THE BEETLES 



139 



adults feed on many of our most noxious insects, ground-beetles 

 must rank among the farmer's best friends. The larvae live in the 

 ground, or in places similar to those of the adults, and are also pre- 

 dacious. The larvae are elongate, the body tapering slightly at either 

 end, with the strong jaws projecting in front and two bristly append- 

 ages at the tip of the abdomen. ^ Our largest common species is the 

 searcher (Calosoma scrutator"), whose wing-covers are a beautiful 

 green or violet, mar- 

 gined with reddish, and 

 whose body is marked 

 with blue, gold, green, 

 and copper. It fre- 

 quently ascends trees in 

 search of caterpillars, 

 and, with nearly related 

 species, often does good 

 work in destroying large 

 numbers of them when 

 they become overabun- 

 dant. A European spe- 

 cies of this genus has 

 recently been imported 

 into Massachusetts to 

 prey upon the gypsy- 

 moth caterpillars. A 

 medium-sized species 

 with yellowish-red head 

 and thorax and bright 



blue wing-COVerS (Lebia (After Howard, United States Department of Agriculture) 



grandis) (Fig. 195) has 



made a name for itself as an enemy of the eggs and larvae of the 

 Colorado potato-beetle. Our most common species are from one 

 fourth to one half an inch long, either shining black or with 

 greenish, bluish, or coppery reflections, and very frequently fly to 

 lights in considerable numbers. Their larvae feed on soft-bodied 

 insects which go into the ground to pupate, such as the plum 

 curculio and others, while the larger ones are among the most 

 important enemies of cutworms and various caterpillars. 



FIG. 193. European ground-beetle (Calosoma 



syccphanta) imported to prey on the gypsy 



and brown-tail moths 



