122 NATURAL HISTORY. 



fuls of water are poured ; this is repeated as often as the 

 composition becomes dry. It is kept damp but not wet, 

 as too much moisture would kill the worms, the pot 

 placed in a moderately warm spot, and disturbed as 

 little as possible. 



3. GROUND BEETLES. 



These are mostly large, with arched oval bodies ; the 

 head is broad, the thorax elongated, thighs broad and ser- 

 rated ; the tarsi are five-jointed, and the wings lammel- 

 ate. They are fitted with hard skins and feet, suitable 

 for digging, lay their eggs in manure or mold, on which 

 the larvae subsist for a long time before their transforma- 

 tion ; some, however, feed on leaves and flowers. 



The Pencil (trichius nobilis) resembles the gold bug, 

 but is smaller and more globular. This beetle lives in 

 umbelliferous plants, the larvae in the fungi or decayed 

 portions of plum trees. In April they enclose themselves 

 in a ball made of earth and rotten wood, from whence, 

 in the space of four weeks, they come out as a perfected 

 insect. 



The Gold Buy (cetonia aurata) is nearly an inch 

 long, of a brilliant green and gold color, with fine white 

 marks on the elytra. It is common in our gardens, 

 where, found on roses, it is called the rose beetle. It 

 lays its eggs in hollows of trees, principally, however, in 

 places where wood is decaying. The larvae are often met 

 with in anthills. The larva makes for itself a ball of 

 earth and decayed wood, cementing it together with an 

 adhesive substance secreted by itself, and which causes it 

 to become so hard that it can only be opened with diffi- 

 culty. Enclosed within this structure the creature under- 



