COLEOPTERA 



151 



Comstock says they remain still until within our sight, but out of reach, 

 and then " like a flash they fly up and away, alighting several rods ahead 

 of us," with eyes toward us. The ugly larvae live in vertical burrows 

 about a foot deep on beaten paths or in the sand. The larva, with its dirt- 

 colored head which is bent at right angles to its lighter colored body, plugs 

 the entrance to its burrow, and with its wide-open jaws forms a living 

 trap for passing insects. On the fifth abdominal segment there is a hump 

 bearing two hooks curved forward, by which the larva holds fast, thus pre- 

 venting large prey from dragging it out of its burrow. 



The ground beetles (Fig. 122) (Carab'idce) are probably the most im- 

 portant family of predaceous insects, though a few species are vegetable 

 feeders. They are usually dark colored and nocturnal, but some are large 

 and brilliantly colored, and the wing covers are generally " ornamented 

 with longitudinal ridges and rows of punctures." They hide in daytime 

 under stones and logs. There are about twelve hundred species in North 



Fig. 121. June beetles: 1, Pupa; 2, larva; 3, 4, adult. (Riley, Report of 

 State Entomologist of Missouri.) 



America. The larvae of most of them are long flattened grubs, with body of 

 uniform breadth throughout, protected on top by horny plates, ending in a 

 pair of conical bristly appendages. Usually they bury themselves just 

 beneath the surface and feed upon insects which enter the ground to 

 pupate. They destroy large numbers of leaf-feeding beetles or their 

 larvae. They pupate in small round cells in the soil, from which the adults 

 push their way out. 



The caterpillar hunter (Caloso'ma scruta'tor) is a familiar example of the 

 ground beetles (Fig. 122). Its wing covers or elytra are bright green or 

 violet, margined with reddish. It is found on trees at dusk. It is known to 

 climb trees and make raids upon the hairy tent caterpillar, hence it is a 

 friend. Two others (Calosoma frigidum and C. calidum) are hunters of cut- 

 worms and canker-worms. The latter is sometimes called the fiery hunter, 

 from the rows of reddish pits on its black elytra. 



Another one (Agonod'erus pd'lipes) feeds upon sprouting corn. 



