Ground Beetles 



they are full of caterpillars or flies destined for the 

 food of the young. Ants rarely do direct harm to 

 plants, though they eat into apples, etc., damaged 

 by birds. They preserve greenflies, however, and 

 carry them, when their food supplies begin to fail, 

 to other plants, while their nests are a nuisance on 

 lawns and fields. 



The numerous population of the soil contains 

 many friends. Insects provided with long legs and 

 (or) powerful, wings, large eyes, and conspicuous 

 jaws, are unlikely to feed mainly on plants. They 

 are equipped with the implements of the himter, 

 and the soil aboimds in such. They are mainly 

 beetle larvae and the perfect beetles which develop 

 from them. The larvae of these beetles often meet 

 an untimely death, because they are often straw- 

 coloured, have a hard skin and six legs, and are 

 therefore mistaken for wireworms. They are, 

 however, quite easily distinguished, if only by their 

 active movements. Their jaws are much more 

 conspicuous, they are of stouter, flatter build, and 

 generally have brown markings on the body as well 

 as the head. The active black or violet beetles are 

 often very abundant, and are familiar to all. One 

 or two species have been referred to as attacking 

 ripe strawberries, but this is the only damage 

 traceable to them. The devil's coach-horse, or cock- 

 tail beetle, is another friend, and it and its black 

 larva are common in town and country. 



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