hiseds, etc.. Injurious to Ihe Strawherri/. 



457 



Ilii rjidl IIS riijiritrnis. — ISlack, with ivil anteiiiiii' ami lo;_;'s ; Icnntli 

 abcrat A incli ; tlio winn' cases lia\'e Taint stria' n]ii)ii lliem, ami 

 aro CDNcreil witli fine gdlden-j^ixjy pubescenci' ; tlie win;^s aiv fully 

 developed. 



S/i'iri/iiis iiiiiiJ ill //.■<. — lUack, the le'_;'s with juore or less dislinet 

 reildish liases; length rather more than ^ inch to nearly y inch. 

 Wing eases hnely striated, Imt there are no wings. The tliora.v is 

 narrowed heldnd, lieing much narrowei' tliau the elytra. 



I'tiriiy.lirli iiy. r iiJijai'ix. — Blacl< and shiny, legs hlack. AYin,L; cases 

 with prominent striation, no \vings. Thorax lii'(.>ad ^\'ith n, nieilian 

 suture. Length nearlj' r! inch. 



Ciiliitliiis rislrlnidrs. — Black antenna' and rusty-red legs. Length 

 \ inch to nearly i incli. Wings absent or rudimentary. 



The above-mentioned characters will easih/ enable the ol:iser\-er to 

 Separate these four kinds, which may occur in the strawb(.'rry beds. 



Lii'K-HisTiiitv Axn Habits. 



The beetles all have very similar habits. They are nocturnal and 

 crawl aliout on the ground with great rapidity ; in fact, we may say 

 that they run. The red-legged Harpalus also flies. It appears that 

 this species migrates in large nuiubers, for Ormerod (1) records them 

 as appearing in a swarm at Bone Hill, >St. Albans, and as falling liy 

 scores from the walls of a house at Sandridge, 

 having apparently come in contact with them 

 during their flight. 



I.)m'ing the daytime the beetles hide under 

 clods of eartli, in cracks in the soil, and e^'en 

 actually in the ground, where they form i-uns 

 operdng to the surface by a round hole much 

 like an earthworm's opening. Warbnrton says : " In the infested 

 beds it was found that the earth, together with the straw and litter 

 with A\-liicli it was strewn, was perforated in all direetiims liy the 

 'runs' of the beetles, which were present in vast numl.iers." The 

 straw between the plants also serves as a nice protection for them. 



The beetles may be found in Ma}', Imt the majority are noticealjle 

 in June and July. 



They lay their eggs in tlie soil and the active larva' feed upon 

 and in it. Their food consists of slugs, earthworms, small snails and 

 insects. 



Tiie general appearance is repulsive, tlieir heads rather large 

 and the jaws prominent; the body is elongated, and m tlieir later 



