LIFE-HISTORIES OF BEETLES 239 



The burying beetles are no disinterested workers, 

 but inter animals to serve as food for their larvae. 

 Others again are root-croppers, such as the skip-jacks, 

 whose larvae — the wireworms — devastate grassland ; 

 and again other families of beetles, such as the weevils, 

 destroy grain, root-crops, and vegetables. But even 

 this sombre order has its more adventurous careers. 

 The oil-beetles (Meloe), whose stout blue form may 

 often be seen sunning itself on grassy banks in early 

 spring, has. passed through a life-history of unusually 





b 

 a 



Fig. 49. — Elaters or .Skipjack Beetles ($ male, c female) and their larva the 

 Wireworm (a), -(From specimens in the Manchester Museum.) 



full incident. It proceeds from one of a large batch 

 of eggs laid in a flowery dry bank. Out of these eggs 

 there hatch a multitude of minute active yellow 

 six-legged larvae. This immense family climb the 

 grass and flower stalks, covering them as with a yellow 

 down. Presently a bee — one of the many early spring 

 burrowers, Anthophora — will chance to settle near 

 them, and with a concerted spring a detachment of 

 the Meloe-larvae will catch hold of its hairs and ride 

 on till the Anthophora visits its burrow. Once inside, 



