SHEATH-WINGED INSECTS. 361 



blackbirds, rooks, and many other birds are inveterate destroyers 

 of the grubs, and devour myriads of them. It is for this purpose 

 that these birds pull up the grass, and not to spoil or devour the 

 herbage, as is generally supposed. 



The Dou-beetle is a very common insect. At the ap- 

 proach of evening, it may be seen whirling round in vheair with 

 a dull liumming sound. The country children call it the Watch- 

 man, comparing it to a watchman going his rounds in the evening. 

 It usually lays its eggs on a rounded mass of cow-dung, and then 

 buries the whole mass in the ground. When caught, it pretends 

 to be dead. 



The Ground-beetle is one of the largest and most beauti- 

 ful beetles. Its general color is a coppery green, and its wing-cases 

 are ornamented with several rows of oblong raised spots. Its 

 length is about an inch. 



The Rove-beetles form an exceedingly extensive section. 

 Some are so small as to require the assistance of the microscope 

 to discover their shape, and others, as 

 those represented here, are more than an 

 inch in length. The small species are 

 usually on the wing, and it is very amus- 

 ing to see them alight, and with their 

 flexible tails tuck their long and beauti- 

 fully shaped wings under the elytra, run Eoye-Beeti«s. 

 about for a moment, and then again take to flight. These are the 

 creatures that cause so much annoyance by flying into one's mouth 

 or eyes in the warm months. 



The GrREAT EovE-BEETLE is commonly found upon decay- 

 ing animal substances. It is most formidably armed with twi 

 large, curved, sharp mandibles, the bite of which is tolerably se- 

 vere ; and more than once, when the creature has been recently 

 feeding upon putrid substances, dangerous results have followed. 



The Glow- Worm. — The male is provided with wings, and 

 therefore has not the character of worm; whereas, the female 

 generally has no wings, and is therefore confined to the earth's 

 surface, and unable to soar above to the aerial regions. The reasdn 



31 



