296 INSECT ARTIZANS AND THEIR WORK 



seven are known to the collector of British beetles 

 — and a common species may frequently be seen 

 in spring dragging its bloated blue-black body 

 across country paths. It is probably a female 

 seeking for a favourable spot in which to deposit 

 her eggs. These she plants in batches in holes in 

 the ground, and it is calculated that her total out- 

 put of eggs amounts to about ten thousand. 



Now, seeing that these beetles exude an unplea- 

 sant oil-like yellow secretion from their joints 

 which renders them objectionable to creatures 

 that feed upon insects, there does not at first sight 

 appear to be any need for such lavish fruitfulness. 

 What becomes of this progeny ? The Oil Beetles 

 are not insects that appear in swarms. It is estim- 

 ated that only one in a thousand gets beyond the 

 first larval stage. We should say that the estimate 

 is too high, for we do not find the species any 

 more plentiful to-day than we found it forty years 

 ago. What becomes of the nine thousand nine 

 hundred and ninety-odd will appear, and give 

 point to Tennyson's lines on Nature : 



" So careful of the type, she seems ; 

 So careless of the single life." 



The Oil Beetle's eggs hatch and give origin to 

 larvae that have little likeness to the usual types 

 of beetle-grubs. They have six long legs, and are 

 quite active little runners and climbers. They are 

 long-bodied, but this length only extends to about 

 one-tenth of an inch. As soon as they have escaped 



