WIREWORM. 



99 



leave this abode till it becomes a perfect insect, and makes 

 its way through the husk of the grain. It is not easy to dis- 

 cover the grains that are thus hollowed out, as they appear 

 quite plump and full, but they are much lighter, and swim on 

 the surface of water. Other larvse of " curculiones" are not 

 so fond of corn, but fix on several other seeds, as beans, peas, 

 and lentils, and the heads of thistles and artichokes. The 

 leaves of elms are often wholly destroyed by perforation. 



The French call the corn insect " Calandre," and the word 

 " calandra " has been admitted into English nomenclature. 

 The animal pierces the grain with the trunk, and the female 

 deposits an egg in the hole, which are hatched into small 

 worms, which are usually found with their bodies rolled up in 

 a spiral form ; and after eating till they arrive at their full 

 growth, they are changed into " chrysals and from these, in 

 about a fortnight, comes out the perfect " calandre," or 

 beetle. The maggot is found in the centre of grains, without 

 trace of an aperture. The insect probably lays the egg in the 

 blossom. The bread made from the affected flour is unwhole- 

 some. The weevil is called " Calandra granaria." 



The best remedies are perfect ventilation, and a constant 

 shifting of the grain. But the most effectual remedy for the 

 farmer, and total preventive, is to lay no corn in granary, but 

 to sell and deliver it immediately on being threshed. 



Class IV.— WORMS. 



1. The WiREwoRM is a name given by farmers to the larvae 

 of several insects injurious to various crops ; they are species 

 of the genus Elater," of the order "Coleoptera" of entomo- 

 logy. They get the name of Elater" and " skippers or skip- 

 jacks," from a power of throwing themselves up in the air, * 

 when laid upon their backs. They have the antennse filiform, 

 and a pectoral spine springing from an abdominal pore. 



Twenty-six species of the genus Elater" are found in 



H 2 



