BEETLES 357 



flowers are of bright and frequently much variegated colours. The 

 most familiar of these sunshine and flower loving insects is the Musk 

 Beetle (Aromia mosehata), which is of a metallic green colour, and 

 derives its name from its strong musk -like smell. (Compare with 

 Spanish fly.) 



Family n: Golden-Apple Beetles (Chrysomelidae). 



These are mostly small insects with a strongly-arched body, and of 

 bright colours. They, as well as their larvae, as a rule feed on leaves, 

 and often, especially when present in large numbers, do considerable 

 damage. This is especially the case with the Common Flea Beetle 

 (Haltica oleracea) and its numerous relatives, which are especially 

 destructive to the different kinds of cabbage plants. TMe first named 

 of these beetles measures about \ inch, and is of metallic or blue- 

 green colour, and on account of the strongly-developed femora of the 

 hind-legs — a feature common to the family — is an excellent jumper 

 (hence the name ; compare with flea and grasshopper). The best remedy 

 against the ravages of this pest are wood-shavings dipped in tar, which 

 are scattered among the plants ; as the tar dries with difficulty, the 

 insects stick to it and perish. 



Another member of this family, whose appearance in Europe in the 

 seventies spread alarm and consternation far and wide, is the Colorado 

 Potato Beetle (Chrysomela decemlineata). This insect is a native of 

 America (name), where it and its larva often commit wholesale devasta- 

 tion among the potato crops. Fortunately, it has not become naturalized 

 in Europe. It measures about f inch in length, and is of a leather-yellow 

 colour, with eleven black spots on the prothorax and ten black longi- 

 tudinal stripes on the elytra. 



Family 12: Lady-Birds (Coccinelidae). 



The Seven-Spotted Lady-Bird (Coccinella septempunctata). 



Everyone is familiar with this pretty hemispherical lady-bird. When 

 touched, not only does it pretend to be dead and allow itself to drop to 

 the ground like the skipjacks and others, but, like the oil beetle, it exudes 

 a drop of an acrid yellow, evil-smelling fluid (blood) from between the 

 femur and tibia. For this reason insect-eating animals will either not 

 attack this beetle at all or only when forced by extreme hunger, as has 

 been proved by numerous experiments. For the same reason also, like 

 many other animals which are protected by foul-tasting secretions, this 

 little beetle is marked with a conspicuous colouring (describe it), and 

 can nevertheless expose itself without risk to the sight of its enemies. 



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