IN LEAFY JUNE. 



179 



auratus). He is one of the commonest insects of 

 the roadside, but he is so very small (less than half 

 an inch long) that we must not expect to catch sight 

 of him at " long range." Holding one in the hand 

 and scrutinizing him under the glass, we will find 

 him a variety of brilliant me- 

 tallic hues, according to 

 the way the light strikes 

 his back, ranging from 

 orange through red to 

 purple, and from violet 

 through blue and peacock - 

 blue to green. I col- 

 lected as many as a 

 dozen of these beetles 

 last summer from as 

 many dogbane bushes ; 

 their beauty and jew- 

 el-like brilliancy can 

 only be appreciated by the help of a low-power mi- 

 croscope. A good test of the incomparable^/iisA of 

 ISTature's work is to place beside the beetle a ring set 

 with a ruby. I think the comparison will demon- 

 strate the immeasurable superiority of Nature over 

 man in the capacity of an " art worker." 



The roadside in the month of June is thickly em- 

 broidered with still other lusterless but ornamental 



Dogbane Beetle. 



