132 THE YOUNG 



cum), which is common on all our dry up- 

 land heathy moors — as in Teesdale, above 

 High Force ; The Shull, above Stanhope, 

 &c. It is easily recognised by the silky 

 hairiness of its leaves, and the dry-looking 

 white or pinkish heads of the flowers. The 

 Edel-weiss has been accepted as the national 

 emblematic flower of the Swiss Republic ; 

 and awakens in the breast of the hardy 

 mountaineer all the patriotic feelings and 

 tender associations which cling to the 

 thistle of the Scotchman, the shamrock of 

 the Irishman, or the rose of the English- 

 man. 



ORDERS OF INSECTS. 



Continued from Page I27. 



COLEOPTERA. 



We have now arrived at one of the more 

 popular orders among collectors, the 

 Coleoptera or Case-wings. These insects may 

 be known from all others by the first pair 

 of wings being hard horny cases covering 

 and protecting from injury the more delicate, 

 membranaceous hind wings. They vary 

 much in shape, size, and every other detail, 

 but the general character of all remains the 

 same. The insects that most nearly 

 resemble them are the bugs proper (Heter- 

 optera), and the cockroaches (Orthoptera). 

 From the former they may be known ; 1st, 

 by the mouth, which in Heteroptera is a 

 sucking tube, in (Coleoptera) jaws for biting. 

 2nd, by the wing cases, which in Heteroptera 

 are flat, and generally crossing at the tip 

 which is transparent, while in Coleoptera the 

 wing cases fit the shape of the body, and 

 always meet in the middle without over- 

 lapping. The difference between the 

 Orthoptera and Coleoptera were given at page 

 101, and need not be repeated. The Cock- 

 roach, so generally called a black beetle, 

 has a flatter body than any beetle the same 

 size. It is thus enabled to run under 



NATURALIST. 



skirtings or between boards. The earlier 

 stages also differ ; the larva and pupa of 

 the Coleoptera being quite different to the 

 perfect insect, which they closely resemble 

 in the Orthoptera. The larvae of the 

 Coleoptera have generally six legs, and the 

 abdominal segment are often turned in as 

 in some saw-flies. Some of them exist in 

 this stage for a considerable period. The 

 cockchafer is said to live three years in the 

 larval state. The pupa is necromorphous, 

 motionless, and helples, taking no food, but 

 so far resembling the imago, that every 

 organ can be traced, legs, antennae, &c, 

 each enclosed in a separate sheath. 



It is impossible in a brief paper like this 

 to give the merest outline of the various 

 general or families in so extensive an order 

 as this, of which, perhaps, more than 

 100,000 species are known. We will briefly 

 refer to a few of the better known or more 

 interesting groups, and perhaps may have 

 an opportunity on some future occasion to 

 enlarge upon the subject. 



The Tiger Beetle is one of the first to 

 attract the notice of the Entomologist. The 

 common Tiger Beetle (Cicendela Campestris) 

 is abundant on every dry sunny bank. 

 Preying on living insects, it runs swiftly, 

 and flies off so suddenly on being disturbed 

 that it is far from, easy to capture, and if 

 taken by the hand will seize your flesh with 

 its mandibles. Its bite, however, is quite 

 harmless. In color it is a pretty green 

 with golden spots. The larva is said to dig 

 a hole in the ground in which it lies in wait 

 for its prey, for like the imago it devours 

 living insects. 



The Sexton.or Burying Beet\e(Neorophora) 

 are not only interesting, but of great value 

 to man, as scavengers of a peculiar type. 

 The larvae live upon the flesh of dead 

 animals, and whenever the parents find 

 the carcase of a bird or mammal, they com- 

 mence at once to bury it. Their mode of 

 proceedure is very simple, and very 



