21 



everyone. It may generally be found in early summer, in clamp pastures, either hidden 

 under stones or running in the grass in search of caterpillars and other soft-bodied insects. 

 Jaeger, who first called the members of this genus caterpillar-hunters, says "they may be 

 found every morning and evening upon the branches of trees, looking out for caterpillars 

 and devouring them." They do not, however, restrict themselves to caterpillars, for they 

 will attack and devour a perfect June-bug when fresh from the pupa state and soft, with 

 apparently the same relish as their special dainty, a fat cut-worm. In the larval state 

 they are equally rapacious ; they lurk in holes in the ground or under sticks and stones 

 in the daytime, and only leave their retreats as night draws on to go in search of prey. 

 Every spring I have several of these useful and luckily common beetles brought to me by 

 kind friends who have found them in their gardens. To the inquiry " Is this of any use 

 to you? " I have always the answer ready, which somewhat surprises them : " No, but 

 it is of particular use to you ; take it carefully back and put it in your garden again ; it 

 is the best friend you have there, for it feeds entirely upon your enemies, the wire-worms, 

 cut-worms and white-worms." 



I am sure that through the agency of this beetle 

 alone I have been able to gain more respect for the science 

 of Entomology among horticulturists than from all the 

 rest put together. 



Much resembling this beetle in shape, but of a very 

 much more striking appearance, is its near relative, Cal- 

 osoma scrutator, Fabr., the " beautiful-bodied searcher," 

 fig. 2. The colour of its wing-covers is bright metallic 

 green, garnished with longitudinal lines and sparcely 

 punctured ; round the margin runs an effective line of 

 coppery -red. The head, thorax and legs are almost black ; 

 the margin of the thorax having a greenish tinge. The 

 under side is of a deep burnished blue-green hue. Its 

 habits are the same as those of C. calidum, but it is a 

 Fig- 2. much rarer insect. I have never seen a live specimen ; 



but they are occasionally found in Ontario, and dead specimens are said to be frequently 

 washed up on the outer shore of Toronto Island after a southerly gale. 



The Common Woolly Bear ( Spilosoma virginica ). 



By W. Saunders, London, Ont. 



The caterpillars known under the common name of u woolly bears " belong to the 

 family of Arctians, and most of the species in the moth state are very pretty objects. The 



commonest of all the species is SpUosoma vir- 

 ginica, a pure white moth which appears on 

 the wing in May, when it deposits its clusters 

 of round yellow eggs on the under side of 

 the leaves of many plants. In a few days 

 these hatch into minute hairy caterpillars, 

 which for a time feed in company, and devour 

 at first the under side of the leaf only, so 

 that it assumes a scorched and withered 

 aspect. In a short time, however, they 

 part company, each one choosing his own 

 course, and blessed with good digestive 

 powers, they eat freely of all parts of the 

 leaf. The full grown caterpillar (fig. 3, a) 

 is nearly two inches long, thickly clothed 



