228 DISEASES OF THE COTTON" PLANT. 
a ruffle, this small spider was almost invariably found 
snugly ensconced in its web ; hence it was surmised that 
the young worm had entered between the ruffle and the 
boll, or bud, and had been destroyed by the spider, the 
nest of which was found in such situations. 
As all spiders are in the habit of destroying small, 
noxious insects, they may be regarded as beneficial, espe- 
cially when the crops are preyed upon by the larvae of very 
small flies, such as the wheat midge, the Hessian fly, and 
many others. These insects, being constantly on the wing, 
flying about from plant to plant, to deposit their eggs, are 
very apt to become entangled in the webs, and to be there 
destroyed. 
The spider itself, however, has enemies, one of which 
is the " mud-wasp," so called. This insect builds cells of 
clay in out-houses, and under beams, or in other sheltered 
places. Their nests resemble small pieces of mud thrown 
aip against a roof or wall, when wet, and afterward dried by 
exposure to the air. 
The Carolina Tigeb-Beetle. — {Megacephela OaroKna.) 
This beetle belongs to the family Cicindeladce, other- 
wise called " tiger-beetles," from their savage propensities, 
and the beautiful spots and stripes with which their metal- 
lic wing-cases are adorned. These beetles are always 
hunting about the ground in search of insect food. A 
smaller and darker species especially delights in the glare 
and heat of the mid-day sun ; and, when disturbed, flies 
only a short distance, alighting with its head directed tow- 
ard the object which has excited its alarm. 
The lai-vae of the tiger-beetle inhabit cylindrical holes 
in the earth, and, in these burrows, they wait patiently for 
