BEETLES WHICH DESTROY ALETIA. 
95 
Fig. 12.— Polish* bellicosa. 
;1H(1 Coinstock.) 
( After 
Linn., P. pcnsijl canhn, Linn., and Priononyx thomiv, Fabr., are often 
found in the cotton fields, and certain of them have been observed feed- 
ing on the worms. Mr. Trtlease has ob- 
served PoUitet bellicosa searching the 
leaves for worms, and relying on the 
tactile sense of the antenna' rather than 
on sight to find them. The instant a worm 
was touched, recognizing its enemy, it 
would throw itself from the leaf, the Pol- 
Istes quickly springing after it. One wasp 
was observed thus to spring eight times 
unsuccessfully, the ninth time catchinj 
devouring the worm. Both species of L'olistes were several times seen 
flying about with dead caterpillars, having previously reduced them to a 
pulpy mass with their mandibles. 
Col hotter a, ok Hkktlks. — ( >f this order numerous species belong 
ing to the families of Tiger-beetles ( Cidndelidee) and Ground-beetles ( >«r- 
abi(Uv) have been observed to prey upon the worms, each species being 
represented by bat a very small number of speci- 
mens when compared with the ants. These beetles 
are nevertheless among the most voracious insects 
known to us. Most of them art* nocturnal in their 
habits, and are t hu> more apt to escape the at tacks 
of birds. They devour their prey bodily, and as 
they are frequently met with in cotton fields very 
remote from their hiding places, they are probably 
attracted by the smell attending the worms. The 
following is a list of the species actually obsen ed n—T>tracha nrjinica. 
feeding thereon: '/'</ radix Carolina (Linn.), T. vinjiniva (linn.), Cidn 
dela sperata Lee, Oioindela punctulata Fabr., Calosoma sajfi De}. y Helluo 
morph<( laticomis (Dcj.), //. tc.rantt 
Lec., Galerita atripc.s Lee., Brack- 
inus sp., Aphelogeniaf^roata (Lec.), 
CdUida decora (Fabr.), Loxandrut 
luccns Chaud., L. brenaius Lec, 
Ptcrostichus sayi Brull., and Sdm- 
ophorus Ja sKs Lec. The number of 
Cicindela holes in the cotton fields 
is astonishingly great, the most 
aKfinJan^ „,.„„' , u. • • i j , Fio. U.— Cicindela splendida : a, larva; 6, head of 
abundant species being Licindda Me , enlarged; e, beetle. (Emerton del) 
punctulata. The larva 1 drag into their holes every Cotton Worm which 
chances to crawl over the mouth, and many are thus destroyed during 
the migration of the worms, towards the end of the season. Ordinarily, 
however, the number of worms captured by these Tiger-beetles is very 
small. The accompanying cut (Fig. 14) of Cicindela splendida from the 
first report of the Commission will indicate the character of these tiger- 
