DESTRUCTION OF THE MAY-BEETLE. 31 
three slightly elevated longitudinal lines ; the breast is clothed 
with yellowish down. The knob of its antennae contains 
only three leaf-like joints. Its average length is nine tenths 
of an inch. In its perfect state it feeds on the leaves of trees, 
particularly on those of the cherry-tree. It flies with a hum- 
ming noise in the night, from the middle of May to the end 
of June, and frequently enters houses, attracted by the light. 
In the course of the spring, these beetles are often thrown 
fi oin the eaith by the spade and plough, in various states of 
maturity, some being soft and nearly white, their supera- 
bundant juices not having evaporated, while others exhibit the 
true color and texture of the perfect insect. The grubs de- 
vour the roots of grass and of other plants, and in many 
places the turf may be turned up like a carpet in consequence 
of the destruction of the roots. The grab* is a white worm 
with a brownish head, and, when fully grown, is nearly as 
thick as the little finger. It is eaten greedily by crows and 
fowls. The beetles are devoured by the skunk, whose bene- 
ficial foraging is detected in our gardens by its abundant ex- 
crement filled with the wing-cases of these insects. 
A writer in the “ New York Evening Post” says, that the 
beetles, which frequently commit serious ravages on fruit- 
trees, may be effectually exterminated by shaking them from 
the trees every evening. In this way two pailfuls of beetles 
were collected on the first experiment ; the number caught 
regularly decreased until the fifth evening, when only two 
beetles were to be found. The best time, however, for shak- 
ing trees on which the May-beetles are lodged, is in the 
morning, when the insects do not attempt to fly. They are 
most easily collected in a cloth spread under the trees to re- 
ceive them when they fall, after which they should be thrown 
into boiling water to kill them, and may then be given as 
food to swine. 
* There is a grub, somewhat resembling this, which is frequently found under 
old manure-heaps, and is commonly called muck-worm. It differs, however, in 
some respects, from that of the May-beetle, or dor-bug, and is transformed to 
dung-beetle called Scarabcuus relictus by Mr. Say. 
a 
