COCK-CHAFER. 
253 
again returns to her usual haunts among the leaves 
of some neighbouring tree, where she lies con- 
cealed and sheltered from the heat till the declining 
sun invites her to come forth and buzz about the 
branches. 
When the eggs, which are thus deposited, have 
lain their due time in the earth, the little grubs 
break their shells, and soon begin to consume the 
roots of every vegetable within their reach. Their 
voracity increases with their size till they arrive at 
their full growth, when they are about an inch 
and a half long ; the larva being a thick maggot 
of a whitish yellow colour, with six legs, and a 
large red head provided with a pincer, and a semi- 
circular lip, with which it cuts the roots of plants 
and extracts the moisture. These destructive in- 
sects continue in this state between three and four 
years, during which time they work their way un- 
der ground with great facility, destroying the roots 
of our nutritive vegetables in a most deplorable 
manner. A whole field of fine flourishing grass, 
according to Mr. Anderson, has in the course of 
a few weeks become as brittle as hay, by these 
voracious grubs devouring the roots, and gnawing 
away the fibres. In these cases the turf becomes 
rotten, and may be turned up with the greatest 
ease ; when the grubs will be found an inch or two 
under the surface, lying in a curved position upon 
their backs, with only their heads and tails above 
the surface of the mould. Instead of eyes, which 
to an insect entirely confined to a subterraneous 
