76 



FIELD ZOOLOGY. 



accomplish the enactment of a law which will protect 

 their bird friends from the heedless small boy with sling 

 shot or rifie, and from the man who hunts simply for the 

 sake of killing. 



The families of beetles Hsted as beneficial beetles 

 are to be understood as having gained this place through 

 their habits of feeding upon other insects which are injuri- 

 ous to valuable plants or to predaceous insects, or are 



Fig. 32. — Different forms of legs and tarsi of beetles. 



and Comslock.) 



{Kellogg, after LeConte 



useful because of the beneficial habit of eating decaying 

 animal remains, excrementitious matter, and other refuse ; 

 or they may be pollenizers of flowers. 



Structurally, the beetles differ from the bugs in 

 another important respgct. Their mouth parts are adapted 

 for biting and chewing. They have strong mandibles and 

 well-developed palpi. This order of insects has thousands 

 of representatives, and is one of the most, if not the 

 most, difficult to classify, owing to their almost endless 



