474 WEEVILS. 



could fix a Cantharis on their hook, it proved to be a very effectual bait for fish, the chub 

 seeming particularly fond of this very stimulating food. The common hedgehog has been 

 known to eat these insects with impunity. 



THE second figure represents an insect belonging to the same family, and very common 

 in England. It popularly goes by the appropriate name of OIL BEETLE, because, when 

 handled, it has the property of pouring a yellowish oily fluid from the joints of its legs. 



As may be seen by reference to the illustration, the abdomen is extremely large 

 in proportion to the rest of the body, and the short diverging elytra descend but a very 

 little way below the thorax. Insects of this genus especially the males, where the 

 elytra are longer than in the other sex are used by unprincipled druggists for the purpose 

 of mixing with the true blister fly, which they resemble sufficiently to deceive an inex- 

 perienced eye. In some parts of the world, however, they are always employed in 

 connexion with the blister beetle, or even used instead of that insect. The oily matter 

 that is poured from the joints is considered in some countries to be a specific for 

 rheumatism, and is expressed from the insect for medicinal purposes. 



The Oil Beetle is represented of the natural size, and its colour is dull indigo blue. 



A FEW other insects of this family are rather remarkable in their habits. One of these 

 is the SITAEIS, the larva of which is found in the nests of several of the mason bees 

 (Anihopliora and Osmid) and the general opinion of naturalists is that they feed upon 

 the larvae of those insects. Some, however, think that their only object in this intrusion, 

 is to eat the provision of pollen that has been laid up for the young bee. 



IT is of course impossible in a work of so limited an extent to give more than 

 an outline of each class of animals. Before proceeding to the insects which are figured 

 in the next illustration, we will casually notice a few of the more interesting species 

 belonging to the intermediate families. 



The MEAL-WORM, so well known to bird-fanciers as a wholesome diet for nightingales 

 and other birds ; to millers, for its ravages among the grain ; and to sailors, for its 

 depredations among the biscuit, is the larva of a beetle named Tenebrio molitor, the former 

 word being given to it in allusion to its love of darkness, and the latter to the damage 

 which it occasions to the miller. This is one of the maggots which have caused sailors to 

 knock the edge of a biscuit upon the taole before eating it, an action which in many old 

 voyagers has become so deeply rooted a habit, that they are actually unable to resist the 

 movement. These larvse are terribly sharp toothed, eating their way through the sides of 

 casks while in search of food. Some species of the same genus have the power of 

 ejecting an acrid fluid to the distance of more than a foot ; the one most remarkable in this 

 respect being a Brazilian insect, Ten&brio grandis. 



WE now arrive at a vast group of beetles, embracing several thousand species, which 

 are popularly classed under the name of Weevils, and may all be known by the peculiar 

 shape and the very elongated snouts. Many of these creatures have their elytra covered 

 with minute but most brilliant scales, arranged in rows, and presenting, when placed 

 under the microscope, a spectacle almost unapproached in splendor. They are mostly 

 slow in their movements, not quick of foot, and many being wholly wingless. 



Many of these creatures are extremely injurious to vegetables, both while growing and 

 when stored up in barns or granaries. Most persons are too familiar with the little 

 maggots that infest peas, and frequently ruin whole pods at a time, each pea containing 

 a single white grub. These are the larvse of the PEA WEEVIL (Bruchus pisi), which feed 

 upon the soft substance of the pea, and make their escape just about the time when the 

 vegetable is sufficiently ripe for gathering. One of the CORN WEEVILS (Bruchus granarius], 

 so destructive to grain, also commits great ravages among the peas. One species of this 

 genus inhabits the cocoa-nut, and the creatures are infinitely more abundant in tropical 

 than in temperate climates. It is thought, indeed, that several species of these destructive 

 insects have been imported into England in cargoes of grain, and finding the country 

 suitable to their habits, have thriven here. 



