346 THE BEETLES. 



fall and turns into a pupa in the ground. The EhyncJiites 

 letula 1 , described by Debey, cuts the leaves of the birch in 

 a very artistic manner from the edge inwards, so as to be 

 able to roll up the edges and make a funnel in which to lay 

 its egg. As it partly gnaws through the middle bundle of the 

 leaf at the same time, the latter gradually dries up, and 

 when the larva is hatched it finds food already prepared for 

 it in the dry substance of the leaf. When the withered leaf at 

 last falls off it turns into a pupa in the ground. The R/njuch/'tes 

 bettdeti, which does great mischief in the vineyards of the 

 Rhein and the Moselle, rolls up several of the top leaves of 

 a twig in the most ingenious way after it has pierced or 

 notched either the stem or themselves, so as to have caused 

 the partial withering of the leaves, making them pliable 

 into the form of a cigar, smearing their edges with a sticky 

 secretion, and smoothing the roll with its abdomen. Ac- 

 cording to Nordlinger's observations the little artist 

 performs his difficult task with wonderful reflexion and 

 appreciation of each special situation, as well as with 

 astonishing skill, strength, and patience. Further, among 

 the Attelabi, only the females possess this thoughtful 

 industry, inherited from generation to generation, and the 

 intellectual superiority of the female sex over the male 

 stands out again here, as among so many other, and indeed 

 most, insects. 



The A.ttelabus curculior.oides treats the leaves of the oak, 

 and the Apoderus coryli those of the hazel, just as the 

 Ehynchites betulti' does those of the birch. 



Very quarrelsome beetles are the allied and predacious Cicin- 

 delce, belonging to the family of the running-beetles, which 

 Linna?us has justly named the tigers among insects (Tiff rides 

 insectoruiii). They are all strong and swift robbers, hunting 

 living insects and falling with tigerish blood-thirstiness upon 

 their victims, striking them with their sharp-pointed upper 

 jaws, tearing them in pieces, and swallowing them piece by 

 piece. In spring the graceful active Cicindela campestris 

 or field Cicindela may be seen in the sunshine on all sandy 

 places, with its emerald green wings and copper-red spots 

 glittering like fire in the sun. Scarcely an insect can with- 

 stand its attack, while it has itself little or nothing to fear 

 with its hard body covering. The larva? of the Cicindelce have 

 all the voracity of their parents, and they manage to satisfy 



