216 



SUBKINGDOM AETIOULATA. 



plete, the soft larvse usually having a horny head with sim- 

 ple eyes and distinct jaws. 



Scarabaeidae (cased).^The May-beetle, or Dor-bug, lays 

 its eggs in the ground during May or June. They hatch in 

 about three months. The larva, called by farmers the 

 " white-worm," grows to the size of the little finger, devour- 

 ing voraciously every kind of vegetable. After remaining 

 some years in this state, passing the winter in the ground 

 below frost, it changes to a pupa, emerges a beetle, lays its 

 eggs, and dies. 



Mg. 370. 



.-^^■*..^£tTA^■ 



LucSnus cerous. Stag-beetle, Europe. 



Lucanidse. — The Horn-bugs* lay their eggs under 



• So strong are the jaws of Stag-beetles that one has been known to gnaw i 

 an inch in diameter through the side of an iron canister. 



the 



hole 



