x| Beetles 103 
CHAPTER X 
BEETLES 
Wireworms. 
The term “wireworm” is used as a popular way out 
of the difficulty of giving a name to any small worm-like 
animal, and it often includes such different forms as 
leather jackets, millipedes, and centipedes. True 
wireworms are the larvae of beetles known as click 
beetles or spring-jacks. They attack all kinds of 
crops with the exception of mustard and are usually 
most abundant in permanent pasture, temporary leys, 
or any covered ground which is not disturbed. They 
do much damage to roots, corn crops, and peas, 
especially to crops grown on newly broken pasture 
land. They feed chiefly on or just above the roots of 
plants. It is not the amount of food eaten which 
makes them so destructive, but their habit of biting off 
the plant above the roots. 
On pulling up a cereal that is being attacked, the 
wireworm may be found feeding on the stem a short 
distance from its base. The damage is done only by 
the wireworm or larval stage, but as it lives for three 
to five years the amount of harm done by a single 
individual is very considerable. 
The eggs are said to be laid on or near the ground 
in May and June. The young wireworms which hatch 
out from these are very small and whitish. They 
begin to feed immediately after hatching. Full grown 
