OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CLASS — INSEOTyV 187 



branous tdmjs that are covered, when at rest, by a pair of hard, 



horny idng covers, called the elytra. The )netamorphosis is 



complete and the mouth parts are formed for biting. 



The beetles differ from other hisects in having this pair 



of hard, horny wing 



covers (Fig. 132). 



They may be told 



almost surelv by this 



chai-acter alone. The 



front wings of the 



grasshoppers anrl 



crickets ai-e somewhat 



similar l:)nt tliinner. 

 Tlie CoIora( lo potato 



beetle is a familiar ex- 

 ample (Fig. 133). It 



is a yellow-lined beetle 



and lays its ]-ed(Iish 



eggs close together in a bunch, usually on the under sides 



of the leaves of ]3otatoes. The soft red larva^ soon appear 

 and immediately l^egin to eat the leaves. 

 The lai'vff keep on eating and growing 

 for t^^'o or three weeks and then go into 

 the ground to pupate. 



The May beetles are abundant in 

 spring, flying in through the windows 

 and bumping about the room. Their 

 eggs are laid at the roots of grass, and 



the white grubs live in the soil, eating off the grass roots. 



The larva lives in the ground two or three years and changes 



to a i)upa in an earthen cell from which the adult emerges 



in the spring of the year. 



(Viininoii Jilu.'siiuitii, fiilarged. 



Horsefly. 



