ROADSIDE LIFE. 



273 



The Soldier-beetles. — The most abundant of 

 the goldenrod visitors are the soldier-beetles; so- 

 called on account of the bright colors of 

 their yellow and black uniforms (Fig. 247). 

 Sometimes these beetles occur in such 

 great numbers on the goldenrod blossoms 

 as to bend the plant down by their 

 weight. Here they are in constant mo- 

 tion, crawling over the plant and over 2: ' 

 each other. But they can fly readily, and 

 do so often, passing from cluster to cluster. These 

 beetles belong to the genus Chauliognatkus {Chaul-i- 

 og' na-thus), of the firefly family, Lampyrid^ (Lam- 

 pyr'i-dae). 



The Locust -borer. — Associated 

 with the soldier beetles we often find 

 one with his back covered with yellow 

 stripes like the chevron on the sleeves of 

 a sergeant (Fig. 248). This is the locust- 

 borer, Cyllene robinice {Cyl-le'ne ro-bin' i-ce). 

 It belongs to the family of long-horned 

 beetles. 

 The Blister-beetles. — Blister-beetles are also 

 frequently found on the flowers of goldenrod. With 

 these the body is comparatively soft; the 

 head is broad, and abruptly narrowed into 

 a neck, and the prothorax is narrower than 

 the wing -covers (Fig. 249). There are 

 many kinds of blister-beetles ; they consti- 

 tute the family Meloid^ (Me-lo'i-da;). They 

 are called blister-beetles because the dried '°" ^*^' 

 bodies of certain species are used for making blister 

 plasters. 



