148 



PAESOjS^S O^q- THE EOSE. 



globular, whitlsli, and about one-tliirtietli of an inch in 

 diameter, and are hatched twenty days after they are 

 laid. The young larvae begin to feed on such tender 

 roots as are within their reach. Like other grubs of the 

 Scarabaeians, when not eating, they lie upon the side, 

 Avith the body curved, so that the head and tail are nearly 

 in contact ; they move w^itli difficulty on a level surface, 

 and are continually falling over on one side or the other. 



" They attain their full size in autumn, being then nearly 

 three-quarters of an inch long, and about an eighth of an 

 hwh in diameter. They are of a yellowish white color, 

 Avith a tinge of blue towards the hinder extremity, which 

 is thick and obtuse, or rounded ; a few short hairs are 

 scattered on the surface of the body ; there are six short 

 legs, namely, a pair to each of the first three rings behind 

 the head, and the latter is covered with a horny shell of 

 a jD^le rust color. In October they descend below the 

 reach of frost, and pass the winter in a torpid state. In 

 the spring they approach toward the surface, and each 

 one forms for itself a little cell, of an oval shape, by turn- 

 ing round a great many times, so as to compress the 

 earth, and render the inside of the cavity hard and 

 smooth. Within this cell the grub is transformed to a 

 pupa, during the month of May, by casting off its skin, 

 Avhich is pushed downward in folds from the head to the 

 tail. The pupa has somewhat the form of the perfected 

 beetle, but it is of a yellowish w^hite color, and its short, 

 stump-like wrings, its antenna), and its legs, are folded upon 

 the breast, and its w^hole body is inclosed in a thin film 

 that wraps each part separately. During the month of 

 June this filmy skin is rent, the included beetle with- 

 draws from its body and its limbs, bursts open its earthen 

 cell, and digs its way to the surface of the ground. Thus 

 the various changes from the egg to the full development 

 of the perfected beetle are conipleted within the space of 

 one year, 



