THE CHAFER BEETLES 



latter worthy of examination under a lens. The creamy- 

 white eggs are deposited in batches in the ground, and 

 the soft fleshy grubs are greyish- white, with hard brown 

 heads, and long legs. When brought above ground, 

 the grub is inactive, and curls its body inwards. It is 



fiq IT 





the Summer Chafer {Rhizotrogus solstitialis), a smaller 

 species than the foregoing, that occurs more or less 

 regularly every season, as its life cycle only takes a year 

 to complete. It is mostly on the wing in July. 



The Garden Chafer {Phyllopertha horticola), is a day- 

 flier, and often in large numbers. It is the smallest 

 of the four, and is green and reddish-brown in colour. 

 The larva does harm to grass land, and the adults pay 

 attention to the foliage of beans, peas, roses, turnips, 

 etc. 



The pretty Rose Chafer {Cetonia aurata), is bright 

 green, marked with white on the wing-cases. It flies 

 during May and June on bright days, and unfortunately 

 does damage to the flowers and foliage of raspberries, 



47 



