528 INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS. 
other. From this it will be obvious that if we observe the plant 
to wilt and suddenly die, we may look for the white grub and at 
once kill it to prevent farther ravages. It is evident, so large 
and voracious are these worms, that one plant would be a mere 
trifle to one of them. 
It also eats down in much the same manner young squash- 
plants, as I am told by Mr. C. A. Putnam, of Salem, who has 
been obliged to plant the seed over once or twice. They attack 
young plants at the time when they have thrown out three or four 
leaves. It is obvious that in dealing with this destructive insect 
we must become familiar with its habits. Every one knows the 
larva or grub of this insect, so that a detailed description is not 
necessary. It is a large, soft-bodied, thick, white worm, nearly 
as large as the thumb. Its head is yellowish or pale horn- 
colored. Its skin is so thin and transparent that the air-vessels 
and viscera can be seen through it, while, though it has three pairs 
of legs, it is so gross and unwieldy that it lies, when dug out of 
its retreat, flat upon its side. 
How many years the grub lives before changing into the beetle 
we do not know, but probably at least three. It arrives at 
maturity in the autumn, and early in May in this state the 
chrysalis may be found in little rude cells or chambers about 
six inches under the mould, in which position we have found 
it in Maine late in May. During the latter part of May and 
early in June, 7. e. for about a month, it flies about at night, 
especially on warm nights. By day it hides in fruit and other 
trees, clinging to the underside of the leaves by its long, curved 
claws, which are admirably adapted for the purpose. Here it does 
at times much injury, especially, as Harris remarks, to cherry- 
ees. 
Where it lays its eggs is not definitely known, but it is proba- 
ble that it burrows in the soil and there lays its eggs, as does the 
European cockchafer, of whose habits Harris gives a summary, 
and also the goldsmith beetle, of which we give an account far- 
ther on. Riley however says that “soon after pairing, tbe female 
beetle creeps into the earth, especially wherever the soil is loose 
and rough, and after depositing her eggs to the number of forty 
or fifty, dies. These hatch in the course of a month, and, the 
grubs growing slowly, do not attain full size till the early spring 
of the third year, when they construct an ovoid chamber, lined 
