INSECTS 



369 



Weevils are small beetles with 

 damage to timber, fruit, and grain, 

 are known. A common Bri- 

 tish form is the Nut Weevil 

 {Balaninus glandium), which 

 lays its eggs in hazel-nuts 

 and acorns, upon the kernels 

 of which the larvse feed when 

 they have hatched out. Two 

 species of Weevil are repre- 

 sented in fig. 222. 



Lady-Birds (fig. 216) are 

 among the insects which are 

 of great use to man, as they 



long snouts which do great 

 Some ten thousand species 



Fig. 222. — Com- Weevil 

 I, Grain of wheat, showing the punctured hole; and s, the exit 

 of the perfect weevil. 2, Pupa (natural size); 3, magnified. 

 4, Grain of Indian com, with weevil inside. 6, 7, Corn-Weevil 

 [Calandra granaria), natural size and magnified; 8, 9, Rice- 

 Weevil (C oryzt^), natural size and magnified. 



Fig. 221.— Rose Chafer {Cet(mia aurata) 

 I, Adult; 2, larva; 3, cocoon; 4, pupa. 



prey upon plant-lice, to which 

 their larvae are a veritable 

 terror. Over a thousand 

 species are known distributed 

 throughout most regions of 

 the globe. The commonest 

 British species are the Seven- 

 spotted Lady - B ird ( Cocci- 

 nella septempunctatd) and the 

 Two -spotted Lady- Bird (C 

 bipunctatd), distinguishable by 

 the number of black spots 

 upon the red elytra. 



Order 6. — Membrane-WINGED INSECTS (Hymenoptera) 



This very large order contains many thousand described species, 

 including among many others the different kinds of bee, wasp, 

 and ant. Not a few live in communities of exceedingly complex 

 organization, and these display so much intelligence that there is 

 much to be said for the view that the order is the highest among 

 insects. Four membranous wings (fig. 223) are present, whence 

 the technical name (Gk. hymen, membrane; pteron, wing); they 

 possess comparatively few nervures, and are not folded during 

 repose. It will be remembered that in most Moths there is a 

 "hook-and-eye" arrangement for coupling the wings together 



Vol. I. 



24 



