INSECTS. 117 



sulphur yellow colour on the thickly pitted wing-covers. 

 Larva one-fifth of an inch long, yellowish white, with 

 dark brown head, neck-shield, and last body-segment. 

 The adult beetles have the same habits as in the pre- 

 ceding species ; they also do damage in the same way, 

 and attack the same plants, especially in the seedling 

 condition. The female, however, does not lay her 

 eggs in heaps, but separately on the leaves, and always 

 on the under side. The larva bores into the leaf, and 

 digs a passage, which, like the animal inhabiting it, 

 is at first small, but gets gradually larger. In fine 

 weather the larva is fuUy developed in a week. It 

 then pierces the skin covering the under side of the 

 leaf, falls to the ground, and becomes a pupa. Several 

 generations may appear every year, if the weather is 

 favourable (dry). This species is quite as harmful 

 as the preceding, chiefly in the mature condition. 

 Bemedies : Compare the preceding species. 



Family : Coccinellidae (Lady-birds). 



Hemispherical ; upper side convex ; under side 

 flattened. Head small, retractile. Antennse, eleven- 

 jointed, thickened at their tips. Legs short; feet 

 apparently three-jointed — in reality four-jointed, the 

 second joint, however, being very small. Colour, 

 usually variegated; many species black with red, 

 or red with black spots. When grasped, they let a 

 yellowish, unpleasant-smelling fluid escape from the 

 abdomen. The blunt, four-cornered, usually varie- 

 gated pupae hang on the leaves. The fully developed 

 larvae are longer than the beetles. They closely re- 

 semble those of the leaf beetles, but are not so thick- 

 set, and their longer legs stick out more laterally. 

 They are covered with warts and little spines (Fig. 

 85). The larvae and beetles of most species feed 

 chiefly on aphides and shield-lice ; they are therefore 

 of use, and this is especially true of the exceedingly 



