7-2 



ZOOLOGY 



which they bore holes in plant tissue to receive their eggs 



(Fig. 78). 



Fiu. 7s. — Bahiui- 

 nus, a ffi.'e\"il, of 

 b r o w n e o 1 o r. 

 From Packard. 



The dull colors of the beetles render them incon- 

 spicuous to insect-feeding birds. The num- 

 ber of species is reckoned at over ten thousand, 

 and the family is of world-wide distribution, 

 its dispersion ha^dng been aided by commerce. 

 Groin-weevils are great pests in stored wheat, 

 rice, or maize. The}' also Va.y their eggs in 

 planted seeds, buds, nuts, stone fruits, and 

 fleshy fruits. 



Extremely destructive also is the great 

 family of long-horned beetles, " buck- 

 beetles " (or Cer"ambyc'idae 0, of which 

 aliout six hundred species are known in North 

 The antcnnte and legs of these beetles are 



America alone 

 very long.^ The larvK bore 

 into even the hardest woods, 

 and hve there for two or three 

 years. Timljer a)id shade 

 trees are thus greatly dam- 

 aged. A favorite collecting 

 ground for " long-horns " is 

 the goldenrod (Fig. SI). 



Still another destructive 

 family is that of the leaf- 

 eating beetles (the C'hrys"- 

 omel'idffi^j, to which the 

 Potato-beetle belongs. Tliesi^ 

 beetles are thick and round in 



Fro, Tn. — Prinniix Inlirnllis. a lons- 

 horn. Black. Nat. size. Photo, by 

 W. H. C. P. 



* kerambyx, a beetle with long horns. 



^ chrysomela, gold beetle. 



2 Figs. 79 and SO. 



