 



The Malacodermi or Soft-winged beetles have mostly 

 cylindrical bodies, with long, slender, and soft elytra ; 

 the head is round, and nearly hidden within the thorax ; 

 the antennae are short and simple. In the larvae state 

 they live in common with the greater part of mites as 

 parasites, on other insects as beetles feed on leaves and 

 buds, which serve them for food. 



The Glow Worm (lampyris noctiluca) is long and 

 flat; the female has no wings, and is therefore called 

 Glow or Light Worm. These beetles fly about the fields 

 and orchards at night, giving forth a phosphorescent 

 luster; the female lies in the grass, and illumines the 

 space around her. The male, scarcely four lines long, 

 and brownish, is seldom seen flying, and his light, that 

 he does not liberally dispense, is not clear. The female 

 is half an inch long, flat, and consisting of a number of 

 rings, resembles the common cellar worms ; has six feet, 

 but neither wings nor elytra, and is sometimes called 



