152 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



ing, even in its larval condition, something of that fiery energy 

 which actuates it when it has reached its perfect condition. 

 Sandy banks are the chief resorts of the Tiger Beetle, which in 

 this country seems seldom or never to alight upon trees, restrict- 

 ing itself to hare and sandy soU. It even avoids those spots 

 which are covered with grass and herbage, cares nothing for 

 shade, and delights to settle upon banks with a southern aspect, 

 and to run about upon soil that has been rendered so hot by the 

 sun that the bare hand can hardly endure contact with its 

 surface. In America, however, the Tiger Beetles possess different 

 habits, preferring trees to the ground, and either running about 

 on the trunk or darting from leaf to leaf in search of their prey. 

 The English entomologist, however, who wishes to find this 

 beetle, must look for it on the ground; and near the spots 

 which the adult beetles traverse so rapidly may be found the 

 larva in its burrow. 



These larvae are most remarkable beings. They are whitish 

 in colour, and strangely moulded in form, the head being of 

 enormous size, and of a homy consistency, and the eighth seg- 

 ment developed into a hump-like projection, carrying upon its 

 upper surface a pair of bent hooks. The larva never is seen 

 above the surface of the ground, and, indeed, never exhibits more 

 than the smooth homy head and mandibles. It lives in perpen- 

 dicular burrows, about a foot in depth, which it is able to tra- 

 verse with great rapidity, and which are only just of suf&cient 

 diameter to permit the inhabitant to pass up and down. 



It is a carnivorous being, feeding chiefly on insects, which it 

 is able to capture, in spite of the apparent disadvantage under 

 which it labours of being confined to one spot. The mode by 

 which it obtains its daily food is as follows. Ascending to the 

 upper portion of its burrow, it fixes itself firmly by means of its 

 hooks, and then lays its jaws level with the soil. While in this 

 attitude, it is almost invisible, and as soon as an insect passes 

 by the ambushed larva, the sickle-like jaws grasp it, and it is 

 dragged to the bottom of the tunnel, where it is devoured. Not 

 only is the larva carnivorous, but it is combative in proportion 

 to its voracity, and if a straw be thrust into its burrow, the 

 angry grub wiU fasten upon it with the tenacious gripe of a 

 buU-dog, and suffer itself to be dragged out of its home rather 

 than release its supposed enemy. 



